As recorded in the book of Revelation, Jesus appeared in (around) 95 AD to the aging apostle John, who was in exile for his faith on the island of Patmos, off present-day Turkey. Through John, Jesus sent a letter of both encouragement and correction to seven churches throughout Asia Minor. Some of these churches were doing the things which Jesus had instructed, others had at least one serious deficiency, and some were near the point of spiritual extinction. Jesus wanted them to immediately correct their problems or face consequences.
One of these churches, located in ancient Philadelphia, came the closest to what Jesus was looking for in a congregation. He began His message to them with more intimacy than to the others:
7 These things says He who is holy, He who is true, He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens. Revelation 3:7 (NKJV)
Jesus starts by referring to Himself as holy. He alone can say this because of His divinity- He is God and only God is truly holy. Faithful believers can partake of and reflect some of His holiness through faith, as the Holy Spirit takes up residence in the hearts of Jesus’ believers. But God is the ultimate source of their holiness.
In the Old Testament, Moses, though later called a friend of God and used by the Lord to manifest great miracles, was initially unable to even look towards God in His holiness. As Moses was encountered by the Lord in a remote desert at the site of the burning bush, God spoke to him:
4 So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”
5 Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.” 6 Moreover He said, “I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God. Exodus 3:4-5 (NKJV)
This encounter brought about a holy fear of God in Moses. The fear of the Lord is not to be terrified of Him, but to obey and revere Him, to fully dedicate ourselves to Him, and to hate our sins that God hates while fully loving us.
Another person of tremendous faith in the Old Testament, the prophet Isaiah, had his own experience of holy fear when confronted by the presence of the Lord. He records that incident:
1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
The whole earth is full of His glory!”
4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.
5 So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. Isaiah 6:1-5 (NKJV)
As both Moses and Isaiah discovered, we cannot approach a holy God on our own terms. There are several other examples in the Bible which illustrate that we must approach God on His terms. He presents Himself to us today through faith in the atoning sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Jesus bore all of our sins and unholiness so that we can take on His righteousness, through faith. If we humbly receive Jesus in our heart, we are fully cleansed and forgiven by Him. We reverently confess and repent of our wrongs, turning around from them to follow Christ and the new, holy direction of God.
May we all boldly approach the throne of God by faith, obtaining His love, mercy, and grace, and reflecting it to others just as He extends it to us today, through Christ.
Reflection
On what terms do I seek to approach a Holy God – His or mine?
Lord, we humbly confess our unholiness and sinfulness, coming to the cross of Christ, and inviting Jesus into our hearts to cleanse, heal, and renew us to a spirit of righteousness and purity before You. We thank You for Jesus, who has made all things new through His loving death on the cross and resurrection from the dead. We pray this in Jesus’ holy name, Amen.
16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16 (NKJV)
Times and Seasons - The Book of Revelation FOR TODAY 