"I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, what thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto smyrna, and unto pergamos, and unto thyatira, and unto sardis, and unto philadelphia, and unto laodicea.
....And i turned to see THE VOICE THAT SPAKE with me." (Rev1:10-12. Emphasis mine)
I have read the above scripture severally on many occasions and the first past of verse 12 always catches my attention. John the beloved on the isle of patmos had a revelation that generated into what we know today as the Book of Revelations. He had access into events that will take place in the coming times and that unfolds the destiny of the church and the present world we live in. But we are not dwelling on the revelations for now as we are more concerned with what actually was the details of the characters in this encounter.It was indeed a voice that was speaking....
John described the voice as " a great voice, as of a trumpet" (vs10) and he also described it as " and his voice as the sound of many waters" (vs15).
What was happening here? John could have heard the same voice speak to him a million times but with diverse expressions. Trumpet, waters, fires, lightening, thunder and still small voice etc. Jesus was speaking and the The spirit of God was giving divers expressions to his utterances. It indeed has not changed what God is saying or stopped him from talking, but the expressions changes as He pleases.
Very many times we can have visions or revelations and yes we heard a voice but it came with a manner of expression. It may even be that we are sitting in church listening to a sermon or even reading this piece. yes, we hear the voice but the expressions may be diverse. We must be careful to note that the word is 'spirit'. Jesus said, "the words i speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life" (Jn6.63). spirit do not have a confined body of expression as physical things we relate with. it operates in such a massive space and can posses inexhaustible expression. What happens always is that when a word comes to us, we immediately give it our thoughts and embody it. This is always the 1st response of the carnal man. By the limitations of our mind, we confine it to meet the standards of our own human nature. But that is wrong. We must allow the Holy spirit give the right expression to the voice of his words to us. Only by such understanding of these expressions and how to relate with it are we going to get clarity to the pictures that heaven is trying to create in our spirit man. Also understand that we get these expressions on different levels based on the will of the Spirit. Eg. while one is getting the trumpet expression, another may just be enjoying the still small voice. Hence judging a man's response based on what the both of you heard may not be very accurate as you were not privy to the manner of expression the Holy spirit chose for the person.
But whatever expression the word relates to us it only has one purpose and which is...."and when i saw him, i fell at his feet as dead...." At the feet of Jesus is the ultimate purpose of his will. I know you must have seen a fire and heard the thunder, but has it brought you down to his feet? I know a great orator or fire preacher must have spoken to you lately or even frequently, but when last did that expression slay you and bring you down at the feet of the master? Majority of us fall under anointing and waves but very few fall at his feet. The master can only lay his right hand on the fellow that is prostrate at his feet. Beloved, you are too far away for his touch if your slaying impact was orchestrated from a wrong expression. If we are at his feet, definitely his touch will raise us up.
We also note here that John was as a matter of fact, seeking to see a voice but ended up seeing a personality. He said "And i turned to see the voice that spake with me." This may also be our case today that we may earnestly be chasing a voice and seeking solutions in the script and forget the writer. He said "and being turned, i saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks one like unto the Son of man,...."
Another important thing that should strike us was that the voice came from behind John. (Truncated....watch out for Part 2) We would delve more into what we were looking for, what got our attention and why we are turning.
May this voice of many waters find a deep expression in our hearts in Jesus name.
Shalom!
