There is another reference to the seven churches of the end times in Zechariah. In fact, it is where the image of the seven lampstands in Revelation 1 is drawn from. This is seen in Zechariah 4:
And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep,
A quick word here - there is a bit of ironic speaking in this passage! The word Zerubbabel means "born in Babylon", which means "born in confusion." To be in confusion is like being in a stupor; it's like being asleep. But Zerubbabel was a prince of Israel (of the tribe of Judah, and in the lineage of Jesus - Luke 3:27) who brought Israel out of Babylon to rebuild the Temple of the Lord (see Ezra and Nehemiah). So this part of the prophecy about Zerubbabel is a play on words, in as much as Zerubbabel is synonymous with Israel being wakened out of a sleep.
and said unto me, "What seest thou?" And I said, "I have looked, and behold, a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof: and two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.
Here is the seven candlesticks from Revelation 1 - the seven churches of the end times. In this vision, the olive oil which is the fuel for the lamps comes from two particular trees. The meaning of the trees is explained below.
So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, "What are these, my lord?" Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, "Knowest thou not what these be?" And I said, "No, my lord."
I love it when the prophets have to ask the meaning of the visions that they see, because it means that the prophecy will also be explained to us, the readers!
Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, "This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, 'Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.
The meaning of Zerubbabel is explained further here. When people today discuss establishing the kingdom of God, we have to pay attention to the methods that they talk about using, because this verse says that the kingdom will not be established by power or by might (i.e. by force) but it will be established by the movement of the Holy Spirit! This is what happened when John the Baptist and Jesus went out and began preaching the Word - the Spirit of God moved in the hearts of those people that believed in Him. Jesus also discussed how it would come about after that time in Matthew 10 and Mark 13, when the Holy Spirit would speak through people.
Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerbubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, 'Grace, grace unto it.'"
This passage was taught by Jesus in Matthew 21:21 and Mark 11:23. The mountain that is being removed is the synagogue of Satan, which is going to be a great mountain in the end days. (Mountains represent nations in spiritual language.) The people of the synagogue of Satan will be crying for grace to the headstone of their nation - he will have told them that he is God - but he is not.
Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you. For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro though the whole earth."
As Jesus said in Matthew 21:21 and Mark 11:23, if one has faith enough to stand against the synagogue of Satan in the end days, the mountain is going to remove itself. People know the sound of truth, and the people that hear the seven churches preach in the end days will see that the word is upright and straight, as symbolized by the plummet (or "plumbob"). In the time of this prophecy, the plummet was a stone that was hung from a string so that carpenters knew when the walls of a building were straight up and down. So this stone that is hanging from the plummet is the stone that was discussed in the last chapter (see previous post) that has the seven eyes on it. The seven eyes are the watchmen of the end times and the seven churches of the end times. This passage gives the explanation of why the seven churches are not just located in Turkey, but through the whole earth.
Then answered I again, and said unto him, "What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof?" And I answered again, and said unto him, "What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves?" And he answered me and said, "Knowest thou not what these be?" And I said, "No, my lord." Then said he, "These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth."
The two trees are the two witnesses of the end times, who are discussed in Revelation 11.
This gives another prophecy from the Old Testament that discusses the churches of the end times, and what they are to accomplish in those days. God bless.
Wednesday 21 December 2011
Monday 12 December 2011
Zechariah 3: Seven Eyes...
Another place where the seven angels and the seven churches of the end times is refered to is in Zechariah. In fact, Zechariah 4 is the chapter that the image of the seven candlesticks used to represent the seven churches in Revelation comes from. In order to fully explain the references to the churches, I will have to go through chapters 3-4 of Zechariah, with a brief introduction from chapter 2. In chapter two, Zechariah gives a brief exaltation to Jerusalem to celebrate the fact that the Lord would dwell there. The fact is that the Lord did dwell there when He was in the image of Jesus Christ, and will dwell there once again when New Jerusalem descends from heaven (see Revelation 21), but for now, light has been separated from darkness (see Genesis 1:4). This exaltation from Zechariah 2:10-12 sets up the vision that starts in chapter 3.
Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord. And many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and shall be My People: thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent Me unto thee. And the Lord shall inherit Judah His portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again. Be silent, O all flesh, before the Lord: for He is raised up out of His holy habitation.
Jesus Christ is descended from David, the first king of Israel that was of the tribe of Judah. (Saul was the "first king"... but he was of the tribe of Benjamin.) Jesus inherited the kingdom through this genealogical line, as King, and did not have any children (in the flesh); therefore, the kingdom remains His now and forevermore. The passage above states how the Lord came to dwell with us, as Jesus Christ, and how He will come once again. He is "God with us", or in Hebrew, "Emmanuel" (see Isaiah 7:14). But He was named "Jesus", not "Emmanuel", by virtue of the message delivered from God by Gabriel, His messenger: "And the angel said unto [Mary], "Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a Son, and shalt call His name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David: and He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end (Luke 1:31-32)". The reason that the Baby's name was Jesus was also given by the angel, but to Joseph, Mary's husband: "And she bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus: for He shall save His People from their sins (Matthew 1:21)." Jesus is the English version of the Hebrew name "Joshua" (pronounced "Yah-shoo-wah"), which means "Jehovah's Savior". The name Joshua is why it was important to connect the ending of Zechariah 2 to the vision in Zechariah 3, because the vision is about the high priest in Zechariah's day, whose name was Joshua, but we find out by the time we get to chapter 6 that Joshua in the vision represents Jesus Christ.
The vision in Zechariah 3 (you can read it for yourself) shows the vision of when Jesus becomes the High Priest of heaven. I will not go into the vision in detail at this time (I will likely come back to it on a different day), but at the end of the vision, the Lord says about Joshua, "For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the initquity of that land in one day. In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree." The stone with seven eyes is the seven churches in Revelation. They are God's "elect" (and, I assume, anyone who is with them in their cause). The "stone laid before Joshua" is Jesus Christ. He is the "stone which the builders refused [but has] become the head stone of the corner (Psalm 118:22)." That is to say He is "the first stone laid" and the most important one for the foundation. He was, however, rejected by the high priests in power at the time that He walked the earth - they killed Him. The seven eyes are the watchmen of the end times - they represent the seven churches in Revelation who are supposed to be watching for His return (see Mark 13:37). The prophecy is given for the end days (see Micah 4:1), in the time that every person is under their own tree, which is to say that they walk in the name of their own gods: "but they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken it. For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever (Micah 4:4-5)." The seven eyes of the seven churches will be there watching.
The stone with seven eyes is also the same as saying that this stone is the "body of Christ", in that the body is the church. To say in Psalm 118 that the stone itself is Jesus, then the stone is the body. Jesus is also "the Lamb of God", meaning that the lamb's body is Jesus' body. The connection can then be made between the stone with seven eyes and the Lamb because, in Revelation 5, which takes place in God's throneroom, we see a Lamb upon God's throne, and on the Lamb is seven eyes and seven horns. The eyes again are the watchmen of the seven churches, and the horns are the seven angels of the churches. Horns represent persons of power and authority (see Daniel 7:24 and Revelation 17:12). In the vision of the lamb, the eyes and the horns are attached to the Lamb, which is the same as saying that they are a part of the body of the Lamb (or "the body of Christ").
So there you have it. One more reference to the seven churches of the end times found in Scripture. God bless.
Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord. And many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and shall be My People: thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent Me unto thee. And the Lord shall inherit Judah His portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again. Be silent, O all flesh, before the Lord: for He is raised up out of His holy habitation.
Jesus Christ is descended from David, the first king of Israel that was of the tribe of Judah. (Saul was the "first king"... but he was of the tribe of Benjamin.) Jesus inherited the kingdom through this genealogical line, as King, and did not have any children (in the flesh); therefore, the kingdom remains His now and forevermore. The passage above states how the Lord came to dwell with us, as Jesus Christ, and how He will come once again. He is "God with us", or in Hebrew, "Emmanuel" (see Isaiah 7:14). But He was named "Jesus", not "Emmanuel", by virtue of the message delivered from God by Gabriel, His messenger: "And the angel said unto [Mary], "Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a Son, and shalt call His name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David: and He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end (Luke 1:31-32)". The reason that the Baby's name was Jesus was also given by the angel, but to Joseph, Mary's husband: "And she bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus: for He shall save His People from their sins (Matthew 1:21)." Jesus is the English version of the Hebrew name "Joshua" (pronounced "Yah-shoo-wah"), which means "Jehovah's Savior". The name Joshua is why it was important to connect the ending of Zechariah 2 to the vision in Zechariah 3, because the vision is about the high priest in Zechariah's day, whose name was Joshua, but we find out by the time we get to chapter 6 that Joshua in the vision represents Jesus Christ.
The vision in Zechariah 3 (you can read it for yourself) shows the vision of when Jesus becomes the High Priest of heaven. I will not go into the vision in detail at this time (I will likely come back to it on a different day), but at the end of the vision, the Lord says about Joshua, "For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the initquity of that land in one day. In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree." The stone with seven eyes is the seven churches in Revelation. They are God's "elect" (and, I assume, anyone who is with them in their cause). The "stone laid before Joshua" is Jesus Christ. He is the "stone which the builders refused [but has] become the head stone of the corner (Psalm 118:22)." That is to say He is "the first stone laid" and the most important one for the foundation. He was, however, rejected by the high priests in power at the time that He walked the earth - they killed Him. The seven eyes are the watchmen of the end times - they represent the seven churches in Revelation who are supposed to be watching for His return (see Mark 13:37). The prophecy is given for the end days (see Micah 4:1), in the time that every person is under their own tree, which is to say that they walk in the name of their own gods: "but they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken it. For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever (Micah 4:4-5)." The seven eyes of the seven churches will be there watching.
The stone with seven eyes is also the same as saying that this stone is the "body of Christ", in that the body is the church. To say in Psalm 118 that the stone itself is Jesus, then the stone is the body. Jesus is also "the Lamb of God", meaning that the lamb's body is Jesus' body. The connection can then be made between the stone with seven eyes and the Lamb because, in Revelation 5, which takes place in God's throneroom, we see a Lamb upon God's throne, and on the Lamb is seven eyes and seven horns. The eyes again are the watchmen of the seven churches, and the horns are the seven angels of the churches. Horns represent persons of power and authority (see Daniel 7:24 and Revelation 17:12). In the vision of the lamb, the eyes and the horns are attached to the Lamb, which is the same as saying that they are a part of the body of the Lamb (or "the body of Christ").
So there you have it. One more reference to the seven churches of the end times found in Scripture. God bless.
Micah 5: Seven Shepherds...
In the last few posts, we went through the seven churches of the end times. Placed in charge of those seven churches are seven angels. Now, I'm not going to even begin to pretend that I am an expert on the places in Scripture that refer to these seven angels... but I know a couple. Micah chapter 5 is one of those places, and it is what will be examined below.
Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.
This is the call to war. A call to war is when a trumpet is sounded, and there are seven trumpets that sound in Revelation. The siege that happens here is in the sixth trumpet and can be read about in Revelation 9:13-21. Revelation 10 is then a chapter that prepares the seven churches for what they are to do: they are given the words of God (the scroll) that they are to speak when they are delivered up to the synagogue of Satan (see Mark 13:11). Now they smote Jesus on the cheek when He was delivered up before Pilate, and this was His example to those who are delivered up at the end time, because they will also smite those delivered up. This is seen in Revelation 11:7-12.
But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth unto me That is to be ruler in Israel; Whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
This is a prophecy of Christ, as Jesus was born in Bethlehem. What these words means is very poetic to me: "Bethlehem Ephratah" means "fruitful house of bread." Jesus said in John 6:35, "I am the bread of life." His ministry was and is very fruitful, and those that follow in His ministry are of His house. Jesus also is a direct descendant of Judah (the royal geneology). Luke 3 gives His genealogy from Adam through Abraham, Judah, David and eventually to Heli, who was Mary's father.
Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travailtelth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. And He shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord His God; and they shall abide: for now shall He be great unto the ends of the earth.
The story of the woman who gives birth is found in Revelation 12. This "him" and "his" brothers do come against the children of Israel in Revelation 12:9. The "he" (lower case h) here is the serpent of old, Satan, who will once again attempt to make the tree of knowledge of good and evil appealing. That is to say that he knows the difference between good and evil, and he does evil anyway. His days are numbered. The "He" (capital H) here is Jesus Christ, Who will feed His flock with the truth.
And this Man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men. And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall He deliver us from the Assyrian, when He cometh into our land, and when he treadeth whithin our borders.
BINGO!! The reason I came to Micah 5. The seven shepherds here are the seven angels of the seven churches in the end times. They are the seven angels of the churches written to in Revelation 2 & 3. If you remember from my previous posts (or just look below), there were seven angels, and One walking amongst the churches, for a total of eight. The eight "principal men" stated here. This is a direct connection to the churches in Revelation 2 & 3. There is another reference here, but not necessarily intentional. There were eight souls saved on the ark with Noah (1 Peter 3:20). This will be discussed in another post.
And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the Lord, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men.
"The remnant of Jacob" is the "very elect" that Jesus refers to in Matthew 24. These are the few chosen by God to declare His name against Satan when he is cast to the earth, as is described above. They will be on a 3 1/2 year mission, similar to that of Jesus Christ to call sinners to repentance. They will stand against Satan in the end days. For people who believe in God, they will be a refreshment, like a rain that was long overdue (though they are just on time). They are the latter rain, and they will have a lot to accomplish, so they will be taught by God and will not be able to wait for men's teaching to guide them.
And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.
The downside for the remnant is that the people who are fooled by the antichrist are going to think that the remnant are blasphemers and heretics. The word "Gentiles" in this passage is "gowy" which is a Hebrew word that is quite often translated as "heathen" and "nations". It depicts anyone that is not a believer in Jesus Christ. Unbelievers will think that Satan is God, so anyone who speaks against Satan will be their enemy. Those people are the "synagogue of Satan" discussed in Revelation 2:9 & 3:9, and because many Christians are not taught today that the false Christ must come before the real Christ, they are in prime position to be fooled and deceived into joining the synagogue of Satan. They are not fed the true word of God as set forth by all His prophets.
The dual nature of the two passages above comes from Proverbs 19:12: "The king's wrath is as the roaring of a lion: but his favour is as dew upon the grass." That is to say that being against the King, and His kingdom, is as though you were against a lion, but to be in His favour is to receive His showers of blessing (Ezekiel 34:26).
So here is an appearance of a prophecy of the seven churches of the end times that was written about 600-700 years before Jesus was born. Micah is a fantastic book in total. I encourage you to read it (it's only 7 chapters). God bless.
Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.
This is the call to war. A call to war is when a trumpet is sounded, and there are seven trumpets that sound in Revelation. The siege that happens here is in the sixth trumpet and can be read about in Revelation 9:13-21. Revelation 10 is then a chapter that prepares the seven churches for what they are to do: they are given the words of God (the scroll) that they are to speak when they are delivered up to the synagogue of Satan (see Mark 13:11). Now they smote Jesus on the cheek when He was delivered up before Pilate, and this was His example to those who are delivered up at the end time, because they will also smite those delivered up. This is seen in Revelation 11:7-12.
But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth unto me That is to be ruler in Israel; Whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
This is a prophecy of Christ, as Jesus was born in Bethlehem. What these words means is very poetic to me: "Bethlehem Ephratah" means "fruitful house of bread." Jesus said in John 6:35, "I am the bread of life." His ministry was and is very fruitful, and those that follow in His ministry are of His house. Jesus also is a direct descendant of Judah (the royal geneology). Luke 3 gives His genealogy from Adam through Abraham, Judah, David and eventually to Heli, who was Mary's father.
Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travailtelth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. And He shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord His God; and they shall abide: for now shall He be great unto the ends of the earth.
The story of the woman who gives birth is found in Revelation 12. This "him" and "his" brothers do come against the children of Israel in Revelation 12:9. The "he" (lower case h) here is the serpent of old, Satan, who will once again attempt to make the tree of knowledge of good and evil appealing. That is to say that he knows the difference between good and evil, and he does evil anyway. His days are numbered. The "He" (capital H) here is Jesus Christ, Who will feed His flock with the truth.
And this Man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men. And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall He deliver us from the Assyrian, when He cometh into our land, and when he treadeth whithin our borders.
BINGO!! The reason I came to Micah 5. The seven shepherds here are the seven angels of the seven churches in the end times. They are the seven angels of the churches written to in Revelation 2 & 3. If you remember from my previous posts (or just look below), there were seven angels, and One walking amongst the churches, for a total of eight. The eight "principal men" stated here. This is a direct connection to the churches in Revelation 2 & 3. There is another reference here, but not necessarily intentional. There were eight souls saved on the ark with Noah (1 Peter 3:20). This will be discussed in another post.
And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the Lord, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men.
"The remnant of Jacob" is the "very elect" that Jesus refers to in Matthew 24. These are the few chosen by God to declare His name against Satan when he is cast to the earth, as is described above. They will be on a 3 1/2 year mission, similar to that of Jesus Christ to call sinners to repentance. They will stand against Satan in the end days. For people who believe in God, they will be a refreshment, like a rain that was long overdue (though they are just on time). They are the latter rain, and they will have a lot to accomplish, so they will be taught by God and will not be able to wait for men's teaching to guide them.
And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.
The downside for the remnant is that the people who are fooled by the antichrist are going to think that the remnant are blasphemers and heretics. The word "Gentiles" in this passage is "gowy" which is a Hebrew word that is quite often translated as "heathen" and "nations". It depicts anyone that is not a believer in Jesus Christ. Unbelievers will think that Satan is God, so anyone who speaks against Satan will be their enemy. Those people are the "synagogue of Satan" discussed in Revelation 2:9 & 3:9, and because many Christians are not taught today that the false Christ must come before the real Christ, they are in prime position to be fooled and deceived into joining the synagogue of Satan. They are not fed the true word of God as set forth by all His prophets.
The dual nature of the two passages above comes from Proverbs 19:12: "The king's wrath is as the roaring of a lion: but his favour is as dew upon the grass." That is to say that being against the King, and His kingdom, is as though you were against a lion, but to be in His favour is to receive His showers of blessing (Ezekiel 34:26).
So here is an appearance of a prophecy of the seven churches of the end times that was written about 600-700 years before Jesus was born. Micah is a fantastic book in total. I encourage you to read it (it's only 7 chapters). God bless.
Friday 25 November 2011
Revelation 3: To Him That Overcometh...
And unto the angel in the church of Sardis write; These things saith He that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things that remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.
Paul consistently preached that strengthening the church is one of the two great tasks for Christians; the other is spreading the gospel.
Rememberest therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a theif, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.
The image of the thief in the night is associated with the return of Christ. Jesus, Paul and Peter all say that the Day of the Lord will come as a thief (Matthew 24; 1 Thessalonians 5; 1 Peter 4), which is to say unexpectedly (see Matthew 24:43). But think about that for a moment... you need to feel safe before you stop watching for the thief. Matthew 24:24 said that there is one who is coming to deceive everyone, 2 Thessalonians 2 states that the deceiver calls himself God, he may even call himself the "Son of God", so anyone who believes him will feel pretty safe, as though they were protected by God. But God says to that deceiver in Ezekiel 28:9, "Wilt thou yet say before Him that slayeth thee, 'I am God'? but thou shalt be a man and no god in the hand of Him that slayeth thee."
Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white: for they are worthy.
This illustrates how every person is judged by his or her own actions, regardless of who they are associated with.
He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before My Father, and before His angels. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
White raiment is seen quite often in the Bible. It is also described as linen robes, which are made from flax. Angels are often described as being in white raiment. But it is not until you get to Revelation that the spiritual symbolism of white raiment is explained. The white raiment is explained in Revelation 19:8, where it says that the bride of Christ is "arrayed in fine linen, clean and white; for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints." The word "righteousness" is "dekaioma" which means "lawful acts" or "righteous deeds". So your heavenly covering is made up of your good righteous acts.
To be blotted out of the book of life means that your name is forever erased from that book. It's like you had never existed. Moses asked God not to blot out the children of Israel after they had worshipped the golden calf in Exodus 32:32. I like that David would use this word to proclaim the Lord's forgiveness in the Psalms when he would talk about God blotting out man's transgressions (see Psalm 51).
And to the angel in the church of Philadelphia write;
Philadelphia is the second church that does not receive any warning from Jesus because they are in good standing with their doctrine (the first was Smyrna - see my last post). The words to this church elaborate on that doctrine a bit more. The word Philadelphia means "brotherly love", and brotherly love is what God wants people to display for each other (see Obadiah - it's only 1 chapter long).
These things saith He that is holy, He that is true, He that hath the key of David, He that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept My word, and hast not denied My name.
The key of David is a key that opens doors of knowledge. Once the knowledge is received, it cannot be taken away. And once the old knowledge is shut out, it cannot be let back in.
Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. Because thou hast kept the word of My patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
The word of patience is that no matter what happens in time - even though heaven and earth should pass away - we wait for the return of the Lord. This is the central message of Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21. In Matthew 24:23, Jesus plainly says about the tribulation period (also known as the hour of temptation), "then if any man shall say unto you, 'Lo, here is Christ,' or 'there;' believe it not." This is because "he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved (Matthew 24:13)." So be patient.
Behold, I come quickly; hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
"That no man take thy crown" is the same as saying, "don't let anyone take your crown by deceiving you". Satan is the great deceiver and his whole plan is to trick people into turning away from God. This puts one in danger of losing their rewards from God. It's what happened with Adam and Eve, and it's what will be attempted at the end of this age. That's why it is important to listen to the two most emphatic places in the Bible - spoken by The Greatest Authority in the Bible, Jesus, and one of the greatest followers and teachers of scripture, Paul - that both say emphatically "DO NOT BE DECEIVED". Both references I'm talking about put the message very plainly. The first is found in two places which is from the same speech by Jesus; these can be found in Matthew 24:4 and Mark 13:5. The second is found in Paul's letter 2 Thessalonians 2:3. This letter was a follow up to the first letter, because the readers had misunderstood what Paul was saying about the return of Christ (the gathering to Christ). It's very fortunate for us that that happened, so that we also did not misread 1 Thessalonians 4.
Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the Temple of My God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, which is New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven with My God: and I will write upon him My new name. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of My mouth.
This last verse is a verse that is used for many different purposes, by many different pastors, to motivate church members to do many different things. What is true is that God loves a cheerful giver, and loves those that love Him (and show that love by acting on it). However, since this prophecy is given on "the day of the Lord" (see Revelation 1:10), I connect the message to what is happening at that time. To me, it has to do with people that decide to not act then. They neither follow the antichrist, who claims to be the Christ at that time, nor do they make a stand for God. To them, they "have all of their bases covered." To them, if they don't take a stand one way or the other, at least they haven't followed the antichrist, and they should get some credit for that. Jesus makes it very plain here that, if one doesn't make a stand for God then, that person is no more accepted than them that follow the antichrist. This is echoed several times in the New Testament in the saying, "whosoever will save his life will lose it; but whosoever will lose his life for My sake shall save it" (Matthew 16:25; Mark 8:35; Luke 9:24; Luke 17:33).
Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and annoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
The gold that we are to get is wisdom (see Proverbs 16:16). Here, wisdom about the end of the age is better than gold. It must be tried in the fire because of the number of false teachings that exist relating to the end times. White raiment, as we discussed before, is righteous acts: once you have knowledge of what will happen in the end times, you act accordingly. Rightly. Justly. The eyesalve is to be able to see clearly Who is the Christ. That is Jesus. Once these things are in place, you can act in the way that you are supposed to; you can put on the gospel armour and take your stand (see Ephesians 6).
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come into him, and sup with him, and he with Me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
God does rebuke and chasten His children like any loving father would. He is The Father. He is the pattern that all loving fathers have been built after. Numerous places in the Bible tell us this: Job 5:17, Proverbs 3:11, Hebrews 12. Correction is required to receive proper instruction, to receive wisdom, to receive gold tried in the fire.
This is the summation of the messages to the churches of the end times. If we can live in accordance with the doctrine now, we will be well prepared for when the end comes. We will be able to overcome, as He overcame, through the strength and knowledge provided by Him. God bless.
Paul consistently preached that strengthening the church is one of the two great tasks for Christians; the other is spreading the gospel.
Rememberest therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a theif, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.
The image of the thief in the night is associated with the return of Christ. Jesus, Paul and Peter all say that the Day of the Lord will come as a thief (Matthew 24; 1 Thessalonians 5; 1 Peter 4), which is to say unexpectedly (see Matthew 24:43). But think about that for a moment... you need to feel safe before you stop watching for the thief. Matthew 24:24 said that there is one who is coming to deceive everyone, 2 Thessalonians 2 states that the deceiver calls himself God, he may even call himself the "Son of God", so anyone who believes him will feel pretty safe, as though they were protected by God. But God says to that deceiver in Ezekiel 28:9, "Wilt thou yet say before Him that slayeth thee, 'I am God'? but thou shalt be a man and no god in the hand of Him that slayeth thee."
Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white: for they are worthy.
This illustrates how every person is judged by his or her own actions, regardless of who they are associated with.
He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before My Father, and before His angels. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
White raiment is seen quite often in the Bible. It is also described as linen robes, which are made from flax. Angels are often described as being in white raiment. But it is not until you get to Revelation that the spiritual symbolism of white raiment is explained. The white raiment is explained in Revelation 19:8, where it says that the bride of Christ is "arrayed in fine linen, clean and white; for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints." The word "righteousness" is "dekaioma" which means "lawful acts" or "righteous deeds". So your heavenly covering is made up of your good righteous acts.
To be blotted out of the book of life means that your name is forever erased from that book. It's like you had never existed. Moses asked God not to blot out the children of Israel after they had worshipped the golden calf in Exodus 32:32. I like that David would use this word to proclaim the Lord's forgiveness in the Psalms when he would talk about God blotting out man's transgressions (see Psalm 51).
And to the angel in the church of Philadelphia write;
Philadelphia is the second church that does not receive any warning from Jesus because they are in good standing with their doctrine (the first was Smyrna - see my last post). The words to this church elaborate on that doctrine a bit more. The word Philadelphia means "brotherly love", and brotherly love is what God wants people to display for each other (see Obadiah - it's only 1 chapter long).
These things saith He that is holy, He that is true, He that hath the key of David, He that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept My word, and hast not denied My name.
The key of David is a key that opens doors of knowledge. Once the knowledge is received, it cannot be taken away. And once the old knowledge is shut out, it cannot be let back in.
Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. Because thou hast kept the word of My patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
The word of patience is that no matter what happens in time - even though heaven and earth should pass away - we wait for the return of the Lord. This is the central message of Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21. In Matthew 24:23, Jesus plainly says about the tribulation period (also known as the hour of temptation), "then if any man shall say unto you, 'Lo, here is Christ,' or 'there;' believe it not." This is because "he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved (Matthew 24:13)." So be patient.
Behold, I come quickly; hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
"That no man take thy crown" is the same as saying, "don't let anyone take your crown by deceiving you". Satan is the great deceiver and his whole plan is to trick people into turning away from God. This puts one in danger of losing their rewards from God. It's what happened with Adam and Eve, and it's what will be attempted at the end of this age. That's why it is important to listen to the two most emphatic places in the Bible - spoken by The Greatest Authority in the Bible, Jesus, and one of the greatest followers and teachers of scripture, Paul - that both say emphatically "DO NOT BE DECEIVED". Both references I'm talking about put the message very plainly. The first is found in two places which is from the same speech by Jesus; these can be found in Matthew 24:4 and Mark 13:5. The second is found in Paul's letter 2 Thessalonians 2:3. This letter was a follow up to the first letter, because the readers had misunderstood what Paul was saying about the return of Christ (the gathering to Christ). It's very fortunate for us that that happened, so that we also did not misread 1 Thessalonians 4.
Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the Temple of My God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, which is New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven with My God: and I will write upon him My new name. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of My mouth.
This last verse is a verse that is used for many different purposes, by many different pastors, to motivate church members to do many different things. What is true is that God loves a cheerful giver, and loves those that love Him (and show that love by acting on it). However, since this prophecy is given on "the day of the Lord" (see Revelation 1:10), I connect the message to what is happening at that time. To me, it has to do with people that decide to not act then. They neither follow the antichrist, who claims to be the Christ at that time, nor do they make a stand for God. To them, they "have all of their bases covered." To them, if they don't take a stand one way or the other, at least they haven't followed the antichrist, and they should get some credit for that. Jesus makes it very plain here that, if one doesn't make a stand for God then, that person is no more accepted than them that follow the antichrist. This is echoed several times in the New Testament in the saying, "whosoever will save his life will lose it; but whosoever will lose his life for My sake shall save it" (Matthew 16:25; Mark 8:35; Luke 9:24; Luke 17:33).
Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and annoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
The gold that we are to get is wisdom (see Proverbs 16:16). Here, wisdom about the end of the age is better than gold. It must be tried in the fire because of the number of false teachings that exist relating to the end times. White raiment, as we discussed before, is righteous acts: once you have knowledge of what will happen in the end times, you act accordingly. Rightly. Justly. The eyesalve is to be able to see clearly Who is the Christ. That is Jesus. Once these things are in place, you can act in the way that you are supposed to; you can put on the gospel armour and take your stand (see Ephesians 6).
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come into him, and sup with him, and he with Me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
God does rebuke and chasten His children like any loving father would. He is The Father. He is the pattern that all loving fathers have been built after. Numerous places in the Bible tell us this: Job 5:17, Proverbs 3:11, Hebrews 12. Correction is required to receive proper instruction, to receive wisdom, to receive gold tried in the fire.
This is the summation of the messages to the churches of the end times. If we can live in accordance with the doctrine now, we will be well prepared for when the end comes. We will be able to overcome, as He overcame, through the strength and knowledge provided by Him. God bless.
Friday 18 November 2011
Revelation 2: He That Hath An Ear, Let Him Hear...
The next two chapters are chapters where Jesus addresses the seven churches of the world. The doctrine is both consistent with lessons taught elsewhere in the Scriptures and important in relation to the events that will be happening at the end of the world.
Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; 'These things saith He That holdeth the seven stars in His right hand, Who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;
As we learned in the last chapter, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven candlesticks are the seven churches. The statement above is an affirmation that God has everything in hand during the events of Revelation, and is in the middle of the churches to comfort them.
I know thy works, and thy labour and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil, and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
The testing of spiritual lessons and teachers is not a message I see too much these days, which is ironic. Now, more than ever, people need to be tested that say they come in the name of the Lord. Jesus taught this in Matthew 24:5 & 11, and the New Testament teachers also taught it 1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 (Paul), 2 Peter 2:1 (Peter), 1 John 4:1 (John), and Jude 1:4 (Jude). Paul even wrote of how the rising of many false teachers would be a sign of the end of the world: "Preach the Word... For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themsleves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables (2 Timothy 4:2-3)." And that is the litmus test for whether someone is a false teacher or not. It is very difficult to teach directly from the Scriptures, line for line, and turn it into false doctrine. On the other hand, if only a small part of Scripture is taught, it is not too difficult to knock it out of context to create your own message. So we must be careful to take the Scriptures line upon line, and not just believe anything that comes out of the mouth of someone who calls himself a teacher - we should prove what they are saying by looking it up in the Scriptures. I am not a teacher; I just love to study Scripture, and I would even say that you should check out anything that I say on here against the Scriptures before you are going to believe it. (You won't hurt my feelings if you do!)
And hast borne, and hast patience, and for My name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
I believe the "first love" is God. The two greatest commandments, in order of prominence, are, "Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind," and, "[Love] thy neighbour as thyself" (Matthew 22:37-40); therefore, loving God comes first before loving (and catering to) man.
Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate.
There is no documented history of who the Nicolaitanes are, though there are many theories. The word "nicolaitane" means "destruction of the people", and it seems very clear from Jesus stating that He hates their deeds, that destruction is exactly what the doctrine sets its followers up for. This is the first of two references to the Nicolaitanes in these chapters, and the next reference contains more information, so I will further discuss my thoughts there.
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.'
There are two references to Old Testament in this last statement. The phrase "he that hath an ear, let him hear" was a popular phrase in Jesus' teachings in the gospel. But what is not commonly discussed is that the phrase is taken from Ezekiel 3:27. Ezekiel 3 is a powerful chapter in that book. It is the chapter where God gives Ezekiel his authority as a watchman and a prophet - that authority carries on through the rest of the book, and similar phrasing appears in Ezekiel 33, where God tells Ezekiel that there also will be watchmen that He has set up for the end of this age to warn people about the end of the world. God gives the people the choice to listen or not (and suffer the consequences of that decision) because He knows the prophecy is directed at a people that doesn't want to listen (see my reference to 2 Timothy 4 above... the prophecy is directed at the same people).
The second reference is to the tree of life, which is Jesus, and the reference is to Genesis 3. What is being said is basically that things are going to go back to the way that they were in Eden when this present age is over and that heaven will return to earth (heaven is wherever God is, and He has promised to live with us on earth - see Revelation 21, when new Jerusalem comes to earth).
The next church is one of two that don't receive a rebuke from Jesus for what they are doing - so the doctrine of the church is an important one to follow if we want to be in good standing.
And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; ' These things saith the First and the Last, Which was dead, and is alive; I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty (but thou art rich), and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; he that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.'
Wow! A lot said here. There is speculation that the "Jews who are the synagogue of Satan" are a specific genealogical people. I would disagree. If anyone who believes in Jesus Christ can be adopted as a child of God, showing a spiritual condition rather than genealogical heritage, then I would say the same of who makes up the "synagogue (church) of Satan". On the other hand, if one believes that they are saved simply because they are of a certain genealogical heritage, and not because of what they believe, then I would say that that person is in for a rude awakening, because "the just shall live by [his or her] faith (Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38)."
This church shall be held captive ten days, and then the Lord shall speak through them. See Jeremiah 42 and Daniel 1.
"Be faithful unto death, and I will give you a crown of life." This resonates a similar saying from Jesus' ministry, "He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for My sake shall find it." My favourite place where this saying appears is in Matthew 10:39. Matthew 10 is clearly an end times chapter. Being delivered up to Satan appears in Matthew 10:19, and the confirmation of not being hurt of the second death (i.e. the flesh body dies but the soul is not killed) appears in Matthew 10:28.
And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; 'These things saith He Which hath the sharp sword with two edges; I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast My name, and hast not denied My faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was slain among you where Satan dwelleth.
There are traditions that speak of Saint Antipas; however, Satan has not yet "dwelt" on the earth: he is currently being held captive by Michael, until he is cast down to the earth (see Jude 1:9, Revelation 12:6-9, 2 Thessalonians 2:6). So this Antipas is likely a future character, in which case, his or her name is not likely to be "antipas", but that is given for the vision's sake. The name Antipas means "in the place of the father". Jesus identifies him as His "faithful martyr"... so, if my reasoning is right, this is a prophet in the end, who is sent to deliver the word of God, in the place of the Father, against the synagogue of Satan (see Smyrna above). And he or she is killed for it (see Revelation 11).
But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols and to commit fornication.
The story of Balaam can be found in Numbers 22-24, with a reappearance in Numbers 31. Balaam means "not of the people" or "not of the family" - not of the family of God. Balac (or Balak as spelled in the Old Testament) means "devastator" or "destroyer". Balaam was a prophet for hire, meaning he was willing to sell blessings and cursings to the highest bidder... this is not what one of the family of God does. Worse yet, Balaam was willing to sell out the children of Israel to the destroyer Balac... and he knew what he was doing, and that God had told him not too! But the money was just too good, so he kept asking God if it was alright until God finally gave him an answer that he could accept.
Jesus said to His disciples, "freely ye have received, freely give (Matthew 10:8)." He was speaking about blessings, healings, and spiritual gifts. One who has been blessed with these gifts, and is in the family of God, gives them freely. On the other side of the coin, Elisha's servant Gehazi went to collect payment for a healing that the Lord performed through Elisha, after Elisha had specifically said that he would not take payment (because it was God who had accomplished the healing and not Elisha), and Gehazi was both found out by Elisha, and received punishment for what he had done (see 2 Kings 5). God gives blessing and chastisement as He sees fit, and these things cannot be bought nor sold.
So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate.
This is the elaboration on the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes that I had mentioned earlier. The word "So" in this sentence is the Greek word "hautos", which means "thus/therefore/likewise/in this manner". It is conditional on the preceding statement; therefore, it connects the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes to the doctrine of Balaam. I've wondered if it is connected with the fact that St. Nicolas (Santa Claus) seems to slowly be replacing Jesus as the face of Christmas as time passes, to appease a multi-cultural western world that all want to celebrate the "holidays". Santa Claus appears to be the major mascot for any retail corporation looking to hawk its wares around Christmas time, thereby making Christmas more of a retail bonanza than a family time of celebration, thankfulness, and togetherness (after all, the best things in life are free)... but that could be my own cynicism on the changing nature of how Christmas is celebrated as I get older. In any event, the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes is connected to religious service for financial gains by connecting it to Balaam. Nuff said.
Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth. 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 hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.'
Because manna has always represented the word of God (or "the Bread of life"), this statement documents that there are messages hidden in Scripture that not even the majority of churches see. It is those who are earnest in seeking truth who will receive this manna.
An interesting note on the "white stone" mentioned above. The stone mentioned here was used for a specific purpose in Greece - it was used in the system that gave birth to democracy. The stone is one that would be gathered from a river bed that had been worn smooth over time. Black and white stones were used to cast a vote for one candidate or another. Here, the white stone is connected with Jesus. In Revelation 13:18, the word "count" to count the number of the beast is to count by this same method of voting. If Jesus is the white stone, the beast (Satan) is the black stone. This is one more illustration of the choice between life and death, between Christ and antichrist (see my earlier post).
And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; 'These things saith the Son of God, Who hath His eyes like unto a flame of fire, and His feet are like fine brass; I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.
Notice that "works" is mentioned twice, and that the works at the last are more than the works at the first.
Notwithstanding, I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce My servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.
Jezebel ("married to Baal") was the wife of king Ahab. She was the daughter of a priest of Baal, a prophetess of Baal. She was not a nice person to say the least. Her story can be found in the Book of Kings, primarily in 1 Kings 18-21 and 2 Kings 9. Baal means "lord", and the servants of Baal wished to place him in place of the Lord, but Baal is a false lord. The message fits very well in Revelation, since the entire book is about the coming of the false lord, also known as the antichrist. The Jezebel here will be the churches who attempt to get people to serve the antichrist as though he were the real Christ.
And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.
This is a powerful statement! This shows God's abundant mercy in that, even if Jezebel herself, one of the most notorious "villains" of the Old Testament, were to truly repent, she would be forgiven. This gives one of the most powerful themes that runs through Revelation, and throughout all of Scripture. God is looking for any and all who will repent, and all sin will be forgiven upon repentance from the heart.
Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am He Which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works. But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden. But that which ye have already, hold fast till I come. And he that overcometh, and keepeth My works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of My Father. And I will give him the morning star. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.'
Ruling with a rod of iron is a reference to Psalm 2, which denotes that God will triumph over all nations.
The messages to the churches carries on into Revelation 3. God bless.
Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; 'These things saith He That holdeth the seven stars in His right hand, Who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;
As we learned in the last chapter, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven candlesticks are the seven churches. The statement above is an affirmation that God has everything in hand during the events of Revelation, and is in the middle of the churches to comfort them.
I know thy works, and thy labour and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil, and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
The testing of spiritual lessons and teachers is not a message I see too much these days, which is ironic. Now, more than ever, people need to be tested that say they come in the name of the Lord. Jesus taught this in Matthew 24:5 & 11, and the New Testament teachers also taught it 1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 (Paul), 2 Peter 2:1 (Peter), 1 John 4:1 (John), and Jude 1:4 (Jude). Paul even wrote of how the rising of many false teachers would be a sign of the end of the world: "Preach the Word... For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themsleves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables (2 Timothy 4:2-3)." And that is the litmus test for whether someone is a false teacher or not. It is very difficult to teach directly from the Scriptures, line for line, and turn it into false doctrine. On the other hand, if only a small part of Scripture is taught, it is not too difficult to knock it out of context to create your own message. So we must be careful to take the Scriptures line upon line, and not just believe anything that comes out of the mouth of someone who calls himself a teacher - we should prove what they are saying by looking it up in the Scriptures. I am not a teacher; I just love to study Scripture, and I would even say that you should check out anything that I say on here against the Scriptures before you are going to believe it. (You won't hurt my feelings if you do!)
And hast borne, and hast patience, and for My name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
I believe the "first love" is God. The two greatest commandments, in order of prominence, are, "Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind," and, "[Love] thy neighbour as thyself" (Matthew 22:37-40); therefore, loving God comes first before loving (and catering to) man.
Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate.
There is no documented history of who the Nicolaitanes are, though there are many theories. The word "nicolaitane" means "destruction of the people", and it seems very clear from Jesus stating that He hates their deeds, that destruction is exactly what the doctrine sets its followers up for. This is the first of two references to the Nicolaitanes in these chapters, and the next reference contains more information, so I will further discuss my thoughts there.
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.'
There are two references to Old Testament in this last statement. The phrase "he that hath an ear, let him hear" was a popular phrase in Jesus' teachings in the gospel. But what is not commonly discussed is that the phrase is taken from Ezekiel 3:27. Ezekiel 3 is a powerful chapter in that book. It is the chapter where God gives Ezekiel his authority as a watchman and a prophet - that authority carries on through the rest of the book, and similar phrasing appears in Ezekiel 33, where God tells Ezekiel that there also will be watchmen that He has set up for the end of this age to warn people about the end of the world. God gives the people the choice to listen or not (and suffer the consequences of that decision) because He knows the prophecy is directed at a people that doesn't want to listen (see my reference to 2 Timothy 4 above... the prophecy is directed at the same people).
The second reference is to the tree of life, which is Jesus, and the reference is to Genesis 3. What is being said is basically that things are going to go back to the way that they were in Eden when this present age is over and that heaven will return to earth (heaven is wherever God is, and He has promised to live with us on earth - see Revelation 21, when new Jerusalem comes to earth).
The next church is one of two that don't receive a rebuke from Jesus for what they are doing - so the doctrine of the church is an important one to follow if we want to be in good standing.
And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; ' These things saith the First and the Last, Which was dead, and is alive; I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty (but thou art rich), and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; he that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.'
Wow! A lot said here. There is speculation that the "Jews who are the synagogue of Satan" are a specific genealogical people. I would disagree. If anyone who believes in Jesus Christ can be adopted as a child of God, showing a spiritual condition rather than genealogical heritage, then I would say the same of who makes up the "synagogue (church) of Satan". On the other hand, if one believes that they are saved simply because they are of a certain genealogical heritage, and not because of what they believe, then I would say that that person is in for a rude awakening, because "the just shall live by [his or her] faith (Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38)."
This church shall be held captive ten days, and then the Lord shall speak through them. See Jeremiah 42 and Daniel 1.
"Be faithful unto death, and I will give you a crown of life." This resonates a similar saying from Jesus' ministry, "He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for My sake shall find it." My favourite place where this saying appears is in Matthew 10:39. Matthew 10 is clearly an end times chapter. Being delivered up to Satan appears in Matthew 10:19, and the confirmation of not being hurt of the second death (i.e. the flesh body dies but the soul is not killed) appears in Matthew 10:28.
And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; 'These things saith He Which hath the sharp sword with two edges; I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast My name, and hast not denied My faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was slain among you where Satan dwelleth.
There are traditions that speak of Saint Antipas; however, Satan has not yet "dwelt" on the earth: he is currently being held captive by Michael, until he is cast down to the earth (see Jude 1:9, Revelation 12:6-9, 2 Thessalonians 2:6). So this Antipas is likely a future character, in which case, his or her name is not likely to be "antipas", but that is given for the vision's sake. The name Antipas means "in the place of the father". Jesus identifies him as His "faithful martyr"... so, if my reasoning is right, this is a prophet in the end, who is sent to deliver the word of God, in the place of the Father, against the synagogue of Satan (see Smyrna above). And he or she is killed for it (see Revelation 11).
But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols and to commit fornication.
The story of Balaam can be found in Numbers 22-24, with a reappearance in Numbers 31. Balaam means "not of the people" or "not of the family" - not of the family of God. Balac (or Balak as spelled in the Old Testament) means "devastator" or "destroyer". Balaam was a prophet for hire, meaning he was willing to sell blessings and cursings to the highest bidder... this is not what one of the family of God does. Worse yet, Balaam was willing to sell out the children of Israel to the destroyer Balac... and he knew what he was doing, and that God had told him not too! But the money was just too good, so he kept asking God if it was alright until God finally gave him an answer that he could accept.
Jesus said to His disciples, "freely ye have received, freely give (Matthew 10:8)." He was speaking about blessings, healings, and spiritual gifts. One who has been blessed with these gifts, and is in the family of God, gives them freely. On the other side of the coin, Elisha's servant Gehazi went to collect payment for a healing that the Lord performed through Elisha, after Elisha had specifically said that he would not take payment (because it was God who had accomplished the healing and not Elisha), and Gehazi was both found out by Elisha, and received punishment for what he had done (see 2 Kings 5). God gives blessing and chastisement as He sees fit, and these things cannot be bought nor sold.
So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate.
This is the elaboration on the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes that I had mentioned earlier. The word "So" in this sentence is the Greek word "hautos", which means "thus/therefore/likewise/in this manner". It is conditional on the preceding statement; therefore, it connects the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes to the doctrine of Balaam. I've wondered if it is connected with the fact that St. Nicolas (Santa Claus) seems to slowly be replacing Jesus as the face of Christmas as time passes, to appease a multi-cultural western world that all want to celebrate the "holidays". Santa Claus appears to be the major mascot for any retail corporation looking to hawk its wares around Christmas time, thereby making Christmas more of a retail bonanza than a family time of celebration, thankfulness, and togetherness (after all, the best things in life are free)... but that could be my own cynicism on the changing nature of how Christmas is celebrated as I get older. In any event, the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes is connected to religious service for financial gains by connecting it to Balaam. Nuff said.
Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth. 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 hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.'
Because manna has always represented the word of God (or "the Bread of life"), this statement documents that there are messages hidden in Scripture that not even the majority of churches see. It is those who are earnest in seeking truth who will receive this manna.
An interesting note on the "white stone" mentioned above. The stone mentioned here was used for a specific purpose in Greece - it was used in the system that gave birth to democracy. The stone is one that would be gathered from a river bed that had been worn smooth over time. Black and white stones were used to cast a vote for one candidate or another. Here, the white stone is connected with Jesus. In Revelation 13:18, the word "count" to count the number of the beast is to count by this same method of voting. If Jesus is the white stone, the beast (Satan) is the black stone. This is one more illustration of the choice between life and death, between Christ and antichrist (see my earlier post).
And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; 'These things saith the Son of God, Who hath His eyes like unto a flame of fire, and His feet are like fine brass; I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.
Notice that "works" is mentioned twice, and that the works at the last are more than the works at the first.
Notwithstanding, I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce My servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.
Jezebel ("married to Baal") was the wife of king Ahab. She was the daughter of a priest of Baal, a prophetess of Baal. She was not a nice person to say the least. Her story can be found in the Book of Kings, primarily in 1 Kings 18-21 and 2 Kings 9. Baal means "lord", and the servants of Baal wished to place him in place of the Lord, but Baal is a false lord. The message fits very well in Revelation, since the entire book is about the coming of the false lord, also known as the antichrist. The Jezebel here will be the churches who attempt to get people to serve the antichrist as though he were the real Christ.
And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.
This is a powerful statement! This shows God's abundant mercy in that, even if Jezebel herself, one of the most notorious "villains" of the Old Testament, were to truly repent, she would be forgiven. This gives one of the most powerful themes that runs through Revelation, and throughout all of Scripture. God is looking for any and all who will repent, and all sin will be forgiven upon repentance from the heart.
Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am He Which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works. But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden. But that which ye have already, hold fast till I come. And he that overcometh, and keepeth My works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of My Father. And I will give him the morning star. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.'
Ruling with a rod of iron is a reference to Psalm 2, which denotes that God will triumph over all nations.
The messages to the churches carries on into Revelation 3. God bless.
Tuesday 15 November 2011
Revelation 1: The Son of Man...
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.
This is where we begin to get into the images that John saw while he was meditating. Popular belief is that John was in Patmos, in prison, meditating on the scriptures, when he was given this vision. The word Patmos means "my killing." It is associated with mortality, and this book of Revelation tells the tale of the end of this mortal age.
I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, saying, "I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and 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."
"The Lord's day" is interpretted in various ways by numerous people. I, however, believe that it is the Millenium where Christ reigns that is spoken of in the book of Revelation. The Lord's day is constantly referred to by the prophets as "in that day" (see Zechariah 2:11 for an example). Peter also tells us, "one day with the Lord is as a thousand years (2 Peter 3:8);" which in turn is a reference to Psalm 90:4: "for a thousand years in Thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past." Therefore, if one day is as a thousand years (a millenium), then the Lord's day is the Lord's Millenium.
God's voice sounding as a trumpet was first introduced in Exodus 19, when the children of Israel had come with Moses to the mountain of God, Sinai, "the bush of Jehovah." There God's voice sounded as a trumpet.
The seven churches are the churches of the whole earth because the Lord's gospel has spread to the whole earth. They are all encompassing of all who call themselves Christians, and here is what their names mean:
Ephesus - "those permitted"
Smyrna - "myrrh"
Pergamos - "elevated" - from the root "tower"
Thyatira - "odour of affliction"
Sardis - "red ones"
Philidelphia - "brotherly love"
Laodicea - "justice of the people"
And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
The seven golden candlesticks would be seven "menorah" similar to the one that was made for the tabernacle of the congregation - see Exodus 25:31-39. It is also refered to in Hebrew 9:2. Two of these candlesticks make a reappearance in Revelation 11:4. The candle here is not similar to what you and I would consider a "candle" (i.e. a wick surrounded in wax); rather, there is a wick that is partially emersed in olive oil that "wicks" the oil to the end of the candle, and the oil burns to give a flame. Light, in spiritual imagery, is truth; it is what allows you to see everything clearly. These candlesticks shine forth the truth, and it is Jesus that is that truth.
The garment to the foot and the golden girdle are a reference to the clothes that the high priest would wear - see Exodus 28 - but it is also a reference to Daniel 10:5 here: "Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz." Uphaz means "desired fine gold". The girdle covers the loins. In terms of spiritual armour, the girdle represents the truth (see Ephesians 6:14). And here, it covers the paps, which is the chest, which symbolizes that which God keeps close to His chest/heart: the truth.
However, there is something a bit deeper here. God keeps His elect - His very special people who include the prophets - in His belt/girt. A parable given in Ezekiel 5 shows that a small portion of hair was bound to Ezekiel's skirt. This is the elect, who would be tucked in the belt, and by extention, tucked away in the truth. So we have here two symbols of truth and two symbols for the elect in the candlesticks and the golden girdle.
His head and His hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and His eyes weree as a flame of fire; and His feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and His voice as the sound of many waters.
These different images are all from Daniel. The hair as white as wool is from Daniel 7:9. It symbolizes that Jesus is the Lamb of God. The eyes (a consuming fire; Deuteronomy 4:24), feet (the brass foot of the laver; Exodus 30:18) and voice (voice of many waters; Ezekiel 43:2) are all from Daniel 10:6. These two verses - Daniel 7:9 and 10:6 - show that the "One" that Daniel is seeing in both visions is the Ancient of days both times. The one thing to note is that in Revelation, Jesus has a voice "as the sound of many waters" whereas in Daniel, He has the voice "of a multitude". These both mean the same thing, in that the language of the Holy Spirit is understood in every human and angelic tongue there is. Revelation actually interprets this in Revelation 17:15, where it says, "The waters which thou sawest... are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues." So a voice of many waters is a voice that is understood in many languages, just as everyone understood the voice of the Spirit in the Pentacostal event of Acts 2.
And He had in His right hand seven stars: and out of His mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and His countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. And He laid His right hand upon me, saying unto me, "Fear not; I am the First and the Last: I am He That liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
The sword is the word of God. This can be seen in the gospel armour in Ephesian 6:17. Here it is coming directly out of the mouth of God. The brightness of His glory is compared to the sun; it is also compared to the sun in Malachi 4:2. Jesus also says the righteous will shine like the sun in Matthew 13:43.
John has the same reaction to the vision of this One as Daniel did when he had his vision in Daniel 10:9. Hebrews 10:31 says, "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Prophets quite often fall on their faces when this happens (like Job, Isaiah, Ezekiel). I'm pretty sure I would too, if I had the strength even to do that.
Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter; the mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in My right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the seven angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.
Here, Jesus begins giving some translation to some of the spritual images. These translations can be used in other visions (similar to the "waters = peoples" translation). God is consistent - that's how you teach your children, by consistency - so the same message must hold true throughout His word. (That's oversimplifying spiritual imagery, but for the most part it is true.) Stars represent angels in spiritual visions (the name Lucifer, who also is an angel, actually means "light-bearer" or "morning star"). The candlestick represents the church that shines for the Spirit of God.
Awesome imagery. It connects the books of the former prophets (the former rain) to this last book of prophecy (the latter rain). Next we will get into some of the doctrine given in the next two chapters that is important for the end times. God bless.
This is where we begin to get into the images that John saw while he was meditating. Popular belief is that John was in Patmos, in prison, meditating on the scriptures, when he was given this vision. The word Patmos means "my killing." It is associated with mortality, and this book of Revelation tells the tale of the end of this mortal age.
I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, saying, "I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and 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."
"The Lord's day" is interpretted in various ways by numerous people. I, however, believe that it is the Millenium where Christ reigns that is spoken of in the book of Revelation. The Lord's day is constantly referred to by the prophets as "in that day" (see Zechariah 2:11 for an example). Peter also tells us, "one day with the Lord is as a thousand years (2 Peter 3:8);" which in turn is a reference to Psalm 90:4: "for a thousand years in Thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past." Therefore, if one day is as a thousand years (a millenium), then the Lord's day is the Lord's Millenium.
God's voice sounding as a trumpet was first introduced in Exodus 19, when the children of Israel had come with Moses to the mountain of God, Sinai, "the bush of Jehovah." There God's voice sounded as a trumpet.
The seven churches are the churches of the whole earth because the Lord's gospel has spread to the whole earth. They are all encompassing of all who call themselves Christians, and here is what their names mean:
Ephesus - "those permitted"
Smyrna - "myrrh"
Pergamos - "elevated" - from the root "tower"
Thyatira - "odour of affliction"
Sardis - "red ones"
Philidelphia - "brotherly love"
Laodicea - "justice of the people"
And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
The seven golden candlesticks would be seven "menorah" similar to the one that was made for the tabernacle of the congregation - see Exodus 25:31-39. It is also refered to in Hebrew 9:2. Two of these candlesticks make a reappearance in Revelation 11:4. The candle here is not similar to what you and I would consider a "candle" (i.e. a wick surrounded in wax); rather, there is a wick that is partially emersed in olive oil that "wicks" the oil to the end of the candle, and the oil burns to give a flame. Light, in spiritual imagery, is truth; it is what allows you to see everything clearly. These candlesticks shine forth the truth, and it is Jesus that is that truth.
The garment to the foot and the golden girdle are a reference to the clothes that the high priest would wear - see Exodus 28 - but it is also a reference to Daniel 10:5 here: "Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz." Uphaz means "desired fine gold". The girdle covers the loins. In terms of spiritual armour, the girdle represents the truth (see Ephesians 6:14). And here, it covers the paps, which is the chest, which symbolizes that which God keeps close to His chest/heart: the truth.
However, there is something a bit deeper here. God keeps His elect - His very special people who include the prophets - in His belt/girt. A parable given in Ezekiel 5 shows that a small portion of hair was bound to Ezekiel's skirt. This is the elect, who would be tucked in the belt, and by extention, tucked away in the truth. So we have here two symbols of truth and two symbols for the elect in the candlesticks and the golden girdle.
His head and His hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and His eyes weree as a flame of fire; and His feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and His voice as the sound of many waters.
These different images are all from Daniel. The hair as white as wool is from Daniel 7:9. It symbolizes that Jesus is the Lamb of God. The eyes (a consuming fire; Deuteronomy 4:24), feet (the brass foot of the laver; Exodus 30:18) and voice (voice of many waters; Ezekiel 43:2) are all from Daniel 10:6. These two verses - Daniel 7:9 and 10:6 - show that the "One" that Daniel is seeing in both visions is the Ancient of days both times. The one thing to note is that in Revelation, Jesus has a voice "as the sound of many waters" whereas in Daniel, He has the voice "of a multitude". These both mean the same thing, in that the language of the Holy Spirit is understood in every human and angelic tongue there is. Revelation actually interprets this in Revelation 17:15, where it says, "The waters which thou sawest... are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues." So a voice of many waters is a voice that is understood in many languages, just as everyone understood the voice of the Spirit in the Pentacostal event of Acts 2.
And He had in His right hand seven stars: and out of His mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and His countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. And He laid His right hand upon me, saying unto me, "Fear not; I am the First and the Last: I am He That liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
The sword is the word of God. This can be seen in the gospel armour in Ephesian 6:17. Here it is coming directly out of the mouth of God. The brightness of His glory is compared to the sun; it is also compared to the sun in Malachi 4:2. Jesus also says the righteous will shine like the sun in Matthew 13:43.
John has the same reaction to the vision of this One as Daniel did when he had his vision in Daniel 10:9. Hebrews 10:31 says, "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Prophets quite often fall on their faces when this happens (like Job, Isaiah, Ezekiel). I'm pretty sure I would too, if I had the strength even to do that.
Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter; the mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in My right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the seven angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.
Here, Jesus begins giving some translation to some of the spritual images. These translations can be used in other visions (similar to the "waters = peoples" translation). God is consistent - that's how you teach your children, by consistency - so the same message must hold true throughout His word. (That's oversimplifying spiritual imagery, but for the most part it is true.) Stars represent angels in spiritual visions (the name Lucifer, who also is an angel, actually means "light-bearer" or "morning star"). The candlestick represents the church that shines for the Spirit of God.
Awesome imagery. It connects the books of the former prophets (the former rain) to this last book of prophecy (the latter rain). Next we will get into some of the doctrine given in the next two chapters that is important for the end times. God bless.
Wednesday 9 November 2011
Revelation Chapter 1: Alpha and Omega...
This is a great chapter. It identifies the narrator (John), the Author of the vision (Jesus), and when it pertains to ("the Lord's day" or "the end of the world"). The first chapter is deep - it refers to many other visions to other prophets, so I will do my best to identify them as we go through:
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him, to shew unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass; and He sent and signified it by His angel unto His servant John, who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
Some critics have a hard time believing that the "John" that wrote this book is Jesus' disciple, John, who also wrote the Gospel of John. The reason most often cited is that the writing styles are different. I'm not a fan of this argument, since writing styles are inherently going to change over the period of one's life. If I were to look back on something that I had written many years ago, I'm pretty sure that my style would have changed quite a bit as well - it's inevitable. One thing I do note is that the disciple John never directly referred to himself in any of the other writings (in his Gospel or Epistles) whereas he does in Revelation. That may be, however, because Jesus specifically instructs John to write this book of Revelation, and John may have felt it necessary to identify himself, whereas he didn't in other writings. One thing that supports the same authorship is the language that is used: many of the Greek words in the text are quite commonly only found in John's writings, and not in any other New Testament author's. Nevertheless, John says above that he "bare record" of the word, being Jesus, and of His testimony - meaning to me that he saw it first hand. If we can't believe this is the disciple John, then the author's baring eyewitness to Jesus becomes less believable, and the revelation itself becomes less believable because of shaky credibility to the author. Therefore, I believe that this was John, the beloved disciple, that wrote the book, and the credibility stays intact.
John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from Him Which is, and Which was, and Which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before His throne; and from Jesus Christ, Who is the faithful Witness, and the First Begotten of the dead, and the Prince of the kings of the earth. Unto Him That loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father; to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
The seven churches are the different churches of the end times. The geographical area that John is describing is in modern day Turkey. These seven churches actually form a perfect circle, as much as is possible from the highway structure. The circle is the earth, and the number seven represents spiritual completeness. This view that the message is given to the whole earth is supported by the fact that the vision is opened up to anyone "who has an ear to hear", which is repeated seven times in chapters 2 and 3.
The passage above also refers to three earth ages ("aeons") by saying "Which is, Which was, and Which is to come". The first is when Satan rebelled, which is written in the story of the stars in chapter 12. The second is the age that we are in now. And the third is when God creates the "new heaven and new earth", also known as the eternity. The "kings and priests" refers to the fact that God's followers are a "kingdom of priests" as He declared in Exodus 19:6, "and ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation."
Behold, He cometh with the clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him. Even so, Amen.
There's actually a lot being said in this little bit. "Behold, He cometh with the clouds" is referred to many times in Scripture. However, sometimes it says he comes with the clouds, and sometimes it says he comes with many angels, or saints. They both mean the same thing - the clouds are the "cloud" of saints or witnesses. Paul teaches us this in Hebrews 12:1. This expression, then, refers to two very prominent prophets: Enoch and Daniel. Enoch's story of can be found in Genesis 5:22, in that he walked with God and God took him off of the earth in the same way that He took Elijah (see 2 Kings 2). Elijah and Enoch were the only two people ever recorded to have this honour... and they were both very dedicated prophets. Paul gives a bit more background on Enoch in Hebrews 11:5, "By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God." Jude speaks further of the testimony in Jude 1:14, "And Enoch also the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, 'Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him." Jude is directly quoting from the Book of Enoch 1:9. (This is a book that was considered to be Scriptural around the time of Christ, but was soon after considered "apocryphal" by the church fathers and excluded from the canon as we see it today.) The image of Jesus coming with the clouds is found in Daniel 7:13. This is what Jesus refers to in Matthew 24:30, Matthew 26:64, Mark 13:26, and Mark 14:62. It's also what the angel is referring to in Acts 1:11. Much of the imagery in Revelation comes from Daniel, as we will see.
The way that we know that "He comes with the clouds" is the same as "He comes with ten thousands of His saints" is explained later in Revelation 19:14, when Jesus returns on His white steed, and the "armies of heaven" are coming with Him.
The later part of the short passage above, about all kindreds of the earth wailing, is a reference to Zechariah 12:9-13, which reads, "And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon Me Whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadarimmon in the valley of Megiddon. And the land shall mourn, every family apart..." The "that day" here is the Lord's day, the time that John was transported to when he saw the Revelation. Hadarimmon, or "Hadad rimmon" means "mighty of the pomegranates". The word pomegranate, "rimmon", comes from the root "ramam", which means "exalted", or "lifted up". Megiddon, the place known for the famous battle of the end times (Armageddon), means "gathering place of the crowds." This is where Armageddon will take place. It was also where king Josiah, "healed by Jehovah", was killed (2 Chronicles 35:22-25) and all the people of Israel mourned for him there.
"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending," saith the Lord, "Which is, and Which was, and Which is to come, the Almighty."
This is the declaration of His eternal nature. He is with us always, from beginning to end, in all three earth ages. We must trust in Him.
It looks like I'm going to split this chapter up into two sections due to length. The next part of the chapter also holds many references to other Scritpures, and has some truly fantastic imagery. God bless.
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him, to shew unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass; and He sent and signified it by His angel unto His servant John, who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
Some critics have a hard time believing that the "John" that wrote this book is Jesus' disciple, John, who also wrote the Gospel of John. The reason most often cited is that the writing styles are different. I'm not a fan of this argument, since writing styles are inherently going to change over the period of one's life. If I were to look back on something that I had written many years ago, I'm pretty sure that my style would have changed quite a bit as well - it's inevitable. One thing I do note is that the disciple John never directly referred to himself in any of the other writings (in his Gospel or Epistles) whereas he does in Revelation. That may be, however, because Jesus specifically instructs John to write this book of Revelation, and John may have felt it necessary to identify himself, whereas he didn't in other writings. One thing that supports the same authorship is the language that is used: many of the Greek words in the text are quite commonly only found in John's writings, and not in any other New Testament author's. Nevertheless, John says above that he "bare record" of the word, being Jesus, and of His testimony - meaning to me that he saw it first hand. If we can't believe this is the disciple John, then the author's baring eyewitness to Jesus becomes less believable, and the revelation itself becomes less believable because of shaky credibility to the author. Therefore, I believe that this was John, the beloved disciple, that wrote the book, and the credibility stays intact.
John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from Him Which is, and Which was, and Which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before His throne; and from Jesus Christ, Who is the faithful Witness, and the First Begotten of the dead, and the Prince of the kings of the earth. Unto Him That loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father; to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
The seven churches are the different churches of the end times. The geographical area that John is describing is in modern day Turkey. These seven churches actually form a perfect circle, as much as is possible from the highway structure. The circle is the earth, and the number seven represents spiritual completeness. This view that the message is given to the whole earth is supported by the fact that the vision is opened up to anyone "who has an ear to hear", which is repeated seven times in chapters 2 and 3.
The passage above also refers to three earth ages ("aeons") by saying "Which is, Which was, and Which is to come". The first is when Satan rebelled, which is written in the story of the stars in chapter 12. The second is the age that we are in now. And the third is when God creates the "new heaven and new earth", also known as the eternity. The "kings and priests" refers to the fact that God's followers are a "kingdom of priests" as He declared in Exodus 19:6, "and ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation."
Behold, He cometh with the clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him. Even so, Amen.
There's actually a lot being said in this little bit. "Behold, He cometh with the clouds" is referred to many times in Scripture. However, sometimes it says he comes with the clouds, and sometimes it says he comes with many angels, or saints. They both mean the same thing - the clouds are the "cloud" of saints or witnesses. Paul teaches us this in Hebrews 12:1. This expression, then, refers to two very prominent prophets: Enoch and Daniel. Enoch's story of can be found in Genesis 5:22, in that he walked with God and God took him off of the earth in the same way that He took Elijah (see 2 Kings 2). Elijah and Enoch were the only two people ever recorded to have this honour... and they were both very dedicated prophets. Paul gives a bit more background on Enoch in Hebrews 11:5, "By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God." Jude speaks further of the testimony in Jude 1:14, "And Enoch also the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, 'Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him." Jude is directly quoting from the Book of Enoch 1:9. (This is a book that was considered to be Scriptural around the time of Christ, but was soon after considered "apocryphal" by the church fathers and excluded from the canon as we see it today.) The image of Jesus coming with the clouds is found in Daniel 7:13. This is what Jesus refers to in Matthew 24:30, Matthew 26:64, Mark 13:26, and Mark 14:62. It's also what the angel is referring to in Acts 1:11. Much of the imagery in Revelation comes from Daniel, as we will see.
The way that we know that "He comes with the clouds" is the same as "He comes with ten thousands of His saints" is explained later in Revelation 19:14, when Jesus returns on His white steed, and the "armies of heaven" are coming with Him.
The later part of the short passage above, about all kindreds of the earth wailing, is a reference to Zechariah 12:9-13, which reads, "And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon Me Whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadarimmon in the valley of Megiddon. And the land shall mourn, every family apart..." The "that day" here is the Lord's day, the time that John was transported to when he saw the Revelation. Hadarimmon, or "Hadad rimmon" means "mighty of the pomegranates". The word pomegranate, "rimmon", comes from the root "ramam", which means "exalted", or "lifted up". Megiddon, the place known for the famous battle of the end times (Armageddon), means "gathering place of the crowds." This is where Armageddon will take place. It was also where king Josiah, "healed by Jehovah", was killed (2 Chronicles 35:22-25) and all the people of Israel mourned for him there.
"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending," saith the Lord, "Which is, and Which was, and Which is to come, the Almighty."
This is the declaration of His eternal nature. He is with us always, from beginning to end, in all three earth ages. We must trust in Him.
It looks like I'm going to split this chapter up into two sections due to length. The next part of the chapter also holds many references to other Scritpures, and has some truly fantastic imagery. God bless.
Monday 7 November 2011
Revelation Chapters 1-3: Blessed Is He That Readeth And They That Hear The Words Of This Prophecy...
I found myself reading Revelation again. I am reading the whole book but wanted to share some thoughts on the first three chapters. One thing that is fantastic is that there are images and thematic elements that reoccur several times throughout Revelation that can be seen in the first three chapters. I'm not sure how much depth I will spend on these over the next couple of days, but I will try to note them.
The Book of Revelation is fantastic. It's subject matter is so complex and yet so simple at the same time. The imagery is what frightens people off from reading the book. I think the key to understanding Revelation is to realize that the imagery is just that, it's imagery. It's how John's brain interpretted what he saw. Sometimes the author didn't even seem to understand what he was seeing - what he knew is that he was instructed to write it down. (This can be seen when the angels around John ask him "what is this that you see?" and John replies ... "Sir, thou knowest," which means to me, "I don't know. Can you tell me?" See chapter 7.) There is also a ton of spiritual imagery, and how one sees something in a spiritual realm is not necessarily how one would see something in a physical realm. It all makes for some very fascinating imagery.
Revelation is the culmination of all prior Scriptures. To truly see the depth of what is being said in the book, one must be familiar with all other previous Scripture in the Bible, both New Testament and Old Testament. But the message is simple - it's a message I've noted in many of my previous posts - repent. When you read Revelation, note how many times the word repent is used, and how disappointed God is when people will not repent. That's what He wants. That's why we are here. That's His will. So the message is "repent", and start living the way we were meant to live: love God with everything you have, and love each other as yourselves. Sometimes easier said than done... which is why we have repentance when we don't get it right.
So, if something seems too difficult to understand in Revelation, don't become intimidated by it; instead, lock the image in your mind, pray about it, and when you are reading the other material in the Scriptures, the image will come back and you will gain understanding for it. I've probably read Revelation a half a dozen times, and I still see new things every time I go back to it.
The first three chapters are great because they let you know that you are transported to the end of this earth age, just before Jesus returns, and lets you know the doctrines of the various world churches, and what is good and what is bad about those doctrines. If we can follow the proper doctrine that is given in these chapters, then we should be in good standing with our Father when the end actually comes... that's why the message is given to us. It Reveals what will happen at the "end of the world". It's given for our understanding.
So let's take a look at the beginning of Revelation. God bless.
The Book of Revelation is fantastic. It's subject matter is so complex and yet so simple at the same time. The imagery is what frightens people off from reading the book. I think the key to understanding Revelation is to realize that the imagery is just that, it's imagery. It's how John's brain interpretted what he saw. Sometimes the author didn't even seem to understand what he was seeing - what he knew is that he was instructed to write it down. (This can be seen when the angels around John ask him "what is this that you see?" and John replies ... "Sir, thou knowest," which means to me, "I don't know. Can you tell me?" See chapter 7.) There is also a ton of spiritual imagery, and how one sees something in a spiritual realm is not necessarily how one would see something in a physical realm. It all makes for some very fascinating imagery.
Revelation is the culmination of all prior Scriptures. To truly see the depth of what is being said in the book, one must be familiar with all other previous Scripture in the Bible, both New Testament and Old Testament. But the message is simple - it's a message I've noted in many of my previous posts - repent. When you read Revelation, note how many times the word repent is used, and how disappointed God is when people will not repent. That's what He wants. That's why we are here. That's His will. So the message is "repent", and start living the way we were meant to live: love God with everything you have, and love each other as yourselves. Sometimes easier said than done... which is why we have repentance when we don't get it right.
So, if something seems too difficult to understand in Revelation, don't become intimidated by it; instead, lock the image in your mind, pray about it, and when you are reading the other material in the Scriptures, the image will come back and you will gain understanding for it. I've probably read Revelation a half a dozen times, and I still see new things every time I go back to it.
The first three chapters are great because they let you know that you are transported to the end of this earth age, just before Jesus returns, and lets you know the doctrines of the various world churches, and what is good and what is bad about those doctrines. If we can follow the proper doctrine that is given in these chapters, then we should be in good standing with our Father when the end actually comes... that's why the message is given to us. It Reveals what will happen at the "end of the world". It's given for our understanding.
So let's take a look at the beginning of Revelation. God bless.
Friday 4 November 2011
Jonah Chapter 4: Pity On The Gourd...
This chapter is the chapter where God truly explains the His purpose to Jonah: He loves His children, all of His children, and doesn't want any to perish (though He was ready to destroy them if they did not repent, a fact that we cannot brush off). We find this out in the last statement that God makes to Jonah in the chapter, and we see God's lesson to Jonah through the event with the gourd.
The story of the gourd is the story of the Gentile nations. God uses various plants to symbolize various nations at various times. The fig tree is often used to symbolize Israel. The vine is used to illustrate Judah. The key here is that the gourd is only used in this story, and is symbolic of a foreign nation. We know this because the word used - kikayon - is an Egyptian word. It's foreign. It is also not used anywhere else in the Bible but in Jonah, so there is no confusion as to what it represents. It's thought to be a cucumber (and is kind of close to, but not really, the word for cucumbers in Numbers 11:5 - kishu). The point is that it represents this foreign nation. The worm, a red worm sometimes translated as "scarlet", is Satan (well, actually, I believe it is the false prophecies and false prophets of Satan), who corrupts and dries up the fruit of the plant. The east wind and the rising of the sun represent the tribulation end of this age and when Christ returns (see Hosea 13:15 & 16 and Malachi 4:2). God wants His prophets to have pity on all of the plants (nations) and to warn them - that is the teaching lesson to Jonah. And we can see that Jonah is hard-headed enough to need this direct lesson. He just about seems ready to die for anything that he feels is right! I think God loves Jonah's tenacity, and knows just exactly how to get through to him, in spiritual language. (All of God's prophets understand spiritual language, that is to say "spiritual imagery"... and it should be our goal to understand it too.)
Many references that I have seen have then translated God's last statement, "wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle," to mean that God is talking about little children. They use it to say that, if there are 120,000 children (a "score" being twenty = 6 x 20 x 1,000 = 120,000), then there must be at least 600,000 people in total in the city. I would say rather that God was talking about all of the people of the city when He states the sixscore thousand. I believe He was using "spiritual language" again, meaning that, spiritually, all of the people of the city were like children because they had no understanding of God. While I believe that God loves all of His animals, I also believe that the reference to cattle (the word "cattle" meaning all types of livestock and is more often translated "beasts" rather than "cattle") is also a reference to people, whom God often refers to as animals (an example being "His flock" - see Luke 12:32). The reason I don't believe that He is not refering to actual animals is that I don't believe that animals go to hell; I don't believe that actual animals have the capacity to sin, thereby making them worthy of judgment to hell. So, I believe that the passage is saying that God wants to save the people of Nineveh, both the spiritual and the (human) animal representations. He sent His "dove" (Jonah) to accomplish this.
What a beautiful short book of the Bible. It certainly helps us when we are considering how we are to treat our enemies. I hope you enjoyed my take on the story. God bless.
The story of the gourd is the story of the Gentile nations. God uses various plants to symbolize various nations at various times. The fig tree is often used to symbolize Israel. The vine is used to illustrate Judah. The key here is that the gourd is only used in this story, and is symbolic of a foreign nation. We know this because the word used - kikayon - is an Egyptian word. It's foreign. It is also not used anywhere else in the Bible but in Jonah, so there is no confusion as to what it represents. It's thought to be a cucumber (and is kind of close to, but not really, the word for cucumbers in Numbers 11:5 - kishu). The point is that it represents this foreign nation. The worm, a red worm sometimes translated as "scarlet", is Satan (well, actually, I believe it is the false prophecies and false prophets of Satan), who corrupts and dries up the fruit of the plant. The east wind and the rising of the sun represent the tribulation end of this age and when Christ returns (see Hosea 13:15 & 16 and Malachi 4:2). God wants His prophets to have pity on all of the plants (nations) and to warn them - that is the teaching lesson to Jonah. And we can see that Jonah is hard-headed enough to need this direct lesson. He just about seems ready to die for anything that he feels is right! I think God loves Jonah's tenacity, and knows just exactly how to get through to him, in spiritual language. (All of God's prophets understand spiritual language, that is to say "spiritual imagery"... and it should be our goal to understand it too.)
Many references that I have seen have then translated God's last statement, "wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle," to mean that God is talking about little children. They use it to say that, if there are 120,000 children (a "score" being twenty = 6 x 20 x 1,000 = 120,000), then there must be at least 600,000 people in total in the city. I would say rather that God was talking about all of the people of the city when He states the sixscore thousand. I believe He was using "spiritual language" again, meaning that, spiritually, all of the people of the city were like children because they had no understanding of God. While I believe that God loves all of His animals, I also believe that the reference to cattle (the word "cattle" meaning all types of livestock and is more often translated "beasts" rather than "cattle") is also a reference to people, whom God often refers to as animals (an example being "His flock" - see Luke 12:32). The reason I don't believe that He is not refering to actual animals is that I don't believe that animals go to hell; I don't believe that actual animals have the capacity to sin, thereby making them worthy of judgment to hell. So, I believe that the passage is saying that God wants to save the people of Nineveh, both the spiritual and the (human) animal representations. He sent His "dove" (Jonah) to accomplish this.
What a beautiful short book of the Bible. It certainly helps us when we are considering how we are to treat our enemies. I hope you enjoyed my take on the story. God bless.
Thursday 3 November 2011
Jonah Chapter 3: Who Can Tell if God Will Turn and Repent...
Chapter 3 of Jonah is the place where the fact that the Ninevites worshipped a giant fish comes into play. There are many theories as to why the Ninevites so eagerly took up the call of Jonah and believed him so quickly. Without going into those theories, I believe that one of the Ninevites actually saw Jonah be spat out by the giant fish. For someone to see a giant fish spit a full grown man out on dry land, intact, and for that man to get up off of the ground, start walking and talking, and saying that God was going to destroy the city in forty days... I'm sure that whoever would have seen that would have believed that this man was a messenger sent by Nina. It gave Jonah one heck of a platform to preach from, and it would allow him to educate the listeners on Who God actually is.
The message comes in and spreads like wildfire, like the fire of the Spirit of the Lord. This is the connection to Jonah's name - "dove" - which is symbolic of the Holy Spirit. Reading the first few chapters of Acts will show that the gospel imbued with the Holy Spirit was readily accepted in mass proportions just as Jonah's message was accepted in this chapter. And Jonah's message is much the same as the message that Jesus and John the Baptist brought in chapters 3 & 4 of Matthew (see my post "Repent Ye: For the Kingdom of God is At Hand"). Jonah says, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown," while the evangelists said, "Repent ye: for the kingdom of God is at hand." Both messages were intended to bring the audience to repentance. It's God's will for all to come to repentance. Peter tells us this in 2 Peter 3:9, stating, "[The Lord] is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." This chapter in Jonah shows that this repentance was available to everyone, even the enemies of Israel, and that God respected the repentance of all. This is given in more detail and in spiritual imagery as we will see in chapter 4.
What was the sign of their repentance? The outward signs were to fast and to don sackcloth. These are measures to afflict one's self in the flesh. In spiritual imagery, it is to fast from the pleasures of the world, and to humble one's appearance. The inward sign that the king decreed was for everyone to turn from evil and from violence. This is exactly what God wants, as He said to Ezekiel in Ezekiel 18 & 33. It is "fruit meet for repentance", which is to say that it is physical acts that shows that you have changed your life, and that you are humble before God.
Jonah is not happy with God's forgiveness of Nineveh and explains his actions before being swallowed by the fish in the next chapter. God bless.
The message comes in and spreads like wildfire, like the fire of the Spirit of the Lord. This is the connection to Jonah's name - "dove" - which is symbolic of the Holy Spirit. Reading the first few chapters of Acts will show that the gospel imbued with the Holy Spirit was readily accepted in mass proportions just as Jonah's message was accepted in this chapter. And Jonah's message is much the same as the message that Jesus and John the Baptist brought in chapters 3 & 4 of Matthew (see my post "Repent Ye: For the Kingdom of God is At Hand"). Jonah says, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown," while the evangelists said, "Repent ye: for the kingdom of God is at hand." Both messages were intended to bring the audience to repentance. It's God's will for all to come to repentance. Peter tells us this in 2 Peter 3:9, stating, "[The Lord] is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." This chapter in Jonah shows that this repentance was available to everyone, even the enemies of Israel, and that God respected the repentance of all. This is given in more detail and in spiritual imagery as we will see in chapter 4.
What was the sign of their repentance? The outward signs were to fast and to don sackcloth. These are measures to afflict one's self in the flesh. In spiritual imagery, it is to fast from the pleasures of the world, and to humble one's appearance. The inward sign that the king decreed was for everyone to turn from evil and from violence. This is exactly what God wants, as He said to Ezekiel in Ezekiel 18 & 33. It is "fruit meet for repentance", which is to say that it is physical acts that shows that you have changed your life, and that you are humble before God.
Jonah is not happy with God's forgiveness of Nineveh and explains his actions before being swallowed by the fish in the next chapter. God bless.
Wednesday 2 November 2011
Jonah Chapter 2: In the Belly of the Fish...
Well, I'm about a third of the way through Psalms, completing my research on which Psalms the second chapter of Jonah is connected to... and it's a whale of a task. There are numerous Psalms that the chapter could have a connection to, and explaining all of them would take quite a long time. I would rather say that Jonah's prayer is written with the same spirit as many of the Psalms: it is a prayer/song that cries "I have sinned. I know that you are righteous and will forgive that sin, O Lord. Restore me so that I may spread your word to those who do not know of your grace and mercy." Particular Psalms that the chapter has a connection to include Psalms 3, 16,18, 22, 42, 43, and 88 (there are likely more that I have not found yet). An interesting task is to read the Psalms with the prayer of Jonah in mind, to see where he might have pulled his words from.
One thing that I will point out is that Jonah 2:3 - "all Thy billows and Thy waves passed over me" - is a direct reference to Psalm 42:7. The Psalm is an instructional Psalm, a "Maschil" (Hebrew for "instruction") to the sons of Korah (see Numbers 16:1-35 and Numbers 26:11). It instructs the reader to remember the goodness and lovingkindness of God wherever you may go. The Psalm carries on into Psalm 43 in which the author states to God that he will proclaim His truth to the ungodly nations. This is advice that Jonah knows very well, and was his commission by God in the prior chapter; hence, it also shows his faith in prayer that, even though his physical body is dead inside the belly of the fish, he prays from his spirit to God to renew him so that he can fulfill his duty of spreading the Word of God. God fulfills his request at the end of the chapter.
I also love the ending of the prayer: "Salvation is of the Lord." This is two words in the Hebrew texts: Jeshua Jehovah. It is the names of the Son and the Father. "Jesus" is the Greek variant of the name "Joshua" which means "God's salvation". It is virtually the same as "Jeshua" here. "Jehovah" is the sacred name of the Father, and is indicated when you read "LORD" in the King James Bible. The prayer is offered in the name of the Son and in the name of the Father. Beautiful.
So Jonah is out of the belly, and ready to take up his commission. This is where we will join up with him in the next chapter. God bless.
One thing that I will point out is that Jonah 2:3 - "all Thy billows and Thy waves passed over me" - is a direct reference to Psalm 42:7. The Psalm is an instructional Psalm, a "Maschil" (Hebrew for "instruction") to the sons of Korah (see Numbers 16:1-35 and Numbers 26:11). It instructs the reader to remember the goodness and lovingkindness of God wherever you may go. The Psalm carries on into Psalm 43 in which the author states to God that he will proclaim His truth to the ungodly nations. This is advice that Jonah knows very well, and was his commission by God in the prior chapter; hence, it also shows his faith in prayer that, even though his physical body is dead inside the belly of the fish, he prays from his spirit to God to renew him so that he can fulfill his duty of spreading the Word of God. God fulfills his request at the end of the chapter.
I also love the ending of the prayer: "Salvation is of the Lord." This is two words in the Hebrew texts: Jeshua Jehovah. It is the names of the Son and the Father. "Jesus" is the Greek variant of the name "Joshua" which means "God's salvation". It is virtually the same as "Jeshua" here. "Jehovah" is the sacred name of the Father, and is indicated when you read "LORD" in the King James Bible. The prayer is offered in the name of the Son and in the name of the Father. Beautiful.
So Jonah is out of the belly, and ready to take up his commission. This is where we will join up with him in the next chapter. God bless.
Friday 28 October 2011
Interlude
Jonah's prayer in Chapter 2 reads like a Psalm to me, so I am going to try to find the references to other Psalms in it. Could take a little while...
Thursday 27 October 2011
Jonah Chapter 1: Jonah Rose Up To Flee...
This is a great chapter. It sets the stage for the remainder of the book. I'm not going to write out the entire chapter: if you need access to a King James Version of the chapter, it can be found here: Jonah Chapter 1.
This chapter is exemplary of the foundation of the doctrine of Jesus Christ. John 3:16 states that "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish [i.e. be destroyed], but have everlasting life." The story of Jonah takes this to the extreme since Nineveh was the enemy that was going to take Israel captive ninety years after this story happens. God knew this - God may have even told Jonah this, which would explain his reaction. (The mention of Jonah in 2 Kings 14:25 does reveal that God made Jonah privy to certain future events that were going to happen.) It also shows that God's salvation has been available at any time in human history (because this story happens in the Old Testament, before Jesus died on the cross). I believe that Jesus' sacrifice brought redemption for one and all times. I also believe that God is not bound by time: while Jesus died at a specific time in our history, the sacrifice is applicable to all time in the spiritual realm, because spirit is not bound to time, and God is not bound by time. Nevertheless...
God tells Jonah to go and preach against Nineveh in verse 2 and Jonah jumps up and runs in the complete opposite direction. Whether Jonah knew that Nineveh (Assyria) was going to conquer Israel or not, he knew that it could, and he knew that they were the enemy. So, in an effort to keep Israel safe, Jonah runs away from God's instruction. I'm guessing that his logic was, "God is angry with Nineveh. If I don't let them know this, God will have to follow through on His plan to destroy Nineveh, and Israel will be safe." We know that he knew that God would not destroy Nineveh if they repented; he says this in verse 2 of chapter 4. Jonah appears to be so stubborn that he is willing to run away from God, putting himself in harm's way, and even to die if he has to, in order to keep Israel safe. While this was defiance of God's instruction, I believe that God allowed Jonah some leeway (by not outright destroying him) because his intentions to protect his people at all costs were pure.
An interesting item to note is that the events in verses 4-6 of chapter 1 are almost exactly the same circumstances (and wording) of what happens in Luke 8:23-24. I believe this is intentional. In both cases, a storm arises and the central character to the story is found to be sleeping in the side of the boat. In both cases, when faith is shown, the Lord stops the storm. Both stories relate that no matter how turbulent the times (waters) get, the Lord is in control, His will is going to be done, and He will show mercy on those that He shows mercy. In the book of Jonah, Jonah sacrifices himself so that the people in the boat may be safe (the imagery of the boat and the storm here should kindle the imagery of Noah's ark); and in Luke, Jesus sacrifices himself so that "whosoever believeth in Him" may be safe (only His sacrifice is made later on the cross).
There are also some other interesting items to note. All of these men on the boat believe in different gods and begin calling out to their gods to save them. This is what they wake Jonah up for - to see if his God can save them. The result of casting lots, the inability of the other gods to stop the storm, the testimony of Jonah as to why there is a storm, and the immediate ceasing of the storm once Jonah was thrown overboard proved beyond the shadow of a doubt that our God is God. It caused the entire boatload of people to convert from their beliefs and begin praising God. It brought salvation to the souls of the crew and passengers on the boat. Also, the testimony that Jonah gives shows his character. He is not a coward... it would be hard for a coward to stay soundly asleep in a storm that caused everyone else to believe they were going to die. Also, Jonah doesn't speak any word of a lie when he testifies to the crew. He may be defiant, but he's an honest man, and he's honest about it. He doesn't cover it up. I believe this brutal honesty is part of the reason that God loves Jonah so much.
So Jonah is thrown overboard, not knowing what will come next, and a giant fish prepared for this moment by God swallows him. Now that he is inside the fish, the way that he is presented to the Ninevites will become even more powerful. We will explore this deeper (no pun intended) in the next post. God bless.
This chapter is exemplary of the foundation of the doctrine of Jesus Christ. John 3:16 states that "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish [i.e. be destroyed], but have everlasting life." The story of Jonah takes this to the extreme since Nineveh was the enemy that was going to take Israel captive ninety years after this story happens. God knew this - God may have even told Jonah this, which would explain his reaction. (The mention of Jonah in 2 Kings 14:25 does reveal that God made Jonah privy to certain future events that were going to happen.) It also shows that God's salvation has been available at any time in human history (because this story happens in the Old Testament, before Jesus died on the cross). I believe that Jesus' sacrifice brought redemption for one and all times. I also believe that God is not bound by time: while Jesus died at a specific time in our history, the sacrifice is applicable to all time in the spiritual realm, because spirit is not bound to time, and God is not bound by time. Nevertheless...
God tells Jonah to go and preach against Nineveh in verse 2 and Jonah jumps up and runs in the complete opposite direction. Whether Jonah knew that Nineveh (Assyria) was going to conquer Israel or not, he knew that it could, and he knew that they were the enemy. So, in an effort to keep Israel safe, Jonah runs away from God's instruction. I'm guessing that his logic was, "God is angry with Nineveh. If I don't let them know this, God will have to follow through on His plan to destroy Nineveh, and Israel will be safe." We know that he knew that God would not destroy Nineveh if they repented; he says this in verse 2 of chapter 4. Jonah appears to be so stubborn that he is willing to run away from God, putting himself in harm's way, and even to die if he has to, in order to keep Israel safe. While this was defiance of God's instruction, I believe that God allowed Jonah some leeway (by not outright destroying him) because his intentions to protect his people at all costs were pure.
An interesting item to note is that the events in verses 4-6 of chapter 1 are almost exactly the same circumstances (and wording) of what happens in Luke 8:23-24. I believe this is intentional. In both cases, a storm arises and the central character to the story is found to be sleeping in the side of the boat. In both cases, when faith is shown, the Lord stops the storm. Both stories relate that no matter how turbulent the times (waters) get, the Lord is in control, His will is going to be done, and He will show mercy on those that He shows mercy. In the book of Jonah, Jonah sacrifices himself so that the people in the boat may be safe (the imagery of the boat and the storm here should kindle the imagery of Noah's ark); and in Luke, Jesus sacrifices himself so that "whosoever believeth in Him" may be safe (only His sacrifice is made later on the cross).
There are also some other interesting items to note. All of these men on the boat believe in different gods and begin calling out to their gods to save them. This is what they wake Jonah up for - to see if his God can save them. The result of casting lots, the inability of the other gods to stop the storm, the testimony of Jonah as to why there is a storm, and the immediate ceasing of the storm once Jonah was thrown overboard proved beyond the shadow of a doubt that our God is God. It caused the entire boatload of people to convert from their beliefs and begin praising God. It brought salvation to the souls of the crew and passengers on the boat. Also, the testimony that Jonah gives shows his character. He is not a coward... it would be hard for a coward to stay soundly asleep in a storm that caused everyone else to believe they were going to die. Also, Jonah doesn't speak any word of a lie when he testifies to the crew. He may be defiant, but he's an honest man, and he's honest about it. He doesn't cover it up. I believe this brutal honesty is part of the reason that God loves Jonah so much.
So Jonah is thrown overboard, not knowing what will come next, and a giant fish prepared for this moment by God swallows him. Now that he is inside the fish, the way that he is presented to the Ninevites will become even more powerful. We will explore this deeper (no pun intended) in the next post. God bless.
Wednesday 26 October 2011
The Sign of the Prophet Jonah...
The book of Jonah is one of my favourite prophetic books. It's "short and sweet", poignant, and has fantastic dynamics. I always loved it as a child... the "belly of the whale" story has great rapport with children. The message that I always was taught about the story was "don't run from what God has in store from you" or "don't defy God or you will end up in trouble like Jonah". I believe these are both fully credible messages and, now that I've read the story as an adult, I believe that there are also much deeper messages to the story. These messages also give a more in-depth look at the reason that Jesus referred to the prophet in His own prophesying.
It's recorded in Matthew 12, Matthew 16, and Luke 11 that the Pharisees came to Jesus to ask Him to show signs and wonders. Jesus sternly replies to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah; for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, a greater than Jonah is here."
This quote gives the entire message behind the book of Jonah; it is the message brought by Jesus and John the Baptist - one clearly noted in a prior post - "Repent ye; for the kingdom of God is at hand". But Jonah's own repentance from his defiance of God is not the main focus of what Jesus says here - it is the Ninevites that had to repent. And there is something very special about their repentance.
To go any further, some ground work should be laid for the setting of Jonah. It's believed that the story was written before any of the other books of the prophets (that is to say, from Isaiah to the end of the Old Testament). It is believed to have been written in about 690 B.C. That's about 90 years before Israel (the ten northern tribes, but not Judah and Benjamin) went into captivity and about 40 years before Isaiah began to prophesy. Jonah is mentioned in 2 Kings 14:25, but the prophesies attributed to him there are not the same ones as the message in the book of Jonah.
The name Jonah is a Hebrew word meaning "dove". Jonah's father's name is Amittai which is a Hebrew word meaning "my firm truth". Now the dove, in spiritual imagery, is symbolic of the spirit; but more importantly here, it is symbolic of God's own Spirit, the Holy Spirit, which is the Spirit of truth. By the end of the book of Jonah, it is apparent why his name is connected to the Spirit of truth.
Nineveh at the time of Jonah's writings was the capital of Assyria - that is to say, they were the enemy of Israel. Assyria was the country that captured Israel in about 600 B.C. And then, about 200 years later, the Babylonians overthrew Assyria and captured Judah. The word Nineveh means "the home of Nina". Nina was an Assyrian goddess. She was the patron goddess of fishermen and was in fact a fish (or looked like a fish). The fact that the Ninevites worshipped a fish is very important to this story, as you will see.
My next few posts will go through Jonah chapter by chapter, but the one thing that I want to point out now that is important to the message of Jonah is that the people that God tells Jonah to go preach to, the Ninevites, were "the enemy" in the story. They were symbolic of the "wicked and adulterous generation" that Jesus spoke of above because they worshipped many different gods, none of which were our God; however, the distinction is that, where the Ninevites repented of this after Jonah's coming, there are those in the generation that Christ prophesied about that will not repent, and those are spoken of in the Book of Revelation.
So, sit back and enjoy the Book of Jonah. God bless.
It's recorded in Matthew 12, Matthew 16, and Luke 11 that the Pharisees came to Jesus to ask Him to show signs and wonders. Jesus sternly replies to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah; for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, a greater than Jonah is here."
This quote gives the entire message behind the book of Jonah; it is the message brought by Jesus and John the Baptist - one clearly noted in a prior post - "Repent ye; for the kingdom of God is at hand". But Jonah's own repentance from his defiance of God is not the main focus of what Jesus says here - it is the Ninevites that had to repent. And there is something very special about their repentance.
To go any further, some ground work should be laid for the setting of Jonah. It's believed that the story was written before any of the other books of the prophets (that is to say, from Isaiah to the end of the Old Testament). It is believed to have been written in about 690 B.C. That's about 90 years before Israel (the ten northern tribes, but not Judah and Benjamin) went into captivity and about 40 years before Isaiah began to prophesy. Jonah is mentioned in 2 Kings 14:25, but the prophesies attributed to him there are not the same ones as the message in the book of Jonah.
The name Jonah is a Hebrew word meaning "dove". Jonah's father's name is Amittai which is a Hebrew word meaning "my firm truth". Now the dove, in spiritual imagery, is symbolic of the spirit; but more importantly here, it is symbolic of God's own Spirit, the Holy Spirit, which is the Spirit of truth. By the end of the book of Jonah, it is apparent why his name is connected to the Spirit of truth.
Nineveh at the time of Jonah's writings was the capital of Assyria - that is to say, they were the enemy of Israel. Assyria was the country that captured Israel in about 600 B.C. And then, about 200 years later, the Babylonians overthrew Assyria and captured Judah. The word Nineveh means "the home of Nina". Nina was an Assyrian goddess. She was the patron goddess of fishermen and was in fact a fish (or looked like a fish). The fact that the Ninevites worshipped a fish is very important to this story, as you will see.
My next few posts will go through Jonah chapter by chapter, but the one thing that I want to point out now that is important to the message of Jonah is that the people that God tells Jonah to go preach to, the Ninevites, were "the enemy" in the story. They were symbolic of the "wicked and adulterous generation" that Jesus spoke of above because they worshipped many different gods, none of which were our God; however, the distinction is that, where the Ninevites repented of this after Jonah's coming, there are those in the generation that Christ prophesied about that will not repent, and those are spoken of in the Book of Revelation.
So, sit back and enjoy the Book of Jonah. God bless.
Tuesday 25 October 2011
Matthew 25, Parable 3: The Sheep and the Goats
The parable of the sheep and the goats is the last parable in Matthew 25. It is a parable that describes the Great White Throne Judgment of Christ when He returns to the earth. (If you read Revelation, you find out that this is after the Millenium... but that is a different discussion for a different day.) This is how it goes:
"When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory: and before Him shall be gathered all nations: and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: and He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand, 'Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was an hungred, and ye gave Me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave Me drink: I was a stranger, andye took Me in: naked, and ye clothed Me: I was sick, and ye visited Me: I was in prison, and ye came unto Me.' The shall the righteous answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when saw we Thee an hungred, and fed Thee? or thirsty, and gave Thee drink? When saw we Thee a stranger, and took Thee in? or naked, and clothed Thee? Or when saw we Thee sick, or in prison, and came unto Thee?' And the King shall answer and say unto them, 'Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me.'
Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was an hungred, and ye gave Me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave Me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took Me not in: naked, and ye clothed Me not: sick and in prison, and ye visited Me not.' Then shall they also answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when was we Thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto Thee?' Then shall He answer them, saying, 'Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to Me.' And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal."
This parable is almost exactly the same in form as the second parable in Ezekiel 34; however, God only describes the behavior of the goats in Ezekiel. Here is the parable as it appears there (Ezekiel 34:17-28), the entire parable being in spiritual imagery:
"And as for you, O My flock', thus saith the Lord God; 'Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams [Hebrew: 'ayil' = "male sheep"] and the he goats. Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet? And as for My flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet. Therefore' thus saith the Lord God unto them; 'Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle. Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad; therefore will I save My flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.
And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even My servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the Lord will be their God, and My servant David a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it. And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods.
And I will make them and the places round about My hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing. And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them. And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and non shall make them afraid."
So what both parables are saying is that all members of the flock must treat the other members of the flock with respect, and with human decency. Decency dictates that if someone is in trouble, we help them. God's law even dictated that if your enemy was in trouble, that you helped that person. It always gave you the right to defend yourself if an enemy was threatening you, but also to help that person when they are in trouble (and by extension are no threat to you).
This concludes the three parables relating to our behavior in the end times that appear in Ezekiel and Matthew 25. Since we don't know exactly when "the end" will come, if we take heed to the parables during our daily lives, we will be in good standing before God. God bless.
"When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory: and before Him shall be gathered all nations: and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: and He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand, 'Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was an hungred, and ye gave Me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave Me drink: I was a stranger, andye took Me in: naked, and ye clothed Me: I was sick, and ye visited Me: I was in prison, and ye came unto Me.' The shall the righteous answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when saw we Thee an hungred, and fed Thee? or thirsty, and gave Thee drink? When saw we Thee a stranger, and took Thee in? or naked, and clothed Thee? Or when saw we Thee sick, or in prison, and came unto Thee?' And the King shall answer and say unto them, 'Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me.'
Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was an hungred, and ye gave Me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave Me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took Me not in: naked, and ye clothed Me not: sick and in prison, and ye visited Me not.' Then shall they also answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when was we Thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto Thee?' Then shall He answer them, saying, 'Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to Me.' And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal."
This parable is almost exactly the same in form as the second parable in Ezekiel 34; however, God only describes the behavior of the goats in Ezekiel. Here is the parable as it appears there (Ezekiel 34:17-28), the entire parable being in spiritual imagery:
"And as for you, O My flock', thus saith the Lord God; 'Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams [Hebrew: 'ayil' = "male sheep"] and the he goats. Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet? And as for My flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet. Therefore' thus saith the Lord God unto them; 'Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle. Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad; therefore will I save My flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.
And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even My servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the Lord will be their God, and My servant David a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it. And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods.
And I will make them and the places round about My hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing. And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them. And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and non shall make them afraid."
So what both parables are saying is that all members of the flock must treat the other members of the flock with respect, and with human decency. Decency dictates that if someone is in trouble, we help them. God's law even dictated that if your enemy was in trouble, that you helped that person. It always gave you the right to defend yourself if an enemy was threatening you, but also to help that person when they are in trouble (and by extension are no threat to you).
This concludes the three parables relating to our behavior in the end times that appear in Ezekiel and Matthew 25. Since we don't know exactly when "the end" will come, if we take heed to the parables during our daily lives, we will be in good standing before God. God bless.
Tuesday 18 October 2011
Matthew 25, Parable 2: The Three Stewards
This is the second parable in Matthew 25, and it covers the first parable given in Ezekiel 34. Jesus says, starting in verse 14 of Matthew 25:
"For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to ever man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money.
"After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, 'Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.' His lord said unto him, 'Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.'
He also that had received two talents came and said, 'Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.' His lord said unto him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.'
Then he which had received the one talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: and I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.' His lord answered and said unto him, 'Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath then talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'"
I want to make it very clear that I believe that, no matter who you are, you can use your talents for the Lord, and receive His blessings in abundance for doing so. Having said that, I don't believe this parable is applicable to everybody, per se; rather, I believe this parable is specifically directed at the people that have been put in charge of the Lord's household - the pastors. Jesus says it another way in Luke 12:48, where He says, "unto whomsoever much is given, of him much shall be required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more."
This goes hand in hand with the first parable in Ezekiel 34:
"And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 'Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, 'Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds; 'Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered. My sheep wandered though all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, My flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.
Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord; As I live, saith the Lord God, surely because My flock became a prey, and My flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did My shepherds search for My flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not My flock; Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord;' Thus saith the Lord God; 'Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require My flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver My flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them. For' thus saith the Lord God; 'Behold, I, even I, will both search My sheep, and seek them out.
As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out My sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. I will feed My flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God. I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment."
This parable in Ezekiel lets you know what the stewards/shepherds are meant to do. They are meant to ensure the safety and prosperity of the flock. They are meant to keep the good interest of the flock at heart. Jesus stressed this to Peter three times in John 21: "if you love Me, feed my sheep." This causes the flock to increase and become fruitful, just as the good stewards increased the goods that were bestowed to them. If you have been given talents, use them. If you have been given goods, use them. If you have been given a flock, feed them. All for the glory of God. God bless.
"For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to ever man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money.
"After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, 'Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.' His lord said unto him, 'Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.'
He also that had received two talents came and said, 'Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.' His lord said unto him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.'
Then he which had received the one talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: and I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.' His lord answered and said unto him, 'Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath then talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'"
I want to make it very clear that I believe that, no matter who you are, you can use your talents for the Lord, and receive His blessings in abundance for doing so. Having said that, I don't believe this parable is applicable to everybody, per se; rather, I believe this parable is specifically directed at the people that have been put in charge of the Lord's household - the pastors. Jesus says it another way in Luke 12:48, where He says, "unto whomsoever much is given, of him much shall be required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more."
This goes hand in hand with the first parable in Ezekiel 34:
"And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 'Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, 'Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds; 'Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered. My sheep wandered though all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, My flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.
Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord; As I live, saith the Lord God, surely because My flock became a prey, and My flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did My shepherds search for My flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not My flock; Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord;' Thus saith the Lord God; 'Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require My flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver My flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them. For' thus saith the Lord God; 'Behold, I, even I, will both search My sheep, and seek them out.
As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out My sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. I will feed My flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God. I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment."
This parable in Ezekiel lets you know what the stewards/shepherds are meant to do. They are meant to ensure the safety and prosperity of the flock. They are meant to keep the good interest of the flock at heart. Jesus stressed this to Peter three times in John 21: "if you love Me, feed my sheep." This causes the flock to increase and become fruitful, just as the good stewards increased the goods that were bestowed to them. If you have been given talents, use them. If you have been given goods, use them. If you have been given a flock, feed them. All for the glory of God. God bless.
Thursday 13 October 2011
Matthew 25, Parable 1: The Ten Virgins
A few posts ago I covered Mark 13. This same speech that Jesus gives in that chapter can also be found in Matthew 24 and Luke 21 (with slight variations in each passage). Matthew 24 has probably the most in-depth account of all three passages, and Matthew 25 is a continuation of the speech that contains three additional parables explaining the after effects of the tribulation. I say the after effects because Jesus is very clear that the first parable - the parable of the ten virgins - occurs "then", which is to say after the tribulation described in Matthew 24. The latter two parables describe the judgment that occurs after His return. As I said in a prior post, the parables given in Matthew 25 follow the same pattern of subject matter as Ezekiel 33 and 34. This post will deal with the first parable - the parable of the ten virgins - and some of the references from Old Testament prophecy.
Here is the parable of the ten virgins from Matthew 25:1-13:
"Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, 'Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.' Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, 'Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.' But the wise answered, saying, 'Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.' And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, 'lord, lord, open to us.' But he answered and said, 'Verily I say unto you, I know you not.' Watch ye therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh."
There are a few different elements to this parable. First, there are the virgins; second, there are the lamps; third, there are the watchmen.
The Virgins
In Scripture, idolatry is equivalent to spiritual adultery. Worshipping other gods was equivalent to breaking the spiritual bond with God and marrying another. The most potent example of this that I can think of is Jeremiah chapter 3. So keeping yourself from idolatry is keeping yourself pure, keeping yourself a virgin. Paul also makes it clear in his second letter to the Corinthians, a letter in which he desperately appears to be attempting to preserve the purity of the church, when he says, "I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him (2 Corinthians 11:2-4)." This explains the position of the virgin in the parable. All of the virgins were waiting for the Lord to return... but the requirement that they needed was to know what to expect when He returned, similar to what Paul says. Paul's statement is that Christ's return and what to expect has been plainly stated in the Bible (Jesus had just explained it in Matthew 24 from our example), however, it is other peoples' ideas and doctrines that make it confusing. And Paul says that if you are going to follow them, you might as well admit that you are following them and hope that they can save you, because you are not following what Christ says... which is why He says to the foolish virgins, "I know you not." If you are following someone who does not teach anything about the end times, then that is similar to not having any oil in the lamp. (Further reading on what it means to be a spiritual virgin for Christ can be found in Psalm 45, The Song of Solomon, and Isaiah 50-59.)
The Lamps
The lamp is a source of light. It allows you to see what is going on, what you are doing, and where you are going. Oil is the fuel for the lamp. Oil is the truth. If you have the truth about the end times, you know what to do in a time when most people are in the dark. But what is the truth? Jesus says in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." Jesus is the Word (see John chapter 1). So, the truth is the Word of God. The entire Bible is instruction in how to live your life, and a large part of it is devoted to the end times. To gain an understanding of the Bible is gathering the oil for a time of darkness. Even if you were to just follow what Jesus did during His ministering period of 3 1/2 years in the gospel, you would be doing what you need to do in the end times because those 3 1/2 years are a prophecy of the last 3 1/2 years of this age. That's what the Teacher of all teachers has taught you in the gospel. So, if you can do the same things that He did during that period (that is to say, to love those around you and to help them through thick and thin, as Christ would and has) then you are doing what is required for that time and will help many. And since we don't know when exactly those last 3 1/2 years are... it's best that we try to act as He did every day.
Just as Paul had said, "[if ye] receive another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might [as] well bear with him," the wise virgins say the same thing to the foolish virgins in this parable. They tell the foolish virgins to go back to the people that they had gotten their truth from in the first place, because their sources didn't give them enough truth to get through the whole of the end times. Does that mean you are doomed if you don't know everything about the end times? No. I don't think that at all; and luckily for anyone that reads this, I am not the authority over who is doomed and who is not. But the more truth you have now, the better prepared you are to do what you have to when the end times come. And my passion is to encourage you to get the truth straight from the Word - the simplicity of Christ.
The Watchmen
This is the most downplayed element of the parable, and yet one of the most important. The person who cries out that the bridegroom is coming is the watchman. This is where Ezekiel 33 comes into the picture. There are two different types of watchmen: there are those that the people set up for themselves, and there are those that God has chosen to be on the watch for the things that He has pronounced in the Bible.
God tells Ezekiel this, saying, "Son of man, speak unto the children of thy People, and say unto them, 'When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman: if when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand.'
So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at My mouth, and warn them from Me. When I say unto the wicked, 'O wicked man, thou shalt surely die;' if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul (Ezekiel 33:2-9)."
Note the "warning the wicked to turn from his way". This is repentance. This is calling to the people to get them to repent. As I said above about acting like Jesus, Who was the perfect example of how to live in the flesh, Jesus' first message (similar to John the Baptist's) when He went to preach was: "Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matthew 4:17)." This is where Jesus provided the example for the watchmen.
Isaiah also spoke of watchmen that the people had set up for themselves, rather than those chosen by God; watchmen that did not protect the people, causing Isaiah to say, "All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, yea, all ye beasts in the forest. His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter. 'Come ye,' say they, 'I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and tomorrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant (Isaiah 56:9-12).'"
So it is important to know that our own people (the Christian nation) have set up watchmen and shepherds that do not protect the flock. They do not pay heed to the entire Word of God, whereby they would know when to instruct, when to warn, when to protect. Is this every pastor that is out there? No, but it is easy to know these people by the way they preach. Jesus said you would know the tree by it's fruit (Matthew 7:15-20). If you have a pastor that doesn't teach the Word of God - the whole Word of God - because they only want to teach "the easy parts", the parts that everyone can agree on, then you are dealing with one of these greedy dogs. They skip over the warnings that are given, not realizing that the warnings are given to strengthen the flock, so that they will know what to expect (Paul uses this exact method in 2 Thessalonians 2 when he says to take comfort in knowing what is to come). But that is fine. It leaves opportunity for you to discuss their teaching style with them. It leaves opportunity for you to share these passages with them. It leaves opportunity to continue to provide works of love in the church that you are in. It doesn't stop you from continuing to learn the Word of God, to keep gathering your oil, so that you can shine the light of God's Word in the dark hours of the night. So that you can find the way, and lead others, to the wedding when the time is right. God bless.
Here is the parable of the ten virgins from Matthew 25:1-13:
"Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, 'Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.' Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, 'Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.' But the wise answered, saying, 'Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.' And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, 'lord, lord, open to us.' But he answered and said, 'Verily I say unto you, I know you not.' Watch ye therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh."
There are a few different elements to this parable. First, there are the virgins; second, there are the lamps; third, there are the watchmen.
The Virgins
In Scripture, idolatry is equivalent to spiritual adultery. Worshipping other gods was equivalent to breaking the spiritual bond with God and marrying another. The most potent example of this that I can think of is Jeremiah chapter 3. So keeping yourself from idolatry is keeping yourself pure, keeping yourself a virgin. Paul also makes it clear in his second letter to the Corinthians, a letter in which he desperately appears to be attempting to preserve the purity of the church, when he says, "I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him (2 Corinthians 11:2-4)." This explains the position of the virgin in the parable. All of the virgins were waiting for the Lord to return... but the requirement that they needed was to know what to expect when He returned, similar to what Paul says. Paul's statement is that Christ's return and what to expect has been plainly stated in the Bible (Jesus had just explained it in Matthew 24 from our example), however, it is other peoples' ideas and doctrines that make it confusing. And Paul says that if you are going to follow them, you might as well admit that you are following them and hope that they can save you, because you are not following what Christ says... which is why He says to the foolish virgins, "I know you not." If you are following someone who does not teach anything about the end times, then that is similar to not having any oil in the lamp. (Further reading on what it means to be a spiritual virgin for Christ can be found in Psalm 45, The Song of Solomon, and Isaiah 50-59.)
The Lamps
The lamp is a source of light. It allows you to see what is going on, what you are doing, and where you are going. Oil is the fuel for the lamp. Oil is the truth. If you have the truth about the end times, you know what to do in a time when most people are in the dark. But what is the truth? Jesus says in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." Jesus is the Word (see John chapter 1). So, the truth is the Word of God. The entire Bible is instruction in how to live your life, and a large part of it is devoted to the end times. To gain an understanding of the Bible is gathering the oil for a time of darkness. Even if you were to just follow what Jesus did during His ministering period of 3 1/2 years in the gospel, you would be doing what you need to do in the end times because those 3 1/2 years are a prophecy of the last 3 1/2 years of this age. That's what the Teacher of all teachers has taught you in the gospel. So, if you can do the same things that He did during that period (that is to say, to love those around you and to help them through thick and thin, as Christ would and has) then you are doing what is required for that time and will help many. And since we don't know when exactly those last 3 1/2 years are... it's best that we try to act as He did every day.
Just as Paul had said, "[if ye] receive another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might [as] well bear with him," the wise virgins say the same thing to the foolish virgins in this parable. They tell the foolish virgins to go back to the people that they had gotten their truth from in the first place, because their sources didn't give them enough truth to get through the whole of the end times. Does that mean you are doomed if you don't know everything about the end times? No. I don't think that at all; and luckily for anyone that reads this, I am not the authority over who is doomed and who is not. But the more truth you have now, the better prepared you are to do what you have to when the end times come. And my passion is to encourage you to get the truth straight from the Word - the simplicity of Christ.
The Watchmen
This is the most downplayed element of the parable, and yet one of the most important. The person who cries out that the bridegroom is coming is the watchman. This is where Ezekiel 33 comes into the picture. There are two different types of watchmen: there are those that the people set up for themselves, and there are those that God has chosen to be on the watch for the things that He has pronounced in the Bible.
God tells Ezekiel this, saying, "Son of man, speak unto the children of thy People, and say unto them, 'When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman: if when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand.'
So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at My mouth, and warn them from Me. When I say unto the wicked, 'O wicked man, thou shalt surely die;' if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul (Ezekiel 33:2-9)."
Note the "warning the wicked to turn from his way". This is repentance. This is calling to the people to get them to repent. As I said above about acting like Jesus, Who was the perfect example of how to live in the flesh, Jesus' first message (similar to John the Baptist's) when He went to preach was: "Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matthew 4:17)." This is where Jesus provided the example for the watchmen.
Isaiah also spoke of watchmen that the people had set up for themselves, rather than those chosen by God; watchmen that did not protect the people, causing Isaiah to say, "All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, yea, all ye beasts in the forest. His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter. 'Come ye,' say they, 'I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and tomorrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant (Isaiah 56:9-12).'"
So it is important to know that our own people (the Christian nation) have set up watchmen and shepherds that do not protect the flock. They do not pay heed to the entire Word of God, whereby they would know when to instruct, when to warn, when to protect. Is this every pastor that is out there? No, but it is easy to know these people by the way they preach. Jesus said you would know the tree by it's fruit (Matthew 7:15-20). If you have a pastor that doesn't teach the Word of God - the whole Word of God - because they only want to teach "the easy parts", the parts that everyone can agree on, then you are dealing with one of these greedy dogs. They skip over the warnings that are given, not realizing that the warnings are given to strengthen the flock, so that they will know what to expect (Paul uses this exact method in 2 Thessalonians 2 when he says to take comfort in knowing what is to come). But that is fine. It leaves opportunity for you to discuss their teaching style with them. It leaves opportunity for you to share these passages with them. It leaves opportunity to continue to provide works of love in the church that you are in. It doesn't stop you from continuing to learn the Word of God, to keep gathering your oil, so that you can shine the light of God's Word in the dark hours of the night. So that you can find the way, and lead others, to the wedding when the time is right. God bless.
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