Book 4 of Musings He Who Has an Ear

Seven times in the Book of Revelation the Lord Jesus said:

"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." I believe this admonition applies today as never before. The Spirit of God is speaking to the Christian churches today. Do we have ears to hear what He is saying?

Today there are probably as many Christians programs and plans to promote Gospel work as has ever been true in the history of the world. Every so often I receive a brochure telling how if this one comes to our church, or if I will go to their seminar, wonderful things will happen.

I am not certain all of these ventures are of the Lord. I do not doubt the sincerity of the individuals, but I am not sure they are hearing from the Lord Jesus.

I wonder who is hearing the Lord Jesus today. Exactly what is He saying?

When I began to seek the Lord, over fifty years ago, the Lord spoke to me about what would be next for His Church. At that time we were preaching the rapture, the great falling away, and that the Catholic Church is Babylon the Great. This seemed to be the burden of the preaching in those days.

But the Lord did not speak to me about the rapture, or the great falling away, or the Catholic Church. He told me two things: that judgment was going to come upon His churches, and that the spiritual emphasis of the coming days would be "Christ in you."

Then He pointed out to me the seven feasts of the Lord. At that time I had never heard anyone preach or teach about the seven feasts of the Lord, except Oliver Ellenwood who mentioned them in passing as he was lecturing on the Tabernacle of the Congregation.

I think God's plan for the years, beginning around 1948, has been to emphasize the last three of the seven feasts of the Lord: the Blowing of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and, finally, the feast of Tabernacles.

I came to realize the Blowing of Trumpets signified that after Pentecost we would enter a period of spiritual warfare. The Day of Atonement means we Christians are to be reconciled to God in our personality and behavior, not just legally, as in the blood atonement. The feast of Tabernacles speaks of the Father and the Son making us Their place of rest.

The Lord impressed these things on me in 1948 while I was in Bible school. Now, in 2003, I can see that spiritual warfare, personal reconciliation to God, and the dwelling of God in us, are what the Spirit is speaking about today.

Of late, Revelation 3:20, where the Lord told us if we would open the door He would dine with us, has been in the forefront of my thinking. I have heard this passage applied to the unsaved, and perhaps it has application there also. But remember, this verse was written to the church of Laodicea.

And look at how the passage fits the last three feasts of the Lord.

When we open the door to the Lord, He enters and begins to wage war against His enemies in our personality. Isn't that a fact? I think this is what the twenty-fourth Psalm is referring to when it commands us to open the doors so the Lord, strong and mighty in battle, can enter.

As He does, our personality and behavior are reconciled to the personality and behavior of the Lord.

When our personality and behavior have been reconciled to the Lord, then God and Christ can settle down to rest in us; to make Their eternal abode in us.

"In my Father's house there are many rooms," the Lord promised, referring to us when we have been made suitable as a dwelling place for God.

Today the Lord is coming to us and bringing us closer to Himself that we might be with Him where He is-that is, in the very Center of the Person and will of God.

Kind of all make sense, doesn't it.

The trick is to have an ear to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches. We don't have to guess at what God is doing today, we just need to listen to the Spirit of God.

And that is a lovely practice, isn't it?

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. (Rev 3:22)