SPIRITUAL FEELING
[p. 532] SPIRITUAL FEELING
Revelation 1:4 - 10; Revelation 5:1 - 5; Revelation 10:8 - 11
I have in mind to speak about spiritual feeling, and particularly to show how it works out in those who serve in giving a lead to others. I believe the principle is found throughout Scripture, which gives us the whole history of God’s testimony. Indeed, in the very first verses of the Bible we find it in relation to God Himself. It is said that the Spirit of God hovered, or brooded, over the face of the waters. The writer of the passages read is John, who in his gospel furnishes us with much as to feeling, particularly as seen in the Lord Himself. Luke similarly presents much on this subject, as also does Paul, showing it in relation to the Lord Jesus and in himself, Timotheus and others. In the Revelation John is not serving as an apostle, but as a bondman. He is the same John, but a spiritual man is always amenable to influence from the Lord, both externally and internally, so that he can take on the service of a bondman, indeed of a prophet, in this book, and keep within the bounds of that kind of service. To illustrate it, he says, “I became in the Spirit”. That is, he shows the capability of change, and so he takes on the attitude of a bondman. He describes himself as Christ’s bondman John.
Having addressed himself to the assemblies he proceeds to draw the saints into the great thoughts of Deity; not indeed in absoluteness, which is beyond us, but as come into revelation. From the standpoint of this book, he says, “Grace to you and peace from him who is, and who was, and who is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne”. Notice how the seven Spirits are brought before us in the benediction. Seven is a symbolical number referring to the totality and variety of the operations of the Spirit as seen in this book, but invoked in [p. 533] blessing. All this is in the mind of the minister, for we should never lose sight of the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. He then says, “... and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us, and has washed us from our sins in his blood, and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father”. Thus we have the Trinity presented in the benediction. We see how deeply affecting this is to the minister, the prophet. That is the feature I would keep in view, as the prophet goes on: “Behold, he comes with the clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they which have pierced him, and all the tribes of the land shall wail because of him. Yea. Amen”. That is feeling; the prophet is marked by feeling.
He then speaks in the language of the prophets of the Old Testament: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, saith the Lord God, he who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty”. I apprehend he is bringing in Isaiah, who is the most feeling of all the prophets. There is no book in the Old Testament that inspires more feeling than the prophesy of Isaiah. What the writer says here is confirmed in Isaiah. John tells us that the Lord God, that is, Jehovah, says this. So that, at the outset, we see that ministry begins with God, the minister being profoundly affected by God as known. All this is brought to bear on the actual ministry, for God is presented in the book that is before us.
The prophet then speaks about himself, and his relations with the saints, and gives us this thought of the assembly, for the assembly, under the symbol of seven assemblies, is brought into all this. Let us understand, dear brethren, that the book of Revelation is an assembly matter, showing things to us in an intelligent and feeling way, and God is dominating the soul of the minister. Can we doubt that the Lord [p. 534] is helping us at the present time, as we enter upon the fringe of the great events portrayed in this book? Can we doubt that the Lord is helping us in regard to Deity, as coming into our range, having us in mind and affecting us so that we can say, with feeling, “To him who loves us, and has washed us from our sins in his blood, and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father”? I verily believe the Lord is helping us as to this, so that in our service we should have feelings as those who know God, and thus be enabled to give a lead to those whom we serve. One is not leading unless he is what he presents, for the lead is in the person, not exactly in the things he says. The things in themselves have no heart, but the heart, the feelings, the intelligence, the personality is in the speaker, and it is in the personality that you get the spiritual lead. As John proceeds he shows that in his relations with us, he is one of ourselves, and if he is so amenable to heaven, so amenable to change for a specific purpose, why not any of us? The need of service is great and the word is, “Whom shall I send?” (Isaiah 6:8). It is a man of feelings that is sent. Isaiah says, “Send me”, for he was expressing himself with feeling.
And so John says, “I John, your brother and fellow-partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and patience, in Jesus, was in the island called Patmos, for the word of God, and the testimony of Jesus”. Then he says, “I became in the Spirit”. The thought is that he was something now that he had not been immediately before. I do not say that he had never been in the Spirit before, for we know he had, but I am speaking of the power and capability of change. Why should I not be amenable to the influence of heaven in this respect? Why should I not be amenable to the influences, impulses and gracious suggestions and feelings of the Spirit of God within me? “The Spirit joins also its help to our weakness”, (Romans 8:26) and moreover, “bears witness with our spirit, that we are children of God” (Romans 8:16). He operates within me; why then should I not be available to Him and amenable to change according to what is required? Severity may be needed, or gentleness, or tearful entreaty. Why not be always ready for the work of God? John says, “I became in the Spirit”. It was needed. The words are repeated in chapter 4. He is called up to heaven and he says, “Immediately I became in the Spirit” Revelation 4:2. These are points of importance in connection with what I am speaking of, dear brethren, for there should be with us the readiness to change. John presents himself as one of us: “Your brother and fellow-partaker in the tribulation ...”. His identification is made very clear because he announces himself — “I John”. He does not do that in his gospel. Here he gives us a lead, a most essential feature at the present time. I believe the great need in every gathering, small or great, is for a spiritual lead, someone to move forward in things. We wait for one another, of course, but if you have a spiritual lead, and it is from the Lord it is for you to move on and others will follow. It is not an arbitrary matter; it is what a person is.
I go now to chapter 5 to speak of the exigencies of the service. The scene is constantly changing in this book, and this involves constant change in the position of the minister as well as in his attitude and feelings. It is a poor thing if one goes on day after day in his service as if there were no God, no Spirit, no heaven; as if there were no power of being “transformed ... from glory to glory” (2 Corinthians 3:18). There is the suggestion of progress in that sense; it is from glory to glory, which we might say covers every position and all our movements here. From the divine side it is changing glory, that is, glory is presented in different aspects. If the servant is pursuing the movements of glory he will receive and [p. 536] retain feelings that are suitable so that he does not mar his service; he is not out of accord with it, but is in keeping with it, and exemplifies it. Emergencies may arise or we come to an impasse. These things happen in our service and in the meetings and it is important to have right feelings in every circumstance. In looking at any matter we are to look at it with right feelings.
The scripture says that John “saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to break its seals? And no one was able in the heaven, or upon the earth, or underneath the earth, to open the book, or to regard it”. Many would be utterly indifferent to this, but John wept much; he was in straits about it. Circumstances arise with us in which there seems to be no way out, but the point is, are we feeling the thing? You may be sure, dear brethren, that right feelings are the beginning of the solution of any matter. As soon as I feel them with God I begin to get relief. Prayer is connected with it, of course. Isaiah tells us how Hezekiah, in his history, turned his face to the wall, deliberately, suggesting that he had come to the end of himself. There appeared to be no outlet, but that was the beginning of the solution; there was an outlet. The way out begins to appear when there is acceptance of the circumstances, and right feeling about them. Christ is the solution of every difficulty. There never was a difficulty brought to Him which was not met and solved, but it is the acceptance, with right feelings, of the inability to solve the matter for ourselves that leads to the solution.
John said, “I wept much”. I am speaking particularly, dear brethren, of feeling in relation to service. Why should I pass on on the other side, in any gathering like the priest and the Levite of whom the Lord speaks in Luke 10? Why should I? Where are my feelings and affections in the matter? It is [p. 537] not, indeed, that I should interfere, but certainly I should feel, and that leads to the solution of the matter. Right feeling leads to prayer, and prayer brings God in. Christ is the wisdom of God, and the wisdom of God in Christ is the solution for everything. “There is not a wise person among you”, (1 Corinthians 6:5) says the apostle, implying that there was not one to take on the matter in question; whereas we are told that Christ “has been made to us wisdom from God, and righteousness, and holiness, and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30). We may ask reverently, Why not use Him? Prayer brings Him in. I do not say John’s weeping brought Him in, but He was brought into John’s soul, and that leads to the solution of the matter.
The opening of the seals requires the wisdom of God. The idea of seals ought not to be foreign to us; they should not be strange. There is really nothing sealed to us now. The “mystery” involves, as we are told in Colossians 2:3, “all the treasures of wisdom and of knowledge”. Why should we be at a loss about anything? We can read this book with a measure of understanding, and John represents us, in that sense, as we feel things.
And it is time that we should begin to feel the great things of the Apocalypse. Do not let us put them too far away, for they are at our doors; we are in the very presence of them. One of the most serious things at the present time is that the great evil portrayed in this book is edging its way in, and influencing even the people of God. Do we feel that? I am speaking now of feeling, and immediately we feel we inquire as to what can cope with this - with trade unionism, for example, and all its accompanying evils, and many other things that are current in the world at the present time. These things have to be met, dear brethren, if God is to continue with us; and they must be dealt with in His way. His way is plain enough; the way out is the way of suffering.
[p. 538] Hence we see the Lamb standing as slain, as John says, “And I saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, a Lamb standing, as slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God which are sent into all the earth” Revelation 5:6. I am impressed at this moment, dear brethren, with the slain Lamb as the solution, following on the weeping. Prayer will follow on if we have the feelings; and the next thing is suffering. It is suffering in outward weakness, for the “Lamb” throughout this book is a diminutive word. He is also said to be “the lion of the tribe of Judah”, which directs us back to Genesis, for this book goes back to the root of things. But John saw “a Lamb standing, as slain”. There is no aggressiveness in the thought; it is the attitude of a Sufferer here; but that suffering One who was crucified in weakness lives by the power of God, and so He is presented here as having seven horns, the perfection of power. And He has seven eyes, the perfection of perception. The seven eyes are said to be the “seven Spirits of God which are sent into all the earth” Revelation 5:6. That is, power of influence in the most immediate way is seen in the seven Spirits of God sent into all the earth. What power can stand against this?
We see, then, that there is no question of arms, or of our taking part in the affairs of this world; it is a matter of suffering. And what accompanies suffering? The power of God! The horns are symbols of power; the seven Spirits of God are active dynamic power in the possession of those who suffer on this line. The way is perfectly plain. There is no compromise with evil of anti christian principles, but rather a repudiation of them, though making everything of the powers that be, as ordained of God, in our prayers and in our subjection. You will understand that I am speaking of what is dealt with in [p. 539] this book; that is, the organized power of evil against Christ. There never was a time when organization was more evident than the present time. It is all in view of the summing up of evil in this world when the Spirit of God is taken away. The Spirit of God is here in the assembly and He will continue His activities here until the close of the dispensation — God dwelling here in Spirit. The organization of evil is about to head up, and so God calls upon us to accept the situation with right feelings and face it on the line of the accompanying sufferings. Thus we shall have power in that the seven Spirits of God are sent out into all the earth. It is a universal matter. In the address to Sardis the Lord is presented as having in His hand the seven stars. He does not say they are sent out to all the earth. But this allusion is to His power in relation to political matters that are now coming, indeed, they have already come. Do not let us forget that they have come, in principle, and it is for us to give a lead to our brethren who will follow us. Surely we are not to be behind in this, and the lead, as I said before, is in having right feelings about things.
Finally, in chapter 10, the servant is affected by the eating of the little opened book. This little opened book is obviously in contrast to the sealed book. An open book does not need any power to open it for it is open. The sealed book alludes to what was still mysterious and could only be met by the Lamb — the One who died and rose again. It is a matter of His rights in redemption, for in redemption He has secured universal rights; and He opens one seal after another, seven of them, showing the mind of God and how His ways are carried into effect here below. That is what the sealed book alludes to. The little book is not sealed; it is little, for it relates to known prophetic history. It is not what we call the history of Europe; it is prophetic [p. 540] history. There is the sense in which we do not need to go outside the Bible for anything, for the Bible gives us history, but this is known history. The Lord is seen as a mighty Angel. “And he set his right foot on the sea, and the left upon the earth, and cried with a loud voice as a lion roars. And when he cried, the seven thunders uttered their own voices” Revelation 10:2,3. Christ is speaking, for none other has a right to take charge of the earth. The earth is His but it is on the ground of redemption that He acts. He roars as a lion — not now the Lamb - and seven thunders utter their voices; heaven is announcing, in power, that something is about to take place. The Lord has this little opened book in His hand, as though He would say, I am coming in in relation to what you know. He comes in as a Lion, in power, in relation to what was not known, but now is known, for in the tenth chapter “he has made known the glad tidings to his own bondmen the prophets” Revelation 10:7.
Since the revival of over one hundred years ago prophecy has been a leading matter with the saints of God, particularly at the beginning, not as a mere mental study, but in spiritual inquiry. It was to open up the spiritual map, and it did so, and we rightly speak of it thus ever since. We have come into that wealth, and we look at the map. But very often it is looked at in a mere mental way as we think of the history of the great men of the past, whereas it is spiritual matter. The prophetic ministry that came in and which is still extant in writing and carried down by spiritual men refers to what is in this little opened book. It is open; it is known. Let no one say he does not know it, for the Lord would say to him, Why not? It is to be known, it is at your door. The Spirit of God would make it intelligible to you. The Lord says that He is coming in now in relation to this matter. Satan knows this and he too is coming in in relation to it. So it [p. 541] becomes a question of the history of the testimony in the western world. God desires us to be intelligent in the history of the testimony. The Lord says, I am coming in in regard to it. How do we stand in regard to understanding of the prophetic books? What are they to us? The angel told John to take that little book out of the hand of Christ and eat it, and he did so.
Well now, the Lord would have us eat and appropriate the book, and as we do so we shall feel the things that are going to happen in this world, and what they mean for the saints of God. What is Europe coming to, beloved brethren? Is that which is coming nothing to you, or to me, in connection with the testimony? We should not be talking lightly about prophetic matters, but appropriating what they mean. John took the little book, and the Lord said that he would feel something when he ate it. But He is always sympathetic with His own. He knows how it is going to affect us. It is already affecting our brethren elsewhere, if not here. What do we feel about it? The Lord says. It will be sweet as honey in your mouth, but as you appropriate it, it will be bitter. The Lord mentions this, for He is sympathetic with us and He warns us beforehand that we are bound to feel things. Immediately we appropriate them, we find that these things are real. Ask the Lord what they mean, for as soon as we appropriate them we realize that these things are not merely subjects of table talk, they are real matters that are occurring now in principle and will shortly take place actually. How am I thinking and feeling about them? The angel told John it would be bitter in his belly and sweet in his mouth. And so Jeremiah says, “Thy words were found, and I did eat them”, Jeremiah 15:16. They caused joy to him, but afterwards there was bitterness. What will happen to the people of God when all these [p. 542] things occur? Some of the saints will have to go through them. Thank God for the Lord’s word to Philadelphia: “I also will keep thee out of the hour of trial”. That is a matter of feeling. Surely, dear brethren, we ought not to be without feeling as to the bearing of all these things. So we are told that John “took the little book out of the hand of the angel, and ate it up”; and he says, “And it was in my mouth, as honey, sweet; and when I had eaten it my belly was made bitter”. The change from verse 9 to verse 10 should be noted. In the latter the sweetness in the mouth comes first and the bitterness follows. That is what we do not like, but the Lord warned him that it would be so.
In closing, I desire to impress upon you that this experience qualifies the servant for further service. If I am dealing with the things of God lightly or for entertainment, or if I am interested only in a mental or superficial way, I shall not be employed by the Lord, for I am not qualified. He will have servants who feel for His people. A servant should feel what affects them for ill or for good, and so it was said to John, “Thou must prophesy again as to peoples and nations and tongues and many kings”. What a wide range there is to be ministered to; and may I not suggest, dear brethren, that this is the way to increase our fields of labour? The Lord would encourage us to be feeling about things, and to appropriate the ministry of the word feelingly. The figure used is that it is to be eaten and assimilated in the digestive organs. You will remember that the jaw bones were the portion of the priest. There is the power of mastication and assimilation which enables the servant to qualify for further service. There is to be no thought of laying down our service. It must be carried on, and become enlarged.
May God bless the word.