00:00 Intro music and voice over.
Welcome to jesus loves the world podcast. For more information and free resources visit our website jesuslovestheworld.info Be blessed empowered and transformed in Jesus’ name!
00:20 Speaker
All throughout God’s love story to us, the Eternal God - Father, Son and Spirit expressed their love in sound, sight, touch and taste. In last week’s jesus loves the world podcast tilted, The Sound of the Eternal God, we discovered how the Eternal God gave His sound to us. His sound of unconditional love and life unending. Where we live in a covenant relationship that is rich in divine revelation. Living in the freedom and victory of the Eternal God.
Today we will look at some of the many instances of the sight of the Eternal God. Where the Eternal Spirit revealed Himself physically, in ways the people would understand. So they could see the invisible God. Not only see Him, but stand in His presence with eyes wide open. Be in awe and wonder of Him. Instead of being consumed with guilt and shame.
So let us begin with the moment when the Eternal God appeared to Moses. It was an extraordinary event filled with awe and wonder. For from the midst of a bush, was a flame of fire.
This was no ordinary fire. It was a great sight, as the bush was not consumed or burnt by this extraordinary fire. For it was the miraculous fire of the divine.
The Eternal God appeared to Moses personally in a flame of a supernatural, non consuming fire. At first Moses was afraid to look upon the Eternal God. Yet this was the beginning of a beautiful covenant relationship filled with intimacy and empowerment. The Eternal God called Moses by name. He spoke out of the flame and revealed Himself as the God of Moses’ forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Instantly identifying with Moses and with the Hebrew people.
Moses made his own choice of who he would worship. He chose to give his allegiance to the Eternal God. As Moses came to know and experience the Eternal God, his perceptions of fear and guilt were changed for all eternity. The Eternal God and Moses shared the secrets of their hearts with each other. As the closest of friends.
The sight of the Eternal God is His regenerating fire of love unending and life everlasting.
This was in complete contrast with the Ancient Israelites. Even tho the Eternal God had delivered them from the bondage of slavery, they chose to reject Him. The Eternal God showed them His power, yet in their heart, the Ancient Israelites chose to worship the Egyptian gods. As a result of their rejection of the Eternal God, their perception of His presence and fire was judgement. For in their hearts, the Ancient Israelites had aligned themselves with the judgement that was upon the Egyptian gods.
Exodus 24:16-18 Now the glory of the LORD rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. The sight of the glory of the LORD was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel. So Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up into the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
The sight of the Eternal God and His glory to the Ancient Israelites was like a consuming fire. Yet when the Eternal God appeared in a flame to Moses, the bush was not consumed. So Moses, having chosen to worship only the Eternal God, went into the midst of God’s glory. In this instance, the Eternal God’s presence was as a cloud. It was a special moment of intimacy, awe and wonder. Rich in divine revelation where the Eternal God and Moses communed together.
The sight of the Eternal God’s glory was passed on from generation to generation. Yet time and time again the Ancient Israelites chose to reject the Eternal God.
There was a time when both the northern and southern tribes were in exile, being held captive to foreign powers. In secret they were worshipping the gods of Egypt and profaning the Eternal God’s name. Yet in amongst it all, again the sight of the Eternal God was revealed. In this instance to the prophet Ezekiel. As the heavens were opened, Ezekiel, the Ancient Israelites and us today are given eyes to see the Eternal God.
Ezekiel 1:4 Then I looked, and behold, a whirlwind was coming out of the north, a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself; and brightness was all around it and radiating out of its midst like the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire.
Ezekiel beholds, that is looks for a prolonged time at the awesome sight of the Eternal God. For this is the presence of the Eternal God.
What Ezekiel describes is full of life and light, energy and movement. There is a whirlwind which represents the breath of the Eternal God. The same life giving breath that the Eternal God gave to humanity, way back in the beginning.
The whirlwind also represents the life giving, creative Spirit of the Eternal God. The same Spirit that hovered over the face of the waters of the earth. In the time when the earth was without form, empty and in darkness, the presence of the Eternal God filled it with all His goodness.
This is the same Spirit of the Eternal God that appeared to Ezekiel and ultimately the Ancient Israelites. This time as a great cloud with a raging fire.
A cloud and fire is reminiscent of the Eternal God’s presence with Moses and the Ancient Israelites, all through their wilderness journey. Many years before this vision given to Ezekiel. The text states.
Exodus 13:21 And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night.
Even in the Ancient Israelites rejection of Him, the Eternal God is there with them. He continues to lead the way by day and give them light in the darkness of night.
In the spiritual darkness of the Ancient Israelites and all humanity, God continues to be our divine light.
As Ezekiel beheld the glory of the presence of the Eternal God, the great cloud had brightness of light all around. Reminiscent of when the Eternal God made a covenant with every living creature on the earth. Many centuries ago.
Genesis 9:12-17 And God said: “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.”
This was after the entire human race had chosen to align themselves with evil and profane the Eternal God. The Eternal God told His prophet Noah to build an ark as the earth would be flooded. Everyone had the opportunity to change their mind and choose the Eternal God and live. But only Noah and his family chose life over death.
Yet after the flood, in the cloud, the Eternal God said He will set His rainbow there. His rainbow would be a sign of His everlasting covenant with all of His creation. So every time we see a rainbow in the clouds, we can be reminded of the Eternal God. In the rainbow the Eternal God reveals the unseen colours of light. When the light shines into a water droplet, the unseen colours of light become visible.
The sight of the Eternal God is His regenerating fire of love unending and life everlasting. A covenant relationship of colours unseen and visuals unimagined.
Let us go back to the sight of the Eternal God given to Ezekiel.
Ezekiel 1:26-28 And above the firmament over their heads was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like a sapphire stone; on the likeness of the throne was a likeness with the appearance of a man high above it. Also from the appearance of His waist and upward I saw, as it were, the color of amber with the appearance of fire all around within it; and from the appearance of His waist and downward I saw, as it were, the appearance of fire with brightness all around. Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. So when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of One speaking.
How awesome is this sight of the Eternal God!
There is the throne, the place of power and authority. On the throne, high above in ultimate power and authority is one who has the appearance of a man. From His waist and upward was as the colour of amber, with the appearance of the brightest of fire all around. From the waist and downward was as fire, with a brightness a rainbow all around.
Such was the glory of the sight of the Eternal God. Filled with light and colours, brightness and splendour.
The glory of the Eternal God was like a divine man. This was centuries before the time when the Eternal Word, God the Son, came down to earth as a human.
Those who lived in that time were eye witnesses to Jesus’ human life, death, resurrection and ascension.
In His resurrected glorified human form, Jesus again appeared to one such eye witness. His name was John. The Apostle John was exiled on the island of Patmos for the sake of His testimony of Jesus.
It was there, during a time of persecution, that the resurrected Jesus, the Eternal One with eyes like fire, appeared to John. He instructed John to write to different aspects of the church.
When Jesus referred to Himself as the one with eyes like fire, it was to an aspect of the church that knowingly allowed false prophets to come in and seduce the congregation away from God.
More specifically entice them into aligning themselves with evil, so they would choose to become one with it. In aligning themselves with evil, they align themselves with the judgement of evil. In this choice of ultimate rejection of the Eternal God, they have denied their only pathway to salvation. The sight of the Eternal God to those who knowingly reject Him is eternal darkness, death, defeat and bondage.
Knowing the hearts and minds of humanity, the one with eyes life fire reveals His passion. He exposes the lies and deceptions of the destructive forces of evil, so each individual throughout the ages can make an informed choice in whom they worship.
So let us listen to what the one with eyes of fire has to say to those who receive Him.
Revelation 2:24-29 “Now to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, who have not known the depths of Satan, as they say, I will put on you no other burden. But hold fast what you have till I come. And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations—‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron; They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels’—as I also have received from My Father; and I will give him the morning star. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’
The sight of the Eternal God to those who knowingly receive Him is eternal light, life, victory and freedom. In receiving Jesus, receiving God, we acknowledge His right to rule and reign. We receive His sacrifice that paid the cost for us and His resurrection victory of life eternal.
The sight of the Eternal God is His regenerating fire of love unending and life everlasting. A covenant relationship of colours unseen and sights unimagined. An eternity together with the Eternal One who has overcome it all.
19:40 Outro music and voice over.
For more information and free resources visit our website jesuslovestheworld.info Be blessed empowered and transformed in Jesus’ name!
