1:4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia:
Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood 6 and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Rev 1:4-8
We have come to the end of the gospel of John, but this is not the end of our account of the work of Christ. The writer of the gospel and the letters of John is known as John the Evangelist, and also as John the Beloved. John is beloved of Jesus because he loved Jesus. Love is irresistible, it creates love. The first letter of St John even tells us that God is love.
With the opening of the Book of Revelation, we commence immediately with “John”. Is this the same John who wrote the gospel and the letters? Scholars tell us not, but the writer of Revelation felt it so important to claim continuity with John the Beloved, that this name is the very first word. In Hebrew scripture the first word was the most important, so the writer of Revelation is telling us that his book is also the work of John. We will call the writer “John of Patmos”, but the book of Revelation will make no sense to us unless we understand why it is written by “John”.
There are three Johns in the New Testament. The first is John the Baptist. John the Baptist represents the old clairvoyance. His purpose is to recognise Jesus through his clairvoyance, so the baptism and the entry of Christ into the body of Jesus will take place. The second John is the disciple of Jesus, the disciple whom Jesus loved. Now love produces clairvoyance. Rev Mario states this clearly:
“Love is the perhaps unexpected source from which clairvoyance flows.”
This is the new clairvoyance. This is conscious clairvoyance. It is the clairvoyance of Christ.
The writer of Revelation then, commences his account with the single word John, to proclaim that his book is the product of the new clairvoyance, spiritual vision arising from love.
The writer of the gospel relates the earthly deeds of Christ in the form of Jesus. The writer of Revelation gives an account of the work of Christ in the spiritual worlds. Jesus and Christ are not disconnected here, that will occur later, that is why John calls him “Jesus Christ”. In the fifty days between the Resurrection and Pentecost, Christ, or “Jesus Christ”, will transform the spiritual body of humanity. His work will be with the subtle bodies, the non-physical bodies such as the astral and the etheric. Just as the physical body was transformed into the Resurrection body, so Christ will transform the astral body and the etheric body. This transformation will enable the entry of the I AM, the inner divinity, the “Alpha and the Omega” into the human soul. Our bodies are the measure of time. As physical beings we are bound by time. The I AM, however, is beyond time. “It is, it was, and is to come.” When we unite with our divine self, we will become freed from time. As Revelation will proclaim later, this will be a pivotal moment in our evolution, for there will be “time no more”!
The image
The artist has captured John in his serene, contemplative state. He has entered into spirit and the vision of Revelation unfolds before his inner eye. The events of the first thirteen chapters of Revelation stretch away into the background. In this picture, indeed, time is no more.
On this day, let us focus on the words, “Love is the perhaps unexpected source from which clairvoyance flows.” Let us perceive every person in every encounter with love. How much will we learn - about ourselves - at the end of the day!
There is a close relationship between love and perception. The person who loves another is always gazing at that person and trying to perceive the other’s needs. Therefore, from love comes greater sensitivity. To love is to become more perceptive, and because love is the cohesive substance which holds the universe together, the loving person is gradually allowed to enter into the secrets of life. Love is the, perhaps unexpected, source from which clairvoyance flows.
Rev Mario Schoenmaker, The New Clairvoyance, Gateway Books, 1986