January 28, 2017
Epiphany:
I love revelation knowledge: The light bulb turns on and you see something in the light that was once hidden in the darkness, or just something that you believe but remains a bit cloudy. Awesome! This revelation knowledge brings understanding. The Bible tells us “In all your getting, get understanding.” (Prov. 4:7, Prov. 16:16) My first almost 40 years in my Christian faith I asked constantly that God would give me understanding. And guess what? Revelation knowledge became a daily occurrence. It wasn’t until He sent me out into the fray that I began to ask fervently for His wisdom.
OK…how do we get “revelation” of things we normally just take for granted or are satisfied that if God said it, it must be true? Receive His Holy Spirit. Bottom line. Before we have the Holy Spirit (Who guides us to all truth John 16:13) we read our Bibles and attempt to gain as much knowledge as we can from what we read. BUT when we invite The Holy Spirit to come into our lives and fill us with His amazing power and presence the lights begin to turn on, click, click, click and beyond knowledge, He gives us understanding (Luke 24:49, Acts 8:14-17). Revelation stirs and established our faith.
Now you know how I, and you, receive revelation knowledge….epiphany, insight; so now I can proceed to share with you my most recent revelation.
Each morning just after I awake I read one chapter of my Bible (NKJ version). I generally ask the Holy Spirit to reveal anything to me that I need greater understanding for, and every so often He shows me something that leaves me in awe for days and years. This morning I didn’t ask, but as I was reading my one chapter the light came on and I saw something I had not seen before. I was reading Acts chapter 13 (Acts 13:28-37), and suddenly “saw no corruption” leapt off the page and struck me between the eyes. THE LIGHT WENT ON! My mind suddenly leapt from scripture to scripture that I had read over the years….
Enoch ascended into heaven, not experiencing death at all (Gen 5:23-24) (After 365 years on this earth, Enoch earned a miraculous exit!); Elijah “went up” (2Kings 2:1-12)…thus the mocking of the children to Elisha “go up thou bald head, go up” (2Kings 2:23); Jesus raised many from the dead as He ministered, of course the most famous to us is Lazarus, all of whom eventually returned to the grave and their bodies decayed (they saw corruption). When Jesus rose from the dead 500 saw Him. God raised up Jesus from the dead and He continued fellowship with the disciples for 40 days until He ascended into Heaven (Acts 1:1-3). The many that came up out of their graves at His crucifixion (Matt 27:50-53) eventually died again and “saw corruption”. THE ONLY ONE THAT DIED, CAME BACK TO LIFE AND ASCENED INTO HEAVEN WITHOUT HIS BODY DECAYING OR “SEEING CORRUPITON” WAS JESUS! HE LEFT THIS EARTH IN TACT, WHOLE AND WITHOUT DECAY, EVEN AFTER DYING A MOST HORRIBLE DEATH FOR OUR SINS. ACTS 13 CONTINUES IN VERSE 38
Acts 13:38-39
38 I want you to know, my very dear friends that it is on account of this resurrected Jesus that the forgiveness of your sins can be promised. 39 He accomplishes, in those who believe, everything that the Law of Moses could never make good on. But everyone who believes in this raised-up Jesus is declared good and right and whole before God.
(from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)
Amen.
In order for Jesus to be Lord of the living and the dead it was essential that He must taste death. It is written also that He descended into Hell and took away the keys of death and Hell (Eph 4:9-10, Rev 1:18). Hell, by the way was created by God for Satan and his angels…NOT MAN! There are many accounts of those who have died and visited either Heaven or Hell. Heaven and Hell are destinations. The book 23 Minutes in Hell is quite a reading if you are up for it. Just a note: Jesus came from Heaven. If you are interested in more you might also read my epiphany regarding Rogue One. Amazing….
Read 1Cor Chapter 15.
POST SCRIPT:
And He’s coming back for His people! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. Doesn’t that just make your heart leap with joy! Come, Lord Jesus, come! Rev 22:7, 12, 16-17, 20. Amen and amen.