The title of this post is taken from Zechariah 2:7, but the reason for this post is very short. I simply want to give the meaning of the word "Babylon" and connect it to what is going on in the world today. The word Babylon in the Bible is the Hebrew word "babel". The word means "confusion" and originates from the events that occurred at the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11). It comes from the root word "balal" which means "to mix together". So the entire meaning of the word is given in that Babel is "confusion by mixing things together"... or like when you would say, "you have that all mixed up". (It is also very closely related to the English word babble, which is nonsensical speaking.) At that time (in Genesis 11), man had begun to build a tower to the heavens to save themselves from a possible second flood, and God came down and confused all of their languages to prevent them from building the tower too far and taking stock in supplying their own salvation. The story has close connections to what is going on today.
Today people all over the earth are working together to come up with answers to every question under the sun. Nations are working together in the fields of science, politics, education, finance and numerous other areas to advance our civilization to heights that have never before been reached. There is just one problem with that: as cultures come together more and more, the morals and ethics of those cultures are getting all mixed together and the once distinct cultural systems are changing over time. You see a lot of this mixing occurring in the entertainment world and, with all deceitfulness, there are a lot of hard hitting immoral lessons that are being delivered with sugary-sweet, catchy pop beats. We in North America are seeing things that were once considered to be immoral by the very people that founded our nations being thought of as moral under a new ideology - things which are directly opposed to the Word of God. And God has told us, "I am the Lord, I change not (Malachi 3:6);" and again "Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law [the Word of God], till all be fulfilled (Matthew 5:18)." So when nations that founded themselves on the laws and precepts of God begin to change what is right, it won't be too long before He's coming down to put a stop to it, just like He did at the Tower of Babel. We're getting closer and closer to that time my friends.
The Bible has clearly laid out what the events are that lead up to the end of this age, so don't be someone who gets carried off into Babylon, which is to say "confusion", because there are people out there who want to mix everything together and confuse it. Examine the Bible, let it be your foundation and your tower, and you won't be lead astray. God bless.
Showing posts with label Bible Study. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bible Study. Show all posts
Saturday, 26 May 2012
Sunday, 29 January 2012
God Trieth the Hearts and Reins...
There are two concepts that I would like to explore in this post. The first is what it means to be a "Son of Abraham". The second is how God knows if you are a Son of Abraham. Both of these concepts are firmly lodged in the story of Abraham, and are also illustrated elsewhere in the Bible.
To Be A "Son Of Abraham"
Abraham's name is mentioned 250 times in the King James Bible. But what does the name mean? (If you have been following my blog previously, you know that I love to use names in the context of the stories being told.) Abraham is introduced in Genesis 11 as "Abram", which means "exalted father." At this point in history, Abram had yet to have a son, and does not produce the heir of his estate until later, when he is 100 years old. (100 in terms of Biblical Numerics is the number of the elect, or chosen.) Then, in Genesis 17:5, God changes Abram's name - He adds an "H" to his name, an "H" which is also found in the middle of God's sacred name, Jehovah (yah-Ho-vah) - to create the name "Abraham", which means "father of many nations". (Indeed, God gives the meaning of the name in the very same verse). But what does that mean, that Abraham will be a father of many nations? Abraham is the great-great-great-etc-grandfather of Jesus, Who is the Lord of all nations. And that is what Abraham's name means. (There is no word for "grandfather" in Hebrew; the word father was always used, even when a grandfather was being described.)
But how is it that he is considered the "father of many nations"? It's true that he fathered Ishmael, who is considered to be the father of the Islamic nations, and that he fathered a number of children with his second wife after Sarah had died, who also became nations, but I believe the name has to do with those who are faithful to God and His Son Jesus Christ. The family relationship is considered through faith, and not by genealogical birth. Let me explain through some Scriptural examples:
In Matthew 3, John the Baptist chastises the Pharisees and the Sadducees that come out to see him, by saying, "Think not to say within yourselves [in your thoughts], 'We have Abraham to our father:' for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham." Meaning that birth by genealogy was not going to save them; rather it is faith and repentance unto God that will gain His salvation.
The Pharisees seemed to think that salvation was a physical birthright, though. In John 8, after the incident where the crowd wanted to stone the adulterous woman (possibly adulterous... maybe falsely accused? I'm not sure how trustworthy the mob was - see the next post on when to believe crowds in Scripture) the Pharisees are arguing with Jesus about their heritage. Jesus corrects them in verse 24 by saying, "If ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins." Meaning, regardless of whether Abraham was there patronymic father or not, without faith there was no salvation for them. He later says, in verse 37, "I know that ye are Abraham's seed." The word for seed in the Greek is "sperma", so that there is no confusion that Jesus is talking about the actual physical offspring of Abraham. A few verses later He says, "If ye were Abraham's children [the word here is "teknon", not "sperma", to differentiate from the prior statement], ye would do the works of Abraham." I think the Pharisees see what Jesus is getting at by using the two different words, switching from a physical meaning to a spiritual meaning, because they reply, "We have one Father, even God;" to which Jesus replies, "If God were your Father, ye would love Me... ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do." This once again focused who's child a person is by what they do and how they act. (I've condensed the argument for the sake of discussion and illustration, but I encourage you to go back and read the entire chapter. It's a good one!)
Once again, in Matthew 12 and Mark 3, Jesus asks, "Who is My mother? and who are My brethren?...whosoever shall do the will of My Father Which is in heaven, the same is My brother, and sister, and mother." Here, the mother is the "mother nation," and the brothers and sisters are those who believe and act in God's will.
Paul makes this crystal clear in Galatians 3:26-29 when he says, "For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."
A son of Abraham is one who believes and acts like it. (Now think about this in terms of Zacchaeus' actions in my prior post.)
How God Knows Whether You Are A Son Or Daughter Of Abraham
How does God know whether you are truly a Son or Daughter of Abraham? He can see your insides, which is to say, He knows your thoughts and motivations. He gave us plenty of examples to explain this to us, and I will go through a few below.
Solomon says in Proverbs 21:2, "Every way of man is right in his own eyes: but the Lord pondereth the hearts." We may be able to justify our own actions, but God knows what your thoughts are at the time that you act, and He takes this into consideration in His judgment.
Solomon's father David wrote in Psalm 7:9, "Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins." Trieth is also another word for "examine". Though we may not know a persons intentions when they act, thus making it all the more difficult to judge them for it ("judge not, lest ye be judged"), God does know their intentions.
In Revelation 2:23, Jesus says, "I AM He which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto everyone of you according to your works." Now compare this statement with the parable that Jesus tells in Jericho after calling Zacchaeus out of the sycomore tree (see the next post). God rewards based on your intentions and the actions that come from those intentions.
How do we know that God means that He can see your thoughts in the verses above? God tells Amos in Amos 4:13, "For, lo ["lo" is like an asterisk, and it means "pay attention to this!"], He that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, [Jehovah], The God of hosts, is His name." Since the Lord is declaring His name in the verse, I used the actual Hebrew name, rather than "The Lord" that is in the English translation. Jesus also constantly was able to determine peoples' thoughts when He was around them, and dealt with them righteously (an example is in Luke 6:8).
What about a physical example? Well, a physical example of this has to do with Abraham, who is the main tie together for this post. In Genesis 15, the Lord speaks with Abraham, and tells him that Abraham and his seed will inherit the promised land, and Abraham asks "how will I know this will happen?" and the Lord tells Abraham to lay out an offering, physical animals, and that they would be split down the middle and laid out in halves (except for the birds). Abraham does so, and he also drove away any unclean birds that would try to peck at the insides of the offering. Then what happened? The Lord walked in the middle of the cloven animals with a lamp... so that He could see the insides of the offering. And once He had seen the insides of the offering, He made a covenant with Abraham. This is the same figure as God "trying the hearts and reins". It's also the same as Jesus telling the Pharisees to "wash the inside of the cup" (Matthew 23:26) and is also the same figure as washing the "inwards" (insides) of the offerings that are made to God (see Leviticus 1:9 for an example).
"But how do we know that the offerings and sacrifices you described above mean us?" you may ask me. Paul gives you the answer to this in the beginning of Romans 12. "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." The figure of the sacrifice was always meant to be our love and good actions and knowledge of God (see Hosea 6:6).
Are you a son or daughter of Abraham? Remember it is your thoughts and actions that determine if you are. You can change your behaviours (a.k.a. repentance from the old behaviours) and pray also for help to do so. God bless.
To Be A "Son Of Abraham"
Abraham's name is mentioned 250 times in the King James Bible. But what does the name mean? (If you have been following my blog previously, you know that I love to use names in the context of the stories being told.) Abraham is introduced in Genesis 11 as "Abram", which means "exalted father." At this point in history, Abram had yet to have a son, and does not produce the heir of his estate until later, when he is 100 years old. (100 in terms of Biblical Numerics is the number of the elect, or chosen.) Then, in Genesis 17:5, God changes Abram's name - He adds an "H" to his name, an "H" which is also found in the middle of God's sacred name, Jehovah (yah-Ho-vah) - to create the name "Abraham", which means "father of many nations". (Indeed, God gives the meaning of the name in the very same verse). But what does that mean, that Abraham will be a father of many nations? Abraham is the great-great-great-etc-grandfather of Jesus, Who is the Lord of all nations. And that is what Abraham's name means. (There is no word for "grandfather" in Hebrew; the word father was always used, even when a grandfather was being described.)
But how is it that he is considered the "father of many nations"? It's true that he fathered Ishmael, who is considered to be the father of the Islamic nations, and that he fathered a number of children with his second wife after Sarah had died, who also became nations, but I believe the name has to do with those who are faithful to God and His Son Jesus Christ. The family relationship is considered through faith, and not by genealogical birth. Let me explain through some Scriptural examples:
In Matthew 3, John the Baptist chastises the Pharisees and the Sadducees that come out to see him, by saying, "Think not to say within yourselves [in your thoughts], 'We have Abraham to our father:' for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham." Meaning that birth by genealogy was not going to save them; rather it is faith and repentance unto God that will gain His salvation.
The Pharisees seemed to think that salvation was a physical birthright, though. In John 8, after the incident where the crowd wanted to stone the adulterous woman (possibly adulterous... maybe falsely accused? I'm not sure how trustworthy the mob was - see the next post on when to believe crowds in Scripture) the Pharisees are arguing with Jesus about their heritage. Jesus corrects them in verse 24 by saying, "If ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins." Meaning, regardless of whether Abraham was there patronymic father or not, without faith there was no salvation for them. He later says, in verse 37, "I know that ye are Abraham's seed." The word for seed in the Greek is "sperma", so that there is no confusion that Jesus is talking about the actual physical offspring of Abraham. A few verses later He says, "If ye were Abraham's children [the word here is "teknon", not "sperma", to differentiate from the prior statement], ye would do the works of Abraham." I think the Pharisees see what Jesus is getting at by using the two different words, switching from a physical meaning to a spiritual meaning, because they reply, "We have one Father, even God;" to which Jesus replies, "If God were your Father, ye would love Me... ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do." This once again focused who's child a person is by what they do and how they act. (I've condensed the argument for the sake of discussion and illustration, but I encourage you to go back and read the entire chapter. It's a good one!)
Once again, in Matthew 12 and Mark 3, Jesus asks, "Who is My mother? and who are My brethren?...whosoever shall do the will of My Father Which is in heaven, the same is My brother, and sister, and mother." Here, the mother is the "mother nation," and the brothers and sisters are those who believe and act in God's will.
Paul makes this crystal clear in Galatians 3:26-29 when he says, "For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."
A son of Abraham is one who believes and acts like it. (Now think about this in terms of Zacchaeus' actions in my prior post.)
How God Knows Whether You Are A Son Or Daughter Of Abraham
How does God know whether you are truly a Son or Daughter of Abraham? He can see your insides, which is to say, He knows your thoughts and motivations. He gave us plenty of examples to explain this to us, and I will go through a few below.
Solomon says in Proverbs 21:2, "Every way of man is right in his own eyes: but the Lord pondereth the hearts." We may be able to justify our own actions, but God knows what your thoughts are at the time that you act, and He takes this into consideration in His judgment.
Solomon's father David wrote in Psalm 7:9, "Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins." Trieth is also another word for "examine". Though we may not know a persons intentions when they act, thus making it all the more difficult to judge them for it ("judge not, lest ye be judged"), God does know their intentions.
In Revelation 2:23, Jesus says, "I AM He which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto everyone of you according to your works." Now compare this statement with the parable that Jesus tells in Jericho after calling Zacchaeus out of the sycomore tree (see the next post). God rewards based on your intentions and the actions that come from those intentions.
How do we know that God means that He can see your thoughts in the verses above? God tells Amos in Amos 4:13, "For, lo ["lo" is like an asterisk, and it means "pay attention to this!"], He that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, [Jehovah], The God of hosts, is His name." Since the Lord is declaring His name in the verse, I used the actual Hebrew name, rather than "The Lord" that is in the English translation. Jesus also constantly was able to determine peoples' thoughts when He was around them, and dealt with them righteously (an example is in Luke 6:8).
What about a physical example? Well, a physical example of this has to do with Abraham, who is the main tie together for this post. In Genesis 15, the Lord speaks with Abraham, and tells him that Abraham and his seed will inherit the promised land, and Abraham asks "how will I know this will happen?" and the Lord tells Abraham to lay out an offering, physical animals, and that they would be split down the middle and laid out in halves (except for the birds). Abraham does so, and he also drove away any unclean birds that would try to peck at the insides of the offering. Then what happened? The Lord walked in the middle of the cloven animals with a lamp... so that He could see the insides of the offering. And once He had seen the insides of the offering, He made a covenant with Abraham. This is the same figure as God "trying the hearts and reins". It's also the same as Jesus telling the Pharisees to "wash the inside of the cup" (Matthew 23:26) and is also the same figure as washing the "inwards" (insides) of the offerings that are made to God (see Leviticus 1:9 for an example).
"But how do we know that the offerings and sacrifices you described above mean us?" you may ask me. Paul gives you the answer to this in the beginning of Romans 12. "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." The figure of the sacrifice was always meant to be our love and good actions and knowledge of God (see Hosea 6:6).
Are you a son or daughter of Abraham? Remember it is your thoughts and actions that determine if you are. You can change your behaviours (a.k.a. repentance from the old behaviours) and pray also for help to do so. God bless.
Thursday, 26 January 2012
Zacchaeus The Pure And The Two Trees Of Life
My previous posts were going in a different direction; however, I recently had been doing some studying that got me very excited, and I wanted to take a new direction (although, there is a bit of a common thread between the prior discussions and these new posts). The post today is related to Luke 19, the story of Zacchaeus, and the parable that follows; but it also draws on other areas of the Bible. The inspiration came from a reading of Luke 19 after my pastor had posted a blog about it, but the revelation of the reading shattered any previous traditional teaching that I had done on the story, and that's what I would like to share. So, the story of Zacchaeus is as follows:
And Jesus entered and passed though Jericho. And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus who He was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see Him: for He was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, "Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house." And he made haste, and came down, and received Him joyfully.
And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That He was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold." And Jesus said unto him, "This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost."
And as they heard these things, He added and spake a parable, because He was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear.
He said therefore, "A certain nobleman went into a far county to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, 'Occupy till I come.' But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, 'We will not have this man to reign over us.' And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first, saying, "Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds.' And he said unto him, 'Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.' And the second came, saying, 'Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds.' And he said likewise to him, 'Be thou also over five cities.' And another came, saying, 'Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin: for I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow.' And he saith unto him, 'Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow: wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury?' And he said unto them that stood by, 'Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds.' (And they said unto him, 'Lord, he hath ten pounds.') 'For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him. But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.'" And when He had thus spoken, He went before, ascending up to Jerusalem.
The message of the reading incorporates both the incident with Zacchaeus and the parable that follows. Primarily, it has to do with the two trees that are presented in the incident. You may ask yourself, "Two trees? but I thought there was only one?" No, there are definitely two trees in the story, and a deeper look into the language used shows the difference between the two.
The choice between trees is a huge lesson in Scripture. The choice between trees was one of the first lessons given in the Bible, in the Garden of Eden. There were two trees, and Adam and Eve had to pick between the two trees. Satan was able to fool them into choosing the wrong tree.
The choice between trees is also one of the first lessons given in the New Testament. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, "Ye shall know [the tree] by their fruit (Matthew 7:16)." In the verse before, he also states that false prophets (those of a bad tree) are like wolves in sheeps' clothing - they have the appearance of being harmless, but they are not! So, again, we are to carefully choose our tree.
But what is this "choosing you tree" that I'm talking about? It is choosing your family tree. "What?! I can't choose what family I'm born into!" you may say. In a physical sense, that is true, but in a spiritual sense, Jesus teaches on several occasions that that is not the case.
So what does this have to do with Zacchaeus and the two trees that I haven't identified yet?
The Tree of Life
Jesus is the Tree of Life. Jesus is the Living Word of God (see John 1), and His Word brings life. Jesus said in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh to the Father but by Me." In Revelation 2:7, Jesus says, "To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God." So Jesus, in the story of Zacchaeus, is the first tree, the Tree of Life.
The "tree of life"
The second tree is the more obvious one in the story. It is the tree that Zacchaeus runs ahead of the crowd to climb. Zacchaeus is very excited to see the Lord, and is obviously a very intuitive man, because he engineers a solution to gain his heart's desire of seeing the Lord more clearly. He, being a short man, finds a tree with branches that are close to the ground, easy to grasp, even for a short fellow like himself (I love that the word in the Greek word to describe his shortness is "micro"... I mean, that's short!). But everything is not as it seems here; there are a few red flags for this tree that need to be discussed.
First off, this is the Sycomore tree. In English, it's also known as the "fig-mulberry" or the "Egyptian fig" tree. The first red flag is that the tree is known as the "tree of life" in Egyptian mythology, which is to say that it is the tree of life for false religions, and should not be confused with the Christian Tree of Life.
Second, this Sycomore tree gets its name from two Greek words. The first is "sykon" (English: fig), and the second is "moron" (English: mulberry). The reason it is called such is that it is actually a fig tree (by genus), but had the appearance of a mulberry tree (so mulberry was given as the descriptor).
Fig-Mulberry = Sykon-moron = Sycomore.
The word "sykon" is the base for the word "sycophant" in the English language, which literally means "to show your figs." To show your figs is a bit of a vulgar expression in the Greek language. It's speculated that the term had to do with people who would attempt to pilfer figs in times of drought in Israel, when it would be illegal to export these figs out of the country. But the person would be so stupid as to divulge that he had copped some figs, and would thus "show his figs." Today, the word "sycophant" is associated with what's commonly known as an "ass-kisser" or a "brown-noser". It's someone who attempts to make personal gain through flattery and concealed betrayal. (Think about this in terms of what is going on in Zacchaeus' story.)
The word "moron" is commonly considered slang in the English language for someone of substandard intelligence. The word was officially introduced into the English language by psychologist Henry Goddard to describe someone with a low IQ, having the mental capacity of about an 8 to 12 year old. The word actually did come from this tree, for which the fruit is slow in growing; hence the association with slowness.
Not only was the tree slow to bear fruit, but the fruit of this fig tree was inferior to the fruit of a regular fig tree (the sykon). It was used to feed pigs. Also, in order to get the fruit to ripen fully, it had to be pierced three days before it was picked. This is pretty significant in spiritual imagery, though I don't think it is for the reasons that are commonly taught (because the fruit of our Lord is superior, not inferior).
Now, we have the trees identified, but let's see if we can apply them to the story.
Zacchaeus the Pure
Any time I've heard this story taught, Zacchaeus has always been identified as a great big sinner. It's been taught as, "the crowd calls him a sinner, so he must be a sinner." But hold on a minute! Is that the way that it always is in Scripture? The crowd says something, so it must be true? I don't think so. Let me elaborate.
Romans 2:23 says, "All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Now, that's everyone. That means Zacchaeus is a sinner, but every person in the crowd of accusers is a sinner too. So for this crowd to turn their noses up a Zacchaeus and say "What!? Dine with him? But that guy is a big fat sinner!" is hypocritical. The Pharisees pulled this same trick with Jesus all the time, complaining that He was a friend of sinners, and He called them hypocrites. So, it would seem that we can't really trust the word of the crowd here.
But why did they call him a sinner? Likely because he was a publican (a tax collector); and not only a publican, but the chief publican!* so he must also be a chief sinner, right? Wrong. There's a problem with that logic. It is a person's actions that makes him a sinner, not what he or she does for a living. As long as you do your job honestly, treating people fairly, and with respect and love, then there is no sin. Here are some other examples of incidents with publicans in the Bible. When John was preaching in the desert and the publicans asked him, "what should we do?" did he say, "For heaven's sakes, stop being publicans!!!"? (Luke 3:12-13) No. He says, "Be fair, don't rip people off." When the Pharisees came to trip Jesus up with legal mumbo-jumbo by asking if it was lawful to pay taxes, did Jesus say, "No! Taxes are a great sin, and those who collect them are evil!"? (Matthew 22:15-22) No. He says, "Give unto Caesar what is Caesar's, and unto God what is God's" Meaning what? Does God desperately want your money? No! He wants your love, for you to know Him (by His Word), and to treat people properly (see Hosea 6:6 and Micah 6:8). Money isn't going to matter much in heaven, but if you can use it to win souls here on earth for Him, then that is a worthy cause. So being a publican does not on it's own make Zacchaeus a sinner. In fact, he was chief publican, meaning he was the boss, and you don't typically get to be the boss of anything without a lot of hard work and good treatment of people. So, if anything, the fact that he is chief publican tells me that he was a rather decent fellow. But is there anything else in the narrative to suggest the same?
*(I have to say this, "believers" and taxes have never been two concepts that have mixed - they hate paying taxes! Just look at what is going on in the United States right now, and how the Republicans are adamantly opposed to raising the taxes.)
What does the word "Zacchaeus" mean? It actually means "pure" and is why I titled the post the way I did. But is there anything else that suggests this? How about the fact that Jesus basically calls Zacchaeus one of his lost sheep? When Jesus comes to the sycomore tree, He calls Zacchaeus by name, like one of His sheep (see John 10:3). He also refers to Zacchaeus by saying, "I have come to save that which was lost," which is the same language that Jesus uses to describe His lost sheep (see Luke 15:4-6). What about, when the crowd accuses Zacchaeus, what does he do? He defends his honour by saying, "Sinner? Lord, [he knows Jesus as Lord as soon as he sees Him - see John 10:4] I give half of what I have to the poor! If any of you can tell me that I have taken anything by false accusation, I will pay you back fourfold!" Fourfold, according to the law, was the penalty that a sheep thief had to pay (Exodus 22:1), which suggests to me (even over and above the fact that Zacchaeus was so eager to see Jesus at the beginning of the story) that Zacchaeus is actually a God-fearing man who knows the Hebrew law quite well... he just hadn't met Jesus before.
And what does this say about Zacchaeus, that Jesus wanted to dine with him? At this time, Jesus was on the final leg of His journeys to go to Jerusalem and be crucified at Passover. But Jesus had a rule that He had given to the disciples when they were out evangelising, and I'm inclined to believe that He would also follow that rule when He was travelling. Jesus had told them, "Go... to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 10:6)... And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence. And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you. And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet (Matthew 10:11-14)." Isn't this exactly what Jesus had just done in this story? He came to save that which was lost (His lost sheep, Zacchaeus); He was to abide at one's house who was worthy; and the receiver, Zacchaeus, did receive Him, and received Him joyfully, so there was no need to shake the dust from the feet.
(There's one further note on Zacchaeus that is part of the way that I read the story. The text calls him short and I take that to mean that he was a very humble man. Scripture sometimes uses height in a story to describe the character of a person, as it did with Saul (1 Samuel 9:2) and I believe height is being used here for the same purpose. Zacchaeus is humble, and that's why he chose the tree that he did, because it was an easy tree to climb into... but, due to the nature of the tree, the ease that it provided actually turned out to be a danger. This ties into the overall message of just what that tree was below.)
So it would seem that Zacchaeus was not as bad a person as some may teach. A sinner? Yes - everyone is. But a largely sinister man? No. (I don't want to say that God would not accept the repentance of a truly wicked person. He clearly states that He will in Ezekiel 18 and shows a physical example when Ahab, one of the worst kings that Israel had ever seen, humbles himself before God in 1 Kings 21:27-29. But that is not the message that I get from this story.)
The Crowd
What about the crowd then, that has falsely accused Zacchaeus of being a great sinner? Why would they do this? They clearly did not want Jesus to abide with Zacchaeus - but why? I believe it is because they wanted Jesus to abide with them; they were jealous. They accuse Zacchaeus so that he will suffer, and they will gain from it: and it's a false accusation. I think Zacchaeus recognised what they were doing, but let's breakdown some of the language used for the crowd in this story.
First, it must be pointed out that Jesus was very famous at this time and would draw crowds wherever He went - great multitudes in fact. But since there is nothing new under the sun, we need to recognise that some of the crowds would have the same behaviours as crowds today, and would be there simply because someone is famous, and they want to be associated with someone famous, and not necessarily because they believed in the message. People who do this are known as "sycophants" today (see the explanation of "sycophant" above).
Second, when Jesus says that He is to abide at Zacchaeus' house, what does the crowd do? They murmur. This word "murmur" is specifically associated with hypocrites. The word Luke uses in the Greek - "diagoggyzo" = "by murmuring" - is only used twice in the New Testament, once here, and once in Luke 15:2 to describe the murmurings of the Pharisees (who were self-righteous hypocrites) when they saw Jesus spending time with "publicans and sinners." Otherwise, the word is "goggyzo" ("murmur"), such as when Paul uses it in 1 Corinthians 10:10. But the point is that murmuring was specifically associated with the unbelievers of Israel of old. The fact that they murmur does not lend to the credit of the crowd.
Third, Zacchaeus uses a very special word in his speech to Jesus when he is false accused (and if I've worded this post properly, it shouldn't be too hard to guess the word). The word in the text for "false accusation" is "sukophanteo"... or, in modern language, "sycophant." I think it's Zacchaeus' way of letting them know that they had falsely accused him, which connects the crowd with the tree that Zaccheaus had climbed, and the fact that Jesus calls him out of that tree to save him. This crowd was a group of sycophants. They throw Zacchaeus under the bus for their own personal gain. And Zacchaeus was lost among them, in their tree, so to speak. He was lost in the sycophant tree, in the moron tree that produced slow inferior fruit, and Jesus calls him out so that he can associate with a much better Tree - the Tree of Life. The same calling is laid on many of us.
What is the message then? Does the message above mean that there was only hope for Zacchaeus, and the rest of the crowd were all "goners". Absolutely not, they just needed a correction by the Word of God, and if they heard Him, they too could come out of the moron tree, and start living in the Tree of Life.
If we are to be sons and daughters of God, we should act like it. Our tree should not resemble the mulberry (moron), but should produce good fruit. That is clearly what Zacchaeus' actions in his story, and the parable following, are saying. Jesus calls Zacchaeus a "son of Abraham", of his family tree, but it's not because of his genealogy... it's because he acts like it, he does the works of Abraham (see John 8). The same opportunity is open to all who believe (John 3:16) and is not just laid on the physical offspring of Abraham, but those who have the faith of Abraham, which is what Paul says in many of his writings.
Be careful how you read Scripture. Be careful what tree you are climbing into to get closer to the Lord. God bless.
And Jesus entered and passed though Jericho. And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus who He was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see Him: for He was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, "Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house." And he made haste, and came down, and received Him joyfully.
And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That He was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold." And Jesus said unto him, "This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost."
And as they heard these things, He added and spake a parable, because He was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear.
He said therefore, "A certain nobleman went into a far county to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, 'Occupy till I come.' But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, 'We will not have this man to reign over us.' And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first, saying, "Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds.' And he said unto him, 'Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.' And the second came, saying, 'Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds.' And he said likewise to him, 'Be thou also over five cities.' And another came, saying, 'Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin: for I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow.' And he saith unto him, 'Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow: wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury?' And he said unto them that stood by, 'Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds.' (And they said unto him, 'Lord, he hath ten pounds.') 'For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him. But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.'" And when He had thus spoken, He went before, ascending up to Jerusalem.
The message of the reading incorporates both the incident with Zacchaeus and the parable that follows. Primarily, it has to do with the two trees that are presented in the incident. You may ask yourself, "Two trees? but I thought there was only one?" No, there are definitely two trees in the story, and a deeper look into the language used shows the difference between the two.
The choice between trees is a huge lesson in Scripture. The choice between trees was one of the first lessons given in the Bible, in the Garden of Eden. There were two trees, and Adam and Eve had to pick between the two trees. Satan was able to fool them into choosing the wrong tree.
The choice between trees is also one of the first lessons given in the New Testament. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, "Ye shall know [the tree] by their fruit (Matthew 7:16)." In the verse before, he also states that false prophets (those of a bad tree) are like wolves in sheeps' clothing - they have the appearance of being harmless, but they are not! So, again, we are to carefully choose our tree.
But what is this "choosing you tree" that I'm talking about? It is choosing your family tree. "What?! I can't choose what family I'm born into!" you may say. In a physical sense, that is true, but in a spiritual sense, Jesus teaches on several occasions that that is not the case.
So what does this have to do with Zacchaeus and the two trees that I haven't identified yet?
The Tree of Life
Jesus is the Tree of Life. Jesus is the Living Word of God (see John 1), and His Word brings life. Jesus said in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh to the Father but by Me." In Revelation 2:7, Jesus says, "To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God." So Jesus, in the story of Zacchaeus, is the first tree, the Tree of Life.
The "tree of life"
The second tree is the more obvious one in the story. It is the tree that Zacchaeus runs ahead of the crowd to climb. Zacchaeus is very excited to see the Lord, and is obviously a very intuitive man, because he engineers a solution to gain his heart's desire of seeing the Lord more clearly. He, being a short man, finds a tree with branches that are close to the ground, easy to grasp, even for a short fellow like himself (I love that the word in the Greek word to describe his shortness is "micro"... I mean, that's short!). But everything is not as it seems here; there are a few red flags for this tree that need to be discussed.
First off, this is the Sycomore tree. In English, it's also known as the "fig-mulberry" or the "Egyptian fig" tree. The first red flag is that the tree is known as the "tree of life" in Egyptian mythology, which is to say that it is the tree of life for false religions, and should not be confused with the Christian Tree of Life.
Second, this Sycomore tree gets its name from two Greek words. The first is "sykon" (English: fig), and the second is "moron" (English: mulberry). The reason it is called such is that it is actually a fig tree (by genus), but had the appearance of a mulberry tree (so mulberry was given as the descriptor).
Fig-Mulberry = Sykon-moron = Sycomore.
The word "sykon" is the base for the word "sycophant" in the English language, which literally means "to show your figs." To show your figs is a bit of a vulgar expression in the Greek language. It's speculated that the term had to do with people who would attempt to pilfer figs in times of drought in Israel, when it would be illegal to export these figs out of the country. But the person would be so stupid as to divulge that he had copped some figs, and would thus "show his figs." Today, the word "sycophant" is associated with what's commonly known as an "ass-kisser" or a "brown-noser". It's someone who attempts to make personal gain through flattery and concealed betrayal. (Think about this in terms of what is going on in Zacchaeus' story.)
The word "moron" is commonly considered slang in the English language for someone of substandard intelligence. The word was officially introduced into the English language by psychologist Henry Goddard to describe someone with a low IQ, having the mental capacity of about an 8 to 12 year old. The word actually did come from this tree, for which the fruit is slow in growing; hence the association with slowness.
Not only was the tree slow to bear fruit, but the fruit of this fig tree was inferior to the fruit of a regular fig tree (the sykon). It was used to feed pigs. Also, in order to get the fruit to ripen fully, it had to be pierced three days before it was picked. This is pretty significant in spiritual imagery, though I don't think it is for the reasons that are commonly taught (because the fruit of our Lord is superior, not inferior).
Now, we have the trees identified, but let's see if we can apply them to the story.
Zacchaeus the Pure
Any time I've heard this story taught, Zacchaeus has always been identified as a great big sinner. It's been taught as, "the crowd calls him a sinner, so he must be a sinner." But hold on a minute! Is that the way that it always is in Scripture? The crowd says something, so it must be true? I don't think so. Let me elaborate.
Romans 2:23 says, "All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Now, that's everyone. That means Zacchaeus is a sinner, but every person in the crowd of accusers is a sinner too. So for this crowd to turn their noses up a Zacchaeus and say "What!? Dine with him? But that guy is a big fat sinner!" is hypocritical. The Pharisees pulled this same trick with Jesus all the time, complaining that He was a friend of sinners, and He called them hypocrites. So, it would seem that we can't really trust the word of the crowd here.
But why did they call him a sinner? Likely because he was a publican (a tax collector); and not only a publican, but the chief publican!* so he must also be a chief sinner, right? Wrong. There's a problem with that logic. It is a person's actions that makes him a sinner, not what he or she does for a living. As long as you do your job honestly, treating people fairly, and with respect and love, then there is no sin. Here are some other examples of incidents with publicans in the Bible. When John was preaching in the desert and the publicans asked him, "what should we do?" did he say, "For heaven's sakes, stop being publicans!!!"? (Luke 3:12-13) No. He says, "Be fair, don't rip people off." When the Pharisees came to trip Jesus up with legal mumbo-jumbo by asking if it was lawful to pay taxes, did Jesus say, "No! Taxes are a great sin, and those who collect them are evil!"? (Matthew 22:15-22) No. He says, "Give unto Caesar what is Caesar's, and unto God what is God's" Meaning what? Does God desperately want your money? No! He wants your love, for you to know Him (by His Word), and to treat people properly (see Hosea 6:6 and Micah 6:8). Money isn't going to matter much in heaven, but if you can use it to win souls here on earth for Him, then that is a worthy cause. So being a publican does not on it's own make Zacchaeus a sinner. In fact, he was chief publican, meaning he was the boss, and you don't typically get to be the boss of anything without a lot of hard work and good treatment of people. So, if anything, the fact that he is chief publican tells me that he was a rather decent fellow. But is there anything else in the narrative to suggest the same?
*(I have to say this, "believers" and taxes have never been two concepts that have mixed - they hate paying taxes! Just look at what is going on in the United States right now, and how the Republicans are adamantly opposed to raising the taxes.)
What does the word "Zacchaeus" mean? It actually means "pure" and is why I titled the post the way I did. But is there anything else that suggests this? How about the fact that Jesus basically calls Zacchaeus one of his lost sheep? When Jesus comes to the sycomore tree, He calls Zacchaeus by name, like one of His sheep (see John 10:3). He also refers to Zacchaeus by saying, "I have come to save that which was lost," which is the same language that Jesus uses to describe His lost sheep (see Luke 15:4-6). What about, when the crowd accuses Zacchaeus, what does he do? He defends his honour by saying, "Sinner? Lord, [he knows Jesus as Lord as soon as he sees Him - see John 10:4] I give half of what I have to the poor! If any of you can tell me that I have taken anything by false accusation, I will pay you back fourfold!" Fourfold, according to the law, was the penalty that a sheep thief had to pay (Exodus 22:1), which suggests to me (even over and above the fact that Zacchaeus was so eager to see Jesus at the beginning of the story) that Zacchaeus is actually a God-fearing man who knows the Hebrew law quite well... he just hadn't met Jesus before.
And what does this say about Zacchaeus, that Jesus wanted to dine with him? At this time, Jesus was on the final leg of His journeys to go to Jerusalem and be crucified at Passover. But Jesus had a rule that He had given to the disciples when they were out evangelising, and I'm inclined to believe that He would also follow that rule when He was travelling. Jesus had told them, "Go... to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 10:6)... And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence. And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you. And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet (Matthew 10:11-14)." Isn't this exactly what Jesus had just done in this story? He came to save that which was lost (His lost sheep, Zacchaeus); He was to abide at one's house who was worthy; and the receiver, Zacchaeus, did receive Him, and received Him joyfully, so there was no need to shake the dust from the feet.
(There's one further note on Zacchaeus that is part of the way that I read the story. The text calls him short and I take that to mean that he was a very humble man. Scripture sometimes uses height in a story to describe the character of a person, as it did with Saul (1 Samuel 9:2) and I believe height is being used here for the same purpose. Zacchaeus is humble, and that's why he chose the tree that he did, because it was an easy tree to climb into... but, due to the nature of the tree, the ease that it provided actually turned out to be a danger. This ties into the overall message of just what that tree was below.)
So it would seem that Zacchaeus was not as bad a person as some may teach. A sinner? Yes - everyone is. But a largely sinister man? No. (I don't want to say that God would not accept the repentance of a truly wicked person. He clearly states that He will in Ezekiel 18 and shows a physical example when Ahab, one of the worst kings that Israel had ever seen, humbles himself before God in 1 Kings 21:27-29. But that is not the message that I get from this story.)
The Crowd
What about the crowd then, that has falsely accused Zacchaeus of being a great sinner? Why would they do this? They clearly did not want Jesus to abide with Zacchaeus - but why? I believe it is because they wanted Jesus to abide with them; they were jealous. They accuse Zacchaeus so that he will suffer, and they will gain from it: and it's a false accusation. I think Zacchaeus recognised what they were doing, but let's breakdown some of the language used for the crowd in this story.
First, it must be pointed out that Jesus was very famous at this time and would draw crowds wherever He went - great multitudes in fact. But since there is nothing new under the sun, we need to recognise that some of the crowds would have the same behaviours as crowds today, and would be there simply because someone is famous, and they want to be associated with someone famous, and not necessarily because they believed in the message. People who do this are known as "sycophants" today (see the explanation of "sycophant" above).
Second, when Jesus says that He is to abide at Zacchaeus' house, what does the crowd do? They murmur. This word "murmur" is specifically associated with hypocrites. The word Luke uses in the Greek - "diagoggyzo" = "by murmuring" - is only used twice in the New Testament, once here, and once in Luke 15:2 to describe the murmurings of the Pharisees (who were self-righteous hypocrites) when they saw Jesus spending time with "publicans and sinners." Otherwise, the word is "goggyzo" ("murmur"), such as when Paul uses it in 1 Corinthians 10:10. But the point is that murmuring was specifically associated with the unbelievers of Israel of old. The fact that they murmur does not lend to the credit of the crowd.
Third, Zacchaeus uses a very special word in his speech to Jesus when he is false accused (and if I've worded this post properly, it shouldn't be too hard to guess the word). The word in the text for "false accusation" is "sukophanteo"... or, in modern language, "sycophant." I think it's Zacchaeus' way of letting them know that they had falsely accused him, which connects the crowd with the tree that Zaccheaus had climbed, and the fact that Jesus calls him out of that tree to save him. This crowd was a group of sycophants. They throw Zacchaeus under the bus for their own personal gain. And Zacchaeus was lost among them, in their tree, so to speak. He was lost in the sycophant tree, in the moron tree that produced slow inferior fruit, and Jesus calls him out so that he can associate with a much better Tree - the Tree of Life. The same calling is laid on many of us.
What is the message then? Does the message above mean that there was only hope for Zacchaeus, and the rest of the crowd were all "goners". Absolutely not, they just needed a correction by the Word of God, and if they heard Him, they too could come out of the moron tree, and start living in the Tree of Life.
If we are to be sons and daughters of God, we should act like it. Our tree should not resemble the mulberry (moron), but should produce good fruit. That is clearly what Zacchaeus' actions in his story, and the parable following, are saying. Jesus calls Zacchaeus a "son of Abraham", of his family tree, but it's not because of his genealogy... it's because he acts like it, he does the works of Abraham (see John 8). The same opportunity is open to all who believe (John 3:16) and is not just laid on the physical offspring of Abraham, but those who have the faith of Abraham, which is what Paul says in many of his writings.
Be careful how you read Scripture. Be careful what tree you are climbing into to get closer to the Lord. God bless.
Wednesday, 21 December 2011
Zechariah 4: Seven Lamps...
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.
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.
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.
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