The Book of Revelations part 1
I love the book of Revelations today, but for most of my life as a believer I thought it confusing and unbearable yet I knew it was important. We have heard many preachers try to expound on its content only to make it more confusing. After my wife and I began to understand our Hebraic inheritance it soon became one of my favorite books. The Lord showed us some simple principles as we learned to study with His Hebraic mindset. One early insight the Lord showed us was that the book of Revelations was not anything new. In fact we like to call it “Exodus II.” Its principles and imagery are found throughout the Bible. We will cover a few of these important issues in this series. “He who has ears to hear,” is a Hebrew idiom meaning, to those who have heard my instructions. It all hinges on the definition of what “To Hear” means and what the instructions are. The clues are found throughout scriptures like Deuteronomy 29-30 and Ezekiel 12.
Deut. 29:4
“Yet the LORD has not given you a heart to perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear, to this very day.
Ezekiel. 12:2
“Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, which has eyes to see but does not see, and ears to hear but does not hear; for they are a rebellious house.
Both these verses and chapters portray the condition of the heart of Israel. It tells us what one who does NOT have “Ears to hear” looks like. Having “Ears to hear” is defined as one who is teachable and willing to respond (to do) His instructions. In the above verses the Lord is exposing and addressing their rebellious heart that chose NOT to do His instructions. They had His instructions, His Torah but they broke His covenants within it. They had ears at one time, as it says in Deuteronomy 6:4, “Hear, O Israel the Lord your God is one.”
This may not seem like much of a statement but it should be the foundation to all who believe. The Word “Hear” in Hebrew is “Shema.” It means “To listen with your ear then understand what is being said, then go and do that which was said.” In other words hearing is a threefold action; listen, understand and do. The verse before it in Deuteronomy 6:3 explains this and reads: “Therefore hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that you may multiply greatly as the LORD God of your fathers has promised you—‘a land flowing with milk and honey.
Deuteronomy 29:29 reads: “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this Torah.
The phrase “Those things which are revealed belong to our children forever,” is speaking about His Torah instruction, often referred to as “That which is revealed.” The result of “That which was revealed” is found in the next part of that verse-“that we may do all the words of this law,” Meaning, we understand it was revealed because we heard it when He spoke it to Moses and therefore we will do it. Exodus 19:8 says, Then all the people answered together and said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do.” So Moses brought back the words of the people to the LORD. The Lord spoke the words before he wrote them on the tablets. Israel heard it then the Lord gave them a copy to remember what they heard. So hearing is directly related to doing. These same instructions Israel heard are the same instructions you and I have in our Bibles. Here’s the clincher; the definitions and the intentions of the instructions of the Lord have never changed! It is as if you yourself where there at the base of Mt. Sinai hearing for yourself. In fact scripture bears this out, that if you are a believer you were there in the spiritual loins of Israel! As it says in Deuteronomy 29: 14
“I make this covenant and this oath, not with you alone, 15 but with him who stands here with us today before the LORD our God, as well as with him who is not here with us today. This is speaking of those who would come after them, the next generation. In this first exodus Israel heard that which the Lord revealed, His instructions. So what does the Book of Revelations say in Chapter 1 verse 1? “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants.” Who did John say Yeshua was? The Word made flesh. What word? The same “Word” he gave to Moses in Exodus. So the Word in Exodus was revealed to Israel and the Word in Revelations is revealed to Israel and He who reveals it is Yeshua-Jesus, the Word revealed! This “Revelation” is nothing new but is the fulfillment of that which was written in Exodus and the rest of the Torah to Israel. The book of Revelation is the formation and manifestation of things Israel was told in the Torah the Lord gave Moses to give to Israel. It is the depiction of events that were already foretold. Therefore the book of Revelations can also be called the Second Exodus or Exodus II! The Lord gave this “Revealing” to John concerning the seven assemblies or synagogues. This may offend some but historically speaking, churches didn’t exist when Revelations was written. The translation of the word “church” is a modern addition. The original Greek word means “assembly” which is referring to seven synagogues in seven different regions. The historical accounts of those synagogues and worshipers have been established long ago.