I was in spirit on the Lord’s Day and heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet. (Rev. 1:10)
Immediately I was in spirit; and behold, there was a throne set in heaven, and upon the throne there was One sitting. (4:2)
And one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, Come here; I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits upon the many waters.... And he carried me away in spirit into a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. (17:1, 3)
And one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me, saying, Come here; I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb. And he carried me away in spirit onto a great and high mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. (21:9-10)
Please pay attention to the fact that the four passages quoted above all say the writer was “in spirit.” We must know that the visions or revelations in the book of Revelation are shown in these four times of being “in spirit.” The first time the apostle John was in spirit he saw the seven golden lampstands and the Lord who walks in the midst of them. This is the vision in the first three chapters of Revelation. The second time, he saw a throne in heaven out of which the seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven bowls were executed. This is the vision of the throne, which is in chapters four through sixteen. The third time, he saw Babylon the harlot, which is in chapters seventeen and eighteen and which includes also chapters nineteen and twenty. The fourth time, he saw the New Jerusalem. This is in chapters twenty-one and twenty-two. Revelation can be divided into four sections, covering four great visions, all of which were seen by John in spirit. Therefore, today if we want to understand these four visions in Revelation, we cannot merely read about them in our mind; instead, we must exercise to turn to our spirit. In Revelation you see that the indwelling Spirit is the revealing Spirit.
To the messenger of the church in Ephesus write: These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, He who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands.... He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. (2:1, 7a)
Each of the seven epistles in Revelation 2 and 3 begins by saying that it is the Lord who speaks and ends by saying that everyone who has an ear should hear what the Spirit says to the churches. This tells us that the Lord’s speaking is the Spirit’s speaking, and it also tells us that whatever the Lord speaks must be spoken again by the Spirit. At the beginning of each of the seven epistles it is the Lord speaking to a particular church, but at the end it is the Spirit speaking to the churches. The Lord’s word at the beginning is to a certain local church, but later when the people from all the ages read it, it becomes the Spirit’s speaking to all the churches. Whatever the Lord speaks is recorded in the Bible, but when you and I read it, the Spirit still must speak it. (This Spirit refers to the Spirit who is mingled with us.) This matter proves firstly that the Lord’s speaking is the Spirit’s speaking and that the Spirit’s speaking is the Lord’s speaking. Secondly, it proves that although the Lord’s word was already spoken to a certain local church, today when the churches want to hear His word, there is still the need for the Spirit to speak it. This tells us that the Spirit we have within us is not only the revealing Spirit, the vision-imparting Spirit, but also the speaking Spirit.
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