This week we continue our study of Revelation with one of the most spectacular visions of the Lord ever given to man:

Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands;

and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash.

This week we continue our study with Ephesians 5:20:

After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, so that no wind should blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree (Revelation 7:1).

As we have discussed, our Promised Land in Christ is the nations, the very ends of the earth (see Psalm 2:8). The Lord is coming back to restore the entire earth, and we are now laying the foundation for the coming of His kingdom to do this.

One reason why we spent so many weeks examining the works of the flesh before doing this study is because our carnal, selfish nature must be dealt with before we can be entrusted with the true riches of the kingdom. Some of this is dealt with as we learn to handle earthly riches. Even so, we are not just trying to stop manifesting the works of the flesh, but we are seeking to bear fruit for the kingdom. If we just pursue the negative, we will only become empty. If we pursue the positive, it will displace the negative.

As we have been studying the biblical prophecies of the end times and how we can be prepared for them, we have also concentrated on the importance of having the truth and loving the truth. This is crucial because the biblical definition of the darkness that is coming upon the world in the last days refers almost entirely to deception or that which is not true. When the Bible talks about walking in the light, it is speaking about walking in the truth. It may not sound possible at first, but you can know and love the truth and not necessarily walk in truth. How can this be?

Our study this week is from Ephesians 6:13:

        Last week we laid out the basic steps of progression to full maturity in Christ: 1) Believer, 2) Disciple, 3) Servant, 4) Friend, and 5) Son. These are all addressed in the New Testament, and we will study each one briefly, but enough for it to be clearly seen. This is so we can see where we are in relation to this calling and what our next step is. First, a superficial historical overview can be helpful.

The Ordination

         In pursuit of koinonia, we will need to extend grace and mercy to one another. Just as we must extend grace in coming into fellowship with those who we do not agree with in certain doctrines or methods, we must keep in mind that they are doing the same with us. After we have built some trust, we may start discussing issues we disagree on. The stronger the bridge of trust is, the greater the weight that can be carried by it and the deeper we may go with these issues. We have sound biblical wisdom for how we do this in Ephesians 4:1-3: