Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.  Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me… Revelation 1:3,12

Revelation is the PhD level course of being able to master the prophetic arts of “Seeing and Hearing”.  The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the LORD has made them both. Prov 20:12 But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. Matt 13:16

What is written in Revelation is the hyperlink between the spiritual sensory experiences of seeing and hearing.

1 John 1:1-3 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life— 2 the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.

The word was spoken before it was written, so that what was written would also continue to be spoken. The scriptures are in danger of losing the living presence and replaced by it being studied, interpreted, but not heard personally. We can’t allow our senses to the Word and the prophetic to atrophy. Lord, circumcise or ears and our hearts.

The moment that a word is written it is separated from the voice that spoke it and therefore can become depersonalized. God will keep his word. Words link spirits.
• You can’t read Braille with your eyes, it has to be touched.
• You can’t follow Captain Jack Sparrows compass with your eyes, it has to be discerned.

Words separated from the person who speaks them, can be beautiful just as seashells, or interesting as skeletons, or studied just as fossils. But apart from the act of listening and responding, they do not function as they were intended by the speaker.

Pharisees knew the words of God better than everybody, but they did not hear or know the voice of God. They found themselves embattled against the Word of God spoken in flesh. The printers ink had become embalming fluid.

Pathetic Chart

Revelation is the Musement Park of the Prophetic Arts, but we have made it into an Amusement Park of Pathetic Charts.
• Muse: to consider something thoughtfully
• Amuse: divert the attention of so as to deceive

The Spirit’s emphatic declaration is that the written word has not done its work until we hear the words in a personal/relational act of listening. The blessing is not for those who read the information of the prophecy, but those who can translate them into a personal encounter with the living God. We have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 2 Peter 1:19

We enter the book of Revelation not like visiting a museum, but like a Night at the Museum when all of life and history comes to life.

This generation hears with their eyes and thinks with their feelings. If those generational habits can be harnessed and trained properly then the book of Revelation can become an Encore of the Gospel in our day and time.

Advent 1 – 2014