You must be in fellowship prior to your Bible study, so that the spiritual information you receive can become a source, of blessing to your soul and produce spiritual growth.
4 And[kai] they shall see[optanomai] his[autos] face;[prosopon] and[kai] his[autos] name[onoma] shall be in[epi] their[autos] foreheads.[metopon] KJV-Interlinear
4 and they
shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. NASB
We live all of our lives with every sign imaginable, pointing to the grace and glory of God in Christ, and yet people just ignore God, Christ, and doctrine during their lives. People ignore the realities of life in general, in favor for their own imagined world and thus missing out on the most phenomenal eternal life that lies before them.
Too many other things are important. It is either ones social life, ones entertainment, ones problems, the stresses that we face from day to day, our hobbies, politics, social opinions, power, lust, desires, or whatever. People have so many distractions that they just don't get around to any kind of a Bible study, having accepted that the Bible is not their reality, but only a story.
It is as though people see life as never amounting to anything more than what we do, see, feel, taste and so forth, from day to day.
The hereafter is just presumed. You know, white outfits, wings, and harp music.
And yet Christ is here with us everyday. We have the scriptures, we have the many reminders of life and death in churches, and cemeteries. We have the stars in the night sky, the detailed structure of this universe in all of the many things that we use in our daily lives, to remind us of the vast possibilities of life. And of course there are many, many more things, which serve as reminders of truth.
John 14:9
9 Jesus said to him, 'Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how do you say, 'Show us the Father'? NASB
Jesus Christ and the Father are one. They both have the same essence. They both are God. They both know everything there is to know. And they are following the same game plan for human history.
Even though we have seen the actions of a fearful God, in the Old Testament, we have also seen the actions of a loving God in the form of Jesus, in the New Testament.
Matt. 18:10
10 'See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you, that their angels in heaven continually behold the face of My Father who is in heaven. NASB
Ex. 33:20
20 But He said, 'You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!' NASB
God can have no contact with evil. Humanity is evil. Humanity is incapable of looking on the face of the living God in heaven.
But there will come a time when we will be in resurrection bodies, free from all of the sin and corruption of this world, and in the new universe, we will be allowed to see directly into the face and even the essence of God.
And, not only see Him, but have a relationship with Him just as you would with a parent or a very dear friend.
This doesn't even include the concept of all three members of the trinity indwelling each and every one of us. I don't think that anyone can get much closer than that.
The term forehead, is often used as a reference to having things first on ones mind, but here is a statement of ownership. The stamp of ownership is faith in Christ. A thought initiated freely by each individual, voluntarily giving themselves over to the command, authority, and ownership of One who will seek and do only the best for those whom He owns.
God never takes advantage. God never uses deception. Satan conceals his true intentions, as does anyone who subscribes to His pattern of life. But God uses only truth and lets the chips fall where they may.
Once, a very long time ago, you were only a thought in the mind of Christ. But through the course of time, He, through grace, made you into but a spark of life into a spec of useless dust, and then subsequently He will transform you by means of that same Mind of Christ, or doctrine in you, by means of a daily study, into a spiritually mature royal heir of a brand new universe, which will far surpass this one in all things grand and beautiful.
Most folks live their lives chasing dreams of an education, or buying a home, or getting enough money to pay the bills, or getting to retirement, or just getting to the social plans and hopes for a decent weekend and the prospects it has to offer.
God has a dream for us all, beyond our imaginations, which will literally blow our minds, but how many actually see it? How many people even think it is real? How many will take it seriously? How many will pursue it? How many will support the teaching of the Word of God, and seize its opportunities in ownership for themselves?
And then, how many will let it all drift by and lose out forever?
