Post by Jo Smith on Nov 27, 2008 20:20:29 GMT -5
~~ On The Thunders ~~
In Revelation 10, an angel comes down to earth/sea, and has the Book open in his hand. Jesus goes up and takes the book out of the angel’s hand and eats it up. In this, Jesus was given the entire Word of God. He was then told that he would prophesy again, before the entire world. He does this through his Witnesses. It is not us who speak, but Jesus who is speaking in us. As He gives us the words of that book, we then speak it out to the world.
Re 10:2 And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth, Re 10:3 And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. Re 10:4 And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.
When this angel cried, or uttered his message, seven thunders uttered their voices. Thunder is the voice of God. He gives this Word to the Witnesses and they speak his words in this earth. This is when the ‘lightening and thunder’ sound. It always announces some major event of God. See that these thunders were sealed up when they were first spoken out by this angel.
But the message of each of these thunders is fully revealed in Scripture. Do you think those thunders go forever unknown? Of course not. It is totally due to a lack of study and seeking truth which has caused these mysteries to go uncovered this long. If those thunders were SEALED up, then they were in those SEALS. When the SEALS were opened, then those thunders were also made known. If seven thunders were SEALED up, then they were in those SEVEN SEALS.
The First Thunder
Re 4:1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter. Re 4:2 And immediately I was in the spirit; and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. Re 4:3 And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. Re 4:4 And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold. Re 4:5 And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.
As I have already taught in other messages, that open door was Jesus. This Door was opened when He was baptized and he saw the heavens OPENED to him. This is when it was revealed to Jesus who he was, what his mission was, and when he was given the little Book to eat. God fed His Word to Jesus, for Jesus then to feed it to the world. This is when Jesus actually took the little Book out of the angels hand and ate it up. He then prophesied before the world, through his own preaching and his witnesses, after his ascension to Heaven.
Notice that at the time of this open door, which happened when Jesus was baptized, He was immediately IN THE SPIRIT. He saw the throne set in heaven and the one sitting on that throne, which was a vision of himself, after God had set Jesus on the throne of God, in heaven. See that was the fulfillment of this: Re 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: Re 1:2 Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.
(Here is solid proof that God gave to Jesus a revelation of who and what Jesus was and was to do. See also the proof that then Jesus revealed it to his servants. He is still revealing it to his servants today. This message alone is proof. God gave it to Jesus for Jesus to give it to his servants.)
So, in this vision, or being in the Spirit, after his baptism, Jesus was given a REVELATION OF JESUS. He was given the Word of God and it was revealed to Jesus that Jesus was this mighty Son of God, who was to be set upon that throne of God, in heaven. He then saw visions of all the saints of God, who would come into the kingdom of God, through Jesus himself. He is the one who births us into the kingdom, or family of God. From him proceeded this great sea of glass, or crystal, which is the same as the four beasts, or living creatures. We are the children of Jesus, whom He brought in, after his death, resurrection, ministry and ascension to heaven. Out of this throne came forth these LIGHTNINGS, VOICES AND THUNDERS. They always come together, and from the throne of God.
So under this first thunder, Jesus was given or fed, the entire Word of God and prepared for his great ministry and sacrificial death, resurrection and ascension to heaven, to then sit on that throne of God, as our Lord God. Notice these seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God, were given to Jesus. He had the seven spirits of God. So, under this first thunder, Jesus was fully equipped and prepared for his ministry. It did not take place in a moment. It was an on-going work of God.
Then we see that next, all the saints of God are described. They are these living creatures and this sea of crystal. They were all brought in through this ministry of Jesus, which proceeds from this first thunder, lightning and voices. These voices are his ministers, which he sent out to preach this word. The lightning is the work of angels, in the spirit world, as they bring the Word/power, to the people of the kingdom of Christ.
Re 5:1 And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.
This Book is actually the entire life of Jesus Christ. In the VOLUME of the Book, it is written of ME to do thy will, Oh God. Jesus took this book, out of the hand of the angel, and lived it, and was the only one who could open it up to this world. He took this book, of his life, and had it in his own right hand, or power. It was Jesus himself, who was written within, (in his own soul), and on the backside, or his resurrection, and sealed up with these seven seals. It was his own life, which was opened up, or that open door. After Jesus sat on that throne in heaven, he had this book of his own life, in his hands, opened up for the entire world to read and see and to find eternal life, through him. Glory! How I pray that everyone who reads this will accept and be given the understanding of this glorious truth.Re 5:8 And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. Re 5:9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
See that it said that Jesus TOOK THE BOOK. This is the same book he took out of the hand of that angel, in chapter 10, and ate it up. He accepted the entire, bitter cup, which God gave him to drink. He drunk it. He ate it up. He died on that cross. It was indeed bitter to his belly! He then ascended to heaven and sat on that throne of God, to bring us to God. He redeemed us to God by his own blood, from all nations. It was opened to this entire world, not just Jews. After he ‘took this book’, the peoples of the world, then began to worship HIM, and sing the new song. It is the New Covenant in his blood, GRACE.
The Second Thunder:
Who opened those seals? Re 6:1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
The LAMB is the one who took and ate up that little Book. So He is the one who has the power and the understanding to give it to others. So it was that Lamb of God, who opened those seals. Within those seals is the message of those seven thunders. See that when the Lamb opened that first seal, I heard as it were the noise of THUNDER, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. So here, the voice of God called upon us to come and see, or understand these things. (So, one of the beasts was speaking this message of the thunder, or the Voice of God.)
I am first going to show you where those seven thunders are, in Scripture. Then I will go back and show you the message of each of those thunders. This is God showing it; not I. I most certainly could not do such a thing unless God first gives it to me. The THUNDER sounds within my soul. This second thunder announces all of the events which happen under those seven seals. Everything which takes place under these seals, is the message of that first thunder, for indeed, it all takes place during the first thunder. One does not sound, then stop, and another one sounds. They are all going on under that first thunder, just as everything goes on in Genesis one, under that first day. The second thunder sounded, and those seven seals were then opened up. After Jesus took the little Book and ate it up, then he could open all of these things up.
Notice that it said, when he opened one of the seals, it was one of the four BEASTS which spoke as the noise of thunder. So this is the working of the Apostles, as they sounded out the true message of God, given to them, by Jesus Christ. Their VOICES is the sounding of this THUNDER. It is still going on, as the true Witnesses of our day, sound out this same message, or thunder. It is the same voices, lightning and thunder.
All of the events which are part of these seven seals are part of this second thunder’s message. The third Thunder does not sound until Rev. 8:1. So all of the seven seals open up under this second thunder, which is taking place under the first thunder. The first thunder actually opened up the second thunder.
I am not planning on trying to teach the seven seals here in this message, unless God changes the direction of this. Right now I want to just give an over-view of those seven thunders. Later, the seal messages should be placed with this and studied together. But I do want to say this much on the seals. Under that first seal, Jesus is shown as he takes over this world and conquers it. The white horse is his righteous power. He is crowned after he ascended to heaven and God pronounced him to be our Lord God. Then he begins bringing this world under subjection to his Holy rule. It is still going on.
I also want to say this about the sixth seal. These things do not happen in a sequence of events, as some man’s novel. They are all continually happening. So under the sixth seal, it shows the time of the crucifixion of Jesus. It was at this time that the sun became black or darkened to this world. It was when the SUN went down over the prophets, and closed out the OT. As the moon represents both the law and the outer man or human body, we see that the moon turned to blood. Now this took place in the Mount of Olives, as Jesus prayed until his sweat became as GREAT DROPS OF BLOOD, falling on the ground. Remember that Jesus is living under the old law at this time!
Lu 22:44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
Jacob understood these symbols as representing the human family, as he interpreted Joseph’s dream. Shall you father, mother and brothers bow to you? It was the sun, moon and stars, in the dream. So remember this as we study these things.
Under this sixth seal, a mighty earthquake took place. The earthquake shows great fear for some mighty happening. This was concerning the crucifixion of Jesus and the results to that old covenant world. Under this seal or time of his death, that old covenant fell, as the veil was rent into. Those ‘stars’ of the old testament now fell to this earth. It was finished. They fell AS FIGS from a fig tree, when SHE is shaken of a MIGHTY WIND. This is showing the fall of the OT stars, on the Day of Pentecost. The coming of the Holy Ghost is this mighty wind, shaking that old nation of Law and dropping their ‘figs’ off that tree. It was those ‘stars’ falling. That old covenant in now no longer the place to find God, or the gate into his holy city.
The heaven, which was the people of God, under that old covenant, departed as a scroll when it is rolled together, for that old covenant was now smitten. All the mountains and islands were moved out of their places as the change from the OT to the NT took place. These mountains/islands, is those nations of the OT. They now fell, as the NT Ministers took their place as the mountain of God. Next, the people of the earth sought refuge from the coming wrath of the Lamb, either in the dens, (churches), or the mountain of God, the true Apostolic Church. They asked them to cover them from the coming wrath. This is showing all the converts to Christ, coming in all down through the time of Grace. So now it is down to the time of the Trumpets, or the wrath of the lamb. All of this began in the day of Jesus and his apostles, and ends up down at the end of this age.
Now in chapter seven of Revelation, we see the entire grace age displayed. This will run its full course before that third thunder sounds. This chapter begins with the sealing of the saints of God. These are the people of God who receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost, which is the seal. There is not a certain ‘number’ of folks in this group, as is commonly believed and taught. The words, an hundred and forty and four thousand does NOT MEAN A NUMBER. This is where the majority of people totally miss the truth of God’s word. They take such words as ‘one’, ‘two’, ‘three’, ‘twelve’, ‘ten’, ‘seven’, etc. to mean a certain amount, or number. It is not referring to ‘how many’ of anything, at all. It is totally spiritual in meaning. So is this an hundred and forty and four thousand. Also, being of the tribes of Israel does not mean the natural descendants of Abraham, but rather the spiritual seed, which is the true Christians, or Christ.
[cont.]
In Revelation 10, an angel comes down to earth/sea, and has the Book open in his hand. Jesus goes up and takes the book out of the angel’s hand and eats it up. In this, Jesus was given the entire Word of God. He was then told that he would prophesy again, before the entire world. He does this through his Witnesses. It is not us who speak, but Jesus who is speaking in us. As He gives us the words of that book, we then speak it out to the world.
Re 10:2 And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth, Re 10:3 And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. Re 10:4 And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.
When this angel cried, or uttered his message, seven thunders uttered their voices. Thunder is the voice of God. He gives this Word to the Witnesses and they speak his words in this earth. This is when the ‘lightening and thunder’ sound. It always announces some major event of God. See that these thunders were sealed up when they were first spoken out by this angel.
But the message of each of these thunders is fully revealed in Scripture. Do you think those thunders go forever unknown? Of course not. It is totally due to a lack of study and seeking truth which has caused these mysteries to go uncovered this long. If those thunders were SEALED up, then they were in those SEALS. When the SEALS were opened, then those thunders were also made known. If seven thunders were SEALED up, then they were in those SEVEN SEALS.
The First Thunder
Re 4:1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter. Re 4:2 And immediately I was in the spirit; and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. Re 4:3 And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. Re 4:4 And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold. Re 4:5 And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.
As I have already taught in other messages, that open door was Jesus. This Door was opened when He was baptized and he saw the heavens OPENED to him. This is when it was revealed to Jesus who he was, what his mission was, and when he was given the little Book to eat. God fed His Word to Jesus, for Jesus then to feed it to the world. This is when Jesus actually took the little Book out of the angels hand and ate it up. He then prophesied before the world, through his own preaching and his witnesses, after his ascension to Heaven.
Notice that at the time of this open door, which happened when Jesus was baptized, He was immediately IN THE SPIRIT. He saw the throne set in heaven and the one sitting on that throne, which was a vision of himself, after God had set Jesus on the throne of God, in heaven. See that was the fulfillment of this: Re 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: Re 1:2 Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.
(Here is solid proof that God gave to Jesus a revelation of who and what Jesus was and was to do. See also the proof that then Jesus revealed it to his servants. He is still revealing it to his servants today. This message alone is proof. God gave it to Jesus for Jesus to give it to his servants.)
So, in this vision, or being in the Spirit, after his baptism, Jesus was given a REVELATION OF JESUS. He was given the Word of God and it was revealed to Jesus that Jesus was this mighty Son of God, who was to be set upon that throne of God, in heaven. He then saw visions of all the saints of God, who would come into the kingdom of God, through Jesus himself. He is the one who births us into the kingdom, or family of God. From him proceeded this great sea of glass, or crystal, which is the same as the four beasts, or living creatures. We are the children of Jesus, whom He brought in, after his death, resurrection, ministry and ascension to heaven. Out of this throne came forth these LIGHTNINGS, VOICES AND THUNDERS. They always come together, and from the throne of God.
So under this first thunder, Jesus was given or fed, the entire Word of God and prepared for his great ministry and sacrificial death, resurrection and ascension to heaven, to then sit on that throne of God, as our Lord God. Notice these seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God, were given to Jesus. He had the seven spirits of God. So, under this first thunder, Jesus was fully equipped and prepared for his ministry. It did not take place in a moment. It was an on-going work of God.
Then we see that next, all the saints of God are described. They are these living creatures and this sea of crystal. They were all brought in through this ministry of Jesus, which proceeds from this first thunder, lightning and voices. These voices are his ministers, which he sent out to preach this word. The lightning is the work of angels, in the spirit world, as they bring the Word/power, to the people of the kingdom of Christ.
Re 5:1 And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.
This Book is actually the entire life of Jesus Christ. In the VOLUME of the Book, it is written of ME to do thy will, Oh God. Jesus took this book, out of the hand of the angel, and lived it, and was the only one who could open it up to this world. He took this book, of his life, and had it in his own right hand, or power. It was Jesus himself, who was written within, (in his own soul), and on the backside, or his resurrection, and sealed up with these seven seals. It was his own life, which was opened up, or that open door. After Jesus sat on that throne in heaven, he had this book of his own life, in his hands, opened up for the entire world to read and see and to find eternal life, through him. Glory! How I pray that everyone who reads this will accept and be given the understanding of this glorious truth.Re 5:8 And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. Re 5:9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
See that it said that Jesus TOOK THE BOOK. This is the same book he took out of the hand of that angel, in chapter 10, and ate it up. He accepted the entire, bitter cup, which God gave him to drink. He drunk it. He ate it up. He died on that cross. It was indeed bitter to his belly! He then ascended to heaven and sat on that throne of God, to bring us to God. He redeemed us to God by his own blood, from all nations. It was opened to this entire world, not just Jews. After he ‘took this book’, the peoples of the world, then began to worship HIM, and sing the new song. It is the New Covenant in his blood, GRACE.
The Second Thunder:
Who opened those seals? Re 6:1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
The LAMB is the one who took and ate up that little Book. So He is the one who has the power and the understanding to give it to others. So it was that Lamb of God, who opened those seals. Within those seals is the message of those seven thunders. See that when the Lamb opened that first seal, I heard as it were the noise of THUNDER, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. So here, the voice of God called upon us to come and see, or understand these things. (So, one of the beasts was speaking this message of the thunder, or the Voice of God.)
I am first going to show you where those seven thunders are, in Scripture. Then I will go back and show you the message of each of those thunders. This is God showing it; not I. I most certainly could not do such a thing unless God first gives it to me. The THUNDER sounds within my soul. This second thunder announces all of the events which happen under those seven seals. Everything which takes place under these seals, is the message of that first thunder, for indeed, it all takes place during the first thunder. One does not sound, then stop, and another one sounds. They are all going on under that first thunder, just as everything goes on in Genesis one, under that first day. The second thunder sounded, and those seven seals were then opened up. After Jesus took the little Book and ate it up, then he could open all of these things up.
Notice that it said, when he opened one of the seals, it was one of the four BEASTS which spoke as the noise of thunder. So this is the working of the Apostles, as they sounded out the true message of God, given to them, by Jesus Christ. Their VOICES is the sounding of this THUNDER. It is still going on, as the true Witnesses of our day, sound out this same message, or thunder. It is the same voices, lightning and thunder.
All of the events which are part of these seven seals are part of this second thunder’s message. The third Thunder does not sound until Rev. 8:1. So all of the seven seals open up under this second thunder, which is taking place under the first thunder. The first thunder actually opened up the second thunder.
I am not planning on trying to teach the seven seals here in this message, unless God changes the direction of this. Right now I want to just give an over-view of those seven thunders. Later, the seal messages should be placed with this and studied together. But I do want to say this much on the seals. Under that first seal, Jesus is shown as he takes over this world and conquers it. The white horse is his righteous power. He is crowned after he ascended to heaven and God pronounced him to be our Lord God. Then he begins bringing this world under subjection to his Holy rule. It is still going on.
I also want to say this about the sixth seal. These things do not happen in a sequence of events, as some man’s novel. They are all continually happening. So under the sixth seal, it shows the time of the crucifixion of Jesus. It was at this time that the sun became black or darkened to this world. It was when the SUN went down over the prophets, and closed out the OT. As the moon represents both the law and the outer man or human body, we see that the moon turned to blood. Now this took place in the Mount of Olives, as Jesus prayed until his sweat became as GREAT DROPS OF BLOOD, falling on the ground. Remember that Jesus is living under the old law at this time!
Lu 22:44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
Jacob understood these symbols as representing the human family, as he interpreted Joseph’s dream. Shall you father, mother and brothers bow to you? It was the sun, moon and stars, in the dream. So remember this as we study these things.
Under this sixth seal, a mighty earthquake took place. The earthquake shows great fear for some mighty happening. This was concerning the crucifixion of Jesus and the results to that old covenant world. Under this seal or time of his death, that old covenant fell, as the veil was rent into. Those ‘stars’ of the old testament now fell to this earth. It was finished. They fell AS FIGS from a fig tree, when SHE is shaken of a MIGHTY WIND. This is showing the fall of the OT stars, on the Day of Pentecost. The coming of the Holy Ghost is this mighty wind, shaking that old nation of Law and dropping their ‘figs’ off that tree. It was those ‘stars’ falling. That old covenant in now no longer the place to find God, or the gate into his holy city.
The heaven, which was the people of God, under that old covenant, departed as a scroll when it is rolled together, for that old covenant was now smitten. All the mountains and islands were moved out of their places as the change from the OT to the NT took place. These mountains/islands, is those nations of the OT. They now fell, as the NT Ministers took their place as the mountain of God. Next, the people of the earth sought refuge from the coming wrath of the Lamb, either in the dens, (churches), or the mountain of God, the true Apostolic Church. They asked them to cover them from the coming wrath. This is showing all the converts to Christ, coming in all down through the time of Grace. So now it is down to the time of the Trumpets, or the wrath of the lamb. All of this began in the day of Jesus and his apostles, and ends up down at the end of this age.
Now in chapter seven of Revelation, we see the entire grace age displayed. This will run its full course before that third thunder sounds. This chapter begins with the sealing of the saints of God. These are the people of God who receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost, which is the seal. There is not a certain ‘number’ of folks in this group, as is commonly believed and taught. The words, an hundred and forty and four thousand does NOT MEAN A NUMBER. This is where the majority of people totally miss the truth of God’s word. They take such words as ‘one’, ‘two’, ‘three’, ‘twelve’, ‘ten’, ‘seven’, etc. to mean a certain amount, or number. It is not referring to ‘how many’ of anything, at all. It is totally spiritual in meaning. So is this an hundred and forty and four thousand. Also, being of the tribes of Israel does not mean the natural descendants of Abraham, but rather the spiritual seed, which is the true Christians, or Christ.
[cont.]