Knowing God

Jesus Christ unveils the Mysteries of God. Only he is qualified to reveal the nature of the “unseen God.” In him, all the promises of God find their fulfillment. He is the interpretive key that unlocks the Scriptures and the correct understanding of Bible prophecy. This is especially so in the Book of Revelation as the sacrificial “Lamb” reigns over the Earth and Cosmos.

Jesus is the center of Apostolic Tradition preserved in the Greek New Testament, and the proclamation of “Christ Crucified” is the “power and wisdom of God.” There is no knowledge of the Father apart from him and his Death and Resurrection.

[Photo by Joshua Earle on Unsplash]

The Prologue of John’s Gospel presents him as the Logos, the unfiltered expression of God. The Word “became flesh,” and in him, the glory of God “tabernacles” for all men to see. Truth and light are unveiled in His “only born Son.” Moses “gave the Law,” but “grace and truth came to be through Jesus Christ.” He alone has seen God, so he is well-qualified to “interpret” his Father.

• “For of his fullness, we all received, even grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses. Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No man has seen God at any time; the only born Son who is in the bosom of the Father, he interprets” - (John 1:16-18).

In the Greek clause of the preceding passage, the verb translated as “interprets” has no direct or indirect object. The statement is open-ended. Jesus interprets everything about God, life, and the future.

Likewise, the “Word” of God spoken in His Son is His complete word. In contrast, the “word” spoken previously “in the prophets” was partial and preparatory – “In many parts and many ways” – (Hebrews 1:1).

Unlike the prophets and Levitical priests with their repeated animal sacrifices, the Son “achieved the purification of sins,” and he did so “once for all.” He then sat down at God’s “right hand” and inherited the “name” that is vastly superior to that of angels, Moses, Aaron, or any other predecessor - (Hebrews 1:1-4, 7:27, 10:10 – “For this he did once for all when he offered himself”).

THE LAMB REVEALS

In the Book of Revelation, Jesus is the slain “Lamb” who is “worthy” to open the “Sealed Scroll.” He unveils and executes its contents, a process that will conclude in nothing less than the New Creation with a fully populated city of “New Jerusalem.”

All creation pronounced him “Worthy” to receive all power, glory, and authority, BECAUSE “by his death, he redeemed men and women from every nation to become a Kingdom of Priests for God.” He achieved victory through his sacrificial death on the Roman Cross - (Revelation 5:6-12).

The Book of Revelation is the “revelation of Jesus Christ.” He is the one to whom it belongs, and he gives it to his servants to show them “what things must soon come to pass.” He interprets and applies its visions and symbols to his “assemblies.”

For example, the “one like a Son of Man” explained that the “Seven Golden Lampstands” represent the seven “assemblies of Asia,” and the “Seven Stars” held in his right hand symbolize “Seven Messengers” - (Revelation 1:20).

The “slain Lamb” possesses all authority, including the “Keys of Death and Hades.” He “opens and no man shuts,” including the realm of the Dead. Nothing is beyond his reach.

None of the events in Revelation occurred without his knowledge or authorization. Even the “Beast from the Sea” could not launch its war against the “saints” until the time determined by Jesus - (Revelation 1:1, 1:17-20, 13:7-10 – “It was given to him…”).

He is the “Faithful Witness, the Firstborn of the Dead, and the Ruler of the Kings of the Earth.” Therefore, he is the Master Key that unlocks everything whether prophecies or mysteries of God. He is the true Tabernacle and Temple, the inaugurator of the New Covenant, the once-for-all sacrifice for sin, and the Ruler of the Cosmos and the “Kings of the Earth.”

The substance foreshadowed in the Tabernacle and Temple is found in the “Crucified Messiah,” the “power and wisdom of God.” In him alone, all the promises of God receive their “Yea!” and “Amen!”.

God can only be known through His Son. There is no true understanding of the Father apart from Jesus. Therefore, everyone who has seen and comprehended Jesus has “seen his Father.” He is the “way, the truth, and the life” - No man or woman comes to the Father without him, and salvation is found in him alone.

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