COME UP HITHER
"....Come up hither, and I will show thee things which
must be hereafter.".....Rev. 4: 1.
According to tradition, John, the author of
Revelation,
was the only one of the original
12
disciples of Jesus who was not killed for his faith in the Lord.
He was exiled for his faith
as a prisoner to the Isle of Patmos in the Aegean Sea.
John was a Prophet of God who
described what the Lord showed Him in visions in regard to the future and also hope
for the present.
The Book of Revelation gives present guidance as it teaches about how
we should live for Jesus now.
We see our Lord is coming again and evil will be judged.
As the Apostle John wrote this letter, the Church was undergoing intense persecution.
John
encouraged Christians to be steadfast and faithful as he reminded them of their
future reward with God.
The Book of Revelation unveils Christ's full identity and
God's plan for the end of the world with the focus on Jesus Christ. We must not focus
so much on the details of John's imagery that we miss the main message of the book
-
-
the infinite love, power and justice of the Lord Jesus Christ. We do not have to
understand every detail - -John didn't.
John used graphic images to show us that
Christ is indeed the glorious and victorious Lord of all.
This is to be our focus as
we know the future is in the hands of our Lord and we are on the winning side.
Although he did not have other believers around Him, John was not alone on the
Isle of Patmos. He had the Spirit of the Lord with Him and as a
Minister
of the Lord, he worshipped God in spirit and in truth. Without other church members,
or anyone to encourage Him, John encouraged himself in the Lord as a servant of God.
He knew the secret of ministering unto the Lord and being in his
presence no matter
where he was or regardless of the circumstances around him.
We see John was told by the Lord to, "come up hither" so that the Lord might show him
things which would occur in the future.
Immediately after he heard the Lord's voice
calling Him to come higher unto Him, he was in the spirit of the Lord, as God's Spirit
gave him visions of the events which would come to pass. He beheld a glimpse of God's
Throne and the glory of the Lord as he was shown the plans of God and victory in the
final battle. We notice that John shows us heaven before showing the earthly events,
and the events that are to take place should not be disturbing to a child of God
as our Lord is always in control of all things and righteousness will always win.
The Holy Spirit gave John the visions as he was shown situations and events
one could not see with the natural, human eyesight.
All true prophecy comes
from God through the Holy Spirit, as we see in God's Word.
We are also called to "come up hither" to a higher place with the Lord that
He might speak to our
hearts as He lifts us above the cares of this world.
We are told in Revelation 3 that anyone who hears him calling and opens the
door, He will come in and fellowship with them and they can fellowship with Him.
It is our reasonable service to present ourselves unto the Lord as a living sacrifice.
He desires that we sit at his feet spiritually and learn of Him which begins with going
to the Lord with a sincere heart of love and worship in the beauty of holiness.
In John's day, writing was done on scrolls or rolls which were pieces of papyrus
or vellum up to 30 feet long, rolled up and sealed with clay or wax. The scroll
which John saw contained the full account of what God has in store for the
world, and only Christ could open the Scroll with the seven seals.
The seals
represented or indicated the importance of the
contents and were placed throughout
the Scroll so that as each one was broken, more of the scroll could be read which
revealed another phase of God's plan for the end of the world.
Only the Lion of the Tribe of Judah was worthy to open the scroll and to break or
loose its seven seals as He had conquered and proved himself worthy. When John
looked, He saw a Lamb standing before the 24 Elders in front of the Throne and the
Living Beings and on the Lamb were wounds where He had been slain for
the sins of the world.
As the Lamb took the scroll, the twenty-four elders
fell down and worshipped.
Each had a harp and golden vials filled with
incense, which were the prayers of God's people.
All these things will come to pass as seen by John and as God has planned in his time
table of events for the world. Today is the day of salvation as there is no assurance
of tomorrow and God calls souls to come to Him this very hour.
As we read the Book of Revelations, there is nothing to fear if we are on
the winning side. We can walk with confidence in the future because the Victor,
Christ Jesus, walks with us.
May we also behold the Lord as worthy, and know that He is coming again
just as He has promised, to receive His own and to judge the world so that
his Kingdom on earth can be established in
righteousness.
We can now
boldly go to the "secret place of the Most High God" and seek His face.
We are also called to "come up hither"...... to fellowship with the Lord.
If we choose to dwell in the secret place, we can abide under the shadow of
the Almighty.
God is our Refuge and Fortress. In Him we can trust!
Blessings In Christ,
Jo Ann Kelly (c) 2003
J. P.'s Inspirations
