As Christmas day rapidly approaches I wanted to change perspectives for a moment.   I ran across a poem I wrote my wife, Heather, years ago when we had very little to give each other.  It helps me keep things in perspective today and I thought I would share it with you.  We have so much to be thankful for.  I pray you have a blessed and merry Christmas this year.

The Christmas Tear

 

There’s a list of things I wanted

For your Christmas list this year,

So many wondrous presents,

For the one I hold so dear.

 

A ring with lovely diamonds,

A dress with matching shoes,

Are a couple of the things,

I’d like to give to you.

 

A bracelet made of silver,

A necklace full of pearls,

Adornments both so pretty,

For my very special girl.

 

I’d like to give you gifts,

To meet your every need,

A library of books

So you can sit and read!

 

So many things I wanted,

To show you how I care,

But my wallet is too empty,

And there’s not much here to share.

 

There’s a list of things I wanted,

For your Christmas list this year,

But what I have to give you,

Is a single Christmas tear.

 

There’s a little bit of sadness,

In this tear I give to you,

For it seems a bit inadequate,

For the one I love so true.

 

This tear is mostly happy, though,

As I’m sure you’ll come to see.

So listen while I tell you,

What it means to me.

 

 This tear is full of memories,

As I look back through the years.

The way you’ve made my life so full

To me is very clear.

 

This tear is full of joyfulness,

At the laughter we have shared.

To find a jewel that shines like you,

Is truly, truly, rare.

 

I shed this tear for thankfulness,

To you and to the Lord,

For bringing you into my life,

Was a true and blessed reward.

 

I’m thankful too for your selflessness,

The sacrifices made,

For when you’ve had to do without,

It’s a price you’ve gladly paid.

 

But most of all this tear I give,

Is a tear wrapped up in love,

And packaged with a bow of prayer,

That I send to God above.

 

Silver and gold I do not have,

Few presents are under the tree,

But I pray that you will see this tear,

As a precious gift from me.

 

There’s a list of things I wanted,

For your Christmas list this year,

But all I have to give you,

Is this single Christmas tear.

Curtis Ward

2 Chronicles 16:9 says,  “For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him.”  I love that verse.  It lets me know that God is actively looking for those He can help.  He wants to encourage and strengthen those who love Him and are living for Him.  The church in Philadelphia was such a church.  You will find no words of condemnation or warning in their letter.  What you will find, though, is exactly what is promised in 2 Chronicles 16:9.  They are promised help and strength.  You and I have that same promise today if we will commit our hearts to Him and trust in faith that He can conquer any obstacle in our way.

Philadelphia means “brotherly love”

Verse 7 of chapter 3:  There are four attributes of Christ revealed here.

• Christ is Holy- As I’ve mentioned before we often lose sight of the holiness of the Lord.  Yet this is one of His main characteristics.  It is holiness that is the consuming fire of God which keeps sin out of His presence.  Without holiness Jesus could not be our perfect sacrifice.  We are called to holiness because He is holy, and I pray that we will heed that call.
• Christ is true- This word conveys the idea that Christ is genuine, honest, just and perfect.  Jesus is also the embodiment of truth.  Jesus tells us in John 14:6 that He is “the way and the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father except through Him.”
• He has the key of David- Isaiah 22:22-24 shows this same picture.  We see that Jesus sits upon the throne of David forever.  To Jewish people this holds much more significance than to our Gentile minds.
• What He opens cannot be shut and what He shuts cannot be opened- This speaks to the authority and power of Jesus.  It reminds me of the beginning chapters of Hebrews where we find that no one is greater than Jesus.  It also brings to mind Jesus telling Peter in Matthew 16:18 that “upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.  I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”

Verse 8:  The church of Philadelphia was probably small and weak in size, but because of their faithfulness Christ is using His power to keep the door open.  One member of our group said that the other churches possibly looked down upon this small church and expected them to get a stinging rebuke or warning like they did, but their perception was wrong.  Sometimes we look at the size of a church or how many programs they have going on to determine the faithfulness of a church.  God, however, looks at the heart and the faithful perseverance of the saints.  Jesus mentions that they have little power, but this is actually a blessing because 2 Corinthians 12:9 tells us that God’s power is made perfect in our weakness.

Verse 9:  Sadly there are many people who claim to be followers of God, but are not.  Jesus reminds those in Philadelphia and us that He knows the genuine from the fake.  He knows those who are not His, but are pretending to be.  He will also bring justice and vindication to them come to honor those who really are His.  Someone mentioned that many times people may try to smear our name in gossip or rumor and we feel like we must clear our name, but sometimes we need to let the Lord take care of things.  He knows the truth.  He hasn’t forgotten you.

Verse 10:  This is a very interesting verse.  We had an interesting conversation regarding this verse today that sparked a lot of passion and emotion.  Before I get to the heated part of our conversation, I will mention that this verse is used by most if not all of those who hold to a pretribulational rapture.  Ironically those who are posttribulational also claim that this verse supports their view.  I do not believe that a conclusive view can be drawn from this one verse.  The controversy surrounds the phrase “Keep you from”.  I won’t get into a lot of technical Greek here, but will try to summarize the situation.  The phrase “keep you from” can mean take you out of or protect you through.  That is why both views claim this verse supports their side.

Now our bit of controversy came about because someone asked me about my view of the seven churches.  I believe they were seven literal churches, but also represent types of churches and Christians existing at the time of the second coming.  The question was that if that were true then only 1/7 of the churches in existence would be raptured.  I didn’t exactly get to answer that very well because we got sidetracked on another issue.  That issue stemmed from whether there will be a great revival before the rapture or not.  I would like to address the initial question first.  While I think the churches represent types of churches and Christians at the End of the Age, I do not think that it limits it to only 1 of 7 churches being raptured.  I think all Christians will be raptured.  The seven churches give us a picture that there will be many churches who do not have faithful members in them.  I think the image is that there will only be one church in seven that the majority is faithful within.  Hopefully that helps clear things up.

Now to the other issue which I have already blogged about here http://watchmancurtis.wordpress.com/2009/11/18/great-end-times-revival-or-a-great-falling-away-which-is-it/  There are several within our group that feel strongly that there will be a great end times harvest before Christ returns.  I greatly respect these people and their views even though I may disagree with them.  I always pray for truth.  If I’m on the wrong side of an issue I want the Lord to show me.  While I see scripture pointing a different direction, I am open to changing if it can be shown from scripture.  I do want to clarify that by great revival or end times harvest I do not believe that we will Christianize the world so that Christ can return.  I think there is a great deal of evidence that there will be a great falling away from the faith and that the love of most will grow cold.  Yet at the same time I don’t see myself becoming a hermit and telling everyone to just hang on because things are going to get worse.  On the contrary, I think that it should give us a greater since of urgency to live our lives in holiness and do whatever we can to make a difference before Christ returns.  This is the very thing that changed my life and woke me up.  To me this is the wake up call that should be sounded through the body of Christ.  We need to be warning against deception even as we are setting the captives free.  I do not have a negative outlook even though I believe the Bible does paint a picture of the world getting worse.  I believe God is doing and will do miraculous things in the midst of difficult times.  Once again if I can be shown from scripture that I’m wrong, I want to be the first to admit it.  I’m thankful for friends who are passionate about the Lord, and that we can share our differing viewpoints in love.

Verse 11:  Again we have a clear reference to the second coming.

Verse 12:  He who overcomes will be a pillar in the temple of God and will not go out from it anymore; and Jesus will write the name of God, and the name of the City of God as well as His name on them.  What a powerful description!

With the holidays upon us we are going to take a two week break (although I will try to blog in the meantime on a variety of subjects).  When we return we will finish up the letters to the churches and then move on to chapter 4 and a Heavenly scene of majesty and power.  I pray that everyone has a blessed week.

John Donne wrote in a poem,  ”Ask not for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”  This was definitely the state of the church in Sardis as we found out today.  If they had asked this question, they probably would have been surprised to find out that they were indeed the one who was spiritually dead.  The letter to the church in Sardis is a harsh reminder that we need to be vigilant in our relationship with the Lord and being led of the Spirit, who is the one who gives life.

The name Sardis means, “Remnant” or “Come out”.

Verse 1:  Sardis was built upon a mountain with a seemingly impregnable citadel on a spur of the mountain, yet it had been taken twice because of unvigilant guards.  This church is living on the reputation of being alive, just as the citadel seemed impenetrable, yet Jesus says it is dead.  There are many teachings within the Bible that speak to outward appearances that are different than what is on the inside.  This church, as one member of our study said, was riding on the coattails of the past.  I have been involved in several churches that I felt were spiritually dead and the sad part of the matter is that no one recognized it within the church.  The description of Jesus is of the seven spirits of God (Holy Spirit) which is the very thing missing in this church.  God breathed his Spirit into man to give him life.  Peter says in 1 Peter 3:18 that Jesus was “made alive by the Spirit”. 

Verses 2-3:  Evidently there is part of the church that is hanging on and has not totally died off yet.  Jesus tells them 5 things to do to stop the bleeding.  We would do well to heed these words.

• Wake up!  They were not even aware of their state because they had drifted off into a spiritual slumber.  Someone mentioned today that apathy and lack of vigilance are traps that we all must be careful of.  Just like the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane, it is easy to drift off to sleep instead of watching and praying.
• Strengthen what remains.  If you see the boat has a leak in it and is taking on water, you must repair the leak so that more water does not come in.
• Remember what you have seen and heard.  This seems to me to be calling them back to Jesus and the Word.
• Keep what you have seen and heard.  James 1:22 says, “But prove yourselves doers of the Word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.”  It is not enough to remember.  We must put into practice and live out the teachings of the Word.
• Repent.  Once again we hear this call to a church.  They are to turn back to God and away from evil.

How different our churches and our lives would be if we would listen to these words as well.  The church in Sardis was told that if they do not do these things He will come like a thief in the night.  This is a clear reference to the second coming of Christ.  Matthew 24:43-44 speaks of Jesus coming like a thief.  1 Thessalonians 5:2-4 also speaks of the second coming in these terms.  Paul tells the church in verse 4 though, that “you are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief”.  For those asleep or unprepared, Jesus’ coming will be like a thief.  For those watching and waiting, however it will not.

Verse 4:  Jesus recognizes that not all in Sardis are guilty of these charges.  He encourages them by saying that they will walk with Him in white (purity) for they are worthy.

Verse 5:  Those who overcome will be clothed in white garments and will not have their name erased from the book of life.  Jesus will confess his name before the Father and before angels.  The question was raised, “Can a person’s name be erased from the book of life?”  I think for the most part we all agreed that it could.  The only way that we see this as possible, though, is if the person absolutely throws what God has given him away and has crossed a point where they will not return.  I know many who do not hold that view, however. 

Overall it was a great study.  We began by watching a video that Pastor Eric had for us that showed the cultural aspects of Pergamum (the city and church we studied last week).  We plan to watch a clip of Sardis as well next week.  They are very enlightening and I’m looking forward to next week.  I pray that we will examine our lives this week and make sure we are alive spiritually and not fading or dead.  I would hate for the Lord to say it was me or my church that the bell was tolling for.

Today’s study looked at two churches with a similar problem.  The churches in Pergamum and Thyatira both struggled with compromise and tolerance of evil.  This message could and does apply to many churches and individuals today as we struggle to be in the world but not of it.  We definitely need to begin asking the Lord where we have compromised in our lives and in the Body of Christ as a whole.  Repentance, Holiness, and the fear of the Lord should be our banner in the coming days.

Pergamum means “Mixed Marriage”.  It is a fitting name considering the church seemed to mix with the culture and other teachings.

Verse 12:  We will see that the church in Pergamum was a compromised church.  It is interesting to me that the description of Christ here is with a two-edged sword.  We know from Ephesians that the Word of God is the Sword of the Spirit and Hebrews uses a two-edged sword reference as well.   The answer to compromise and tolerance is of course God’s Word.

Verses 13-14:  In the midst of the activity of Satan (Satan’s throne) this church holds fast to the name of Jesus.  There are, however, some within the church who hold to the teaching of Balaam.  Balaam means, “Swallower or Destroyer of people.”  Balaam was hired by King Balak to curse Israel, but God would not allow him to.  Since he could not curse Israel, he found another way to bring trouble to God’s people by leading them into compromise with Baal and with immorality of a false religion.  Balaam, who’s story can be found in Numbers 22-25, was a prophet who followed all the gods of the land.  This is a strong message for us to avoid compromise and a mixed marriage of culture and false religions.  Today it seems that a lack of discernment plagues the church.  I pray that the Lord will open our eyes to see truth and that we will test the spirits in things which we are involved.

Verse 15:  There are some within this church who also hold to the teachings of the Nicolaitans (Conquerors of people).  Not much is known about this group.  There are some who believe that Nicolas, the deacon of Antioch, began teaching people that the flesh was contemptible.  He would deny his body physical things thinking that he would grow stronger spiritually.  This teaching took two different roads.  One taught that you had to accept Christ and deny your flesh to be saved.  The other took the extreme view that if the flesh was contemptible then anything that we did in the flesh did not matter because they were strong in spirit.  This of course led to immorality and many other problems.  The second perspective on the Nicolaitans took the name “Conquerors of people” to mean that there were people in the church who used the clergy to conquer and imprison the common person.  They see the Catholic Church as progressing down this path.  Both paths have led to many problems.

Verse 16:  This is a call to repentance that needs to be heard even today.  We need to do away with the compromise with the world and with other religions and turn back to the One True God.  The phrase “I am coming quickly” occurs 5 times in Revelation.  Revelation 2:16, 3:11, 22:7, 22:12, 22:20.  Revelation 19 portrays Jesus returning with a two-edged sword in His mouth.

Verse 17:  The overcomer will be given hidden manna and a white stone with a new name written on it which no one knows but the one who receives it.  A very awesome gift indeed.  Ancient courts used white and black stones to determine the verdict of a person on trial.

Thyatira means “Continual Sacrifice.” 

Verse 19:  Once again Jesus lets the church know that He is aware of their deeds.  He sees their love, faith, and service and that they are doing more now than they used to.

Verse 20:  This church tolerates the teachings of Jezebel.  The woman here personifies the Jezebel in 1 Kings 16:31 who was evil and influenced Ahab, King of Israel, to worship Canaanite gods.  It seems that while many in the church do not follow their teachings, the very fact that they tolerate some within the church to hold these teachings is a serious matter to God.  I know that God hates division in the church, but sometimes we need watchmen in the church to stand up and say, “this is wrong!”  It isn’t a pleasant thing to do, but if something has crept into the church that should not be there it is our duty to deal with it.  Tolerance is not an option.  Now there certainly is a way to go about it and we are to go to that person in love, and with the proper authority of the church involved,but something must be done.

Verses 21-22:  These acts are not out of ignorance, but out of rebellion.  She refuses to repent even though she has been warned by God.  God shows how strongly he views false teaching within the church based on His strong rebuke here.

Verse 23-24:  One thing to remember here is that God is the only one who can search minds, hearts, and motives.  There is a fine line between defending the faith and being the church policeman looking for anyone who slips up.  There is a big difference between someone who teaches or believes something out of ignorance and someone who is deliberately trying to stir up trouble or lead astray like Jezebel was.

Verse 25:  This seems to be a clear reference to the second coming of Christ.

Verses 26-29:  “He who keeps my deeds until the end”  defines who the overcomer is.  The Overcomer will be given authority over the nations.  This in my opinion is the millenium, the 1,000 year reign of Christ upon the earth.  The morning star is also given to those who overcome.

Our discussion today centered around compromise and tolerance.  We looked at how we compromise today both individually and as churches.  We first looked at compromise on an individual basis.  Entertainment is one of the big areas.  In 1949 Gone With The Wind was the first movie to have any profanity in it.  It was just one word that didn’t even seem that bad to many, yet it opened the door for the filth that we see today.  As Christians, many of us have become  desynthesized to things on tv, movies, books, etc.  Perhaps we need to take another look at our lifestyle and see if we look like the world around us.  Other things that were mentioned were modesty and dress, friends, spouses, and the message of what we communicate to others.  Someone said today that it seemed like these two churches (Pergamum and Thyatira) were trying to do just enough to be “not as bad as them.”  They were just a little bit better than the culture around them, but tolerated many of the teachings and practices going on around them.

Finally, we looked at compromise in the church.  The infiltration of the New Age into the church was the biggest area we looked at.  This is particularly troubling to me and it frightens me that so many are either not aware, don’t care, or are accepting of this deception.  Here are just a few of the things I see of the New Age moving into the church:

• Christian Trance Dancing (similar to a rave that reeks of the drug culture as they try to reach a higher consciousness and the ecstasy of God.
• Visualization techniques
• Teachings on alignments and trying to reach the frequency of God.  I’ve heard teachings on how we can communicate with animals if we know their frequency.  I’ve also heard teachings on hearing God through the frequency of the planets.
• Animal manifestations in church.  If I see this happen at our church I’m going to cast a demon out of the person.
• Fascination with angels
• The use of crystals
• The pursuit of signs and wonders and experiences as opposed to signs and wonders accompanying or following a believer and being a product of a Christian’s life as opposed to the goal.

This is certainly not an exhaustive list, but just a few of the disturbing things that are going on in many churches today.

I’ll leave you today with a challenge to ask God where you have compromised in your life.   May Repentance, Holiness and the Word of God wake the church up from its slumber today.  I pray that we will not be tolerant of evil or compromise with our culture or other religions.  There is only one way to God and to heaven and that way is Jesus.  Be blessed.

There were only three of us today for our Revelation study so we decided to hold off and wait until next week when more would be there.  I was, however, blessed with an hour long conversation with two very good friends.  It is fun to see how God messes with our agenda from time to time and if we aren’t caught up in that agenda, we will certainly be blessed.  Our Wednesday night Bible study on the book of Hebrews has been exactly that.  I think we have spent more time in ministry than in study and we wouldn’t have it any other way.  We will pick up next week with the letter to the church at Pergamum and Thyatira as we begin looking at how Satan uses compromise and tolerance to destroy churches.

I’ve had this discussion with several people recently and the topic just keeps coming back.   Will there be a great worldwide revival as so many teach today?   If not, will there be a falling away of believers as we near the return of Christ?  I also know some people that say that both will happen.  So which is it?

First, I want to say right off the bat that I do not believe in a great worldwide revival as many teach it today.  Does that mean I’m against revival?  Of course not.  I just don’t see it in scripture the way it is taught.  I’m concerned that we have had a blending of teachings about the End Times and in many cases we have not taken the time to sort them out.  I can hardly turn on the tv to a Christian channel and not hear about the great revival that is about to break forth.  It sounds good.  Who wouldn’t want the world to accept Christ?  The problem is that the Bible paints a very different picture.

Those who teach that there will be a great worldwide revival in the last days have a very different Eschatological (End Times) view than I do.  Many of them are Preterist (believing that Revelation and other prophecies have already been fulfilled).  Many of them are also Postmillenial in their teachings as well.  This means that we are in the Millenium right now.  They teach that we have a mandate to take the nations for Jesus so that He can come back.  They envision a world that gets better and better as the world becomes Christianized and once the church has finally matured to a certain point THEN Christ can return.  The frustrating thing about this is that very few actually admit that they are Preterist or Post Millenial.  Many, but not all, of the leaders in the charismatic world hold to this teaching.  There are many also who are not Charismatic that follow it as well.

It would take me a very long time to address this topic in depth, but today I just want to give you what I believe is the scriptural perspective on this subject.  I’m not a defeatist.  I don’t think that because the world is going to get worse and worse that we should sit idly by and say “there isn’t anything we can do about it so let’s just hide.”  I don’t consider myself to be a doom and gloom guy.  I believe in mission work and spreading the gospel.  I teach that we should set the captives free and do all we can for the Kingdom, living in light of the return of Christ.  While worldwide revival sounds nice, I just can’t line up the Word with it.  Here are just a few verses that point me in a different direction.

• 2 Thessalonians 2:3 “Let no one in any way deceive you, for it (the Day of the Lord and our being gathered to Him/rapture) will not come unless the apostacy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction.”  This verse says that there will be a time where many will fall away from the faith before Christ returns.
• Matthew 24:10-12 “At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another.  Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many.  Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold.”  Jesus made it very clear that the opposite of revival will be the norm.
• Revelation 13:3 “I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed.  And the WHOLE earth was amazed and followed after the beast.”
• Luke 18:8 “when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”
• 2 Timothy 3:1-5 “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.  For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power”
• 2 Peter 3:3-4  ”Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming?”
• 1 Timothy 4:1 “But the Spirit explicitly says that in latter times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons..”
• Revelation 13:7  “It was also given to him (Antichrist) to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over EVERY tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him.”

I personally, can’t reconcile these verses with a great world wide revival that many teach today.  Now at the same time I do believe that in the midst of persecution and difficult times that the church will do remarkable things.  I don’t have a “Sky is falling” mentality.  In fact I would consider it a great honor to live and proclaim the name of Jesus in the midst of all the evil going on around me.

One last note is that when Jesus commissioned us to “make disciples of all nations”, He was not telling us to rule them or that we would convert the nations.  The Greek word for nations, as used here, is ethnos which means a group of people.  It is talking about individuals not geographical countries.  There are a lot of good things going on throughout the world and I certainly do not want to diminish that.  Missionaries are sacrificing their lives to share the gospel.  The church is overcoming some already difficult times.  Persecution in China has caused a great growth among the Body of Christ there.  I see much the same type of revival taking place during the 70th Week of Daniel as the church is made spotless.  I do not, however, see Christians taking over the world so that Jesus can then return.

My warning today is to be careful not to mix and blend teachings on the End Times.  Know what you believe.  If you don’t know what you believe you will likely be tossed to and fro and may end up with a cafeteria style Eschatology.  You will have a little bit of everything.  I pray that truth will come forth in our churches and in our lives.   Any thoughts, comments or disagreements (in love) are welcome.   Be blessed.

What does it take for a church to be faithful even when they are being persecuted?  That was one of the questions we looked at today as we examined the letter to the church of Smyrna.  Persecution is not a feel-good topic.  Some of the prophecies that we find in the book of Revelation can make us feel uncomfortable and even fearful if we are not careful.  Today’s discussion was very lively and heartfelt, peppered with a tinge of awkwardness as we began to be aware that some of us are looking at the same picture from different perspectives.  Yet at the heart of that awkardness is an understanding that we all love the Lord and each other.  Knowing that can help us work through any areas of disagreement.  Not that we all have to agree, but that we can certainly agree to disagree in love.

The church in Smyrna was a persecuted church.  The word Smyrna means “Death”.  This church has no words of condemnation or warning of judgement.  What we do find, however, is an encouraging word from the Lord in order to prepare them for the difficult times that are ahead.

Verse 8:  Once again we see Jesus reminding us that He is the First and the Last and that He was dead, but is now alive.  Because He has overcome death He can now offer life to those who follow Him.

Verse 9:  Jesus lets the church know that He is aware of three different things going on in their life and which are still applicable to us. 

1. He is aware of the tribulation they are going through.  He knows the daily struggles.  He knows the persecution and the sacrifices.  He sees the things that others are unaware of.  He sees our struggles as well.  We may not be going through the same persecution as others, but He is still aware and concerned about the daily problems in our lives.
2. He understands their poverty.  He knows their (and our) concerns about tomorrow.  He reminds us as well that even though we may be financially poor, we are rich spiritually.  Maybe today we need to examine the many blessings we have and consider how rich we are no matter how fat our wallet is.
3. Finally, He lets the church know that he sees those who are true and those who are pretending.  There were some who claimed to be Jews, but were actually from the Synagogue of Satan.  They claimed to be righteous.  They claimed to be teaching what God wanted taught.  God, however, knows the heart.  Evidently the church in Smyrna was resisting these pretenders and the false message they were trying to spread.  Sometimes we may feel like Elijah did.  We feel like we are the only ones standing for truth.  More than likely, however, we aren’t.  Yet even if we were the only ones, God would see.  He would be aware, and He would encourage us in the midst of being on that island.

Our discussion about the Jews from the Synagogue of Satan led us into a discussion about the dangers of being pulled back into the law.  There are many people today who are trying to pull Christians into Judiasim.  While I think it is good to remember and study our Jewish roots, we need to be careful that we do not fall back into the legalism of the law.  On the other hand, we don’t  need to go to the extreme of replacement theology or thinking that there is nothing to be gained from the Old Testament except good stories.

Verse 10:  I really like this verse.  The church in Smyrna gets a letter.  I’m sure they were excited and curious about the contents.  When they get the message, though, it is a tough pill to swallow.  Persecution is coming.  Hard times are on the horizon.  When we study End Times sometimes we can get overwhelmed with the difficult things that are coming.  If we are not careful, fear can come in.  The Lord begins by telling them, “Do not fear.”  Do not fear what you are about to suffer.  Yes, there are troubling times coming, but the Lord is reassuring them–and us–that He will be with them.  Some people don’t like to hear about troubling times coming.  Some would like to stick their heads in the sand and pretend like it isn’t happening.  Often times a person who tries to bring a warning is brushed aside as being all “Doom and Gloom.”  Yet the message should be one of encouragment and hope.  The warning isn’t sounded to make people fearful.  The shofar is blown to call people to battle and readiness.  Verse 10 is finished with a promise.  “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”  Smyrna means death.  One of our members pointed out that they had died to themselves and were encouraged because of that.  Jesus is also described to this church as the One who was dead, but has come to life.  We also see that they are encouraged to be faithful unto death.

Verse 11:  Here we have another promise.  “He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.”  We find in Revelation 20:14 that the second death is the Lake of Fire.  This is total seperation from God. 

A great deal of our conversation today revolved around persecution and being prepared for difficult times.  Personally, I am very concerned about the church in America.  I think that a great part of the church has grown soft.  We have taken for granted our freedoms and drifted away from holiness and repentance.   We almost feel like God would never allow us to be persecuted.  In my opinion that is a dangerous place to be.  The early church endured extreme persecution.  There have been churches throughout history who have gone through difficult times as well.  Even today, there are places where many are killed or tortured for their faith.  It isn’t pleasant to talk about, but I am a firm believer that we need to be preparing our faith to endure persecution.

In discussing our need for preparation we ran into a tad of disagreement in the fact that some of our group feel very strongly that the Lord will not return during our lifetimes.  Some are struggling with the idea of whether studying about these things is all that important.  It is a sentiment that many in the church today have.  They are certainly not alone.  There were others of us; however, who feel very strongly that the Lord will in fact return during our lifetime.  My main point is that even if I am wrong I feel like we need to be ready and prepared.  We also got into a small discussion of Preterism and Kingdom Now/Dominionism teaching.  I’ll be doing a post on this subject soon, but for now I’ll give a brief summation of the teaching.  One of the teachings that comes from these beliefs is that the world is going to get better and better.  Christians are going to take the nations for God, and THEN Christ can return.  They do not believe in a literal 70th week of Daniel, Antichrist, Tribulation, etc.   My concern is that they are setting themselves up for a rude awakening. 

  Even through our small disagreements today, we had a wonderful study.  I’m not even sure our discussion was a disagreement more than just sharing different perspectives.  One of the biggest blessings of our group is that we have people who love the Lord and are willing to share and ask questions.  Questioning makes us study, and challenges us to grow.  I’m thankful for each person in our group and the passion that we all bring to the table.  I’m already looking forward to next week.

P.S.  Pick up a copy of Randy Alcorn’s book, Safely Home, to get a great perspective of the underground church in China.  It is a powerful message that we need to hear today.

Today we took a look at the first of the 7 churches in Revelation.  Chapter 2 opens up with a letter to the church in Ephesus, which means “First or Desirable”.   As with all of the churches, there are practical applications and warnings for every generation.  I believe there are also near and far applications to these letters and prophecies, but we will take a closer look at that when we finish all of the 7 churches.   Today’s discussion was very heartfelt and open.  I know there is a desire among our group to examine ourselves and our church in light of these letters.  What would Jesus say to us?  What would be his encouragements?  What would be his warnings?  The letters to the churches pull us in on a personal level and hopefully awaken us to the fact that if we are not careful we too can drift away into compromise, tolerance, and apathy.  One thing to consider as we look at the 7 churches is that a church will either be persecuted (Smyrna), protected for faithfulness (Philadelphia), or have judgement brought against them for compromise (Sardis, Laodicea, Thyatira, Ephesus or Pergamum).

Verse 1:  Jesus is the One who holds the seven stars (angels) in His right hand and He is the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands.  The right hand represents power, authority, and safety. 

Verse 2:  As with all of the churches, Jesus is aware of their deeds.  Jesus knows that the people in the church here in Ephesus have been working hard in His name.  They have not tolerated evil men.  Another good quality about them is the fact that they test those who claim to be apostles but were not.  We certainly need to do these things as well.  Are we tolerating evil?  Are we testing those who are going to lead us?  Are we trusting in credentials more than the Holy Spirit to determine leadership positions.   Are we looking at the life that a person leads and the power and fruit that follow?

Verse 3:  The people of this church had persevered and yet not grown weary.    Are we persevering?  Are we persevering yet grumbling and complaining because we are weary in all that we are doing?

Verse 4:  While the church in Ephesus has been doing well in some areas, they receive a painful rebuke from the Lord.  They work hard, but they have left their first love.  While their deeds are evident to all, their priorities have shifted and Jesus is calling on them to repent and return.  Their Christianity seems to be motivated by works instead of the heart.  One of our members said that this church had the “Martha Syndrome”.  They were so busy about doing the “works” of the Lord that they were missing the presence of the Lord.  That is something we should all do a self-examination about and make sure that doesn’t describe us.  It is interesting that they were called back to their first love/desire and the name Ephesus means “First/Desirable”.

Verse 5:  Jesus urges them to remember (where they had once been), repent (turn around from the direction they are headed), and return (to Him).   Perhaps we all need to do that.  Remember…Repent…Return.  There is also a warning here that if they choose not to repent He will come and remove their lampstand. 

Verse 6:  Here is a glimmer of hope though, because they hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans.  We will talk more about the Nicolaitans in the letter to Pergamum, but for now the meaning of the word Nicolaitans is “conqueror of people”.

Verse 7:  The phrase, ”He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches”, gives the idea that there is a broader audience than just the 7 literal churches during John’s time.

Verse 7b: We will see the word overcomer throughout the letters.  Chapter 2 verse 26 gives an indication of what an overcomer is, by saying, “He who keeps/guards My deeds until the end.”   The overcomer here is told that the reward is eating of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.  It was brought up that this is another example of Jesus being the Alpha and Omega.  Man fell in Paradise and will be restored in Paradise. 

Each letter gives us a glimpse into the mirror.  What are we doing right?  Where have we fallen down on the job?  What would Jesus say about us and our church?  One last comment was how beautiful the symmetry of Revelation is.  It is almost as if you are reading poetry at times.  I pray that you are blessed today wherever you are.  May we all fall in love with Jesus all over again.  Let our deeds be done as a demonstration of love for the Lord and for nothing else.

I’ve been thinking about this for several years and I’m convinced that many people do.  We’ve all been guilty at some time or another, I’m sure.  I mainly want to challenge you today with a question.  Do you read the Bible to find what you believe or do you read it to prove what you already believe?   I was very guilty of  the latter at one point in my life.  I was taught the doctrine of my church and I never questioned it.  I just assumed that the doctrine they taught lined up with the Word.  One day I was asked a question that challenged one specific point of doctrine and I gave my church’s typical response to it.  Something bothered me afterward though and I began looking at the scriptures to prove that I was right.  What I found, however, was that I was wrong.  That caused me to cry out to the Lord for what His truth was.  I wanted to read the Bible as if it were the first time I had read it.  I didn’t want my faith to be because “my parents raised me that way”, or “my preacher or pastor taught me this.”  I wanted to believe what I believed because it was God’s truth.  Now that isn’t to say that now I am correct on all my points of doctrine.  What is true now, though, is that when faced with a question or a challenge of that belief I try to be open about it.  If someone can show me from the Word where I am wrong…I want to be the first to admit it. 

 I had an interesting conversation with a man one time about angels.  We were looking at Hebrews 1:14.  He was extremely resistant to the idea that angels help us today (to put it mildly).  I asked him this question.  If angels don’t help us today then what is that verse saying?  His answer startled me, made me chuckle and then saddened me.  He said, “I don’t know, but it doesn’t mean what it says!”  I made the decision right then that I did not want to be like that.  Another man I had a disagreement…I mean discussion with got equally upset at me.  He resorted to telling me that there were 1,000 preachers who he knew of that supported him, as if it were a popularity contest.  All I could do was shake my head.   Let us not be like the Pharisees who elevated the scriptures and made them an idol and yet missed the truth.  Jesus told them in John 5:39,

 ”You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.”

 I want to challenge you to challenge your own beliefs sometimes.  Oh there are some we need to be rock solid on, don’t get me wrong.  We don’t want to be tossed to and fro.   The majority of what we believe though is not above taking another look at.  Don’t discourage someone questioning you or challenging you.  Let your skin be thick enough to handle it.  More importantly, have the desire to seek after the truth.  I pray frequently, “Lord, if what I believe is not truth, show me.  Change me.  Help me to conform to your truth.”  Maybe today you can join me in that prayer.  Let us be seekers of truth and not manipulators of God’s precious Word.

Today was the second meeting in our church’s (www.efcsweetwater.com) lunchtime study of the book of Revelation.  We increased from 9 last week to 11 members this week.  I am really blessed to be a part of the group.  We have a varied background which makes for interesting discussions and questions along the way.  If you missed last weeks study it can be found here: http://watchmancurtis.wordpress.com/2009/10/27/revelation-study/  Feel free to add comments or questions here as you study along with us.

We picked up our study in Verse 7:  This is the first actual prophecy in the book of Revelation.  Here we are told that Jesus is coming and will return with the clouds and that every eye will see him and all the tribes of the earth will mourn him.  Here are several references to Jesus coming in the clouds found in other parts of the Bible:

• Acts 1:9-11  Here Jesus ascends up and is received by a cloud.  We are then told that He will return the same way that He was taken up.
• 1 Thessalonians 4:17  This is a picture of the rapture where we are caught up in the clouds to meet Jesus.
• Matthew 24:30-31  This verse is very similiar to verse 7 in Revelation.  Jesus will appear in the sky coming on the clouds with power and great glory.  It even mentions the tribes of the earth mourning.
• Daniel 7:13-14  A very early reference to the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven.

The phrase every eye will see Him is very close to the verse in Philippians 2:10 where we are told that every knee will bow before Him.  The question was asked why were they mourning His coming?  I think there are several reasons.  The first is found in Zechariah 12:10 where we are told that because of the spirit of grace and supplication the inhabitants of Jerusalem will mourn for Him.  I think the Jewish people will realize that they should have been ready for His first coming and will grieve that fact.  The second reason is that all those who pierced Him will see Him.  I think this is a broader brush that encompasses everyone.  We all crucified Jesus.  He came to willingly offer His life because of our sin..therefore we all pierced Him.   Finally, and this is one point I failed to mention in our study, and that is that I think the wicked will mourn because of the wrath that accompanies His coming.  It is kind of like the kid who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.  He isn’t sorry he did it, but he is sorry he got caught.  Revelation paints a very clear picture about people who fall into that category.

Verse 8  Jesus is the Alpha and Omega.  I love that description.  He is the beginning and the End.  I think of John 1 where we are told that “In the Beginning was the Word.”  I also think about Hebrews 13:8 where “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”  There was one member of our group who is currently in a study of this very thing.  She is looking at how Jesus actually is the Alpha and Omega and used the example that Jesus began his ministry with a wedding and when we are gathered together with him at the end of the age He will have a wedding feast for us.  Very cool indeed!  She encouraged us all to study that topic and I’ll pass that along to anyone reading here.

Verse 9  John is a fellow partaker of three things which are IN Jesus.

• Tribulation-  This is not talking about the Great Tribulation.  This is the every day struggles and persecution a Christian goes through.  Living in the time that he did certainly gave him an understanding of tribulation.  2 Timothy 3:12 says, “In fact everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”
• Kingdom- As Christians we are all part of the Kingdom.  The Kingdom is a now but not yet truth.  There are aspects of it that are in effect now, but it will not be fully realized until Christ returns.
• Perseverance- In going through tribulation and waiting on the revealing of the full Kingdom of God, perseverance is a necessity.  In your daily struggles look to Jesus for help for perseverance is found in Him and He will reward those who overcome.

Verse 10 tells us that the voice of the Lord is like the sound of the shofar…a mighty description indeed!  The phrase “In the spirit” is used 4 times in the book of Revelation:  Rev.1:10, 4:2, 17:3, 21:10.  The phrase “In a loud voice” occurs 22 times in the book.  Something to think about.

Verse 11 tells us that John is writing to the 7 churches in Asia.  Many people believe that these churches represent the church through history…church ages perhaps.  We all agreed that the things written to the church are necessary for every generation.  I personally believe that the churches were not only literal churches back in the time of John, but also represent the types of churches that will be in existence right before the return of Christ.  I’ll explain that more as we look at each church in the coming weeks.  It is also possible that the churches in Revelation were literal churches, have practical warnings and teachings for all generations,  show the church ages, and point to the churches in existence right before the return of Christ.

Verses 12-18 describe Jesus in a very powerful way.  Wow is the only word that comes to mind!  A similiar description can be found in Daniel 10:5-6.  One specific description (the two-edged sword) was highlighted and we looked at Psalm 149: “Let the godly ones exult in glory; Let them sing for joy on their beds.  Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand, to execute vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples…”  It is interesting that the two-edged sword is in our hands and in His mouth.  In Hebrews 4:12 the Word of God is described as “living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

Verse 17-18  caused us to look at the mention of Death and Hades.  It seems, as we will see later on in Revelation and in a few other places, that these are actual beings.  We also took a rabbit trail of sorts, led by yours truly, and looked at  the concept of where do we go when we die?    We looked at the Hebrew word “Sheol” which is the greek word Hades.  Sheol was the abode of the dead.  Gehenna which was an actual dump ground south of Jerusalem that was set on fire frequently is the actual place of hell…or the Lake of Fire.  We looked at Abraham’s Bosom and the concept of Paradise and had a good discussion along those lines.

Verse 19 is an important verse.  John is to write the things which he has seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things.  This is not a definitive outline, but I would break it up like this:

• Things which he has seen (Chapter 1)
• Things which are (chapters 2 & 3)
• Things which will take place after these things (Chapters 4-22)

Verse 20 explains that the 7 stars are the angels of the churches and the 7 lampstands are the 7 churches.  We talked about how the number 7 is the number of completion and the repetition of the number throughout the book shows us that it is not used at random.  Verse 20 is also a good example of why the Book of Revelation should be taken literally.  If there is anything symoblic or allegorical we are told the meaning of it.  It was also mentioned that the 7 angels could be angelic beings or perhaps the pastors of the churches since the greek word for angel simply means messenger.

We had a great study and I pray that Holy Spirit will continue to teach us and you as we go.  Please feel free to comment and ask question here.  May you be blessed today in a mighty way!

Curtis