Revelation
...
But this thou hast,
that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes
which I also hate.
He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches
To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
(((Jesus commends His people in Ephesus for yet another thing - Hating the deeds of the Nicolaitanes. It didn't say hating the Nicolaitanes, but hating the deeds of the Nicolaitanes; deeds that Jesus himself hates. What are some things Jesus hates?
Heb. {1:9} Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, [even] thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
Deut. {16:21} Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees near unto the altar of the LORD thy God, which thou shalt make thee. {16:22} Neither shalt thou set thee up [any] image; which the LORD thy God hateth.
Ps. {5:5} The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.
Ps. {45:7} Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy
fellows
It's easy to see what God hates- sin, graven images worship to other gods, wickedness, workers of sin. What is sin?
1 John {3:4} Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
Transgressing the law.
What is the law?
Matthew {22:36} Master, which is the great commandment in the law? {22:37} Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. {22:38} This is the first and great commandment. {22:39} And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. {22:40} On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
So Jesus hates the actions of those who hate God and those who hate others treating them as they would not want to be treated. Any actions that hurt others are sinful. There is a lot to hate in our world, a lot of sinful acts. The fact God's people hated those who were wicked comitting wicked deeds was a good thing, because Jesus hates sin. ))))
'But this thou hast,
that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes
which I also hate.
He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches
To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God.'
((('He that hath an ear'
Don't we all?
'let him hear'
Can we choose not to hear? Yes. We can choose not to hear, we don't have to listen, we aren't forced to listen. We who have ears need to hear, we need to choose to listen.
What are we to listen to? 'let him hear what the Spirit saith unto th churches' We have to listen to what we are being told! What the Spirit is relating to us through His prophets. And a promise is given...
'To him that overcometh...'
Overcomes what? Overcomes that which would bring us down- losing our first love.
'To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God.'
If we keep to our first love, if our first love is Christ we will eat of the tree of life, a tree that is in the midst of God's paradise!
If we eat of the tree of life we will have life forever in Christ. How beautiful is that promise? How wondrous is that knowledge!
Let us ALL overcome! Let us all hear! Let us all keep our first love in Christ! By His amazing grace, by His mercy unlike any other mercy.
Amen.))))
8/25/10
Heb 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
Heb 2:10 For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
The captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
What does that mean exactly? Perfect through sufferings.
Luk 22:15 and he said unto them, `With desire I did desire to eat this passover with you before my suffering
Act 1:3 to whom also he did present himself alive after his suffering, in many certain proofs, through forty days being seen by them, and speaking the things concerning the reign of God.
Pe 2:19 for this is gracious, if because of conscience toward God any one doth endure sorrows, suffering unrighteously;
1Pe 2:20 for what renown is it , if sinning and being buffeted, ye do endure it ? but if, doing good and suffering for it , ye do endure, this is gracious with God,
1Pe 2:21 for to this ye were called, because Christ also did suffer for you, leaving to you an example, that ye may follow his steps,
1Pe 2:22 who did not commit sin, nor was guile found in his mouth,
1Pe 2:23 who being reviled--was not reviling again, suffering--was not threatening, and was committing himself to Him who is judging righteously
1Pe 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange at the fiery suffering among you that is coming to try you, as if a strange thing were happening to you,
1Pe 4:13 but, according as ye have fellowship with the sufferings of the Christ, rejoice ye, that also in the revelation of his glory ye may rejoice--exulting;
1Pe 4:19 so that also those suffering according to the will of god, as to a stedfast Creator, let them commit their own souls in good doing.
Suffering.
Suffering
SUF'FERING, ppr. Bearing; undergoing pain, inconvenience or damage; permitting; allowing.
SUF'FERING, n. The bearing of pain, inconvenience or loss; pain endured; distress, loss or injury incurred; as sufferings by pain or sorrow; sufferings by want or by wrongs.
Pain, sorrow, damage…
Christ suffered. Christ who relived the suffering of so many. Christ who took away the pain many suffered with for years. Christ who healed, who helped, who forgave so many during His ministry was called to suffer.
I have a question… the Son of God, pure from sin lived in a world filled with sin and pain, and suffering. Could it be that He suffered more than we can fully comprehend? He did say this…
Luk 22:15 and he said unto them, `With desire I did desire to eat this passover with you before my suffering
Could it be that it wasn't until He was to cry out these words-- Mat 27:46 and about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a great voice, saying, `Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?' that is, `My God, my God, why didst Thou forsake me?'
…that He didn't feel the full effect of the suffering, when He was alone on the cross. Yes, He felt the pain of the physical abuse, abuse that He suffered without deserving it at all whatsoever, but the mental , emotional anguish of feeling abandoned had to be beyond our comprehension, why? Because we are not alone- ever. We have not been abandoned even at our lowest point. We have access to our forgiving Father, our longsuffering Father, our Savior, no matter what we go through. Christ was alone. He had to bear the pain, the suffering alone to give to us salvation. We are called to suffer, Christ being our example.
1Pe 2:21 for to this ye were called, because Christ also did suffer for you, leaving to you an example, that ye may follow his steps,
People think this is horrible, that we are called to suffer. But if you live in this world, you suffer. There is no way you can live here and live in Christ's love without suffering. This world is filled with so much suffering that our suffering can even come from watching others suffer. If we are heartless, if we give ourselves over to Satan we will have a lack of compassion, we won't suffer as much. Compassion won't be as prominent in our lives. Have you ever wondered how some people can abuse others, how they can purposely cause them pain, and even enjoy it? Have you ever witnessed the suffering of another without your heart aching for their pain? Maybe you can answer yes to those questions, I don't know, but if the answer is yes then falling on your knees and begging God to give you a heart that truly loves your fellowman is in order. Satan has twisted us, Satan has warped us into self-centered people whose main purpose is self- even when we help others He's twisted it into being a selfish act. Take some time to notice the selfishness in other- not to condemn them NO WAY, but sometimes when we see something in another it can be a reflection for us. We can see ourselves in them. We need to recognize how selfish we are in so many ways, even little ways. Our greatest example, the greatest light we need to look to is our SAVIOR, in His light we can see our failings and cling to His light, not ours. We need to be bathed fully in HIS light, having NONE of our own. HE is the LIGHT! We are to be illuminated by Him, any light we have to show to others is HIS light, not our light. When our light shines before others it's to glorify GOD, not to bring us glory. When we suffer, even if it's pain from witnessing the suffering of others we are following in the example of our Lord and Savior. It's when we no longer suffer that we really should wonder about our walk with Christ. I'm not saying we can't have any joy in our lives. We can praise and glorify our Lord and Savior and we can even find the Peace that passes understanding in Christ, but in this world of sin, reeking of thousands of years of sin ruled by the prince of darkness, suffering will be ours. We may count it JOY when we suffer, but that joy is in the knowledge that we have a Savior whose suffering brought us salvation. There is hope and joy in the world to come, in living with our Lord and Savior. Our joy needs to be in Christ. If we find joy in ourselves without Christ we are deceiving ourselves, or being deceived. Our joy, our hope, our faith, our love, our light is all IN CHRIST!
Heb 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
Heb 2:10 For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
The captain of OUR salvation perfect through sufferings.
Sin brings suffering.
Joy in suffering is knowing sin has been defeated by our Lord, by our Savior!
May God bless and keep us always IN HIM! May we suffer as He suffered and count it all joy knowing salvation is found in Him, that beyond ALL suffering lives our Savior and life everlasting in HIM!
By His Grace!
Amen.
8/25/11
A
Message for All
Rev
1:9 I John, who also am your
brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus
Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the
testimony of Jesus Christ.
John
was on an isle called Patmos- why? For the word of God, for the testimony of
Jesus Christ which we read later is --
Rev
19:10 '... for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.'
John
was in the isle of Patmos for the word of God and for the Spirit of prophecy-
the testimony of Jesus.
John,
who, like all who are followers of Christ from the beginning until the end-are
brothers and companions in tribulation- the tribulation the world offers us.
John
16:33 'These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In
the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the
world.'
John
was no stranger to the world's tribulations that followers of Christ suffer.
John was a part of it all, he had his part in the suffering of the tribulation
and his part in the kingdom- the promise of the kingdom in Jesus- the patience.
For what Christian can truly be a Christian without the patience necessary to
endure all that the world offers and be victorious in Christ?
John
-a brother, a companion, a believer in the kingdom, a possessor of the patience
of Jesus Christ- John was where he was for God, for the Spirit of Prophecy for
the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Rev 1:10 'I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day,
and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet'
John
was in the Spirit. John was is the Holy Spirit- the Holy Comforter -
John-
16:7 'Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away:
for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I
will send him unto you. 16:8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of
sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 16:9 Of sin, because they believe
not on me; 16:10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no
more; 16:11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. 16:12 I
have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. 16:13 Howbeit
when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he
shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, [that] shall he speak:
and he will shew you things to come'
Jesus
talked of sending the Spirit, the Comforter to us after He was to leave the
world. This Comforter, this Spirit of truth is for all of us. John was in the
Spirit, John was given the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, and while He was
absorbed in the Spirit he heard a great voice, as of a trumpet. Can you imagine
the sound of that voice?! As of a trumpet. Now I've heard a trumpet before and
they're nothing like a soft flute are they? They are loud and commanding.
Trumpets are used to bring people to attention, to make them listen, to be
heard. A great voice as of a trumpet- this would indeed be a voice commanding
attention, a voice that could not be ignored.
What
did the voice say?
...
Rev
1:11 'Saying, I am Alpha and
Omega, the first and the last: and…'
Again
the emphasis on the beginning and the end, the first and the last, and there is
only one Alpha and Omega, only one! God.
Rev
1:11 '...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.'
Write
in a book, the voice, the commanding voice from the Alpha and Omega wants John
to write a book and even tells him where the book was to go to. Was it to be
broken up and part sent here and part there? No. A
book was to be written and sent to all seven churches. So clearly the
first church- Ephesus would read what John had to say to the six after them. The
last church Laodicea would be able to read all that was written for the six
churches before them. This book was clearly to be written for all seven churches
with specific points mentioned for each church and yet all the churches would
read what was written for all of them. What was meant for Laodicea would also be
read by Ephesus, and Laodicea would read what had been written for Ephesus and
each church in between.
Remember
talking about the number seven in and earlier study? Remember talking about
what constitutes God's church? The number seven is a number signifying
completeness, perfection. God's church isn't a building- but God's people.
Think about it... John wrote a book and sent it to seven churches, were there
more than seven churches then? More than seven groups of God's people? Did they
feel neglected and left out because they weren't given a specific message? Or
is it possible that the message given to each of God's people in those various
seven locations was a message that would travel with those people and be given
to all of God's people? Seriously, if I have an important message from my
mother I'm going to share it with my sisters and brother, aren't I? I won't say
this important message is just for me and for me alone. It's important and like
most important things they are shared with others.
The
ways of God aren't our ways. We do know that we, who are alive today, are
getting the same message that was given to those seven churches. We are part of
God's church, we are part of God's people and as such we share in this
important message. So yes, John was to write a book and send it to seven groups
of God's people in seven different areas, and yet we know this message was for
ALL of God's people to live before His return, from that time unto our time and
right up until the time of Jesus' return.
Another
point can't be overlooked here-
Rev
1:10 'I was in the Spirit on the
Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet'
Way too many
people think the Lord's day mentioned means Sunday, but it can't. The ONLY
Sabbath ever kept by Jesus was the seventh day Sabbath. The ONLY Sabbath kept by
His Apostles was the seventh day Sabbath.
A few centuries later it became common place to consider the Lord's day -
Sunday but ONLY because MAN authorized the change, not God. Don't you think that
there would be a lot, I mean volumes written on the change of the Lord's Day
from Sabbath to Sunday- if the Apostles believed that Jesus authorized such a
change? Did Jesus change ANY of the ten commandments? No. Jesus reinforced them
to their true meaning, but He did not null and void any one of those ten
commandments. Did Jesus take away any of the commandments? NO!
You have to believe that if Jesus meant for people to change the Sabbath
from one day to another He would have given specific instruction about doing so
and yet NO where is that instruction found, no where.
People confuse things and say-but they broke bread on the first day of
the week. Yeah, so they did and
they broke bread on the second, the third, the fourth, the fifth, etc. Then they say that people were told to
set aside their money so it could be collected on the first day of the week.
Money wasn't dealt with on the SABBATH! Didn't Jesus throw out moneychangers to
show His disdain for things dealing with money and the temple?
Throughout our Bible over and over again the breaking of the Sabbath by
dealing with buying and selling on the Sabbath is mentioned and it does NOT
please God! So why would ANYONE
use the fact that money is dealt with on the first day of the week as a sign of
it being God's new Sabbath?! Do you see? People pervert the truth in order to
suit their own form of truth that is far from being God's. Satan has used this
deception on such a grand scale that millions and millions and millions of
people are deceived by it. Here,
in the book of Revelation, John was in the Spirit on the LORD'S Day, on the
Sabbath. God's prophecy, God's
message was initiated on the Day that John would be closest to our Lord, on the
day that John was worshipping the Creator, the Redeemer. Praise God!
May
God open our hearts and minds to Him, may we be in the Spirit, may we have the
Spirit of truth in us comforting us, guiding us leading us as Jesus would have
us led. When we read and study God's word to His people may our hearts be in
Him, open to receive any blessing He would bestow upon us. May our insight be
solely guided by Him, our Savior, our Redeemer, by His grace and His mercy now
and forever!
Amen.
Heb 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
Heb 2:10 For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
The captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
What does that mean exactly? Perfect through sufferings.
Luk 22:15 and he said unto them, `With desire I did desire to eat this passover with you before my suffering
Act 1:3 to whom also he did present himself alive after his suffering, in many certain proofs, through forty days being seen by them, and speaking the things concerning the reign of God.
Pe 2:19 for this is gracious, if because of conscience toward God any one doth endure sorrows, suffering unrighteously;
1Pe 2:20 for what renown is it , if sinning and being buffeted, ye do endure it ? but if, doing good and suffering for it , ye do endure, this is gracious with God,
1Pe 2:21 for to this ye were called, because Christ also did suffer for you, leaving to you an example, that ye may follow his steps,
1Pe 2:22 who did not commit sin, nor was guile found in his mouth,
1Pe 2:23 who being reviled--was not reviling again, suffering--was not threatening, and was committing himself to Him who is judging righteously
1Pe 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange at the fiery suffering among you that is coming to try you, as if a strange thing were happening to you,
1Pe 4:13 but, according as ye have fellowship with the sufferings of the Christ, rejoice ye, that also in the revelation of his glory ye may rejoice--exulting;
1Pe 4:19 so that also those suffering according to the will of god, as to a stedfast Creator, let them commit their own souls in good doing.
Suffering.
Suffering
SUF'FERING, ppr. Bearing; undergoing pain, inconvenience or damage; permitting; allowing.
SUF'FERING, n. The bearing of pain, inconvenience or loss; pain endured; distress, loss or injury incurred; as sufferings by pain or sorrow; sufferings by want or by wrongs.
Pain, sorrow, damage…
Christ suffered. Christ who relived the suffering of so many. Christ who took away the pain many suffered with for years. Christ who healed, who helped, who forgave so many during His ministry was called to suffer.
I have a question… the Son of God, pure from sin lived in a world filled with sin and pain, and suffering. Could it be that He suffered more than we can fully comprehend? He did say this…
Luk 22:15 and he said unto them, `With desire I did desire to eat this passover with you before my suffering
Could it be that it wasn't until He was to cry out these words-- Mat 27:46 and about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a great voice, saying, `Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?' that is, `My God, my God, why didst Thou forsake me?'
…that He didn't feel the full effect of the suffering, when He was alone on the cross. Yes, He felt the pain of the physical abuse, abuse that He suffered without deserving it at all whatsoever, but the mental , emotional anguish of feeling abandoned had to be beyond our comprehension, why? Because we are not alone- ever. We have not been abandoned even at our lowest point. We have access to our forgiving Father, our longsuffering Father, our Savior, no matter what we go through. Christ was alone. He had to bear the pain, the suffering alone to give to us salvation. We are called to suffer, Christ being our example.
1Pe 2:21 for to this ye were called, because Christ also did suffer for you, leaving to you an example, that ye may follow his steps,
People think this is horrible, that we are called to suffer. But if you live in this world, you suffer. There is no way you can live here and live in Christ's love without suffering. This world is filled with so much suffering that our suffering can even come from watching others suffer. If we are heartless, if we give ourselves over to Satan we will have a lack of compassion, we won't suffer as much. Compassion won't be as prominent in our lives. Have you ever wondered how some people can abuse others, how they can purposely cause them pain, and even enjoy it? Have you ever witnessed the suffering of another without your heart aching for their pain? Maybe you can answer yes to those questions, I don't know, but if the answer is yes then falling on your knees and begging God to give you a heart that truly loves your fellowman is in order. Satan has twisted us, Satan has warped us into self-centered people whose main purpose is self- even when we help others He's twisted it into being a selfish act. Take some time to notice the selfishness in other- not to condemn them NO WAY, but sometimes when we see something in another it can be a reflection for us. We can see ourselves in them. We need to recognize how selfish we are in so many ways, even little ways. Our greatest example, the greatest light we need to look to is our SAVIOR, in His light we can see our failings and cling to His light, not ours. We need to be bathed fully in HIS light, having NONE of our own. HE is the LIGHT! We are to be illuminated by Him, any light we have to show to others is HIS light, not our light. When our light shines before others it's to glorify GOD, not to bring us glory. When we suffer, even if it's pain from witnessing the suffering of others we are following in the example of our Lord and Savior. It's when we no longer suffer that we really should wonder about our walk with Christ. I'm not saying we can't have any joy in our lives. We can praise and glorify our Lord and Savior and we can even find the Peace that passes understanding in Christ, but in this world of sin, reeking of thousands of years of sin ruled by the prince of darkness, suffering will be ours. We may count it JOY when we suffer, but that joy is in the knowledge that we have a Savior whose suffering brought us salvation. There is hope and joy in the world to come, in living with our Lord and Savior. Our joy needs to be in Christ. If we find joy in ourselves without Christ we are deceiving ourselves, or being deceived. Our joy, our hope, our faith, our love, our light is all IN CHRIST!
Heb 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
Heb 2:10 For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
The captain of OUR salvation perfect through sufferings.
Sin brings suffering.
Joy in suffering is knowing sin has been defeated by our Lord, by our Savior!
May God bless and keep us always IN HIM! May we suffer as He suffered and count it all joy knowing salvation is found in Him, that beyond ALL suffering lives our Savior and life everlasting in HIM!
By His Grace!
Amen.
8/25/11
A
Message for All
Rev
1:9 I John, who also am your
brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus
Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the
testimony of Jesus Christ.
John
was on an isle called Patmos- why? For the word of God, for the testimony of
Jesus Christ which we read later is --
Rev
19:10 '... for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.'
John
was in the isle of Patmos for the word of God and for the Spirit of prophecy-
the testimony of Jesus.
John,
who, like all who are followers of Christ from the beginning until the end-are
brothers and companions in tribulation- the tribulation the world offers us.
John
16:33 'These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In
the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the
world.'
John
was no stranger to the world's tribulations that followers of Christ suffer.
John was a part of it all, he had his part in the suffering of the tribulation
and his part in the kingdom- the promise of the kingdom in Jesus- the patience.
For what Christian can truly be a Christian without the patience necessary to
endure all that the world offers and be victorious in Christ?
John
-a brother, a companion, a believer in the kingdom, a possessor of the patience
of Jesus Christ- John was where he was for God, for the Spirit of Prophecy for
the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Rev 1:10 'I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day,
and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet'
John
was in the Spirit. John was is the Holy Spirit- the Holy Comforter -
John-
16:7 'Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away:
for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I
will send him unto you. 16:8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of
sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 16:9 Of sin, because they believe
not on me; 16:10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no
more; 16:11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. 16:12 I
have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. 16:13 Howbeit
when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he
shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, [that] shall he speak:
and he will shew you things to come'
Jesus
talked of sending the Spirit, the Comforter to us after He was to leave the
world. This Comforter, this Spirit of truth is for all of us. John was in the
Spirit, John was given the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, and while He was
absorbed in the Spirit he heard a great voice, as of a trumpet. Can you imagine
the sound of that voice?! As of a trumpet. Now I've heard a trumpet before and
they're nothing like a soft flute are they? They are loud and commanding.
Trumpets are used to bring people to attention, to make them listen, to be
heard. A great voice as of a trumpet- this would indeed be a voice commanding
attention, a voice that could not be ignored.
What
did the voice say?
...
Rev
1:11 'Saying, I am Alpha and
Omega, the first and the last: and…'
Again
the emphasis on the beginning and the end, the first and the last, and there is
only one Alpha and Omega, only one! God.
Rev
1:11 '...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.'
Write
in a book, the voice, the commanding voice from the Alpha and Omega wants John
to write a book and even tells him where the book was to go to. Was it to be
broken up and part sent here and part there? No. A
book was to be written and sent to all seven churches. So clearly the
first church- Ephesus would read what John had to say to the six after them. The
last church Laodicea would be able to read all that was written for the six
churches before them. This book was clearly to be written for all seven churches
with specific points mentioned for each church and yet all the churches would
read what was written for all of them. What was meant for Laodicea would also be
read by Ephesus, and Laodicea would read what had been written for Ephesus and
each church in between.
Remember
talking about the number seven in and earlier study? Remember talking about
what constitutes God's church? The number seven is a number signifying
completeness, perfection. God's church isn't a building- but God's people.
Think about it... John wrote a book and sent it to seven churches, were there
more than seven churches then? More than seven groups of God's people? Did they
feel neglected and left out because they weren't given a specific message? Or
is it possible that the message given to each of God's people in those various
seven locations was a message that would travel with those people and be given
to all of God's people? Seriously, if I have an important message from my
mother I'm going to share it with my sisters and brother, aren't I? I won't say
this important message is just for me and for me alone. It's important and like
most important things they are shared with others.
The
ways of God aren't our ways. We do know that we, who are alive today, are
getting the same message that was given to those seven churches. We are part of
God's church, we are part of God's people and as such we share in this
important message. So yes, John was to write a book and send it to seven groups
of God's people in seven different areas, and yet we know this message was for
ALL of God's people to live before His return, from that time unto our time and
right up until the time of Jesus' return.
Another
point can't be overlooked here-
Rev
1:10 'I was in the Spirit on the
Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet'
Way too many
people think the Lord's day mentioned means Sunday, but it can't. The ONLY
Sabbath ever kept by Jesus was the seventh day Sabbath. The ONLY Sabbath kept by
His Apostles was the seventh day Sabbath.
A few centuries later it became common place to consider the Lord's day -
Sunday but ONLY because MAN authorized the change, not God. Don't you think that
there would be a lot, I mean volumes written on the change of the Lord's Day
from Sabbath to Sunday- if the Apostles believed that Jesus authorized such a
change? Did Jesus change ANY of the ten commandments? No. Jesus reinforced them
to their true meaning, but He did not null and void any one of those ten
commandments. Did Jesus take away any of the commandments? NO!
You have to believe that if Jesus meant for people to change the Sabbath
from one day to another He would have given specific instruction about doing so
and yet NO where is that instruction found, no where.
People confuse things and say-but they broke bread on the first day of
the week. Yeah, so they did and
they broke bread on the second, the third, the fourth, the fifth, etc. Then they say that people were told to
set aside their money so it could be collected on the first day of the week.
Money wasn't dealt with on the SABBATH! Didn't Jesus throw out moneychangers to
show His disdain for things dealing with money and the temple?
Throughout our Bible over and over again the breaking of the Sabbath by
dealing with buying and selling on the Sabbath is mentioned and it does NOT
please God! So why would ANYONE
use the fact that money is dealt with on the first day of the week as a sign of
it being God's new Sabbath?! Do you see? People pervert the truth in order to
suit their own form of truth that is far from being God's. Satan has used this
deception on such a grand scale that millions and millions and millions of
people are deceived by it. Here,
in the book of Revelation, John was in the Spirit on the LORD'S Day, on the
Sabbath. God's prophecy, God's
message was initiated on the Day that John would be closest to our Lord, on the
day that John was worshipping the Creator, the Redeemer. Praise God!
May
God open our hearts and minds to Him, may we be in the Spirit, may we have the
Spirit of truth in us comforting us, guiding us leading us as Jesus would have
us led. When we read and study God's word to His people may our hearts be in
Him, open to receive any blessing He would bestow upon us. May our insight be
solely guided by Him, our Savior, our Redeemer, by His grace and His mercy now
and forever!
Amen.