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Sunday Message for October 22, 2006
The Ultimate Plan
First I want to say that this is the last talk on
the dramas of the Bible and the talks about Paul. We are now at the
final and most climactic drama of the Bible, the book called Revelation
which is the Revelation of John. This remarkable piece of literature
has not been an easy book for the Western mind to understand. By
its very nature, it is not to be taken literally. Because we see
right off the bat that it is a vision, not an actual event. John says in
(Revelation 1:10) “I was in the spirit on
the Lord's day.” He then describes his vision of Jesus
as (Revelation 1:15-16)
“his feet were like burnished bronze, refined
as in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of many waters. In his right
hand he held seven stars, and from his mouth came a sharp, two-edged sword,
and his face was like the sun shining with full force.” So we see immediately that John is
talking in metaphor and we need to interpret it spiritually. It’s safe
to say that no other book has had such differing and controversial interpretation.
Revelation is one of two books in the Bible known as apocalyptic literature. The
other is the book of Daniel in the Old Testament. Apocalypse means to
reveal what has been hidden away and kept secret. The word secret gives
us a clue to a meaningful understanding of this extraordinary book, which is
permeated by strange, baffling, mystical, and veiled symbology. In fact,
anyone who doesn’t understand the deeper intention behind the peculiar
and often bizarre imagery of Eastern apocalyptic literature will be at a loss
to understand its real meaning. They, in fact, may fall into the very
trap that was set for all but the initiate.
This brings us to the original purpose for which the book was written. The
growing number of early Christians, made up of Jews, Gentiles and pagans, provoked
a full scale persecution against all Christians. There were eventually
ten Imperial persecutions in which many were beaten, crucified, and burned. The
followers of Jesus Christ were driven underground and became a loosely organized
secret society. It even became punishable by death to possess Christian
literature.
The initial purpose of this apocalypse was to convey a secret message of encouragement
that would be unintelligible, or a diversion to any oppressor who might read
them. In other words, the form of Revelation is that of a cryptogram – a
secret message that needs to be properly decoded.
The book itself was only gradually accepted by the canon of the early church – and
it remained controversial as late as the Reformation – yet it has been
responsible for a considerable part of the so-called fundamentalist doctrine
that has made Christianity a heavy, guilt-obsessed, intrusive religion.
As we explore the underlying message of Revelation, it would be good to remind
ourselves of the qualities Paul listed as (Galatians 5:22) “the fruit of the Spirit” and recognize that the only mark of a true
Christian is how much Christ shines through.
So again, it’s good to remember that the very purpose of the book of
Revelation was to convey a hidden, secret message to those who would know the
mysterious symbology and to conceal it from all those who would not. To
get the real message we have to look at the hidden meaning and not insist on
a literal understanding.
Things of the Spirit must be understood spiritually.
The message of Revelation is communicated in the form of a forecast and aimed
at one of humanity’s deepest needs – the promise of deliverance. This
message is for the whole of humanity; any exclusiveness disappears for those
who have “ears to hear.”
So people have taken this message to all kinds of extremes, far beyond the
original reason for writing the book of Revelation. Some say that this
is an event that will happen in our future. Even with the obvious symbology
in Revelations, they have interpreted it as a literal “end of the world.”
Throughout history they have applied these literal ‘sign of the last
days’ to eras of certain popes, Luther, Napoleon, the Kaiser, Hitler,
Stalin, Mao, and the declining morals of America. So it’s been
a bit embarrassing for the predictors that history keeps postponing these interpretations. But,
it has not stopped them from using this book to instill fear from the pulpit
to recruit and control more converts.
And each person’s world is his perception. It ends with a new awareness – a
process that can seem very distressing to old, entrenched concepts and resistant
feelings.
The predictions will become accurate when they are always current, realizing
that every day is Judgment Day. The message does not concern a specific
historical situation but has a timeless, up-to-the-minute interpretation about
our present level of individual as well as collective spiritual development.
Revelation is the Bible’s cabalistic presentation of the Gospel of Jesus. It
reveals the same “good news,” the same hidden truth that was behind
the teachings, parables, miracles, and the life of Jesus –
the Word made flesh.
Spiritual teachings live by symbols; their deeper meaning can be conveyed no
other way. The message of Jesus is (John 14:6)
“the way, and the truth, and the life” of attaining spiritual union with God. Revelation
unveils the deeper esoteric meaning of the spiritual growth of humanity, showing
what happens as we evolve along the path. It discloses the ultimate plan
for attaining (Philippians 3:14) “the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of
God in Christ Jesus.” The mystery of Revelation is the same
mystery that Paul disclosed in (Colossians 1:25-27)
“to make the word of God fully known, the mystery
that has been hidden throughout the ages which is Christ in you, the hope of
glory.”
The Book of Revelation is: (Revelation 1:1-3) “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave
him to show his servants what must soon take place; for the time is near.” The time is always near. Jesus
began His ministry with the pronouncement: (Matthew 4:17) “the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Truth is forever. The promise
of Jacob’s vision is that on the ladder of life, God forever meets us
wherever we are. As we enter the pathway of spiritual regeneration, the
promise is even more encouraging: Each step of our ever-changing needs will
be fulfilled by the awesome power of spiritual transformation.
So the truth of John’s Revelation – clothed in the symbolism of
striking imagery, visionary figures, presentations of conflict, mythology,
numerology – is the eternal reality of our hope of glory. It is
the evolving stages of our human development, life’s ever-present opportunities
for our growth, the inner conflicts, growing pains and dark nights of the soul,
and the ultimate triumph of God’s Spirit in us. It ends with a
beautiful vision of the ultimate destiny of the world – heaven on earth.
Let’s look at some of Revelation’s symbology and get a feel for
its message. The prologue gives us a visionary introduction to the son
of man (God in man), and centers us first in a symbolic picture
of the qualities of Christhood seen in Jesus Christ. There are the seven golden lampstands, which is spiritual
illumination. Then there is a long robe and golden girdle. This is the
priestly symbols of holiness, wholeness, and completeness. Then he speaks
of white hair, and eyes like a flame of
fire. These are age-old symbols of wisdom and spiritual perspective. John
tells us he had feet like burnished bronze. This
is the stability of a spiritual foundation. Then there are the seven
stars in his right hand, which is the authority of divine sonship
in heaven and on Earth, and the two-edged
sword, which is the sword of spiritual truth, the power of the spoken
word of truth. Then he speaks of the
Alpha and Omega – the first and the last, which is the eternal
I AM nature of the Christ that lives within.
The first act of the seven-act drama consists of a series of seven visions
based on letters to seven churches in Asia. These symbolize rungs on
the ladder of our growth, with a review of their special challenges and a divine
remedy for each. These are the principles to use in various areas of
our own consciousness. Each calls for a drastic change in attitudes. The
acts do not necessarily progress in chronological order. There are the
seven seals, the seven trumpets, the three great portents, the seven plagues,
the overthrow of Babylon, and the new heaven and Earth. Each is a powerful
expression of the road map to the New Jerusalem.
Numbers are important symbols, as they are in the traditions of the cabala – the
Jewish mystery literature. Seven, which is used so often, refers to stages
of fulfillment in the world of phenomena.
Three symbolizes heaven – as in the Trinity; four represents Earth. Their
total, seven, as in the days of creation, is the blending and synthesis of
levels of fulfillment in our Earth life. Twelve means spiritual fulfillment,
like the spiritualized expression of our twelve faculties of soul. And,
twelve times twelve equals 144, the multiplying power of spiritual influence;
adding three zeroes (144,000) symbolizes the infinite intelligence available
to Christ consciousness.
There are many other symbols in Revelation; a lamb, four horses, beasts and
dragons, the throne of God, sickles, stars, gates, hidden manna, a woman and
child, Hades, the river of the water of life, the bride, and the bright and
morning star. Two symbols are given particular emphasis by doomsday religionists,
the Antichrist (the denying of sonship), and the war of Armageddon (the inner
battleground in the war of concepts and ideologies).
The massive information in Revelation is more than almost anyone can assimilate,
but it stands as a body of Truth, ready to unveil life’s spiritual secrets
in all its vistas.
Generally, Revelation can be applied as an encouragement to remain faithful
to the high vision of Jesus Christ and to trust Spirit and its process. It
is telling us to believe in the power of Christ in our lives, in spite of all
appearances. We need to know, that given our willingness, the Spirit of God
in us can transform our lives even when we sometimes give in to the false teachings
that deny the Christ within and get caught up in the earthly power of the outer
manifest world. The breath of spring in this writing is the clear statement:
(Revelation 21:5) “See, I am making all things new." And in God’s universal plan of good, no door
ever closes, no world ever ends, but that there is a newer, better one ready
and waiting.
The last act of Revelation uses another beautiful image to depict the wondrous
glory (which means to experience the awareness of God’s presence) of
the realized kingdom, the New Jerusalem – spiritualized consciousness – and
its ultimate triumph over all that has manifested less than good.
Now as always in our Earth life experience of learning
and growing, we must increasingly look away from all the old Jerusalem
of material bondage to the New Jerusalem of the life from Spirit within.
The basic law of life is progress. It does not have to be painful if
we remember that the old order changes, giving place to new; thus God fulfills
Himself.
REFERENCE: Great Dramas of the Bible William Earle Cameron
SCRIPTURE: Galatians 5:22; John 14:6;
Philippians 3:14; Colossians 1:25-27; Revelation 1:1-3; Matthew 4:17;
Revelation 21:5; Revelation 1:10; Revelation 1:15-16
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Last updated October 22, 2006
