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.
Showing posts with label Judgment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Judgment. Show all posts
Friday, 25 November 2011
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.
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.
Thursday, 3 November 2011
Jonah Chapter 3: Who Can Tell if God Will Turn and Repent...
Chapter 3 of Jonah is the place where the fact that the Ninevites worshipped a giant fish comes into play. There are many theories as to why the Ninevites so eagerly took up the call of Jonah and believed him so quickly. Without going into those theories, I believe that one of the Ninevites actually saw Jonah be spat out by the giant fish. For someone to see a giant fish spit a full grown man out on dry land, intact, and for that man to get up off of the ground, start walking and talking, and saying that God was going to destroy the city in forty days... I'm sure that whoever would have seen that would have believed that this man was a messenger sent by Nina. It gave Jonah one heck of a platform to preach from, and it would allow him to educate the listeners on Who God actually is.
The message comes in and spreads like wildfire, like the fire of the Spirit of the Lord. This is the connection to Jonah's name - "dove" - which is symbolic of the Holy Spirit. Reading the first few chapters of Acts will show that the gospel imbued with the Holy Spirit was readily accepted in mass proportions just as Jonah's message was accepted in this chapter. And Jonah's message is much the same as the message that Jesus and John the Baptist brought in chapters 3 & 4 of Matthew (see my post "Repent Ye: For the Kingdom of God is At Hand"). Jonah says, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown," while the evangelists said, "Repent ye: for the kingdom of God is at hand." Both messages were intended to bring the audience to repentance. It's God's will for all to come to repentance. Peter tells us this in 2 Peter 3:9, stating, "[The Lord] is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." This chapter in Jonah shows that this repentance was available to everyone, even the enemies of Israel, and that God respected the repentance of all. This is given in more detail and in spiritual imagery as we will see in chapter 4.
What was the sign of their repentance? The outward signs were to fast and to don sackcloth. These are measures to afflict one's self in the flesh. In spiritual imagery, it is to fast from the pleasures of the world, and to humble one's appearance. The inward sign that the king decreed was for everyone to turn from evil and from violence. This is exactly what God wants, as He said to Ezekiel in Ezekiel 18 & 33. It is "fruit meet for repentance", which is to say that it is physical acts that shows that you have changed your life, and that you are humble before God.
Jonah is not happy with God's forgiveness of Nineveh and explains his actions before being swallowed by the fish in the next chapter. God bless.
The message comes in and spreads like wildfire, like the fire of the Spirit of the Lord. This is the connection to Jonah's name - "dove" - which is symbolic of the Holy Spirit. Reading the first few chapters of Acts will show that the gospel imbued with the Holy Spirit was readily accepted in mass proportions just as Jonah's message was accepted in this chapter. And Jonah's message is much the same as the message that Jesus and John the Baptist brought in chapters 3 & 4 of Matthew (see my post "Repent Ye: For the Kingdom of God is At Hand"). Jonah says, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown," while the evangelists said, "Repent ye: for the kingdom of God is at hand." Both messages were intended to bring the audience to repentance. It's God's will for all to come to repentance. Peter tells us this in 2 Peter 3:9, stating, "[The Lord] is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." This chapter in Jonah shows that this repentance was available to everyone, even the enemies of Israel, and that God respected the repentance of all. This is given in more detail and in spiritual imagery as we will see in chapter 4.
What was the sign of their repentance? The outward signs were to fast and to don sackcloth. These are measures to afflict one's self in the flesh. In spiritual imagery, it is to fast from the pleasures of the world, and to humble one's appearance. The inward sign that the king decreed was for everyone to turn from evil and from violence. This is exactly what God wants, as He said to Ezekiel in Ezekiel 18 & 33. It is "fruit meet for repentance", which is to say that it is physical acts that shows that you have changed your life, and that you are humble before God.
Jonah is not happy with God's forgiveness of Nineveh and explains his actions before being swallowed by the fish in the next chapter. God bless.
Wednesday, 2 November 2011
Jonah Chapter 2: In the Belly of the Fish...
Well, I'm about a third of the way through Psalms, completing my research on which Psalms the second chapter of Jonah is connected to... and it's a whale of a task. There are numerous Psalms that the chapter could have a connection to, and explaining all of them would take quite a long time. I would rather say that Jonah's prayer is written with the same spirit as many of the Psalms: it is a prayer/song that cries "I have sinned. I know that you are righteous and will forgive that sin, O Lord. Restore me so that I may spread your word to those who do not know of your grace and mercy." Particular Psalms that the chapter has a connection to include Psalms 3, 16,18, 22, 42, 43, and 88 (there are likely more that I have not found yet). An interesting task is to read the Psalms with the prayer of Jonah in mind, to see where he might have pulled his words from.
One thing that I will point out is that Jonah 2:3 - "all Thy billows and Thy waves passed over me" - is a direct reference to Psalm 42:7. The Psalm is an instructional Psalm, a "Maschil" (Hebrew for "instruction") to the sons of Korah (see Numbers 16:1-35 and Numbers 26:11). It instructs the reader to remember the goodness and lovingkindness of God wherever you may go. The Psalm carries on into Psalm 43 in which the author states to God that he will proclaim His truth to the ungodly nations. This is advice that Jonah knows very well, and was his commission by God in the prior chapter; hence, it also shows his faith in prayer that, even though his physical body is dead inside the belly of the fish, he prays from his spirit to God to renew him so that he can fulfill his duty of spreading the Word of God. God fulfills his request at the end of the chapter.
I also love the ending of the prayer: "Salvation is of the Lord." This is two words in the Hebrew texts: Jeshua Jehovah. It is the names of the Son and the Father. "Jesus" is the Greek variant of the name "Joshua" which means "God's salvation". It is virtually the same as "Jeshua" here. "Jehovah" is the sacred name of the Father, and is indicated when you read "LORD" in the King James Bible. The prayer is offered in the name of the Son and in the name of the Father. Beautiful.
So Jonah is out of the belly, and ready to take up his commission. This is where we will join up with him in the next chapter. God bless.
One thing that I will point out is that Jonah 2:3 - "all Thy billows and Thy waves passed over me" - is a direct reference to Psalm 42:7. The Psalm is an instructional Psalm, a "Maschil" (Hebrew for "instruction") to the sons of Korah (see Numbers 16:1-35 and Numbers 26:11). It instructs the reader to remember the goodness and lovingkindness of God wherever you may go. The Psalm carries on into Psalm 43 in which the author states to God that he will proclaim His truth to the ungodly nations. This is advice that Jonah knows very well, and was his commission by God in the prior chapter; hence, it also shows his faith in prayer that, even though his physical body is dead inside the belly of the fish, he prays from his spirit to God to renew him so that he can fulfill his duty of spreading the Word of God. God fulfills his request at the end of the chapter.
I also love the ending of the prayer: "Salvation is of the Lord." This is two words in the Hebrew texts: Jeshua Jehovah. It is the names of the Son and the Father. "Jesus" is the Greek variant of the name "Joshua" which means "God's salvation". It is virtually the same as "Jeshua" here. "Jehovah" is the sacred name of the Father, and is indicated when you read "LORD" in the King James Bible. The prayer is offered in the name of the Son and in the name of the Father. Beautiful.
So Jonah is out of the belly, and ready to take up his commission. This is where we will join up with him in the next chapter. God bless.
Wednesday, 26 October 2011
The Sign of the Prophet Jonah...
The book of Jonah is one of my favourite prophetic books. It's "short and sweet", poignant, and has fantastic dynamics. I always loved it as a child... the "belly of the whale" story has great rapport with children. The message that I always was taught about the story was "don't run from what God has in store from you" or "don't defy God or you will end up in trouble like Jonah". I believe these are both fully credible messages and, now that I've read the story as an adult, I believe that there are also much deeper messages to the story. These messages also give a more in-depth look at the reason that Jesus referred to the prophet in His own prophesying.
It's recorded in Matthew 12, Matthew 16, and Luke 11 that the Pharisees came to Jesus to ask Him to show signs and wonders. Jesus sternly replies to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah; for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, a greater than Jonah is here."
This quote gives the entire message behind the book of Jonah; it is the message brought by Jesus and John the Baptist - one clearly noted in a prior post - "Repent ye; for the kingdom of God is at hand". But Jonah's own repentance from his defiance of God is not the main focus of what Jesus says here - it is the Ninevites that had to repent. And there is something very special about their repentance.
To go any further, some ground work should be laid for the setting of Jonah. It's believed that the story was written before any of the other books of the prophets (that is to say, from Isaiah to the end of the Old Testament). It is believed to have been written in about 690 B.C. That's about 90 years before Israel (the ten northern tribes, but not Judah and Benjamin) went into captivity and about 40 years before Isaiah began to prophesy. Jonah is mentioned in 2 Kings 14:25, but the prophesies attributed to him there are not the same ones as the message in the book of Jonah.
The name Jonah is a Hebrew word meaning "dove". Jonah's father's name is Amittai which is a Hebrew word meaning "my firm truth". Now the dove, in spiritual imagery, is symbolic of the spirit; but more importantly here, it is symbolic of God's own Spirit, the Holy Spirit, which is the Spirit of truth. By the end of the book of Jonah, it is apparent why his name is connected to the Spirit of truth.
Nineveh at the time of Jonah's writings was the capital of Assyria - that is to say, they were the enemy of Israel. Assyria was the country that captured Israel in about 600 B.C. And then, about 200 years later, the Babylonians overthrew Assyria and captured Judah. The word Nineveh means "the home of Nina". Nina was an Assyrian goddess. She was the patron goddess of fishermen and was in fact a fish (or looked like a fish). The fact that the Ninevites worshipped a fish is very important to this story, as you will see.
My next few posts will go through Jonah chapter by chapter, but the one thing that I want to point out now that is important to the message of Jonah is that the people that God tells Jonah to go preach to, the Ninevites, were "the enemy" in the story. They were symbolic of the "wicked and adulterous generation" that Jesus spoke of above because they worshipped many different gods, none of which were our God; however, the distinction is that, where the Ninevites repented of this after Jonah's coming, there are those in the generation that Christ prophesied about that will not repent, and those are spoken of in the Book of Revelation.
So, sit back and enjoy the Book of Jonah. God bless.
It's recorded in Matthew 12, Matthew 16, and Luke 11 that the Pharisees came to Jesus to ask Him to show signs and wonders. Jesus sternly replies to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah; for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, a greater than Jonah is here."
This quote gives the entire message behind the book of Jonah; it is the message brought by Jesus and John the Baptist - one clearly noted in a prior post - "Repent ye; for the kingdom of God is at hand". But Jonah's own repentance from his defiance of God is not the main focus of what Jesus says here - it is the Ninevites that had to repent. And there is something very special about their repentance.
To go any further, some ground work should be laid for the setting of Jonah. It's believed that the story was written before any of the other books of the prophets (that is to say, from Isaiah to the end of the Old Testament). It is believed to have been written in about 690 B.C. That's about 90 years before Israel (the ten northern tribes, but not Judah and Benjamin) went into captivity and about 40 years before Isaiah began to prophesy. Jonah is mentioned in 2 Kings 14:25, but the prophesies attributed to him there are not the same ones as the message in the book of Jonah.
The name Jonah is a Hebrew word meaning "dove". Jonah's father's name is Amittai which is a Hebrew word meaning "my firm truth". Now the dove, in spiritual imagery, is symbolic of the spirit; but more importantly here, it is symbolic of God's own Spirit, the Holy Spirit, which is the Spirit of truth. By the end of the book of Jonah, it is apparent why his name is connected to the Spirit of truth.
Nineveh at the time of Jonah's writings was the capital of Assyria - that is to say, they were the enemy of Israel. Assyria was the country that captured Israel in about 600 B.C. And then, about 200 years later, the Babylonians overthrew Assyria and captured Judah. The word Nineveh means "the home of Nina". Nina was an Assyrian goddess. She was the patron goddess of fishermen and was in fact a fish (or looked like a fish). The fact that the Ninevites worshipped a fish is very important to this story, as you will see.
My next few posts will go through Jonah chapter by chapter, but the one thing that I want to point out now that is important to the message of Jonah is that the people that God tells Jonah to go preach to, the Ninevites, were "the enemy" in the story. They were symbolic of the "wicked and adulterous generation" that Jesus spoke of above because they worshipped many different gods, none of which were our God; however, the distinction is that, where the Ninevites repented of this after Jonah's coming, there are those in the generation that Christ prophesied about that will not repent, and those are spoken of in the Book of Revelation.
So, sit back and enjoy the Book of Jonah. God bless.
Tuesday, 25 October 2011
Matthew 25, Parable 3: The Sheep and the Goats
The parable of the sheep and the goats is the last parable in Matthew 25. It is a parable that describes the Great White Throne Judgment of Christ when He returns to the earth. (If you read Revelation, you find out that this is after the Millenium... but that is a different discussion for a different day.) This is how it goes:
"When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory: and before Him shall be gathered all nations: and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: and He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand, 'Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was an hungred, and ye gave Me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave Me drink: I was a stranger, andye took Me in: naked, and ye clothed Me: I was sick, and ye visited Me: I was in prison, and ye came unto Me.' The shall the righteous answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when saw we Thee an hungred, and fed Thee? or thirsty, and gave Thee drink? When saw we Thee a stranger, and took Thee in? or naked, and clothed Thee? Or when saw we Thee sick, or in prison, and came unto Thee?' And the King shall answer and say unto them, 'Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me.'
Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was an hungred, and ye gave Me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave Me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took Me not in: naked, and ye clothed Me not: sick and in prison, and ye visited Me not.' Then shall they also answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when was we Thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto Thee?' Then shall He answer them, saying, 'Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to Me.' And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal."
This parable is almost exactly the same in form as the second parable in Ezekiel 34; however, God only describes the behavior of the goats in Ezekiel. Here is the parable as it appears there (Ezekiel 34:17-28), the entire parable being in spiritual imagery:
"And as for you, O My flock', thus saith the Lord God; 'Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams [Hebrew: 'ayil' = "male sheep"] and the he goats. Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet? And as for My flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet. Therefore' thus saith the Lord God unto them; 'Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle. Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad; therefore will I save My flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.
And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even My servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the Lord will be their God, and My servant David a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it. And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods.
And I will make them and the places round about My hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing. And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them. And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and non shall make them afraid."
So what both parables are saying is that all members of the flock must treat the other members of the flock with respect, and with human decency. Decency dictates that if someone is in trouble, we help them. God's law even dictated that if your enemy was in trouble, that you helped that person. It always gave you the right to defend yourself if an enemy was threatening you, but also to help that person when they are in trouble (and by extension are no threat to you).
This concludes the three parables relating to our behavior in the end times that appear in Ezekiel and Matthew 25. Since we don't know exactly when "the end" will come, if we take heed to the parables during our daily lives, we will be in good standing before God. God bless.
"When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory: and before Him shall be gathered all nations: and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: and He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand, 'Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was an hungred, and ye gave Me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave Me drink: I was a stranger, andye took Me in: naked, and ye clothed Me: I was sick, and ye visited Me: I was in prison, and ye came unto Me.' The shall the righteous answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when saw we Thee an hungred, and fed Thee? or thirsty, and gave Thee drink? When saw we Thee a stranger, and took Thee in? or naked, and clothed Thee? Or when saw we Thee sick, or in prison, and came unto Thee?' And the King shall answer and say unto them, 'Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me.'
Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was an hungred, and ye gave Me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave Me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took Me not in: naked, and ye clothed Me not: sick and in prison, and ye visited Me not.' Then shall they also answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when was we Thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto Thee?' Then shall He answer them, saying, 'Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to Me.' And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal."
This parable is almost exactly the same in form as the second parable in Ezekiel 34; however, God only describes the behavior of the goats in Ezekiel. Here is the parable as it appears there (Ezekiel 34:17-28), the entire parable being in spiritual imagery:
"And as for you, O My flock', thus saith the Lord God; 'Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams [Hebrew: 'ayil' = "male sheep"] and the he goats. Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet? And as for My flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet. Therefore' thus saith the Lord God unto them; 'Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle. Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad; therefore will I save My flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.
And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even My servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the Lord will be their God, and My servant David a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it. And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods.
And I will make them and the places round about My hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing. And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them. And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and non shall make them afraid."
So what both parables are saying is that all members of the flock must treat the other members of the flock with respect, and with human decency. Decency dictates that if someone is in trouble, we help them. God's law even dictated that if your enemy was in trouble, that you helped that person. It always gave you the right to defend yourself if an enemy was threatening you, but also to help that person when they are in trouble (and by extension are no threat to you).
This concludes the three parables relating to our behavior in the end times that appear in Ezekiel and Matthew 25. Since we don't know exactly when "the end" will come, if we take heed to the parables during our daily lives, we will be in good standing before God. God bless.
Tuesday, 4 October 2011
He That Is Without Sin Among You, Let Him First Cast a Stone At Her...
In the last post I discussed the different configurations of the altar, which is an approach to worship. One configuration is made of stone, which to me represents the laws of God. (God gave numerous laws on how to worship Him.) But a problem arises when people begin to take the laws - that is the stones - and begin to huck them at each other in judgment. That is the imagery that I get from stoning someone - that the people who are stoning are literally hurling pieces of the law at a person to condemn that person to death. The problem is that no one person has not sinned in their lifetime. Paul says that "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Romans 2:23);" therefore, all are worthy of death by the law. But Jesus said, "judge not, lest ye be judged (Matthew 7:1)." In the Lord's prayer, we ask to be forgiven our sins just as we forgive others who sin against us (Matthew 6:9-15).
Another problem arises when a person changes the law to cast judgment on people. Whether intentionally, or unintentionally, this is what happened with the crowd that wanted Jesus to pronounce judgment on the woman that they had caught in adultery in John 8. The crowd told Jesus that "Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned (John 8:5);" but the question is... which law are they referring to? There are a few possibilities:
#1 - "And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death (Leviticus 20:10)."
#2 - "If a man be found lying with a woman married to an husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman (Deuteronomy 22:22)."
#3 - "If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto an husband, and a man find her in the city and lie with her; then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die (Deuteronomy 22:23-24)..."
#4 - The law of jealousies in Numbers 5:12-31, for which there is no stoning.
By Jesus' reaction to the accusation, it would appear that the accusation is most in line with the law of jealousies. Jesus stoops down and begins to write in the dust, which is very close to what is required for the law of jealousies. But other than that, the entire accusation seems pretty fishy: the adulterous man is nowhere to be found to prove the story (and suffer also in the punishment); the husband of the woman is nowhere around to make the accusation against his wife; and, there is no law noted above that states that the adulterous wife "should be stoned;" only a betrothed virgin was to be stoned. Was the "wife" put to death? Yes. Stoned? No.
The crowd had misquoted and changed the law just enough whereby it had been polluted.
Regardless, Jesus still carries out the portion that the priest would according to the law of jealousies (as best He could with the materials that were available), then He leaves it to the crowd to determine if they will continue on with their accusations by stating, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her (John 8:7)." When the crowd realizes to condemn the woman is really to condemn themselves, they back off and walk away - allowing the grace of God to redeem this woman from death.
The message that I get from this is that we use the law in a pleasing way, to worship God, and to guide our own actions, but we don't start dismantling the stone altar to hurl the stones at someone else. We are also meant to forgive each other our trespasses. Judge not, lest ye be judged. God bless.
Another problem arises when a person changes the law to cast judgment on people. Whether intentionally, or unintentionally, this is what happened with the crowd that wanted Jesus to pronounce judgment on the woman that they had caught in adultery in John 8. The crowd told Jesus that "Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned (John 8:5);" but the question is... which law are they referring to? There are a few possibilities:
#1 - "And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death (Leviticus 20:10)."
#2 - "If a man be found lying with a woman married to an husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman (Deuteronomy 22:22)."
#3 - "If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto an husband, and a man find her in the city and lie with her; then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die (Deuteronomy 22:23-24)..."
#4 - The law of jealousies in Numbers 5:12-31, for which there is no stoning.
By Jesus' reaction to the accusation, it would appear that the accusation is most in line with the law of jealousies. Jesus stoops down and begins to write in the dust, which is very close to what is required for the law of jealousies. But other than that, the entire accusation seems pretty fishy: the adulterous man is nowhere to be found to prove the story (and suffer also in the punishment); the husband of the woman is nowhere around to make the accusation against his wife; and, there is no law noted above that states that the adulterous wife "should be stoned;" only a betrothed virgin was to be stoned. Was the "wife" put to death? Yes. Stoned? No.
The crowd had misquoted and changed the law just enough whereby it had been polluted.
Regardless, Jesus still carries out the portion that the priest would according to the law of jealousies (as best He could with the materials that were available), then He leaves it to the crowd to determine if they will continue on with their accusations by stating, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her (John 8:7)." When the crowd realizes to condemn the woman is really to condemn themselves, they back off and walk away - allowing the grace of God to redeem this woman from death.
The message that I get from this is that we use the law in a pleasing way, to worship God, and to guide our own actions, but we don't start dismantling the stone altar to hurl the stones at someone else. We are also meant to forgive each other our trespasses. Judge not, lest ye be judged. God bless.
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