The Fifth Seal – Part Two
“And when He had opened the fifth seal, I saw…”
Revelation 6:9
Within the context of the unveiling of Christ, there is a deep and profound sense of His Holiness and of the corresponding grace required for us to behold Him. The carnal man is blind to the “seeing” of Him as He is. When John saw Christ as He is in the heavens, he fell as one dead from the overwhelming majesty of His person. His Spirit seeks to work in us a pure heart that we may “see” Him for ourselves.
“And when I saw him,
I fell at his feet as dead”
Revelation 1:17
Whenever the church loses sight of His wonder it fails in its portrayal of Him to the world. Our ability to shine the incomprehensible Light and Life of Him to those around us will always be proportionate to the depth of our knowing and loving Him.
“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet”
Matthew 5:13
“You are the light of the world”
Matthew 5:14
In the recognition of this piercing truth, we need to turn in brokenness to Him so that He may restore our sight and bring a new sensitivity in our hearts to His grandeur.
The Book of Revelation is a book entirely captivated with the ἀποκάλυψις, apokalupsis; the unveiling and more importantly the APPEARING of Jesus Christ to this world. The sad commentaries that often accompany this compelling book are the carnal attempts of men to delve into the EVENTS described in this Book rather than seeking the revelation of HIS PERSON which is the Divine Purpose behind its inspiration.
His Word ever opens to those who are “looking for Him”. While the curiosity of men ever seeks to wrest from the scriptures “facts” and speculative “things about Him”, these theories cannot pierce our hearts with the Truth and the Holiness of His Being that we may be humbled and Him exalted!
“…unto them that look for Him
shall He appear…”
Hebrews 9:28
To the seeker of Truth, He comes and unveils Himself according to the temper, purity, and desire of one’s heart for Him. May God in these last days raise up a people to whom He may fully unveil Himself in the undiminished wonder of His Being.
“And the Lord said,
Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do…
For I know Him…”
Genesis 18:17;19
“God’s revelation of Himself to me
is determined by my character, not God’s”
Oswald Chambers
“Purity of heart simply means a state
where there are no hindrances to seeing God”
Watchman Nee
(Continued in Part Three)
This article is best read as one document but for the hope of maximum retention, it is broken down into shorter segments.
The Fifth Seal Series:
The Fifth Seal – Part One
The Fifth Seal – Part Three
The Fifth Seal – Part Four
The Fifth Seal – Weep Not
The Fifth Seal – Part Six – The Sealed Book
Brian Troxel
Hello Brian, this is a great explanation of the “revelation” of Jesus Christ in his glory.
How many believers will take this to heart as a matter of knowing who it is that we call Jesus?
I think that for the most part, we are locked in to the descriptions of him in the books of the gospels, as simply the Lamb.
What John saw relates more to the fear of coming face to face with a vicious Lion, before whom we will naturally cower in fear of death, yet Jesus in his majesty is so much more fearsome.
I have tried to keep clear of the book of Revelation for fear of doing it justice. I admire your take on what I have seen, and praise God for your insight.
Blessings brother.
The beauty of this Book is one that carries with it a blessing bestowed by God to those who read it and a greater blessing to those who “hear” the words of it.
“Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy…”
It is a Book that also carries the judgment upon any who would add or take away from it:
“For I testify together with everyone hearing the Words of the prophecy of this Book, if anyone adds to these things, God will add upon him the plagues having been written in this Book. And if anyone takes away from the Words of the Book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the Book of Life, and out of the holy city, and of the things having been written in this Book.”
Revelation 22:18-19
It is a Book that we tread reverently and with a child like heart. It is an awesome privilege to read it and allow His Spirit to invite us into His world that we may see Him, touch Him and grow in our reverence of all that He is. finally it is a Book written for our Day and as such that which has been sealed in its sacred pages will become known to those hearts are in tune with His.
From my earliest days after my encounter with Him one thing became clear “Ye shall know the truth and the truth will make you free”. Truth is a person and as such the depth of the truth I have received is revealed in my freedom to express Him. There are a lot of “truths” that many come up with in the Christian community that carry no impact, no power nor change to my life; these are the things which really aren’t truth but may be scriptural fact )if even that :-).
“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord”
Change comes from seeing Him who is the truth and they who set their hearts on seeing Him will “see” Him and the transforming power of His Life will not allow for stagnation. And it is to that end He invites us with a promised blessing to all who “read” this Book free from the temptation to read ourselves into it, but to allow Him to open our eyes to Him who is the Word.
Always blessed by your comments and obvious hunger for Him!
BT
There are certainly several ideas that revolve around the end times and the book of Revelations.
While the church is locked in a happy, feel-good emotional experience, I can see there is a lack of true reverence for the things that scripture warns us of.
While the church hangs on to the hope of the coming of Jesus, there lacks the fundamental desire to press forward into holiness.
To “see” Jesus should come with the desire to walk closer, listen deeper, and, as you just said, to “hunger for Him”.
Bless you brother.
Yes and amen – well stated!
BT
Truly if we want to know Christ more we need to read his Revelation.
Amen.