The Prophetic Retrospective and the Flow of the Spirit

The Heavenly Father's concern is for us to precede and act out of the sonship by Christ. Even when we get into challenging situations, it is important to focus on the realm of the heavenly things first.
 
The reason for this is simply because this realm is linked to the eternal government of Christ (see Colossians 3:1-3).

Colossians 3:1-3:
1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

As a result, if the Lord allows us, we begin to prophesy or act according to what we have seen in heaven.

In this context I would like to address the apostle John, who was in captivity on the island of Patmos because of the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus (see Revelation 1:9 i.c.w. Revelation 19:10e).

Revelation 1:9:
9 I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.

Revelation 19:10e:
… 10e for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

The Island and God's Revelation

The geographical location of an island implies that it is completely surrounded by water, which in a prophetic context indicates the presence of revelation. For it is the governmental sphere of God that is connected to the crystal sea and from where God releases His revelation (see Revelation 4:6a).

Revelation 4:6a:
6a Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. …

The Greek name of the island ‘Patmos’ can also be translated as ‘my killing’, which from the point of view of the Heavenly Father refers to the death of Jesus on the cross (see John 3:16 i.c.w. Romans 8:32).

John 3:16:
16 For God (note: the Father) so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Romans 8:32:
32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

This sacrificial death requires that every follower of Jesus no longer lives according to his own ideas, but follows the eternal plan of God (see Matthew 16:24-25 i.c.w. Romans 6:2-8; Galatians 2:20; 1 Peter 2:21-24).

Matthew 16:24-25:
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.”

Galatians 2:20:
20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Romans 6:3-8:
3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.
6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin – 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.
8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.

1 Peter 2:21-24:
21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
22 “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.”
23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.
24 “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”

The death of oneself and the unconditional discipleship carries in itself the possibility to get a deeper insight into the realms of revelation of the Lord.
 
Revelation and the Biblical Times

The apostle John was trained in the field of prophecy in a supernatural way, so that today we too can learn from the visitation of God in the Book of Revelation.

John knew how to work with the times of God, which is illustrated by the mention of the day of the Lord, which goes hand in hand with the sound of the trumpet (see Revelation 1:10.12a-b).

Revelation 1:10.12a-b:
10 On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, …
12a-b I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw …

It is no coincidence that every new biblical year of God's cycle of blessing is related to the sound of the trumpet (Numbers 29:1).

Numbers 29:1:
1 “ ‘On the first day of the seventh month hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. It is a day for you to sound the trumpets.

This means that God connects released revelation with His created time cycles, which contain the biblical feasts and their deep meaning.

The voice which sounded like a trumpet to John later spoke again to John, so that he was called from the realm of a messenger to the seven churches into a higher realm of revelation. John changed from the realm of revelation of a messenger to the realm of revelation of a witness. He witnessed God's government and the related spiritual movements in the eternal realm.

In order for John to be able to enter the realm of the messenger of the seven churches, the time frame determined by God was required, which was connected with the sound of the trumpet and the turning of John.

The turning is, among other things, an indication of having a repentant and humble heart in order to be capable to grasp God's revelation (see 1 Peter 5:5b-6 i.c.w. Hebrews 12:14).
 
1 Peter 5:5b-6:
… 5b All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.
 
Hebrews 12:14:
14 Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.
 
Furthermore, John's turning is a call to acknowledge the times of God, to bring oneself to God's memory and to pay attention to the prophetic words that have been spoken about one in the past.
This results in the manifestation of the promise and the goodness of God in the form of more time (see Isaiah 38:2-5 i.c.w. 1 Timothy 1:18-19a; 1 Timothy 4:14).
 
Isaiah 38:2-5:
2 Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 “Remember, Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. 4 Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: 5 “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life.
 
1 Timothy 1:18-19a:
18 Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well, 19a holding on to faith and a good conscience, …
 
1 Timothy 4:14:
14 Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you.
 
The turning of John in the spiritual realm encompasses a horizontal view pointing to the meaning of the words of God (note: prophecy – promise) in the temporary time and to bringing oneself to remembrance before God, since the characteristics of the seven churches also refer to the earthly realm and thus touch the temporary time.
 
The Boundary Between Levels of Revelation and God's Times
 
When John reached the spiritual boundary of the level of revelation of a supernatural messenger, the Lord, through the same voice that had previously spoken to John like a trumpet, opened to him a new spiritual realm associated with the vertical vision of the apostle.
 
Now John saw a door open in heaven and the voice that he heard like a trumpet (note: the sound of the announcement of God's times) challenged his spirit to enter a higher spiritual sphere (see Revelation 4:1-2).
 
Revelation 4:1-2:
1 After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”
2 At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it.
 
This spiritual realm included God's seat of government and its related spiritual movements and plans.
 
Speaking in a prophetic context, the voice that spoke like a trumpet is “the messenger of God's times” (note: Jesus Christ as the Alpha and Omega; see Revelation 22:13). The times of God from eternity are linked to the temporary time.
 
When John looked up, he saw not only a realm of revelation associated with the temporary time, but the realm of the time corpus of God's eternity associated with the eternal government of the Lord.
 
The Two Perspectives and the Flow of the Spirit
 
Both perspectives (note: backwards and upwards) of John create the view of the prophets of God, who always act and prophesy from the perspective of Jesus' sacrificial death.
 
Here it is no coincidence that the Hebrew word ‘yôbêl’ for ‘trumpet’ is connected with the ‘ram and the blast of a horn – shofar (from its continuous sound) which ‘announces the feasts’ of God.
 
Furthermore its root word ‘yâbal’ carries the meaning ‘properly to flow; causatively to bring (especially with pomp => in the form of impressive): - bring (forth), carry, lead (forth).’ (note: partial excerpt from Strong's concordance with the word key number: H3104, H2986)
 
On the basis of this explanation we can see that it is in God's interest to let prophetic utterances accurately take place in the order of the Holy Spirit (see 1 Corinthians 14:32-33a).
 
1 Corinthians 14:32-33a:
32 The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets.
33a For God is not a God of disorder but of peace …
 
The principle of diligent prophetic utterance becomes clear through the first formation of the river.
It was in God's plan that the first river in Eden emerged and then divided into four rivers in the God-destined garden for Adam, so that Adam, through his relationship (note: garden) with God, would reflect the identity of I AM – YAHWEH (note: The name of ‘YAHWEH’ consists of four Hebrew letters. => ‘Yod, He, Waw, He’).
 
Genesis 2:10:
10 A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters.
 
Furthermore, it is the power of the Holy Spirit that becomes active and originates in a fourfold way from those who believe in Jesus Christ and His Word (see John 7:38-39a).
 
John 7:38-39a:
38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”
39a By this he meant the Spirit, …
 
I am personally convinced that these streams of living water Jesus mentions are four rivers, because it is about the revelation of the identity and presence of the God of Israel (note: YAHWEH, in Hebrew written in four letters), who is also our Heavenly Father (see Romans 8:15).

Romans 8:15:
15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”
 
It is the river of sonship in Christ that carries the identity of the Heavenly Father, so that the Father appears before men in the facet in which He wants to reveal Himself as Father (see John 14:9b).

John 14:9b:
… 9b Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. …
 
Amen and Amen.
 
In His Wisdom,
 
Daniel Glimm