David Pawson - The Final Facts - Return of Christ Pt2
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Thoughtful Thoughts 13.9.24 by John Dunning.
WEEK 3 OF NAMES & TITLES OF JESUS
Introduction.
In order to point out all the names or titles of Jesus in Revelation, we are having to pluck
verses out of context, just to include so many of Jesus’ titles and names!
Jesus has so many names and titles, the list of names and titles needs us to do a series.
DAY 1 DEVOTIONAL
Rev. 3:7 “The Holy and True One.”
“I am the one who is holy and true, and I have the keys that belonged to David. When I open a door, no one can close it. And when I close a door, no one can open it. Listen to what I say.”
THOUGHTFUL THOUGHTS
While on earth, Jesus said only God is good.
Here we have Jesus saying “I am the one who is holy and true…”
I have heard other religious and cults say that Jesus never claimed to be God. That is not
true. Although Jesus worked on earth in a way to let people come to realise who He
was, freely, He always accepted others stating He was God, (like Peter and Thomas),
after they realised it, (even though He he had tried to keep it quiet at first).
Secondly, He accepted the title when He was asked directly, (ie before the Jewish council).
And now He is the ascended Lord, Jesus does use His full title as God’s Son, when He says
“I am the one who is holy and true…”, which was a statement of fact.
When a blind gold medal winner was congratulated by Prince William, the blind winner
asked, “Who are you?” William suddenly realised that as he couldn’t see, he had to
be told everything. Normally, William wouldn’t have needed to say anything, but in this case William had to introduce himself. “I am Prince William” he said matter of factly. It was just a statement of fact. Then the face of the gold medalist suddenly lit up.
Here with Jesus as the ascended Lord, He uses His title that is relevant to the message He is giving John to take to a church. This title is just a statement of fact.
When we realise who Jesus is, what is our reaction?
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DAY 2 DEVOTIONAL
Rev. 3:7 “He who has the key of David”. (NIV)
“I am the one who is holy and true, and I have the keys that belonged to David”. (CEV)
THOUGHTFUL THOUGHTS
The keys stand for authority… so “He who has the key of David”, means that Jesus has authority over the entire inheritance of David.
One of the names of Jesus is Son of David. Why? Because the family line of Jesus as Son of Man went back to David. Mary’s blood line went back to David, and Joseph’s family tree also went back to David. Although Joseph was not the human father of Jesus, but only the appointed stepfather, that legality made Jesus the legal heir to the throne twice over… So Jesus was the rightful King of Israel! The proof of all that is in the geneaolgies provided in Matthew 1 and Luke 3. One record covers the family line of Mary and the other covers the family line of Joseph. That is our proof.
Jesus as the legal inheritor of the throne of David, was the rightful King of Israel. Here we see that Jesus still holds the key of David… Just because He came the first time incognito as a carpenter, doesn’t change the fact of WHO Jesus is. Next time He comes, enemies of Jesus will run and hide (Revelation 6:16-17.) Just as King David had authority over the people of God, so Jesus has all authority over all that is God’s. We need to see Jesus for who He really is.
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DAY 3 DEVOTIONAL
Rev. 3:7 “What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.”
Rev. 3:7 “To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:
These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.”
THOUGHTFUL THOUGHTS
The best meditation on the meaning of those words follows on in v. 8 with these words
from a modern translation…
Rev.3:8 “I know everything you have done. And I have placed before you an open door no one can close. You were not very strong, but you obeyed my message and did not deny you are my followers. 9 Now you will see what I will do with those people who belong to Satan's group. They claim to be God's people, but they are liars. I will make them come and kneel down at your feet. Then they will know that I love you.”
(ie That means “Opportunity Knocks” for this church at Philadelphia.) They will succeed
and Satan will not be able to stop them. God is with them. In their weakness,
God will make them strong. A modern translation puts it like this:-
- There is an added bonus… “Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.”
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DAY 4 DEVOTIONAL
Rev. 3:14 “The Amen”.
Rev. 3:14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
These are the words of The Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation.
THOUGHTFUL THOUGHTS
The names fit the occasion.
The word “Amen” means something like, “So be it”, or “ I agree”, or even “Yes”. We use it so casually in our prayers that we have made it almost meaningless.
Here, Jesus uses it as one of His names. There is something that is “Final” about it. If Jesus says something, it happens. Look up how many times the word “Amen” exists in the Bible and you will see that whenever it is used, something happens.
When Jesus uses “Amen” here in this context… this is what happens…
Rev. 3:15 “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.”
Use Jesus’ warning for meditation and prayer…
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DAY 5 DEVOTIONAL
Rev. 3:14 … “The Ruler of God’s creation”. (NIV)
Rev. 3:14 “These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation.”
THOUGHTFUL THOUGHTS
Remember when we looked at Rev. 3:7 “He who has the key of David”, we noted that
just as King David had authority (the key) over the people of God, so Jesus has all authority over all that is God’s. When John saw Jesus in heaven, he fell flat on his face. We need to see Jesus for who He really is.
John 1:3 tells us that through Jesus, the whole of creation was made. Then after mankind lost the very paradise he had been given, due to sin, our creator paid with His life to buy back the creation He had made, by paying for the sins committed with His own life, so that they could have the opportunity to regain the paradise they had lost through sinning and return to their creator. He is our maker, redeeemer and King. This is the Ruler of God’s creation.
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DAY 6 DEVOTIONAL
Rev. 4:11 “Lord”.
“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”
THOUGHTFUL THOUGHTS
When we see the word “Lord” in full context like this, it shows a fuller meaning. It can also be translated “Master”.
The word “Lord” is not like the Christmas carol, “Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,
The little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head…” which is a soft and cuddly version this carol teaches children. Remember the opposite is true, that John collapsed when he saw Jesus in heaven. We see more of this truth in tomorrow’s devotional…Meantime, meditate on John’s reaction when he saw Jesus in heaven - and collapsed…
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DAY 7 DEVOTIONAL
Rev. 5:5 “Lion of the tribe of Judah.”
Rev. 5:5 “Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
THOUGHTFUL THOUGHTS
In “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” authored by C.S. Lewis, a creature said to one of the children;
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“Aslan is a lion - THE Lion, the GREAT Lion."
"Ooh" said Susan. "I had thought he was a man. Is he-quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion"...
"Safe?" said Mr Beaver…
"Who said anything about safe? Of course he isn't safe.
But he IS good. He's the King I tell you.” (ends).
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C.S. Lewis showed with this picture that he understood the imagery God used to teach a truth about Himself, and he wrote stories to teach children…
We need to re-evaluate our idea of Jesus… We speak about a lion being the king of the jungle. John tells us that Jesus is like the lion prophesied; (see below).
a). Gen. 49:9-10. As soon as sin came into the world, God had the answer.
b). Hosea 5:14… “For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, like a great lion to Judah. I will tear them to pieces and go away; I will carry them off, with no one to rescue them.”
c). Hosea 13:7–9. God says, “I will be like a lion to them. . . . like a lion I will devour them. . . . You are destroyed, Israel, because you are against me, against your helper” ( It is better to experience the help and protection of the Lion than to deny His kingship and face His fierceness.”
Hosea prophesied how angry God was with Israel because they had became so proud that they forgot God who had done everything for them.
Matthew wants us to know that the extent of Jesus power even went as far as controlling the wind and waves; (Matthew 8:27).
Jesus is called the Lion of the tribe of Judah in Revelation because 1). He is THE King with absolute authority and power over all creation. 2). This great King chose to come to earth through the ancestry of Judah which He was prepared to do to become the sacrifice to pay for our sins.
This is our God, The Servant King, He calls us now to follow Him; To bring our lives as a daily offering, of worship to The Servant King…(Graham Kendrick.)
This link takes you to our devotional https://blog.inspirationalmedia.org.nz/
This is John Dunning signing off from “Thoughtful Thoughts” for another week.
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PS: In order to cut costs, our office has needed to move to being more of a part time service provider, so bear with us if there is a time lag in our responsiveness, and if you wish to help sustain us, Cyber Membership helps us and enables you to have substantial benefits all round. (See “Membership Options” ).
