KINGDOM BIBLE STUDIES
studies in end-time revelation
LOOKING FOR HIS APPEARING
Part 12
THE APOKALUPSIS OF JESUS CHRIST
In the New Testament, in the original Greek, are found six different words and phrases which have been represented to us as ALL meaning the very same thing - the "coming" of the Lord or the "second coming" of Christ! And while a few scholars have gone to the trouble to tell us what these six words mean, yet I do not hesitate to say that not one Christian in a million has earnestly sought the Lord for spiritual wisdom and divine understanding concerning these important matters. There is confusion in the minds of many when they come to this great truth of our Lord's return and much of this uncertainty stems from a failure to understand the diverse meanings of these six Greek words which are used in connection with His coming. Until the great scriptural truths contained in these six Greek words dawn upon our enlightened hearts by the quickening of the spirit of wisdom from on High, though we may be earnest students of God's Word and feel satisfied with what we have, nevertheless, there will be in our possession a great mine of eternal riches and heavenly wealth of which we are able to appropriate only a small portion.
In previous articles we have amply demonstrated that the Greek word PAROUSIA, generally translated "coming," literally means "presence." This is without doubt the key to one of the most important truths in the whole New Testament. Nowhere does PAROUSIA mean "coming" or "coming again." The PAROUSIA OF JESUS CHRIST, the PRESENCE OF THE SON OF GOD is a past, present and future reality. It is the fullness of all that one can conceive of as being the reality of His promise, "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, THERE AM I IN THE MIDST OF THEM," and again, "And, lo, I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS, even unto the end of the age." The PAROUSIA is the PRESENCE OF HIS GLORY and the GLORY OF HIS PRESENCE.
This brings us to the second Greek word we shall consider - APOKALUPSIS. This word has been translated in the Bible by various English words such as lighten, revelation, manifestation, coming, appearing and revealed. We can easily understand how the translators could use such a variety of word-meanings to describe the word APOKALUPSIS, but it was not really because APOKALUPSIS held various shades of meaning in the original tongue. To know the past of an individual helps us to understand him better. To know the life history of a word makes its present meaning clearer and more nearly unforgettable.
In English, for instance, the word rostrum is defined as a place where one stands in giving a speech. But originally this Latin word meant "a bird's beak," such as the beak of a hawk or sparrow. But now this meaning does not even enter one's mind when he hears or reads the word. In the days when Rome was a world power naval vessels were constructed with long sharp prows for ramming enemy ships. Because of the appearance, it came to be known as "the bird's beak," and this portion of the vessel was considered a trophy of war. The captured rostrum was taken to the Coliseum at the time a victorious commander went there to receive the acclaim of the people, and he would stand in the rostrum to receive his trophy and to give his speech.
The Greek word APOKALUPSIS is a derivative of APOKALUPTO. APOKALUPTO is a compound word composed of APO, meaning "off" or "away," and KALUPTO, meaning "to cover up." Thus APOKALUPSIS means to take the cover off, to uncover, unveil, reveal or disclose. It implies the drawing away or removal of everything that veils or hides, and therefore it is always opposed to concealment or secrecy, as in the following passage: "There is nothing covered that shall not be revealed (uncovered)" (Mat. 10:26). Our English word "revelation" has become for many a word that signifies a strange belief or some far-out-doctrine, which should be handled as something delusive and dangerous, and avoided if possible. But this is just the opposite from the biblical meaning of the word, and the consideration we need to give to that which is revealed. That which is uncovered is no more a mystery, nor can it any longer be a threat. It is open to view, whether positive or negative, and can be considered without fear since it is no longer shrouded in darkness or mystery.
In the following texts the word related to our Lord's appearing is from either the Greek APOKALUPSIS or APOKALUPTO. "Even so shall it be in the day when the Son of man is REVEALED" (Lk. 17:30). "The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be REVEALED in us" (Rom. 8:18). "So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the COMING (unveiling; revealment) of our Lord Jesus Christ" (I Cor. 1:7). "To you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be REVEALED from heaven... in flaming fire ... when He shall come to be glorified in His saints" (II Thes. 1:7-10). "That the trial of your faith ... might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the APPEARING of Jesus Christ" (I Pet. 1:7). "Hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the REVELATION of Jesus Christ" (I Pet. 1:13). "Rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when His glory shall be REVEALED, ye might be glad also with exceeding joy" (I Pet. 4:13). "The REVELATION of Jesus Christ (Rev. 1:1). "For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the MANIFESTATION (unveiling; revealment) of the sons of God" (Rom. 8:19).
Only by REVELATION, UNVEILING can we know the Christ of God or behold Him in His ineffable glory. When the light of the Holy Spirit shines in, the mists that have hung like a cloud over our minds, obscuring the King in His beauty, are cleared away. Then the realities which were once unseen become clearly visible and that which was once seen through a glass darkly is now seen face to face and that which was once known only in part is now known as we are known. The word "unveiling" is certainly the clearest possible translation of the word APOKALUPSIS. On the basis of this "unveiling" of our wonderful Christ, we may, then, expect the APOKALUPSIS to be understood not as a matter of His COMING, but merely of SEEING. It is not at all a question of our Lord making some change in location, as "coming" from high heaven back down into the atmosphere of this planet; it is, rather, the matter of Him who is already present with and within us BECOMING UNVEILED - uncovered, disclosed, revealed in the power of the Holy Spirit that we may truly BEHOLD HIM in the fullness of Himself. It would be one thing for you to "feel a presence" in your room, but something greater should that presence become visible, so that you SEE CLEARLY what was once veiled in obscurity.
Since APOKALUPSIS means to reveal, or unveil, there must be something to unveil or which may be unveiled. That something must be PRESENT or it cannot be unveiled; and it must be hidden from sight or it cannot be disclosed. This is exactly what we have shown in foregoing articles concerning the Lord Jesus, namely, that He is PRESENT and that He is hidden from sight of the natural eye because "the Lord is that Spirit." But, praise God, we are now to find that His invisible presence, parousia, is to be revealed, disclosed, uncovered, unveiled, and that, too, to the whole world in due season. Are we looking for a so-called "second coming" of the Lord? Emphatically we are NOT looking into the sky for such a thing BUT, most emphatically, we ARE looking forward for the disclosure, uncovering, revealing of the Lord NOW PRESENT BUT HIDDEN in Spirit form. Truly, the APOKALUPSIS of Jesus Christ is a yet future vision for the great mass of Christians as well as for the world, and to all of us there is yet much to be unveiled.
Retaining the foregoing in mind, let us now note briefly the following scriptures. "We greatly rejoice ... that the trial of your faith ... might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing (apokalupsis, disclosure, uncovering, revelation, unveiling, manifestation) of Jesus Christ" (I Pet. 1:6-7). Prayerful pondering of this scripture is all that is needed to grasp the meaning of the honor and glory that shall be ours, not in being caught up into the starry skies out of the trials which produce the honor and glory, nor in Jesus coming riding upon a cloud in the upper atmosphere, but when He is UNVEILED TO THE WHOLE WORLD IN HIS MANY-MEMBERED BODY OF SAINTS bringing deliverance to the entire groaning creation through the manifestation of His grace, glory and power which shall yet bring a larger measure of life and immortality to light through the gospel.
Again, "So that ye come behind in no gift, waiting for the coming (apokalupsis) of our Lord Jesus Christ" (I Cor. 1:7). Ah, we are waiting for the marvelous apokalupsis, disclosure, unveiling of Jesus Christ, that which transcends HIS GIFTS, wonderful as they are, as He manifests the fullness of the Son of God and His great, many-membered Christ body, but we are no longer gazing into the sky for His so-called "second coming" at some indefinite future date. Praise God, we are beholding the handiwork of our God on every hand today as He moves the nations like pawns on a chess board in mighty preparation for the closing events of this age and the ushering in of the more glorious age to come.
The great Italian sculptor, Benvenuto Cellini, told of receiving a block of marble with one flaw. Because of this flaw, no artist would submit a design - except one. In the public square of Florence a fence was built around that piece of marble, and a little shack was erected for the artist. For two years the sculptor labored. Then on a certain day a vast multitude of the citizens of Florence assembled in the public square; the fence was torn down, and the shack was taken away. At this unveiling all of Florence beheld the result and marveled. Since then, Italy and all the world has marveled at Michelangelo's "David". In that block of marble was a statue; others did not see it, but Michelangelo did. And, precious friend of mine, in the lump of clay which is you, the almighty Father sees an image too - the image of Jesus Christ! And God is working unceasingly and tirelessly to form the image of His Son in you. No truth has come with more soul-gripping force and power to the elect of the Lord than the beautiful hope of sonship to God. Well indeed may we yield ourselves into the hands of heaven's skilled sculptor that HE may form His Son in us, for the mind of omniscience has ordained that that sonship should be the HOPE OF ALL CREATION. It is for sonship that the whole creation groans in a sort of universal travail while it eagerly waits to see the glorious sight of the sons of God coming into their own (Rom. 8:22-23).
Oh! God unveil our minds, unveil your word, unveil your great and eternal purpose, unveil yourself, unveil your glory, unveil the mysteries of your kingdom. Take away the veil from our eyes. Let us consider for a moment the holy hope spoken of by the apostle Paul when he penned these soul enthralling words, "Even the mystery which hath BEEN HID FROM AGES AND FROM GENERATIONS, but now is manifest to His saints ... which is CHRIST IN YOU THE HOPE OF GLORY" (Col. 1:26-27). The glory spoken of here is not heaven as has been generally supposed, but SONSHIP. That is the highest and most glorious glory that God has ever given or ever will give. "The glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them," said Jesus (Jn. 17:22). "Whom He did foreknow He also did predestinate to be conformed to the IMAGE OF HIS SON, that He might be the firstborn among MANY BRETHREN. Moreover, whom He did predestinate them He also called, and whom He called He also justified, and whom He justified He GLORIFIED" (Rom. 8:29-30). This is glory; this is glorification; this is SONSHIP. The only hope of sonship, the only hope of glory, is for Jesus Christ, the Son of God, to dwell in you and control and order every step of your life. "As many as are led BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD, THEY ARE THE SONS OF GOD." Christ in you is the hope of glory. Christ in me is the hope of glory. Not Christ in the sky or Christ in Jerusalem. Sonship is not what I am, but WHAT HE IS. Sonship is not what Christ is APART FROM ME, but what HE IS IN ME. Sonship is Christ FORMED IN ME, REVEALED IN ME.
There is yet another act of God that transcends by far anything that has ever been known. It is the REVELATION, the UNVEILING of Jesus Christ. It is the REVELATION and UNVEILING of the sons of God. The last book of the Bible is called, significantly, the REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST. It is interesting to note that when we come to the sixth verse of the first chapter it speaks of how HE "hath made US kings and priests unto God." As the revelation progresses with THE CHRIST always as the central figure, we next find Him standing IN THE MIDST OF THE SEVEN GOLDEN CANDLESTICKS with a special message and call to the OVERCOMERS out of these various churches. Thus, in the unveiling of Jesus Christ, we also come to the UNVEILING OF THE OVERCOMERS - those who eat WITH HIM of the tree of life, live WITH HIM free from corruption and death, share WITH HIM a new name, rule WITH HIM over the nations, walk WITH HIM in resplendent white, dwell WITH HIM in the city and temple of God, and sit WITH HIM upon the Father's throne from whence He rules over all the vastnesses of infinity for evermore! And so, through the book, again and again, we see this many-spliendored unveiling - THE SON and the sons, THE LAMB and those with Him on Mount Zion, THE WORD and they that are with Him who are called, and chosen and faithful. Time would fail to speak of the two witnesses, the woman clothed with the sun, the manchild caught up to the throne, the bride of the Lamb, etc.; but all are facets of this unfolding revelation of THE CHRIST and His anointed ones, His many brethren, prepared as salvation unto all the ends of the earth.
There is coming a day when all the glories of the Son of God will be revealed and manifested in the sons of God. With a heart of understanding and a spirit bright with the hope of God's eternal purpose the apostle penned these meaningful words, "...it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by His grace, to REVEAL (apokalupto.; unveil) HIS SON I-N ME" (Gal. 1:15-16). As one has written, "Let us open our hearts that God may speak to us and show us what a son of God really is, for the greater works (Jn. 14:12) of which Jesus spoke are not to be performed by ordinary believers, but by THAT VAST FAMILY OF SONS who are now nearing the hour of manifestation. They are that chosen company, selected from many ages, who through fires and furnaces of affliction have been brought into that same glorious IMAGE OF JESUS CHRIST. These sons of God are LIKE HIM. They are EXACTLY like Him. They are IN HIS IMAGE (Rom. 8:29). They are IN HIS IMAGE AND AFTER HIS LIKENESS. They are so completely SONS OF GOD and so completely LIKE HIM, so completely BORN OF HIM, so completely OF HIS MIND and WILL and PURPOSE their one difference is that He (the blessed Jesus) IS THE ELDEST IN THAT VAST FAMILY OF SONS and they with Him are THE BRIDEGROOM, the LAST ADAM IN ALL HIS COMPLETENESS" -The Page.
With all emphasis I must declare that we are now hastening toward the hour of the long awaited UNVEILING of the sons of God. For many millenniums all creation has groaned and sighed under the thralldom of sin and sorrow and death, but our heavenly Father had a purpose wonderful and glorious beyond words to express when IN HOPE He subjected the whole creation to the desolation of the curse. "For the creation was subjected to frailty - to futility, condemned to frustration - not because of some intentional fault on its part, but by the will of HIM who so subjected it. Yet WITH THE HOPE that creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and corruption and gain an entrance into the glorious freedom of God's children" (Rom. 8:20-21, Amplified). Ever since that day and because of that hope which springs perennial within the bosom of every man and all things, "...the whole creation waits expectantly and longs earnestly for God's sons to be made known - waits for the revealing (apokalupsis), the disclosing of their sonship" (Rom. 8:19, Amplified). Everything is gathered before an UNVEILING. Everyone is in expectation. All the people are gathered then finally the great moment comes when the veil is removed and the statue (or whatever it is) is brought into view. What a day!
The blood, the sword, the fire, the cross, and the dealings of the Holy Spirit have not been working in us through these many years in order to make us ready for a harp in heaven. It has been in order to prepare us to be an habitation of God through the Spirit. And, Why? In order that the hour would come that Christ Himself once fully formed in us, would be able to be manifested not only in His works and gifts, but IN HIS PERSON. Until now we have manifested the works of God through the gifts of God, we have witnessed to what salvation has done for us, but now God wants us to be the revelation of HIMSELF. The gifts and the works were only to bring us to the Person. The hour is upon us when there must be a full and complete UNVEILING of the Person of Jesus Christ through us. For years we have been saying: "If the world could only see the works of God!" Well, we have shown them His works and it was not the answer, for so often the works, the signs and wonders and miracles, fascinated the eyes of the curious and blessed the people's flesh, but did not impart unto them the glory of the Son of God. God did not save the world by works, He saved the world by a Person. "These were written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name" (Jn. 20:31). This life which comes by believing IS A PERSON. "I AM the life," says Jesus (Jn. 14:6). And the book of Revelation is not the book of the revelation of powers hidden through the ages, or the book of the revelation of historical or future events, but it is the book of the UNVEILING OF JESUS CHRIST. All through the book we see Jesus Christ. In the faithful witness, in His coming in clouds of witnesses, in His presence in the midst of the candlesticks, in the Lamb, in the 144,000, in the manchild, in the city, in the temple, in the throne - all is the flowing out of HIMSELF. Of course, when you have Him in all of His glory, majesty and Person, automatically you have His works. If He is who He is, He can open every seal, perfect His body, judge the nations, manifest His mighty power, deliver creation, and restore all into Himself again.
Is it not a miracle that God is bringing us to this hour when there is that awareness in us that there must be an unveiling, a revelation, an indwelling and expression and manifestation of a Person? "Blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears, for they hear," the Spirit testifies. It should not be difficult for even the least of saints to understand that this is the answer to all the world's needs. For this purpose the people of God have been going through all the dealings and processings of God, particularly during the last few years, in order that Christ may be fully formed in them. In order that God would have a people through whom He can manifest Himself without inhibition, without limitation, without any hindering of the full flow of Himself, so that it will be the full manifestation of His love, grace, power, life, salvation and deliverance to all humanity. A people no longer conscious of His gifts - wonderful though His gifts are but conscious of GOD HIMSELF. Not proclaiming the works, but unveiling the Lord Himself as life, light and love. This is once more "God manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit" (I Tim. 3:16).
I cannot emphasize too strongly that the unveiling and revelation that is coming through the sons of God to one another and to the people of the world will be, and is, the REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF. God purposed to save the world, not by sending salvation, but by sending A SAVIOUR, who becomes our salvation. Salvation is merely a by product of A SAVIOUR. "The Lord is become my salvation" (Ps. 118:14). "The Lord is our light and our salvation." He not only sends light through some inspiration from the scriptures, but Jesus Christ who IS the light of the world BECOMES OUR LIGHT. This is the realm of which it is said, "When that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away" (I Cor. 13:10). Now we understand the exhortation, "Be ye therefore perfect as your Father in heaven IS PERFECT" (Mat. 5:48). Christ is the perfect One, the express image of the Father, therefore the coming of the perfect is the coming of Jesus Christ Himself the unveiling and revelation and manifestation of the Christ of God.
When that which is perfect is come, when Christ Himself is come and has BECOME our light and our salvation and our strength and our joy and our all in all, then all divisions are gone and everything that separates from one another. Light from the scriptures separates because one may have more light than another, but when Christ Himself is our light and our life, He brings unity. There is no division, separation or fragmentation in the unveiling of Christ. "Is Christ divided?" (I Cor. 1:13). When CHRIST is revealed the army of Joel goes forward and nobody breaks ranks and nobody thrusts one another, because they have found their union IN HIM. As long as our union is in our state of development it is based, for example, on the same experience of salvation, the baptism in the Spirit, or light from the scriptures. But when we were Fundamentalists rejoicing in our experience of salvation we would still fight! Or, if our union is based on the same expression of divine healing, or deliverance, or speaking in tongues, or church government, or water baptism, is it not true that we would still quibble. When our union is in CHRIST and in HIM becoming our all in all, then all ground for pride and self and division is gone. "If any man be IN CHRIST, he is a new creation" (I Cor. 5:17). This is the unity Jesus prayed for: "I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one" (Jn. 17:23). O may God bring to full expression this great mystery of the indwelling Christ. It is such a marvelous mystery that we cannot comprehend it.
Up to this present time we have had a revelation, but mostly of His gifts and works. Oh, occasionally there would be a bright shining of His presence and in the midst of the activity you could see His face. But practically everybody who has had a vision of God's Christ has only seen His face. When John saw Him in the book of Revelation, he did not just see His face, but he could describe His head and His hairs white as snow, His eyes as a flame of fire, His voice as the sound of many waters, His right hand holding seven stars, His mouth out of which proceeded a two-edged sword, His countenance as the sun shining in its strength, yes, he could even tell you about His feet which were like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace. Ah, my beloved brethren, the revelation of Jesus Christ has only been in part so far. We know in part, and we prophesy in part, but in these last days there must come AN UNVEILING of the whole Christ. Christ must be seen in all of His glory, in the whole of His body, in a full and marvelous unveiling of Himself. This old world will not end in tragedy some dark night when sin sweeps in like a flood and the devil is winning. NO! History does not end in failure. I have read the last chapter. With the eyes of faith and revelation I have beheld the final act, the closing drama. All of human history will be consummated with the full and complete revelation of the Person of Jesus Christ in His overcoming body as salvation and light and life unto all creation. Press on, saints! We are on the winning side!
Jesus Christ Himself is the Son of God because in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Col. 2:9). But I do not hesitate to add that the fullness of the Godhead that dwells in Christ our Lord has not yet been UNVEILED before our wondering eyes. In his letter to the saints at Colosse, the apostle Paul begins in the second chapter, saying, "That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; IN WHOM ARE HID all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."
ALL - not merely some - of the rich and valued treasures of wisdom and knowledge are contained in Christ. Therefore any search for them outside of HIM is doomed to failure. The deep meaning of Paul's words is that in the Christ is stored up all the divine treasures of wisdom and knowledge - not PARTIAL wisdom, not a few FRAGMENTS of knowledge but ALL - the fullness of all things dwells in Him. It is not necessary to go elsewhere, investigating human systems and sciences, eastern philosophies or man-made religions, to gain either wisdom or knowledge. All these are embodied in JESUS CHRIST. They are "hidden" in Christ as in a treasure house - but in the sense that they are so concealed that they can be shared by those who are willing to make the effort to secure them. "Those that seek shall find," is the law of the Kingdom. More and more fully can Christ be known. Larger and larger are those priceless stores which must be sought and can be found IN HIM. No other revelation of God is needed, but in Christ are boundless riches yet undiscovered even by the very elect.
"So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous ... and preserveth the way of His saints" (Prov. 2:2-8).
Our God delights to conceal a thing as well as reveal it. Part of the route Jesus walked on earth was the path of "concealment." Rather than bursting forth upon the scene in unbridled omnipotence to silence all His enemies, divine wisdom caused Him to withdraw from their midst, to walk in solitude, to be humbled, esteemed as nothing, mocked and ridiculed, rejected of men. As someone has pointed out, there is in our God a glorious humility which is in tremendous contrast to the ego of man. Man continually wants to be seen and heard, seeking positions of power and prominence, yet our great Creator hides Himself, so that men will have to "SEEK the Lord, if haply they might feel after Him, and find Him, though He be not far from everyone of us: for in Him we live, and move, and have our being" (Acts 17:27-28).
Long centuries ago the patient patriarch Job testified, "Behold, I go forward, but He is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive Him: on the left hand, where He doth work, but I cannot behold Him: He hideth Himself on the right hand, that I cannot see Him: but He knoweth the way that I take: and when He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold" (Job. 23:8-10).
Ray Prinzing penned the following words which I feel certain bear eloquent testimony to the experience of us all. "There are many other times when we go seeking God, for a clearer revelation of Him, to 'feel' His presence, and develop more of a God-consciousness, and I dare say, He seems not to be found. HE HAS CONCEALED HIMSELF. And though we run to this meeting and that meeting, phone this preacher, and write to another to see if there is a 'word for us,' all of our chasing and beating the air is an exercise in futility - and then we settle down, to say, 'I cannot see Him. BUT He knoweth the way that I take...' For the moment I do not know where HE IS, but He knows where I am - and when HE has tried ME, I will come forth as gold - because HE will perfect that which concerneth me. Bless His holy name!
"ALL THE TIME HE KNOWS WHERE WE ARE! 'Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do' (Heb. 4:13). And it becomes a WALK OF FAITH to know that when HE has hidden Himself, still it is IN HIM that we live, and move, and have our being, and that He continues to draw us onward by His grace, even during those times we are not consciously aware that something is being changed within us. And I dare say, as one man expressed it, 'Sometimes His silence is awesome.' But whether it is a time of silence, or a time of the inflow of life and revelation and keener spiritual awareness, in either case, we can say, all is well, because we are HIS, and HE knows the way that we take. 'I will wait upon the Lord, that HIDETH HIS FACE from the house of Jacob, and I will look for Him. Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given Me for signs and wonders in Israel from the lord of hosts, which dwelleth in Mount Zion' (Isa. 8:17-18). 1 WILL WAIT, because He is hidden, but I will also continue to look for Him - 'Unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation' (Heb. 9:28). And then, without a pause, the prophet goes right on - BEHOLD - the very word challenges us to SEE! But what is it that is to come OUT OF HIDING? God was not idle when He was concealed. HE had been busy reproducing Himself in secret. And now says, 'Behold, I AND THE CHILDREN' which are to be for SIGNS AND WONDERS. Yea, they are the demonstration and manifestation of what HIS GRACE shall do in all of creation, as 'IN CHRIST shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order' (I Cor. 15:22-23). -end quote.
The apostle Paul taught us, "For as far as this world is concerned you have died, and your new, real life is HID WITH CHRIST IN GOD" (Col. 3:3-4, Amplified). The awesome potential and unfathomable fullness of our new life is HID with Christ in God, so do not be surprised if you are not able to display the power and glory of this new life on all occasions. Were you to be a blazing revelation of that life to all men NOW, it would wreck the wonderful purpose of His hiding in you. There are seasons when the Lord's people are gathered together, and in times of holy meditation, contemplation, prayer, praise, and seeking, when the Spirit of God moves in an unusual manner, there are glimpses into the hidden realms in God. But when we return to the routine of the day, and the monotony of every day living, where the world beholds us, is it not true that the vast majority of our associates are completely unaware of our identity. The life of God within is veiled, and they see you, but there is no comeliness nor spectacular manifestation so that they flock to you to see what you have. You may rejoice all you will in your sonship, but chances are the world about is no more conscious that you are a son of God than were they that the "firstborn" was God's beloved Son. "He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world KNEW HIM NOT" (Jn. 1:10). How we have yearned to manifest the fullness of that life concealed within our earthen vessel! Oh, yes, we often would like to appear before men in glory NOW. We would show them how spiritual we are, putting on such a display of power and glory until their eyeballs would sizzle and every mouth would be stopped and all would bow low in reverence before us, acknowledging that God is in us of a truth. We would let them see what great and mighty sons of God we are! But this very attitude reveals the fact that we are not fully DEAD to self with all of its ego and pride. And to try and manifest that which GOD HAS HIDDEN for its own germination, protection, growth and development, only results in a psuedo-spirituality, and can indeed cause the abortion of that "holy thing" which has been impregnated within. So HE continues to sanctify us, separating us from the world, from the flesh, from self and it is by the inworking of HIS CROSS which purifies, separating the precious from the vile. There are, praise God, those times of refreshing given to the saints when we do manifest out of that "in part" development of His life, but it ever falls short of HIS FULLNESS, and even then God draws again the veil, so that His inner work may continue and not be hindered by the attention of the outer-world.
The mystery of Christ is the greatest mystery of all the ages, this mystery which is "Christ in you, the hope of glory." HIS LIFE hidden now within us shall totally transform us, spirit, soul and body. HIS LIFE shall not forever be concealed within, for I testify to you that we are soon to see it unfold. "When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in the splendor of His glory" (Col. 3:4, Amplified). Ah - there shall be A REVELATION, AN UNVEILING of His life, His glory, His people, and because we have long been hidden IN HIM, we shall also share in that revelation - partakers of the divine glory. When all the mixture of flesh and spirit manifest through us in gross confusion, kingdom building, Babylon personified, has been sifted, purged, separated and brought to death because we share the awesome "fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death," then shall HIS LIFE be finally unfettered, unhindered, unobstructed, and HE SHALL APPEAR in all the fullness of Himself and WE SHALL APPEAR WITH HIM in the splendor of His full-orbed glory! Our life shall not always be hid. He who is our life shall be manifested. Why should we want to be known in this day of His rejection? Let us rest with Him at God's right hand and wait until His time has come. But when His hour strikes, then our time will have come - and He will not be glorified apart from us!
The book of Revelation opens with the statement: "The Revelation of Jesus Christ." The word "revelation" comes from the Latin REVELATIO, an unveiling. The Greek word is APOKALUPSIS, the removing of a veil. By transliteration APOKALUPSIS is our word "apocalypse." The Revelation is the apocalypse or the unveiling of Jesus Christ. Many Christians would object strenuously if we said that the book of Revelation was anything other than a REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST just as it declares itself to be and, yet, the whole content of the book has been and is still shrouded in a veil of highly symbolic language that has defied the understanding of natural men for centuries, and to the most spiritually minded much of its real meaning is still partially hidden, although, with the increasing light of the Holy Spirit of Truth shining upon its pages, we have been entering into more and more of its hidden truths, howbeit, we have yet much to learn of the full and complete vision.
Now, we have already pointed out that that which is to be revealed, unveiled, or disclosed must BE PRESENT, else it is impossible to disclose or uncover it. If this book with all of its mystifying language and symbolism, is an APOKALUPSIS, revelation, disclosure, uncovering, unveiling, manifestation of JESUS CHRIST, then it follows that He must be present, not coming in a future sense as to distance, but here and now present although His presence, parousia, is veiled, hidden from our natural sight. Did He not say, "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age?" If, then, we are to understand THIS revelation, disclosure, uncovering, unveiling, apokalupsis of Jesus Christ, it must be only as the Holy Spirit unlocks our understanding to this wonderful book and the realities of its message. This is just what has been and is taking place as the light of His invisible presence shines into our darkened minds and brings to us a revelation, a disclosure, an unveiling, an apokalupsis of Jesus Christ and our hearts are made to exult and marvel at the wonders of our God.
"The Revelation of Jesus Christ..." This significant statement at the very beginning of this book, is the inspired key to all the contents which follow. This is not merely a revelation of historical or endtime events, but the unveiling of a Person CHRIST. In fact, one of the reasons that the book of Revelation has been so misunderstood is because men have thought it was the unveiling of events that are in the future. It is not the unveiling of events but the unveiling of a Person who has not yet been seen in all of His glory and beauty. Today He is like a statue that has the veil put over it, awaiting the day when the veil shall be removed and He shall be seen in all of His glory.
It is the thought of some that the Revelation is a book filled only with that which is frightful and sensational. There are figures of wild beasts, monstrous creatures; there are convulsions of nature, thunders and lightnings and earthquakes; there are trumpets of judgment and bowls of wrath. But all of these are incidental. They are the freaks one sees in the side show. The main event is THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST. This unveiling is the central truth, the primary meaning and prevailing purpose of this book.
Actually, at Christ's coming in the flesh two millenniums ago He was not revealed rather He was concealed. "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us," John said. The Word (Christ) was made flesh, taking upon Himself the tabernacle, or tent, of flesh. Just as God had manifested Himself back in the Old Testament through a tabernacle, with all sorts of coverings and curtains that shut man out from Him, so the Lord Jesus came in a tabernacle of flesh. He was put in the concealing wraps of a human body. God was not revealed when Christ came the first time, except in measure to a few - a Simeon, a Simon Peter, and a small company of followers. It still can be said, "No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him." Christ, when He came in flesh, declared God; He exegeted Him, explained Him, let Him out in the open where, for the first time, one can see the heart of God. Yet we have not seen GOD. The coming of Jesus was not the revelation of Jesus Christ. The unveiling of Jesus Christ is set forth in the New Testament as a hope and reality unto which God's elect is still moving.
Peter admonishes us, "Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you AT THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST" (I Pet. 1:13). Without a doubt, we cannot comprehend THE ABUNDANCE OF GRACE which shall be brought to us and to all men, at the revelation of Jesus Christ. This present age has been an age of IN-PART manifestations during which all spiritual manifestations, including the gifts of the Spirit, have been IN-PART. Although this present age has been referred to as the age of grace, nevertheless even grace has been in part. But when Christ appears and is fully revealed or unveiled, then GRACE SHALL COME TO A GREATER FULLNESS. Praise God! Methinks that the real age of grace has not even begun yet, as the apostle says, "That in the AGES TO COME He might show the exceeding RICHES OF HIS GRACE in His kindness toward us through Jesus Christ" (Eph. 2:7).
Understood as THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST and immediately the book is changed from a history book to a SPIRITUAL BOOK relating the progressive unfolding of the very victory and triumph of the Christ of God. The saints have heard the term "apocalypse" and it conjures up ideas of the wrath of God, tribulation, destruction and the end of the world. Yet the word APOKALUPSIS from which our English word "apocalypse" is derived, carries no negative connotation in the Greek. Our word "revelation" is likewise the Greek word APOKALUPSIS. The whole book of Revelation is the Apocalypse that is so important to us. It is the revealing of Jesus Christ. If we try to read and understand Revelation without knowing that Jesus Christ is intimately involved, we will spend all our time trying to understand and explain facts, such as: How many horses are there, and what colors are they? Why are they running? Who is the woman sitting on the beast? Who is the antichrist? What does the number 666 mean? And we miss THE REVELATION! We realize that all these concepts are symbolic And represent SPIRITUAL REALITIES, but the importance of the book is its purpose - the unveiling of God's Christ.
Each part of the record, of the woes, thunders, vials, beasts, in all their sundry and various situations, are all to serve but one purpose, and are allowed to exist for one end, namely, to BRING FORTH A REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST. And this revelation comes to its magnificent conclusion when He that sits upon the throne proclaims the wonderful fiat: "Behold, I MAKE ALL THINGS NEW" (Rev. 21:5). The Revelation is the unveiling of Jesus Christ. In, by and during that unveiling, many things are made to appear in the true light. That means that all the evil things which appear do so BECAUSE of the true light, and in THAT LIGHT they are made to appear in their true character: JUST WHAT THEY ARE. It is the LIGHT OF THE LAMB which causes that to be so. Both in the Glorious City and in the book itself, "THE LAMB IS THE LIGHT THEREOF." For He is the true light which lights all men, coming into the world. Now He comes into the world, and the world was made by Him, and saved by Him, and the world SHALL KNOW HIM - as the whole Bible teaches God's objective to be. And He will come to His own and they will receive Him, FOR THAT IS THE NEW COVENANT.
One can never understand correctly the book of Revelation if his eyes are engaged with some side issue. The unveiling of "the beast" and his "image" are side issues. That is, they are unveiled as the RESULT of the flooding light issuing forth from God's blessed Lamb. In that true light of God, the negative realm appears AS IT IS, for what it is, in order that it may be duly brought to judgment, dealt, with and eradicated from our lives. The fiercest beast I have ever known in my life was the beast of old Adam's nature, the carnal mind, the seed of the serpent lurking within my own bosom. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? How I praise God with joy unspeakable and full of glory for the penetrating light of heaven's Lamb which uncovers the subtleness and deceitfulness of this wild beast, the bestial nature lumbering about in MY EARTH! It is not the uncovering of these evils which throws light on the Lamb. The unveiling of the Lamb, as the Word of God, the Spirit of righteousness and wisdom and glory, the King and LORD of creation exposes all that is not of God, that it might be once and for all dethroned from mind, heart and action. As the daylight destroys and removes the darkness - in the very nature of things - so the unveiling of Jesus Christ is the light of the knowledge of the glory of God destroying, removing, swallowing up the power of the flesh, the world and the devil IN US. The daylight FILLS the world just as truly as the night darkness ever did. Even so, the light of God shall fill the world, our world, and the world outside of us as truly as the darkness of sin, sorrow and death has done. Before it is all over, every creature in heaven, earth and hell shall have had a revelation of the Son of God.
Thank God! the "apocalypse" is a thing of rarest beauty and divine majesty rather than a frightening, dreadful and fearful time as the preachers proclaim. True, not all the uncovering is glorious at the time, the woes and thunders are fearful experiences, and the occurrences of the beast and the dragon, with their rise and fall, are shuddering to the natural mind, but viewed from the position that all is the consequence of HIS UNVEILING, and results in a new heaven and a new earth, indeed ALL THINGS NEW, so overwhelms and enthralls us that we can but respond in glad unison with the revered Seer of Patmos, "EVEN SO, COME! LORD JESUS."
The book of Revelation sets before us a glorious Person, with the veil removed from Him, and with the veil removed from our eyes so that we may look upon Him and see with the beloved John that the important things are:
1. The Judge - not the judgments.
2. The Lamb - not the dragon.
3. The Seven Spirits of God - not the spirits of devils.
4. The Rider on the White Horse Who has Four Names - not the four horses.
5. The Throne of God - not the seat of the beast.
6. The Lion of the Tribe of Judah - not the beast out of the sea.
7. The Faithful and True Witness - not the false prophet.
8. The 144,000 Sons of God on Mount Zion - not the beast out of the earth.
9. Those who have The Father's Name on their Forehead - not the mark of the beast.
10. The New Jerusalem - not the city Babylon.
11. The Bride of the Lamb - not the harlot riding the beast.
12. The Glory of God - not the darkness that covers the earth.
13. The Unveiling of Jesus Christ - not the antichrist.
There is a dimension of the revelation of Jesus Christ that transcends the speaking of words, the writing of books, and the preaching of sermons. The unveiling of Jesus Christ is the need of the hour and the hope of creation. If God does not give a special ministration of the spirit of wisdom, righteousness and power to meet the need of creation, it will not be met. There are no buttons to press that can deliver mankind from the power of sin and death or solve the complex and frightening problems that exist in the world today. The further we move in God the more helpless and totally empty we become, for our nothingness is magnified in the light of HIS GLORY.
The hour for the unveiling of God's Christ is at hand. May God grant to each of his apprehended ones the understanding that from this time on God is not interested in the little "blessings" He has bestowed on you. From now on it must be "WHEN CHRIST WHO IS OUR LIFE SHALL APPEAR..." If there is a mind in us, it must be the mind of Christ, not our religious mind that has been cultivated through the years until it is devoted and full of the Bible and stayed on God. From now on it must not stayed on God, it must be HIS MIND IN YOU. What we have witnessed to for work of God, His salvation in us, His peace in us, His victory in us, how a product of the work of God; but God's purpose is not that we shall be a the work of God, but that there shall come a revelation of a Person, that will be Christ. It will not be a revelation about God, but the UNVEILING OF GOD IN US.
Are you willing, my brother, my sister, to have nothing but the PERSON? Are you willing to lay aside the gifts and the blessings and forget the experience to have the Person? The hoary headed old prophet, Simeon, took up the baby Jesus in His arms and declared: "Mine eyes have seen Thy salvation." The salvation He saw was not a blessing or an experience, it was THE BABY. What the Spirit is saying is that God must have a people in whom the Lord is BECOMING rather than DOING. That is what the manifestation of the sons of God is, that is what the revelation of Jesus Christ is, and there will never be a revelation of Jesus Christ if all I can talk about is His gifts and His blessings and His works. His works are not Him - HE IS A PERSON. Paul said, "It pleased God to reveal His Son in me," not, "It pleased God to reveal His gifts through me and give me some great experiences." And when he prayed, "My little children, of whom I travail in birth till Christ be formed in you," Paul did not mean that they should receive a little more cleansing with the blood, a little greater anointing in the gifts, die a little more death and so on. There came an hour when Paul knew that the works of the Lord would not be sufficient, but that the LORD HIMSELF had to be put on in all fullness, so that instead of having a revelation of the acts of God, there would be THE UNVEILING OF JESUS CHRIST.
"Blessed Father! let it be so in us. Let Christ be fully formed in me and in all who read these lines, and in all the elect body of Christ. Lord, let the work of doing for us come to an end, until it shall be Christ formed in us. Mighty God! cause Jesus Christ to become in us our peace, our joy, our salvation, our wisdom, our victory, our power, our life, that from this moment on there shall only be the expression of HIMSELF, the revelation of His own Person and Being and Nature. O God, let that divine Nature, that divine Person of the Son of God be fully manifested in us, that the creation that is groaning for the unveiling of Jesus Christ will see Him unveiled in His body, unveiled in His church, unveiled in His ministry, unveiled in His king-priests, unveiled in His sons, that every eye shall SEE HIM. Amen!"
J. Preston Eby
P.O. Box 371240
El Paso TX 79937-1240
All writings are distributed on a free-will basis.
(Brother Eby does not have e-mail service)