October 19, 2022
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:4-6
There is a fascinating “outside-of-time” way of thinking in the manner of expressions given by the Holy Spirit. Here, through Paul, He expresses a spiritual location for the body of Christ. Before coming to Christ we were spiritually dead, but now He has made us alive together with Christ so that our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20).
With this in mind as we read Revelation, the apostle John was led to refer to people who are not a part of the body of Christ as those who dwell on the earth (3:10; 6:10; 11:10; 13:14; 14:6; 17:8). Six such references, six being the symbolic number for man.
By contrast, there are twelve New Testament references that describe the people of God as commandment keepers. Matthew 19:17; John 14:15; 14:21; 15:10; 1 Corinthians 7:19; 1 John 2:3; 3:22; 3:24; 5:2; 5:3; Revelation 12:17; 14:12. Twelve is the number of organized, godly leadership.
“Dwell” is also a word that applies to the object of our focus. Those who dwell on the earth have their attention upon earthly things. As followers of Christ, our attention is drawn toward Him. We dwell upon Him and His great love. It is our choice! Herein lies the “secret” of transformation into His likeness. Another word for this use of “dwell” is behold. We are changed by beholding. Therefore, we must be selective about all that we behold!
Those who are fully yielded to Him by faith are His tabernacle, for He chooses to dwell within us. This point brings clarity to John’s description of the beast in Revelation 13:6. And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven. (NASB)
As we come nearer to the end of fallen earth’s history, the Accuser will work through earthly agents to slander the faithful people of God. It is essential to live in accordance with His word, for this is how unbelievers will be enabled to discern the evil of the world’s ways and make the choice to become a loyal follower of Christ!
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. Romans 13:14
Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 1 John 3:1