Revelation 5-10 “reveal” so many things about Almighty God;His Authority;His Absolute Power;His Grace;etc.,and Particularly His Grace of Sovereign Protection that we currently live under.There are at least 2 “umbrellas” of God’s Grace.There is the outer umbrella that is basically the environment we all live in.Revelation 5-10 “reveal” the protection of this umbrella when Jesus removes the Seals that HE has put in place which have been shielding/protecting all of history from pure unadulterated EVIL! Sin was given entrance to the human condition, when Adam & Eve succumbed to temptation.(James1:14-15,”But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.).Since that time, Jesus has “sealed” all creation from the Pure Unadulterated Full Exposure to the what Sin Truly & Fully brings with it->Death in all IT’s forms & all IT’s variations of DEMISE as revealed when Jesus breaks the Seals that have been holding it back!In Rev5-10 as Jesus breaks the Seven Seals,&you can see what Jesus Himself has been shielding all creation from.Since Jesus ALONE has the Authority & Power to break these Seals, it is His Authority and His Power -His Grace-that has been shielding all of creation from this Pure Unadulterated Evil throughout history.The Lord’s Desire has been for everyone to KNOW The TRUTHS of His Grace&Mercy.But we have a HISTORY of rejecting His TRUTHS as revealed through the TRUTHS of Creation,AND the TRUTHS of history!God’s Word is HIS Love Purposed to give us the RIGHT perspective on all things...so we can have the RIGHT Foundation for how we shape our mind/heart/life(Proverbs1:7.”The fear/reverence of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.) and thereby have the TRUE Knowledge of all that The Lord Sovereignly displays for us to know of His Great Loving concern for us as contrasted with sin and it’s impact on the human heart!Especially HIS LOVE that HE personally Expresses through The Gospel of Christ...to Eternally save everyone from the ultimate and FULL EXPOSURE to all that sin brings with it! When Jesus breaks the Seals,the full impact of sin is unleashed,& we learn what Jesus has been shielding creation from for thousands of years-& it is horrifying what Jesus has been keeping at bay!Jesus breaking the Seals and thereby releasing “sin at full strength” “reveals” what Jesus has been shielding us from since Adam and Eve answered Jesus calling for them to repent and come to Him in The Garden after they first sinned....and opened the “Box of Eternal Death”.Since we are eternal beings,death for us is not as most dictionaries define it!There is an ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE to the death God states is Genesis 2:17,”but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat,for in that day you eat from it you shall surely die”.God created as Eternal Beings! We will live forever! So the death that God speaks of in Gen2:7 has eternal aspects! It is not just experiencing death of the body!At the time God has this conversation with Adam,Satan has already rebelled against God and in his rebellion his arrogance;greed;selfishness;pride;conceit;deceit,etc.,opened a door for the Eternal Deadly Virus called SIN to infect the World.God knew this was going to happen long before it happened!From Genesis through the Book of Revelation,God assures us that HE not only KNEW all of this...HE has always had a “plan” to shield us from all the aspects of eternal death,and for this eternal death to be ultimately defeated “fair & square”.This is one reason that Jesus breaks all the seals that have been keeping SIN at bay->so Satan and his sin infection can be defeated “once and for all...fare and square”! So,Rev5-10 is setting the stage for the time that only Father God knows as THE TIME to annihilate everything about sin once and for all,for all who have TRUSTED in what HE has said all along about sin & the ONLY rescue from it,to live forever in the Pure&Unadulterated environment that HIS Full&Complete Glory enables FOREVER AND EVER!There is much much more that Jesus is revealing in these chapters...but this is what hits me this morning! Dear Lord Jesus,I will never know the pure and unadulterated horrific eternal effects of sin,thanks to what You did for me when You lived;suffered;died and then conquered the eternal horrifying aspects of eternal death for me when You Conquered these as You rose from the grave,& then ascended to the very Throne that Revelation tells me that You will one day get up from to break the seven seals...and then ultimately defeat Satan and his SIN  VIRUS once and for all,fair and square! Oh Lord...may I grow to know more and more about Your Love that You have weaved into and throughout all of History to display Your Grace&Mercy to me...& may my spirit/heart/mind/life be so humbled by Your Love...that I worship You Only in all ways.

In our current state, and with all the ideas we have about life as we know it in the here and now,it is impossible to fully perceive the Awesomeness of God; and the Infinity Nature of His Attributes! One day everyone is going to know His Attributes & have an up close and personal “view” of His Awesomeness! A thought I have had recently is being blown away by the fact the when Jesus walked the Earth, THAT was Almighty God walking among people and giving HIS message about HIS Loving Acts of Suffering and Sacrifice for everyone! Because people did not “have ears to hear, nor eyes to see”, they were so messed up that they totally missed Almighty God Himself reaching out to them...they totally missed the EXPERIENCE of being in the PRESENCE of The Creator of all things; the POWER that created and sustains all life; the very ONE that created them! In Revelation 4 John is brought into the Throne Room of God, & what we read is the a description of the Awesomeness of what the Presence of God and ALL of HIS OMNIPOTENCE; OMNISCIENCE; OMNIPRESENCE; AUTHORITY; LOVE; BEAUTY, & so much more that we will never fully appreciate! This is THE GOD that has placed HIS SPIRIT inside everyone that trusts their life into The Mercy & Grace of Christ! I am much like the people in the New Testament that were not in AWE of WHO walked and talked among them. Almighty God’s Spirit is in me! And yet I am not in AWE of Almighty God Himself being the Very One that beckons me to spend time with Him; seek Him in His Word & in prayer; & trust Him enough to follow Him and His instructions in my days with every step I take; every thought trail I take; every discernment I seek; every perspective I have for those I come in contact with...! Dear Lord Jesus...I am missing so much because of my lack of grabbing the TRUTH of YOUR Spirit living inside me for my own GOOD. I need to be blown away by YOU being THAT SPIRIT! I pray for Your help in opening my eyes and ears and all that I am to this REALITY! And may I have YOUR help in remembering this throughout today, and all my today’s to come....and may I be so AWED by this fact that everything about me is changed with every breath I take.

After Jesus talks with John about the challenges we all face in our relationship with Him,the very same that 6 of the churches were facing...Revelation 3 ends with Jesus making a personal invitation to everyone! Rev3:20 is Jesus saying -“Behold,I stand at the door and knock;if anyone hears My voice & opens the door, I will come in to him, & will dine with him, & he with Me.He who overcomes,I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne,as I overcame & sat down with My Father in His throne.He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says.”Unfortunately,not everyone has “an ear” that will hear Jesus’ voice/know His presence in their mind/heart/life.The very things that prevent our hearing/know His presence are those that were just articulated to 6 of the churches! 1)Distancing of our heart/mind/life from true devotion to Jesus and His Word: 2)A perspective on life that is temporal versus eternal,thus steering our mind/heart/life away from understanding & appreciating God’s Ways & God’s Love.3)Contaminating TRUTH with all sorts of ideas & ideals that do not line up with Absolute TRUTH.4)Living 2 lives! 1 life that “shows faithfulness” to the Lord for outward appearances,while having another life of selfishness & greed of other things.5)We claim to be Christians,while the priorities in our mind/heart/life reveal we are not.6)Comforts&Securities of our personal environment rob us of the TRUE Refreshing & TRUE Blessings of knowing Jesus Christ’s presence in our life.What Jesus tells the church in Philadelphia though is unique to the groups of “believers” HE addresses.This group of believers are unique to all others in that they “have kept My Word,& have not denied My name”!These people had a perseverant determination to keep their minds/hearts/lives TRUE to God’s Word,& thereby honor God with their thoughts;their words;their emotions;their plans;their actions;& the way the humble way they kept their lives dependent on The Lord.The 6 groups of “believers” that Jesus warns of their challenges to having a TRUE relationship with Him,have the same challenges that we face...the things that make it extremely challenging to “have ears” that truly hear what God has to say about life & know His presence in our life.And if we don’t truly hear what God has to say about our lives,then we must ask,WHO are we truly listening to!?The group of “believers” in Philadelphia knew that they needed HELP to stay TRUE in their relationship with The Lord.Rev3:8b says,”BECAUSE you HAVE LITTLE POWER,and have kept My Word,& have not denied My Name...”These people humbly knew that they NEEDED their lives to be dependent on God’s Word for the strength/power they needed for every day,& their minds/hearts/lives faithfully revealed a TRUE & FAITHFUL Love for The Lord.Dear Lord,I need Your help,just as the people in Philadelphia knew they needed Your help.I pray for Your HELP in keeping a sincere hunger for Your Word,and May Your Word satisfy & fulfill my mind/heart/life in all ways,so that I my mind/heart/life may always honor Your name.

Immediately after Jesus reproved/admonished the people in Revelation 2-3,Jesus says,”Those I love,I reprove & discipline;be zealous therefore & repent.Behold,I stand at the door & knock;if anyone hears my voice & opens the door,I will come in to him,& will dine with him,& he with Me.He who overcomes,I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne,as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.He who has ear,let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”SO! If indeed I “hear” what Jesus has said to the 7 churches in Revelation2-3,then I am one that is included in “Those He loves”...those He is speaking to as a perfect loving father would speak with his heart about concerns he has for his child,hoping with a HIS heart full of loving desire that HIS child will take to heart and heed the heart cries of the father’s perfect love.Revelation 2-3 are conversations The Perfect Loving Father is having with us,because of His overwhelming loving concern for our heart & soul...and His Awesome Desire to have each one of His children in His Lap...,enjoying a personal relationship with Him..& knowing His Voice.If our mind&heart are sincere about knowing The Only Perfect Father God as one of His children that can crawl up into His Lap at any time...,then we will take to heart the messages addressed to the 7 groups of people in Rev2-3.And we will make it a point to regularly be reminded of these messages and regularly take them into our heart as the very Love Messages from The Lord meant to tune my heart&mind&life in ways that make it possible for us to know His Presence and to hear His Voice every day we live.Dear Lord Jesus,You have used this message in many ways in my life,but I so often have missed Your Hearts Cry for me to respond because of Your Great Loving Concern that I be with you and walk with You every day....and what THAT KNOCK at the door of my heart means for me personally! I pray to be reminded of this regularly..& for Your help in taking Your Words to heart...

The final  characteristic Jesus talks about of those that will know the presence of The Lord in their lives is a life that is spiritually refreshing and spiritually healing to others-Rev3:14-16,”To the angel of the church in Laodicea....I know your deeds,that you are neither cold nor hot;I would that you were cold or hot.So because you are lukewarm,& neither hot nor cold.I will spit you out of my mouth.”The people of Laodicea were secure financially&commercially,and comfortable in their educated/learned social circles/communities.The people Jesus is speaking to had let these “comforts&securities”of their environment infect their faith in & passion for Christ! To the extent that their lives waned from the joy filled purposes that Jesus’ Spirit living in them desired for them to have!This made their lives smell&sound&look just like that of their environment!The water of Laodicea was provided by a community system of pipes that dissipated all of the soothing heat and refreshing cold that water can provide.Jesus was telling His people in Laodicea that they were allowing the comforts&securities in their environment to rob them of the Spiritually Refreshment & Spiritual Medicinal purposes HE desires for them to have as part of a personal relationship with Him.Jesus was saying that instead of a personal relationship with HIM inspiring them to be people that impact their environment with The Refreshing and Healing powers of HIS Mercy and Grace,that they were allowing the comforts&securities of their environment to dissipate the very Refreshing and Healing that  are the Gifts Jesus was born/lived/suffered/died,& was resurrected for them to have.And in so doing,the Church in Laodicea was not being the Refreshing Healing presence/influence of Christ in their communities.In fact the opposite was happening,& it makes Jesus Heartsick!These people said,Rev3:17,”I am rich...& have need of nothing”.To which Jesus says,”you do not know that you are wretched & miserable & poor & blind & naked.I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire(treasures with Eternal Value),that you may become rich(Eternal Securities),& white garments,that you may clothe yourself,& that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed(made Righteous by The Gospel of Christ);& eyesalve to anoint your eyes,that you may see(know the Presence and Purposes of The Lord)”.The people in Laodicea had allowed their environment to impact them,thereby reducing them/dissipating them to becoming churchy & religious with all the aromas and other characteristics of their environment.They had lost all of the Refreshing & Healing of Christ in their lives...and their communities progressively got worse,instead of knowing the Refreshing & Healing of Christ through them.Dear Lord,I claim so many things in my mind/heart/life about You and my relationship with You.But this section of Revelation exposes so much of me that is just like the people You are talking to here.In fact,You ARE talking to me about these very same things in my life.I pray for You to give me the strength of honesty before You...so I can allow Your Spirit and Your Word to Refresh and Heal me in the areas of my mind/heart/life that I am just like the people in Laodicea.