Revelations of Scale
God says,
“Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?”
Isaiah 66:1
Those who are led by the Spirit
Much of the confusion concerning doctrine today has to do with the limited scope of our vision. We literally cannot seem to see the forest for the trees. Often, we study the scripture in excruciating detail while missing the bigger picture of what God is really saying.
God is limitless. Besides being eternal, our Father is all powerful, all knowing, and everywhere present. YHWH, the Old Testament name for God, is even aware of the number of hairs on everyone’s heads. God is limitless and therefore, beyond our finite comprehension.
When we lack God’s revelation we cannot fully understand the true scope of what He says. God speaks from eternity and sees things from that vantage point. Unless we allow our Father to lift us out of our mundane existence and into the heavenly realm, we cannot begin to fathom our limitless Father. It is written,
“After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.”
Revelation 4:1,2
Knowing your limitless God through revelation
This is why John the apostle could write the book of revelation. This also the reason that we can hardly understand it without God’s revelation.
Therefore, if you want to understand the deep things of God, it is imperative that we live by revelation. When we try to figure things out ourselves, there is so much to comprehend, we almost never arrive at correct conclusions. Frankly, we don’t even hardly know where to begin.
The world to come
For instance, this creation and all that takes place in it, is not the main thing God is aiming at. It is the New Heavens and New Earth that really interests God. Salvation is merely a mechanism to bring out the only thing God believes valuable: His bride. Everything else simply burns up with fire once God redeems His elect. Being that our creator is limitless, making a new creation is no problem.
Our limitless God will make all things new
Without God’s revelation our minds remain earth bound. We care about the things of this creation and cannot see into the next. However, everything that God is doing now is about the New Heavens and New Earth. We are,
- A new creation
- There is a new Jerusalem
- There is a world to come
- We have the earnest of our inheritance from that place
- God will make all things new
- The kingdom of God is on the New Heavens and New Earth
- God resurrects us to live on a New Creation
- Our bodies are glorified so that we can live in that perfect place.
In fact, everything in the New Testament must be understood in the light of the doctrine of the New Heavens and New Earth.
After all, it’s only a 1000 years
furthermore, the millennium is not the main event but a prelude to the New Heavens and New Earth. In fact, all that happens in the 1000 year reign of peace is topological of the world to come. We are literally being saved from the destruction of this creation and will be translated into a new creation. This is why we must be born again. The rapture and the resurrection accomplishes these things.
The truth is, that compared to the revelation that God wants to give us, we are poor, blind, and naked theologians. We have limited understanding of what our limitless God is really saying because we endeavor to know spiritual things through our natural minds.
We need a heavenly vision
Here is a truth,
“A lifetime of study cannot compare to a single Damascus road experience.”
If we are not spiritually in tune, we can devote our whole lives to studying God and still completely miss the time of our visitation, not even recognizing God manifest in the flesh.
Avoid theological cemeteries
Attending theological college for five years, I read, listened to tapes, and devoured my classes until my mind brimmed with man’s teachings. Steeped in man’s traditions, I could not see God’s truth. Only when I experienced God’s Spirit directly did my spiritual eyes begin to truly see. There are some who read these words and find themselves in the same predicament: you know what man thinks but cannot hear what God speaks. Why? Because every time the Holy Spirit takes you down a doctrinal path that has not been approved by your denomination you reject Him. Filled with dogmatic blockages, your mind prevents God from speaking to you.
Some, who count themselves to be spiritually minded, take offense at what I am saying. They say, “Do you believe yourself qualified to judge whether or not I am spiritually minded?” To you I say, “I judge no man, I just report what I see because of where I stand.” Moreover, I did not get here because of some ability I possess: God just set me here for His own reasons.
Only through Rhema can you know a limitless God
In conclusion, let us live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Understand that God is more than what He writes. Know that you can never limit a limitless God. We are to live by the Rhema, which is the expression of the Logos of the book of Hebrews. Let’s stop limiting God, because my friend, it is impossible to limit a limitless being. Instead, let’s open up our hearts and minds to hear His voice and know Him through His Holy Spirit however He wishes to express Himself. To do anything less is to hopelessly cripple our ability to understand our Lord and Creator.
How can I apply this teaching to my life?
Do you remember those 3D optical illusions where you have to stop looking so closely to actually see the picture? Likewise, consciously pull back in your minds eye and try to see the bigger picture of what God speaks about. Stand back and gain His perspective. Instead of considering a single verse consider the whole book. Try to see the general thrust of what God is saying.
Everyone in the Bible wrote from a certain perspective even as they penned revelation. Try to imagine the circumstances that they were in. Do some study in church history if you wish. What was the setting and the experiences that serve as context.
Next, consider what is God’s true goal in this creation. What is He after and how does He intend to achieve it? Why did Lucifer fall? How does a perfect being sin? Why is there is there a need for a New Heavens and New Earth in the first place.
You serve a limitless God, so don’t limit yourself!
In other words, allow your mind to be led by the Spirit of Truth into all truth. Become an explorer in God who relishes new places and experiences. Let Him lift you up into the high places of His Spirit so that you can see further than you have ever seen before. We all have eternity in our hearts, Let God show you what that means.
