In Him there was life. A study in the gospel of John 1:4,5.

 In my previous post, I “only” covered John 1:1. I had the blinders on and only chose to focus on that one verse. However, verses two and three also speak to the beginning of all things and Jesus' role in creation.

“Before the world began, the Word was there. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was there with God in the beginning. Everything was made through him, and nothing was made without him.”
(John 1:1-3 ERV)

Before the world began, the Word was there. John used the Greek word logos – a word spoken, to express what he was trying to say. So the spoken word conveys the will and nature of God while also detailing His Son. Some strong clues that back this peculiar statement up are: “The Word was with God;” the Word was God;” and, Everything was made through him (the Word), and NOTHING was made without him.”

Who is the Word?

• Jesus

• God

• and yes, the Holy Spirit.

They are three, but they are one and the same. And yes, the written Word is an integrated aspect of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Those Words you find in your Bible are filled with life, power, and promise.

I don't do high theology; I write to be understood. If you can't understand that Jesus spoke the worlds into existence because He and the Father are one, then perhaps that is because you have a veil over your eyes and cannot see. Paul tells us that the veil is lifted when a person asks Jesus to come into their lives and take control. (2 Corinthians 3:14)

Ooh, that taking control part sounds scary, almost as if I am giving up the right to make decisions about my own life. First, I would like to ask you, how have your efforts to control your life been working out for you?

So what we are doing is voluntarily submitting ourselves to Jesus, who voluntarily laid down His life so that you could have life once again. Ah, but this does NOT mean that every negative circumstance around you will simply fall away. No, you will probably, in time, have to separate yourself from people and places that will harm you (either mentally or physically.)

Since it is on my mind. We ALL sin – in other words, we all miss the mark. Yes, the word sin is an old English archery term that indicates you did anything but hit the bullseye (the bullseye is that small, usually colored circle, about an inch wide, that gets remarkably small the further away it gets.) The human/religious and, therefore, traditional implications are that you MUST hit the bullseye on every attempt. Seriously, we occasionally hit it as we make amends, an aspect of confessing our sins.

What am I trying to say?

We are forgiven because Jesus went to the cross and rose again, but that forgiveness did not integrate itself into our being until we accepted Jesus Christ into our lives. At the moment you received Jesus, the Holy Spirit of God, the one who had been prodding you to give your life to Him, came into you and permanently, made His home, and began to change you from the inside to the outside.

Now that we have that understanding, we shall move on.

“In him there was life, and that life was a light for the people of the world. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not defeated it.”
(John 1:4-5 ERV)

• “In him there was life.”

  Ah, but what does it mean to have life?

  Life, according to the Word Study Dictionary, is the Greek word zōḗ and conveys the general idea of physical life and existence as opposed to death and nonexistence. In other Manuscripts, it is presented as psuchḗ zōḗs, the soul of life means every living soul (Septuagint.: Gen_2:7; Gen_25:7). Of life or existence after rising from the dead, only of Christ (Rom_5:10; 2Co_4:10-12). Metaphorically of the Jewish people (Rom_11:15).

  “Then the LORD God took dust from the ground and made a man. He breathed the breath of life into the man's nose, and the man became a living thing.” (Genesis 2:7 ERV)

  The usage of life in Gen 2:7. chayyim (313a); from H2421a; life: — alive, life, life-giving, lifetime, live, sustenance.

  SUSTENANCE, n. Support; maintenance; That which supports life.

  Romans 5:10 expresses a similar meaning.

  “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”
  (Romans 5:10 NASB)

  Here is what I hear screaming in my head.

  I am already alive, so what does giving myself to Jesus offer me that I do not already have?

  I suppose that the fact that you are breathing and living in a manner that you prefer is what you are talking about. The Apostle Paul said something strange that speaks to your definition of life.

  “If our hope in Christ is good for this life only and no more, then we deserve more pity than anyone else in all the world.” (1 Corinthians 15:19 GNB)

  Obviously, life does NOT apply to how you can live in your journeys on this earth; there is something more, and in expressing that we have hope in Christ, he has explained to whom we turn to gain this life.

  Webster's dictionary gives 26 points in which they attempt to define life. A few of those will make our case.

1. In a general sense, that state of animals and plants, or of an organized being, in which its natural functions and motions are performed, or in which its organs are capable of performing their functions.

   (So you are breathing and feeling; we, for the most part, all do that. And clearly, there is something more.)

2. The present state of existence; the time from birth to death.

   (For the person, through no fault of their own, who is now a quadriplegic, their existence is rather limited. Again, this is hardly what we are talking about, and these people can have  hope in Christ, and you might never know that.)

3. Manner of living; conduct; deportment, in regard to morals.

   (For some, they believe this is acquired with their excessive amounts of money and controlled by their tainted morals, which could be guided by that money.)

4. "Blood the supposed vehicle of animation."

   (This is one of the basest definitions, and we are all subject to death.)

And I will cut this off with one last definition.

1. Eternal happiness in heaven. Rom 5.

   Webster did not expound on what motivated them to write Romans 5, but verse 10 speaks of being saved by His life.

   “For if, while we were yet enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved by His life.” (Romans 5:10 TLV)

   Sin made us enemies, but Christ's death and resurrection brought us back into the family through our acceptance of the cross.

   Outside of the breath you breathe, there is no life without Jesus in your life.

Maybe I should explain that because we are made in the image of God, we all have eternal spirits; this also means that you, being in the image of God, are a hated target of Satan's wrath. Some will respond to this statement by saying, I am doing my best to live for Satan. The problem with that logic is that he doesn't need you, nor does he care for you. At the moment, because of your putrid allegiance, you are, for the time being, taken out of the way and NOT a threat to him. Whoopee. None of this means a thing to the unbeliever, although many of them may be trying to live forever through AI.

Since you will live forever through the aid of an operating system being installed in you, the question then becomes where you will live, in a bottle of formaldehyde?

At this point, the next question thrown at you is, how could a good God send people to hell?

Hell, was made for Satan and the fallen angels. We have freedom of choice and can choose to follow Jesus Christ, or you can follow Satan. Those are the ONLY two choices. Following Christ gives you a life with the Father in eternity, while following Satan only gives you a fiery hell with him for perpetuity. So, it is not that God is sending you to hell; you are merely following your leader. You will NOT have the freedom to say, I did not know, because you are choosing, even now, to NOT believe and, therefore, not receive Jesus into your life.

If Christ gives you a life with the Father, is that happening now, or do you have to wait for something to come?

The life in Him begins immediately. Unfortunately, we live in a broken creation. But the day is coming in which it will be changed. This comes in two phases: the 1000 years, where there will be peace. Oh sure, the earth will still have people living on it with their freedom of choice. The second phase comes after the 1000 years when all sin is purged, the dead will be judged, and Satan and sinners will be gone. At this point in time, we will be with the Father, with all the other saints – free from the damage of sin, and we will have clear minds. The migration to the 1000-year reign is about to take place, and I look for it every day.

• “and that life was a light for the people of the world.”

  Not just the Jews, but you and I.

• “The light shines in the darkness,”

  I don't care how dark it seems; the light is still shining.

• “and the darkness has not defeated it.”

  And the most important part of all. Know and understand that the darkness (in whatever form it takes) has not and will not defeat the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Father.

As we anxiously await His return. Revelation 22: 18 - 21.

 With the last few posts, we should have been encouraged and established as we read and studied Revelation 22, verses 16 and 17.

Why?

Because we have good witnesses and reliable testimony, this testimony primarily comes from the mouth of Jesus, who established the trustworthiness of His word by satisfying the demands of the law with His own body, and from the mouth of the prophets and thus fulfills the prophetic pattern. All this affirms our hope and understanding of why we can have that hope is valid.

Good, now that we are past that, let's finish this chapter and the book of Revelation.

“I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book;”
(Revelation 22:18 NASB)

The Amplified Bible makes the statement a bit more intense by saying, “warn everyone who listens to the statements of the prophecy.”

Is it possible that there is a difference between hearing and listening?

I hear stuff all the time, but my mind is bouncing at least two more ideas around in my head while my wife's instructions are being said to me. I may have heard, but I was not listening. Now, if I symbolically move to the front row in the classroom and purposefully listen to the instructor, I stand a better chance of comprehending what is being said.

In defining the word hears, Thayer’s Greek Definitions tell us that the word akouō can also mean attending to or considering what has been said. 

So, it appears that Jesus is talking to and about persons who have invested the time to understand this book, whether through personal readings and study or under the inclination of theological training.

Now, if you invested that kind of time in understanding, why would you go about changing the meanings of the things you read in the Revelation?

An example of something that has been changed and brought about drastic confusion is Revelation 4:1. It reads,

“After these things, I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.”
(Revelation 4:1 NASB)

The first three chapters of Revelation focus on the church age and end with God talking to the “church” of Laodicea. Revelation 3:14 opens with this statement.

“And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write,”

You may not pick up the importance of what He said here, so let me show you an example of how God addressed the previous six churches. In Revelation 3:7, we see this,

“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write,”

It wasn’t Jesus’ church in Laodicea but the Laodicean’s church. Sadly, we are living in the age of the Laodicean church. Just look around you as churches of every denomination are going “woke,” becoming an arm of the government by opening their doors to become inoculation centers for the C19 vaccine, a vaccine meant to kill you; and note how quickly the churches are giving themselves over to blatant sin. See Leviticus 20:13.

The drastic confusion stems from the phrase “ After these things.” The church, on the whole, cannot seem to grasp that the events that will progress in Revelation are happening AFTER the time of the churches – after the rapture.

Now don't get me wrong, woke, progressive churches will continue to have a function in the seven years, for a time, as long as they comply with government demands, such as taking the mark, worshiping the beast, and worshiping the image of the beast, but the church, as I now know it, will be gone. We will be like the Chinese are now, meeting in secret at odd hours of the night.

Let's finish chapter 22.

“And if anyone takes away from the Words of the Book of this prophecy, God will take away his part out of the Book of Life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which have been written in this Book.” (Revelation 22:19 MKJV)

As church people have read Revelation, I imagine many have wished they could remove many of the painful aspects we find there.

Why?

I can think of two reasons someone might do that.

1. Most of us know people who will probably have to go through the time of wrath, and we want to save them from having to do that.

2. Many “Christians” have not been taught properly and, therefore, believe they must go through the time of wrath or at least some portion of that time.

So, if you were like me, weaving your way through Revelation with the hope of understanding and causing others to understand. What advantage do you gain, by leaving things out or misrepresenting others, like Revelation 6:2?

“And I saw. And behold a white horse! And he sitting on it had a bow. And a crown was given to him, and he went forth conquering and to conquer.” (Revelation 6:2 MKJV)

Saddam Hussein accepted only one verse from our Bible as true, Revelation 6:2. He also believed that he was this rider. He was not, and to prove my point, Saddam was hanged. This rider (symbolic language) is the antichrist personified in a man (sorry ladies) and will emerge shortly after the catching away of the church. This man, because we see him putting forth a seven-year peace treaty (Note: Israel is NOT mentioned in this treaty; the treaty, therefore, may be perceived as giving the Islamic nations a chance to reload. This war is probably associated with the war against Israel that we see in Ezekiel 38,39, which appears to have a nuclear aspect.)

Verse 19 tells us, “if anyone takes away from the Words of the Book of this prophecy, God will take away his part out of the Book of Life, and out of the holy city.”

The Amplified Bible says it this way. “ And if anyone cancels or takes away from the statements of the book of this prophecy [these predictions relating to Christ's kingdom and its speedy triumph, together with the consolations and admonitions or warnings pertaining to them], God will cancel and take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the city of holiness (purity and hallowedness), which are described and promised in this book.”

How, in God's name, could we humans cancel God's actions?

The reality is, we can't, unless, as the Greek word aphaireō conveys, we take from or remove. This idea of not speaking is what I was talking about when I said that one of the ways would be by exclusion as we choose to NOT talk about some aspect of God's Word, in this case, the Revelation. A Pastor told me that no one can understand prophetic books like Revelation and Daniel, which is why I will not teach from them, and neither will you if I have any say over who teaches here.

The reality is that the person who intentionally does this will be removed from the book of life and eliminated from entering the Holy City. If this is true, then you would think that there are a number of pastors whose names have been removed from the book of life. 

Here is my problem with this. Having been raised in a Pentecostal environment, I was brought up with the idea that many sins, all of which seem to be built into our DNA, will send you to hell. A “brother in Christ” who led the weekly Bible study told the group of men every week (the average age of these men was about 75) that they were going to hell for their sins. a friend and I have talked about this scenario several times. It was my friend who pointed out the age thing and the fact that most of these men raised their families in this church. 

If they had been receiving sound teaching every week, why would you possibly think they were perpetually sinning sins that would send them to hell?

What does a teacher like this do with a passage in which Jesus directly says?

"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.” (John 10:27-28 NASB)

In talking about losing our salvation, I suspect teachers like this are trying to manipulate you because it is known that we have a propensity to sin. All you have to do is be awake, and the opportunities to sin will come.

Perhaps it is merely this simple. Just as someone has chosen to remove themselves from God’s hand, we have the same ability, in Jesus' name, to declare that under no circumstance will I remove myself from God’s care. Peter seemed to do this and yet denied Christ three times. Fortunately, for our sakes, n Christ forgave Peter and showed him what forgiveness looks like in God's eyes as he comforted Peter back into the grace of God. 

And just as King David would tell you, there is no doubt in my mind any longer, as God wrote my name in His book before time began.

We are almost done.

Revelation 22:20 NASB “He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming quickly." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”

It now seems like a simple question, and you should know the answer, who is the “He who testifies to these things.”?

He is the lamb that was slain; 

He is the only one worthy to open the seals; 

He is the risen one, 

the Son of the living God, 

The one who now sits next to the Father; 

He is the one who anxiously awaits that signal from the shofar;

And He is the one who will come and collect His bride – the church. 

And He testifies that He is finally coming quickly.

Did that cover it?

Come, Lord Jesus, Come.

 

Revelation 22:21 NASB 

“ (May,) the grace of the Lord Jesus be with (you) all (as we anxiously await His return). Amen.” Emphasis mine.

And let the one who is thirsty come. Revelation 22:17, 18.

 In August of 2022, I published a commentary on Revelation 22:16. Here I use the Good News Bible, as it conveys that Jesus wanted John to share this information to the church bodies that existed and to future Christ followers; that includes you and me.

"I, Jesus, have sent my angel to announce these things to you in the churches. I am descended from the family of David; I am the bright morning star."
(Revelation 22:16 GNB)

You can find that post here - https://omharris.com/2022/08/20/to-witness-and-to-give-you-assurance-of-these-things-revelation-2216/

In that post, I focused on the idea that Jesus reminded the Apostle John that it was not just Jesus bearing witness to the hope of a future life with the Father, but John too was to bear witness. Primarily because we are human and have the ability to forget that we have a hope and why; and, in the case of John, who is now an old man exiled to the island of Patmos; a place that for all John knew, it was Rome's hope that he died there. As you can see God had other plans.

Having covered verse 16 we move on to Revelation 22:17.

Revelation 22:17 NASB “The Spirit and the bride say, "Come." And let the one who hears say, "Come." And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.”

So, knowing that we have Biblical witnesses testifying to the rapture of the church before the wrath of God is to be poured out and that our hope is in a life with the Father and an eternity of peace with Him.

Who is He talking to?

• “The one who hears.”

  This idea of the one who hears does not necessarily hold to those looking for salvation, as it can also apply to those, such as myself, who are hungry and want to find answers.

• “The one who is thirsty.”

  Thirst is the Greek word dipsaō, and surprise, it means to thirst. But what if my thirst is for more of the Lord and a deeper understanding of what is coming and when?

• Playing off the idea of thirst, He says, “the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.”

  Jesus used the term take. This is the Greek word lambánō, and, according to the Word Study Dictionary, can mean to take in whatever manner. Almost syn. with déchomai (G1209), to accept or receive, and yet distinct from it in that lambánō sometimes means to receive as merely a self-prompted action.

  A question, was our salvation truly without cost?

  No, as Jesus gave up His place next to the Father, His royalty, and His life to purchase our salvation. On our part, it costs us nothing (well, perhaps a touch of humility.)

But note how once the Spirit and the bride say come, the directive is for those who hear to say come. Come is the Greek word érchomai and also infers “to appear, make one’s appearance, come before the public; arise, come forth, show yourself, or influence; and, to be established, or become known.” Thayer's Greek Definitions.

“The Spirit and the bride say, "Come."

Who is the Spirit?

If I were to guess, I would have to say the Holy Spirit, but we don't want to guess; we want direct, accountable answers.

And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:19-20 NASB)

This Holy Spirit is the same Spirit that baptizes in fire.

"As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Matthew 3:11 NASB)

Hold up here a second. John the baptizer told this crowd that the one who is coming after me is:

• Mightier than I,

  Having a grasp that He is, with His pinky finger, mightier in every way is wisdom.

• I am not fit to remove His sandals;

  Whether you are dealing with the Father, who is thankfully full of mercy, Jesus – the Son, who gave His life for us, or the Holy Spirit – the comforter who leads us and guides us into all knowledge; they are all Holy. Lacking that kind of submission and humility is dangerous.

• And, He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

  For the last several days, merely reading the Word fills my eyes with tears. There is power in the name of Jesus.

I will move on with this.

“The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.”
(Genesis 1:2 NASB)

So, even in the creation, we can see the Holy Spirit working.

The last thing I want to point out from Revelation 22:17 is the usage of the phrase “the water of life.”

“For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light.” (Psalms 36:9 NASB)

So the question is, out of whom is this fountain of life?

Many, of you, without thinking, would quickly say Jesus or God. Both would be correct.

King David, in Psalm 36:5, refers to Him as y^ehōwāh (this is the name by which He revealed Himself to Moses); while in Psalm 36:7 David refers to God as ĕlôhı̂ym; this is the Hebrew word 'meaning God, gods, judges, angels. Occurring more than 2,600 times in the Old Testament, this word commonly designates the one true God (Gen_1:1) and is often paired with God's unique name y^ehōwāh (H3068). Word Study Dictionary

If David is calling Him God and the water of life is flowing out of Him, then how do we get to Jesus as being the river of life?

Because Jesus said this of Himself and one of those examples was the Samaritan woman.

“Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water."” (John 4:10 NASB)

Jesus later explained how this works to a bunch of Jews who wanted to kill Him, as He had made Himself (their words) to be God by claiming to be the Son of God.

“"Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. "For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself;”
(John 5:25-26 NASB)

The Apostle Paul describes how we are washed with the Word of God, which is that water.

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.”
(Ephesians 5:25-27 NASB)

So, not only do the Father and the Son, being one and the same, have life in them and flowing out of them, but are also the Word of God, which we see in Paul's writings to the church in Ephesus above. The Apostle John opened his gospel by telling us that Jesus is the Word, the life, and the creative force in creation.

And finally, it does flow out from under both the throne of God and of the Lamb. Now there is something that I never noticed before.

“Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb,”
(Revelation 22:1 NASB)

If you do not know if you have this water of life inside of you, then I suggest you acknowledge the ABCs - of salvation.