II. THE REVEALING OF JEHOVAH
The revealing of Jehovah is the appearing of Jesus. John told people that he was not the Christ but the one coming before Christ to prepare His way (Mark 1:1-8). Jesus, the One coming after John, would be the appearing of Jehovah. Jesus, who is Jehovah, is our God. He is the revealing of Jehovah. Isaiah 40:5 says that all flesh will see Him. This is the glad tidings, the good news.
Verse 5 also indicates that Jehovah is revealed through His speaking (John 3:34a; 7:17). In the Gospel of John, the Lord Jesus told us that He was sent by the Father (5:36b-37a) and that He did not speak from Himself (14:10). He was speaking from His Father, His teaching was altogether of His Father, and His speaking was the expression of the Father. The more you listen to His speaking, the more you see Jehovah. John 3:34a says, "For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God." He was sent by God for the purpose of speaking the word of God for God’s expression. In other words, His speaking was the revealing of God. When you listen to Him, you see God. In His word, His speaking, God is unveiled and presented to you.
Isaiah goes on to say in 40:6-8a that all flesh withers like the grass and fades like the flower. All flesh, all of mankind, will not last. First John 2:17 says that the world is passing away. The world here, according to its usage in John 3:16, refers to mankind, to human beings. Human beings will pass away, but the word of Jesus will stand forever. There have been many famous people throughout history who spoke, but their words do not abide forever. When they died, their words died with them, but the speaking of Jesus remains forever. Jesus is still speaking, and His words remain forever.
When we hear His word, we see him. We were saved by hearing His word. Some may say that at a certain time they saw Jesus and were saved. Actually, they did not see Him physically, but they heard His word. His word is just Himself, and He is Jehovah, and Jehovah is God. Thus, we may say that the word is God. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God (John 1:1). When I speak, I always exercise not to speak from myself. I exercise to speak the word of the Lord. When we speak in this way, the Lord is present in our speaking, and others are able to see Jesus. When we are under the ministry of the Lord’s word, we see Jesus, Jehovah, the Savior, God, the glad tidings. All of these are one. This is why we, the saved ones, like to come to the meetings. In the meetings there is the speaking of the Lord, the word of God. When we hear His word, we see Him.
His word will stand forever to enliven men that they may partake of His eternal life for their enjoyment (Isa. 40:8b; 1 Pet. 1:23-25). When people listen to His word, they are enlivened. When we heard the gospel, we saw Jesus, we were made alive, and we partook of His eternal life for our enjoyment. Peter told us in his first Epistle that we have been regenerated through the living and abiding word of God. As fallen men, we were like withering grass and fading flowers, yet we heard the living word, which is abiding forever. This living word brought the eternal life into us to regenerate us, and we received the eternal life for our daily enjoyment. This is the first aspect of the glad tidings.
(Life-Study of Isaiah, Chapter 44, by Witness Lee)
