If we must share it with others, it is meant simply to be read out aloud to them and allow them to hear and determine for themselves. This indeed should be our approach to all revelations that reach us from God, especially the Message of Christ and that of the Spirit of Truth. It is entirely wrong and presumptuous to dissect and argue over the Word, since as is well known spiritual Truth can hardly be understood intellectually. Unfortunately, however this is a common trend and so John warns against it from the beginning, especially in view of the fact that the time for the events is very near.
It is important to realize that as The Revelation emphasizes, humanity, even at the time the book was written, has very little time in which to decide their fate in Creation. The concept of time here is in the absolute as well as in a relative sense. In the context of the total existence of man on earth which science places at over a million years, the remaining period in the sense of collective human experiencing is small. We should also remember that time is related to our experiences and that for each individual it is his/her personal experience that defines time.
Finally, in view of this being a revelation from God we must take into account that with God time has no substance, since in Him the beginning and the end are one. In this absolute sense therefore, time stands still, and substantiate beings of Creation only take out of time for their particular experiences (Abd-ru-shin). Other Called Ones in the scriptures have emphasized this fact by stating figuratively that in the spiritual, a thousand years is like one day. Therefore, we must each take the events around us with all seriousness, with a realization that this is probably the last opportunity we will have to correct our mistakes and re-order our lives in a God-willed direction.
It is also important to understand in this context that the Revelation cannot be limited to a small epoch in the history of Christianity as has been attempted in the past. It finds relevance and remains very important for each human spirit that must experience the Will of God in Creation no matter at what epoch. There is no doubt that we are now in the Biblical end-time; a period that is marked by an intensification of the activity of the Light on earth and the establishment of the Kingdom of God. The landmark boundary was the rejection of the incarnated Son of God, Jesus, by humanity.
His incarnation represented a special Grace of Love intended to lift us up from the darkness, and help Creation prepare for the end times. By rejecting Him however, mankind sealed their fate. This is why Jesus lamented over Jerusalem, which as indicated in The Revelation, represents the earth, our world.
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.' (Matt 23:37).
In rejecting Christ, mankind lost a great opportunity and the Light will no more tread on earth until He who comes in the name of the Lord at the end, as the Son of Man. Christ’s disciples clearly saw the time of the Lord as the beginning of the end-time (1 Peter 1:20, 1 Peter 4:7, 1Corint 10:11) and the Lord himself indicated its imminence. If we recognize the accumulating intensification of Light activity gripping our world today, starting with the bringing of the Word of Truth in the Grail Message, we must all see the Revelation as pertaining to our time.
Having rejected the Son of God, Jesus and being too blind to recognize the Spirit of Truth when He came, we must now experience the Justice of the Will of God. What began with the coming of Jesus now intensifies, as promised, with the coming of the Spirit of Truth. This Judgment in purification is now with us and we must strive with utmost earnestness to free ourselves from Matter. Like the wise virgins, we must fill our spirits (our lamps) with the gift of spiritual enlightenment in pure volition (the oil) for by the time the sign of the Son of Man finally appears in the sky, it will have become too late for the foolish spirits that had no oil in their lamps.
This parable of the ten virgins is clearly descriptive of the fate of striving human spirits in the judgment. Ten describes a completion and virgins indicate pure striving. These are therefore, those who were found worthy of the millennium, i.e. worthy to meet the Son of Man. However, not all were able to make use of the grace of the millennium, the enlightening word brought by the Spirit of Truth. Indeed, half failed; they lapsed in their striving and could not overcome. They were spiritually indolent.
Greetings (Rev. 1:4-8)
14. John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power forever and ever! Amen. “Look, he is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him”; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.” So shall it be! Amen. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
John starts by sending greetings to the seven churches in the province of Asia, thereby defining his target audience. It is usually assumed that The Revelation is directed to churches located in the various towns in the western part of what we call Asia Minor (Modern day Turkey) – To Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. If this was so, the relevance of the Revelation will cease with the destruction of those churches. Yet, it is being increasingly appreciated that The Revelation is very relevant in this epoch.
There is little doubt that all these cities existed in Asia Minor and that perhaps they contained flourishing churches at that time. There is also little doubt that writing from Patmos, which is only a little distance (~ 12 miles) from Ephesus, John may wish to use these churches to represent the church communities. It is however more probable, as discussed in the introduction that these named churches are symbolic of world communities. This will explain why they represent all striving Creation before the throne of the Almighty as golden lampstands (v. 20).
The form of the greeting here is important to us as a church, i.e. a body of people who uphold and strive to establish the Will of the Eternal One. For us, the two most urgent necessities in the currently prevailing circumstances are grace and peace. Grace because in the circumstances in which we live, difficult circumstances, as John was later to elaborate, we could not stand on our own. Everything including family, our daily routines, jobs and even acquisition of daily bread is heavily under the influence of God-less forces. So much so that only a direct help from God can still sustain us, and even this help, we do not on our own merit deserve. Peace because in the strife-torn-world, laboring under the throes of the purification and the tribulations that mark the end-time, inner peace is the greatest gift we can receive or share.
This grace and peace is to come from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come and from the seven spirits before His throne and from Jesus Christ. This pattern is also used in verse 8. The first part has hitherto been thought to represent the Almighty in Eternity – past, present and future and the seven spirits before His throne understood to represent the Holy Spirit. On this assumption, some authors alternatively translate the seven spirits before his throne as the seven fold spirit, i.e. the Holy Spirit of God (seven-fold indicating a reflection of the perfection of the work of the Creative Will). However the order of the words – is, was, to come (rather than was, is, to come) – suggests the alternative that the expression may represent event sequence. In this sense, the grace and peace may be seen as mediated through the Father