The
Almighty
Παντοκράτωρ
Revelation
1:8-10
As discussed
last week, Jesus opening statement to John is both powerful and personal—a
familiar phrase used to reunite fast friends. Remember, John, by the leading of
the Holy Spirit, opened the gospel after his name (John), with similar words:
In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, John 1:1. And
then, John 13:1 says: He (Jesus) loved them to the very end.
Revelation 1:8 begins and ends
with powerful statements only God can make. I AM…Almighty.
Almighty; in
Greek: Pantokratōr. Ruler of all the universe, unrestricted power,
absolute dominion.
It’s used ten times in the
New Testament.
Revelation 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3;
16:7; 16:14; 19:6; 19:15; 21:22; 2 Corinthians 6:18.
This is no accident. The Holy Spirit,
Who knows all, purposely placed this one word, Almighty, ten
times; (which represents, completeness) as a treasure, hidden for, not from, us.
The message is clear; this is the Revelation of Jesus Christ, the fullness, the
completeness, the express image, of Almighty God. (Hebrews 1:3).
Nine out of the ten times Almighty
is found in the book of Revelation. A few times it’s used to describe Almighty
God, but most of the time, the word is used in worship. It’s used in
worship by multitudes of people, and angels, and the twenty-four elders, and repeated,
day and night without ceasing, by the four living creatures worshipping around
the throne. “Holy, holy,
holy, is the Lord God Almighty Who was and is and is to come.”
Revelation 4:8.
The only other time,
this word, Almighty is used in the New Testament is in 2 Corinthians 6:18
“I will
be a Father to you,
And you
shall be My sons and daughters,
Says the
Lord Almighty.”
Don’t miss the message. Note how He
ties Father and Almighty together, in one breath.
This should be familiar to us.
For unto
us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His
shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting
Father, Prince of Peace
Isaiah,
9:6
He wants us to know. No matter
how bad it gets. No matter how big the bully. How mad the monster, He is not
only Almighty, but He is our Father.
We can be like the kid on the
playground. “My Dad’s bigger’n your dad. He don’t wanna, but if He’s gotta, my
Dad’ll give your dad a whoopin’.”
Jesus did that. Remember, John
8:38-58. He confronted the scribes and pharisees, told them they were of
their father, the devil, and by His Father, they would be judged.
It’s important to note the
context of our scripture in 2 Corinthians 6:18. Look at the verse just before
it:
17 “Come out
from among them
And be
separate, says the Lord.
Do not
touch what is unclean,
And I
will receive you.”
18 And you
shall be My sons and daughters,
Says the
Lord Almighty.” 2
Corinthians 6:17-18
Again, this is no mistake. This
call to come out, be ye separate, echoes of our study of verse seven, Behold He is Coming; referring
to that day when they see Him Whom they pierced, and separate each one,
alone, by themselves, to mourn. Zechariah
12:12.
It is a call to come out, to be separate, to
be holy, and I will receive you.
A great divide takes place in the
last days—is taking place, now, in these days.
The quarantines, hand washing,
disinfecting—all echo the Spirit of God saying to His Church, Behold, I AM coming. Be ye
separate, be holy for I AM holy.
The call to be separate, to be
pure, reflects the Bride, who makes herself ready adorned and watching and
waiting for her Groom, to come and receive her unto Himself. (Revelation 21:2)
It depicts the Father, who sowed
His son, to reap, many sons and daughters. Which is a direct reference to our
prior study in Hosea
which speaks of the great day when God defeats His enemy, rescues His children and
sets up His earthly kingdom for a thousand-year reign…and forever, and ever,
amen.
In that glorious day, Almighty Jesus King of kings and
Lord of lords will rule and reign, the increase of His government and peace
there will be no end, from that time and forevermore. Hallelujah amen. Isaiah 2:4; Psalm 46:9; Isaiah 9:6-7; Isaiah 11:6-9.
Jesus lovingly and
compassionately opens with: I AM Alpha and Omega. I AM with you always.
I’ll never leave you or forsake you. And, then, He finishes the sentence with
something we desperately need to know. He is Almighty.
We need to know this because of
what is coming next.
Revelation is not for the faint
of heart, sissies or cowards.
There’s lions and tigers and
bears, oh my! There’s beasts and demons and evil. Rivers of blood as high as a
horse’s bridle. War and death. Pain and sorrow. Murder and fury.
John would be scared to death, if
not for knowing, Jesus is Almighty.
Additionally, John needed to hear
this to prepare him to meet Jesus. He’s about to see Jesus much differently
than He remembered Him. Not as a man, but as He is, God Almighty.
Revelation 1:9, I John,
both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of
Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
John, the last living apostle of
Jesus, didn’t consider himself above the others, but humbly
claimed to simply be a brother and companion.
The tribulation he speaks
of is not the Great Tribulation, but the trials and tribulations of serving
Jesus in that day. He was in his nineties, banished to the island of Patmos, a prison
camp; where he likely was subject to hard labor, mining marble.
He also mentions the kingdom
and patience of Jesus Christ. This is a mature balance of faith
and wisdom.
Through the eyes of faith,
John sees, he is not just in the tribulation of a cold, cruel, world, but, more
importantly in the kingdom of Christ. He is able to find peace and endure
hardship as Jesus endured the cross, for the joy, the kingdom, set before him. We
should do the same.
Looking
unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set
before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the
right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2
Notice the Godly wisdom that shines
through in the words, “…and patience.”
Through
faith and patience God’s people inherit the Promise. Hebrews 6:12.
Without patience, faith is
no more powerful than a penny tossed in a wishing well.
Jesus understood and exemplified
this peace and patience as He endured incredible hardship:
These
things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world
you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome
the world. John 16:33
for the
testimony of Jesus Christ.
John was
banished to Patmos for not bowing to political correctness. For non-compliance
to the PC Police. For civil disobedience. They tried to silence him. But in so
doing God gave him a megaphone to the world.
God will not be canceled. Will
not be silenced. They thought they’d silence John by having him pound marble,
but we know that can’t be done. Jesus said if these are silent, even the
very rocks will cry out (Luke
19:40).
The question we must ask
ourselves, is: would we be arrested for our testimony in Christ?
Even deeper, will we be?
Actually, if we consider ourselves
to be members of the Body of Christ, we are. At this very moment,
we are being arrested, persecuted, imprisoned, murdered, for the Word of
God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Just because we don’t see it in our neighborhood,
doesn’t mean it’s not happening to us, His Church.
The Lord’s Day is Sunday.
Ever since Jesus rose from the dead, on Sunday, Christians have been
worshipping and calling Sunday, the Lord’s Day.
Saturday, has always been, and
still is, the Sabbath.
The original text literally says,
I was in Spirit on the Lord’s Day. The word, the, is not there.
Remember when Jesus talked with
the woman at the well? He said this is how we are to worship God.
Same Greek word for Spirit,
is used. Jesus tells us God is seeking those who will worship Him, in spirit
and truth.
I say then: Walk in the
Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Galatians 5:16.
This is important.
We’re about to hear a loud Voice,
like a trumpet. John is going to turn and see Jesus in all His glory. That’s
exciting and tempting to jump straight to it…
But we must not skip this powerful
point. Because it will mean the difference between grasping this lesson
experientially, or simply acknowledging it, intellectually. In other words,
this part can only be caught, not taught.
Lord, help us hear, what Your
Spirit, is saying.
Pause and think about John’s
situation. Put yourself in his sandals.
He was worshipping God, in
Spirit, on Sunday.
True. But, look closer.
He was in his nineties.
He was a prisoner.
In a prison camp.
On an island.
Forced to hard labor.
No calendars. No iphones. No internet.
No online church. No TV. Radio…
Yet, he remembered it was Sunday;
The Lord’s Day.
Not only did he remember God; he
made it a priority, to seek and worship, Him. To be in Spirit. He was
wholly, focused and committed to communicate with the Lord.
Do we do that? Ever?
Do we appreciate, how much God
appreciates, our time, our worship?
Now, we need to do something you
may have never done before.
Pause and look at this from…God’s
perspective.
In the midst of preparing this
message, my daughter called to tell me she and the kids were flying down for a
visit. I had a hard time talking, I was too busy smiling.
God gets that. He knows how I
feel. You do too. We are overjoyed when our kids go out of their way to be with
us, to talk to us, to see us. We get
that from God. Our Father.
He feels the same way. He rejoices when we invest time with Him.
God has emotions, too. That’s why, in His presence is fullness of joy—because He's so happy to be with us; His joy rubs off on us.
Just like us, with our kids. Even more, because He loves us so much more. John
15:11, Psalm 16:11, Nehemiah 8:10, Zephaniah 3:17, Psalm 30:5, John 17:13,
Matthew 25:23
He actually, actively, seeks
those who take time to be with Him, and is overjoyed when they do. Jesus clearly
states, the
Father is seeking such to worship Him.
Furthermore, He loves it when we
talk to each other about Him. He loves it so much, He eavesdrops. Not only that,
He even records it.
Just think, on this earth, only famous
folks have books written about them. But that’s nothing compared to the fact
that somewhere, up there, in heaven, God has had a book written, in remembrance
of you—if you’re one of those who spoke often of the Lord, feared and meditated
on His name.
Then
those who feared the Lord spoke often one to one another,
And
the Lord listened and heard them;
So
a book of remembrance was written before Him
They
shall be Mine,” says the Lord of hosts,
“On
the day that I make them My jewels.
He loves us so much that He
promises to always show up. Draw night to God and He will draw nigh to you (James 4:8). Whenever
two or more are gathered in My name, there I AM, in the midst of them (Matthew 18:20).
If only we would do the same.
After pleading with His Bride to
return, imagine how He felt, uttering these words:
She
decked herself with her earrings and jewelry,
But
Me she forgot,” says the Lord. (Hosea 2:13b)
In all of our studies, all of the
folks that heard from God, received visions or revelations, have one thing
in common. They went to God in prayer on purpose. Peter, Cornelius, Elijah, Paul,
Hosea, John…most of all, Jesus.
Do we go to Him, on purpose? Or
do we go about our business, and expect Him to go with us. Like we’re the boss
and He’s just a genie in a Bible?
Are we ever silent (in Spirit)
long enough, listening enough, to give God, our Almighty Father, the opportunity, the joy, of speaking to
us?
It's time.
He’s waiting.
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