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REVELATION CHAPTER 2 KJV WEB See previous page Rev 2,1-29 (136h) Temple >> Your spirit is the temple of God >> The body of Christ >> Body of Christ consists of individual members >> We should live as Christ lived – These seven churches mentioned in chapters 2&3 represent whole denominations, belief systems, mindsets, attitudes and values. They existed in John’s day; they were real churches with real problems; but since this is a book of prophecy, it suggests that these churches reflect the problems of the Church in the last days prior to Christ’s return. Rev 2,1-8 (50e) Judgment >> Sequence of Revelations >> Great endtime revival >> Church gets right with God -- These verses go with verses 11-29 Rev 2-1 (15d) Servant >> Ministering spirits >> Angels Perform certain duties (112d) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Light >> Jesus light in us overcomes darkness >> The light of His power – Jesus had seven stars in His right-hand, seven mighty angels that He intends to release to His Church in the last days, who play seven trumpets (Rev 8-7). They will impart blessing on the Church and judgment on the world, empowering His people to rise above their sins and circumstances and live victoriously over the beast and his false prophet. These are seven angels, seven stars, seven churches and seven lampstands, all acting as one, and Jesus walks in the midst of them, ensuring every person’s light is brightly shining. Going back to the parable of the Ten Virgins, the five wise virgins walked over the threshold and the door was shut, and this is where they went: They entered seven anointings. This explains why they needed extra oil for their lamps. God expects His people to unite around the truth with their lamps burning brightly. In the last days most Christians are without an anointing and are exposed to religious lies and satanic deception, and most do not serve the Lord in their hearts. Those with a penchant for religion but with no interest in God, the coming days will be hellish on them. We are currently living in days when religious people are happy, and those who desire a relationship with God are suffering, because there is no fellowship or unity in the Church, but it was never meant to be this way. These seven lamps dwell in proximity to each other, which is a picture of unity, separate but together, our light shining on others to help show the way; but when our lamp is too distant to be of any benefit to others, there is no unity. See also: Ten virgins; Rev 2-5; 105f (228i) Kingdom of God >> God’s kingdom is a living organism >> God working in you >> God works in the new creation KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Rev 2,2-5 (5g) Responsibility >> Discipleship tested >> God tests your motives – There are two ways to leave our first love: through wrong motives and through unrepented sin, one like a fork in the road and the other like a blindfold. Both have the same effect: they slowly divert us from your previous commitment to follow Christ. See also: Left your first love; Rev 2,2-4; 194f (203h) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Back-slider >> Withdraw from obeying God >> Withdrawing from God (206i) Salvation >> God makes promises on His terms >> Conditions to promises >> Conditions to doing the works of Jesus Rev 2,2-4 (180d) Works of the devil >> Practicing witchcraft >> Wolves >> Be shrewd as wolves and more innocent than they appear >> Wolves in sheep’s clothing -- These verses go with verse 20 (194f) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Turn from sin to God >> Hate evil >> Condemning sin >> Judging evil – The Ephesians had perseverance and could not tolerate evil men, but they left their first love.” That is like a truck driver who made it safely to his destination but failed to bring the trailer full of goods with him that he was supposed to deliver. This was a very gentle rebuke from the Lord, compared to what He could have said. When a person leaves his first love, the first thing he does is becomes judgmental of others (Rom 2,1-6), like the Evangelicals who claim to be keepers of the truth. We judge people for the very sins we commit, a spiritual principle rooted in the mystery of lawlessness. Nevertheless, Jesus commended them for being intolerant of evil men, since it has application, for the culprits portraying themselves as apostles, probably embracing the Gnostic beliefs that arose early as the first century. They considered themselves apostles, but they didn’t preach the gospel that Paul preached or any of the twelve apostles, but preached a different gospel that undoubtedly centered around works. The true gospel of Christ is just the opposite: God accepts us by faith and gently leads us into His will. See also: Evangelicals and Baptists; Rev 2-4,5; 193f / Left your first love; Rev 2-2,3; 156e Rev 2-2,3 (100c) Thy kingdom come >> Perseverance >> Persevere in abiding in Christ (156e) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of salvation >> You will know them by their endurance – The Ephesians put the false apostles to the test. What is the test of apostleship? We know that the test of Paul’s apostleship was a willingness to suffer persecution. If they abandoned the gospel to avoid persecution, or if they changed its teachings to appeal to a wider audience, they were not true apostles. The Ephesians were diligent in this respect, but they had left their first love. In all their striving against false prophets, they dropped their own faith in God. Jd-3 says, “I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.” The Ephesians contended for the doctrines of the faith, protecting them for their own sake and for the sake of the generations after them, searching the Scriptures to defend their beliefs against spiritual liars, but in the process fell out of love for God and quit ministering to Him through the word of God and prayer. See also: Left your first love; Rev 2-3; 102a Rev 2-2 (68j) Authority >> Discernment >> Judging truth and error >> Perceiving a wicked heart (69m) Authority >> Righteous judgment (outcome of discernment) >> Judging Those in the Church (70c) Authority >> Righteous judgment (outcome of discernment) >> Being sensitive to the Spirit >> Test the spirits (165k) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Hardship >> Struggles of this life -- This verse goes with verse 9 (198i) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Ordained by man >> Ministries ordained by men will falter (212j) Sovereignty >> God is infinite >> God is all knowing >> God knows everything about you -- This verse goes with verse 9 KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Rev 2,3-5 (207c) Salvation >> God makes promises on His terms >> Eternal security? >> God will accept you into His heaven if you overcome >> Overcome temptation to give up the faith Rev 2-3 (67h) Authority >> Jesus delegates authority >> Sacrificing your life for the name of Jesus -- This verse goes with verse 13 (102a) Thy kingdom come >> Ambitious to fulfill God’s calling >> To see God’s will in your life -- This verse goes with verse 19. It is a good quality to seek fulfillment of God’s calling, but not at the cost of leaving our first love. God would rather our calling were in fact our first love, rather than bury it under a variety of higher priorities. It is possible to leave our first love even while we are tenaciously serving Him. What more does He want from us? He wants two things: fulfill our ministry toward God and fulfill our ministry toward people, and the first fulfills the second. John is saying that the Ephesians did well in their ministry toward people grappling with them about the Scriptures, but they neglected their ministry toward God in prayer. The Ephesians did well to protect the gospel and defend the truth from lying deceivers and those who would try to corrupt the word of God (Jd-3), but they fell short in their personal relationship with Him, which is the basis of our ministry toward people. If our ministry toward God is lacking, it will seriously affect our ministry with people in the world and in the Church. See also: Left your first love; Rev 2-4,5; 193f Rev 2-4,5 (45d) Judgment >> God judges our walk in the Spirit >> For not bearing fruit (87j) Thy kingdom come >> Obedience >> Being a slave to obedience (134i) Temple >> Your body is the temple of God >> Sins of the body >> Immorality >> Adultery >> Spiritual adultery -- These verses go with verse 14 (172e) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Tares among the wheat >> Communion between the world and the Church >> The Church in the world -- These verses go with verses 14-16 (193f) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Turn from sin to God >> Repent >> Bring forth fruit in keeping with repentance >> Instruction to the Church – This exhortation to the Church in Ephesus speaks directly to the Evangelical community of our day, who consider themselves “keepers of the truth.” They think that if it weren’t for them the truth would have been lost long ago. Listen to verses 2,3: “I know your deeds, your toil and perseverance and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured for My name's sake, and have not grown weary.” That is a very good description of the Baptist/Evangelical mindset of our time. They are always fighting someone who they think is trying to corrupt the doctrines of the Church; but then verse 4 says, “I have this against you, that you have left your first love.” This also is highly descriptive of the Baptist/Evangelical community. We go to some of these churches and stay for six months, we discover they are preaching reruns, because their sphere of truth is very small. Verse 5 says, “Remember from where you have fallen, and repent.” If we were to compare this to the Law, it says in Exodus 20 that we should put no other gods before Him; we should not commit murder or adultery or lie, etc. These are all things that Evangelicals have included in their religion, but at the very top of God’s law it says, “[You shall] Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6-5). Sometimes we get so busy trying not to offend God by our sins that we offend Him in the worst way, by forgetting about Him through a lack of prayer. They expelled God from their religion, so all that remained were a set of rules. How then do we love God? We say we love Him by loving others, and we summarize the Law into two commandments: love God and love our fellow man. This means that loving God and loving our fellow man are two distinct things; that is, if we try to love God by loving our neighbor, we haven’t loved God yet; we have only loved our neighbor. So how do we love God? We spend time coming to know Him as students of His word and as disciples of prayer. The Church in Ephesus read their Bibles to defend their religion from those whom they considered heretics, but their prayer life suffered. We could say the same about the Evangelical Church today. Much as they claim to be keepers of the truth, their payer life is usually in shambles. A person who has prayed only one time in his whole life has a prayer life, but God wants us to have a life of prayer! God said that if they didn’t repent, He would take their lampstand from its place, which would be fatal. Once we lose our light, we’re done; that is what it makes us Christians, someone whom God has illumined. See also: Left your first love; 238h / Evangelicals and Baptists; Rev 2-4; 74c / 1The 5-20; 222l (203a) Denying Christ >> Running from God >> Wicked men cannot approach the throne of God >> God chases them away from His presence (238h) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Pursuing the knowledge of the kingdom >> Teachers >> Teachers "remind" their students >> Strong reminders – This is a strong reminder to repent. We are to remember where we once stood with God and the spiritual status we once enjoyed and the faithfulness we once demonstrated and return to that standard. He said they lost their first love. It has been said that when people fall in love for the first time, they cannot form emotional attachments closer to anyone else. Likewise, when a person gets saved, he becomes spiritually alive for the first time, meaning before that he was dead; he was transferred from darkness and brought into God’s marvelous light (1Pet 2-9). The first moment of life that a Christian experiences from God is his first love. It was a wave of spiritual affection, and God wants us to ride that wave to the shores of heaven. Maybe we have been saved for forty years; God wants us to return to the time when we first believed when it was all brand new, a time when we opened the Bible and the words lifted off the page and leapt into our heart. We were so happy to believe in God and so pleased to love our fellow man, and we served the Lord with joy and gladness. The temptations of the world became distant, and we could hardly remember what we saw in them, and then time and the pressures of life slowly eroded our affections, faith became old and love began to wane, and our excitement for God turned to naivety in our memories. God wants us to go back to that initial time and return to our first love. It is still possible to love God now as much as when we first believed, and even more because of our spiritual maturity. God doesn’t want our love for Him to become mundane; He wants our faith to grow strong and our joy to remain. See also: Left your first love; Rev 2-4; 74c Rev 2-4 (74c) Thy kingdom come >> The heart >> God wants you to protect your heart – The Church in Ephesus represents the Evangelical denomination, who are 30 million people strong in America; they are very dogmatic and doctrine oriented and very skeptical of other people’s beliefs. They consider themselves keepers of the faith, though the Catholics believe the same about themselves, and there could be no two Christian faiths more opposite. They rarely take the time or the interest to hear other people’s views, considering everyone else to be automatically wrong by evidence that they disagree. Also, the Church at Ephesus sounds like the Evangelical persuasion in that they cannot tolerate evil men. They put them to the test, using all their energy to maintain their doctrines, but it says, “I have this against you, that you have left your first love.” Evangelicals are guilty of being more concerned about their doctrines than they are about their faith in Jesus. They will argue theology all day long, but when it comes to actually practicing their faith, they fall short. God threatens to take their lampstand out of its place, which represents their love of the truth. See also: Evangelicals and Baptists; Rev 2,2-4; 194f / Left your first love; 161d (161d) Works of the devil >> Satan determines the world's direction >> Wandering from the character of God >> Wander from the love of God – God charges us with the responsibility of keeping the faith and fixing the problems associated with our heart. How easy is it to leave our first love, and how hard it is to return? It takes every ounce of soul! Since we are talking about issues of the heart, the first and foremost priority is sincerity. The heart is like a sharpshooter; whatever the bullet hits proves the true direction the gun was pointed. We try to hit the bullseye, which represents the truth, but we often miss. We eye up the target in the scope with a steady hand, putting the crosshairs on the bullseye and slowly squeeze the trigger; the bullet is released, but there is no guarantee we will hit the bullseye, because there are issues beyond our control. The heart of man is very complex. We think if the crosshairs were in the center of the bullseye when we pulled the trigger we should hit it, but some people can’t even hit the target, because they are not in control of their heart; other forces are pulling on them, seeking their affections, and they just can’t find it in themselves to put it all aside and focus on their one true love. When they think they have dedicated their heart to the Lord, they pull the trigger and the target goes untouched, and they have no idea what they are doing wrong. See also: Left your first love; Rev 2-5; 105f / Analogies (Looking at our reflection in the mirror); Jm 1,22-25; 55b (178f) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Hypocrisy >> Hypocrisy of the Church is rebuked >> The Church is rebuked for sin -- This verse goes with verses 14-16 KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Rev 2-5,6 (42j) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Transformed >> Conform to the walk of Christ Rev 2-5 (11o) Servant >> Example of God’s people >> The Church (45g) Judgment >> Believer’s sin >> God will judge us with the world if we live like them -- This verse goes with verse 16 (87a) Thy kingdom come >> Obedience >> Be doers of the word from the heart >> God blesses us for doing His word, not for knowing it (105f) Thy kingdom come >> Pure in heart >> Lacking a pure heart – This is about leaving our first love; it says that it can result in the removal of our lampstand. Not many people shudder about this, but they should. They don’t because they believe in eternal security, but they shouldn’t. Removing our lampstand is tantamount to losing our salvation. Note that the Lord threatened to remove the lampstand, but in the parable of the Ten Virgins their flame died from a lack of fuel, indicating there are two ways to lose our light. Remember, this scene takes place after the five wise virgins cross the threshold into the Most Holy Place and the door is shut, meaning God takes the sins of the five foolish virgins very seriously. Whether our flame dies from a lack of fuel or the Lord removes our lampstand, we have lost our light, and Scripture does not teach that God will relight our flame or replace our lampstand. Once the light goes out we’re done. The objective of Christianity, therefore, is to make sure our light keeps burning; that is all God really asks of us. Two things will douse our flame quicker than anything: failing to repent of sins that lead to death (1Jn 5-16,17), and omitting righteousness that God is calling us to do. One leads to the other. See also: Left your first love; Rev 2,2-5; 5g / Ten virgins; 222b / Eternal security? (We can break the seal); 2Cor 1-22; 71k (222b) Kingdom of God >> The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Do not give what is holy to dogs >> God does not entrust his treasures to dogs >> God retrieves his treasures when sheep revert to dogs – The description that John gave of Jesus was that His voice was like the sound of a trumpet and like many waters (Rev 1-10). The trumpet sounds are the voices of angels calling man to repent. We can hear His voice by a spiritual revelation from the Holy Spirit. Removing the lampstand from its place douses the light of truth, a very severe consequence. They might still have their Bible and can read the words, but the spiritual revelation is gone, and now His words sound hollow. When our lampstand is taken from its place, we have lost our faith. Our spirit becomes silent; the revelation of God’s truth becomes a distant memory; we remember having affections for God, but now His word is no longer a reality after our lamp has been removed. Remember the parable of the Ten Virgins; the five foolish virgins who didn’t have enough oil in their lamps to last through the night, when they came banging on the door asking the Lord to open up for them were denied and told to go away, “you who practice lawlessness” (Mat 7-23). They didn’t make it to heaven. The Ephesians were a strong church; Paul wrote some of his most beautiful words to them, yet Jesus found fault with them. How much more does He find fault with American Christianity, which is on par with Laodicea? See also: Hearing ear; Rev 2-7; 79k / Ten virgins; Rev 2-1; 112d Rev 2-6 (194e) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Turn from sin to God >> Hate evil >> Condemning sin >> Hate evil by being innocent of it -- This verse goes with verse 24. The doctrines and deeds of the Nicolaitans that Jesus hated were that of compromise with the evil practices of their surrounding culture and failure to separate from the world, "by 'believing' we are released from the necessity of being doers of the Word. But this is the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which Christ so unsparingly condemned in the book of Revelation" (https://www.theopedia.com/nicolaitans). That is, Jesus’ complaint was that they were not sanctified, not set apart from the world. His complaint was with their deeds and not with their theology. However, our theology is directly linked to our deeds, in that what we believe determines how we live; so if we have loose theology, we tend to live loosely. Others know the truth yet don’t follow it, making them on par with Pharisees and their fellow pagans and heathens. Rev 2-7 (39e) Judgment >> Jesus defeated death >> Victory >> Jesus overcame the world -- This verse goes with verse 11 (79k) Thy kingdom come >> Know the word >> Listen to the word >> He who has ears to hear, let him hear -- This verse goes with verse 11. This statement is repeated seven times throughout chapters two and three of Revelation: “He who has an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the Churches.” Then He said, “To him who overcomes…” associating the hearing ear with overcoming. Revelation is a prophetic book about endtimes, and reiterating this statement many times hints at its importance. We should tune our ears to hear His voice as a primary means of surviving the last days. The Holy Spirit is John’s theme throughout all of his writings, emphasizing Him in his gospel. When we let the Holy Spirit in our lives and He highlights the word of God as a revelation of Jesus Christ with a consummate love of the brethren, He will ensure His will is done in us through His power. See also: Hearing ear; 106e (98ka) Thy kingdom come >> Endurance (Thorn in the flesh) >> Endurance invites the Holy Spirit into your life >> The salvation of God >> Enduring the wicked is to overcome them -- This verse goes with verse 17 (106e) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Hearing from God >> Attaining the hearing ear >> Having the ability to hear -- This verse goes with verse 11. Having an ear to hear what the Spirit says will be our greatest asset to surviving the Great Tribulation, but those who have not tuned their ear to the voice of the Spirit will not survive. They will fall away from the faith, proving to be of the five foolish virgins. How do we define overcoming? In Mat 24-4 the disciples asked Jesus, “What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” He replied, “Watch out that no one deceives you.” How do we “see to it” that no one misleads us? We develop the hearing ear; that is how we define overcoming! The ability to discern the truth will protect us from those who come claiming to be the savior of the world. We may laugh at such lunatics now, but desperate times are coming when we will have incentive to trust the wrong people, who will claim to be Jesus Christ, and their claims will be backed by signs and wonders. That does not tell us about their deceptions as much as the desperation of those days. People will latch onto any hope they can find, so when someone says, ‘I am He,’ we will have a tendency to believe him, and the poison of these false prophets is deadly to our faith. See also: Hearing ear; Rev 2-17; 106e (109ha) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Spirit the teacher >> Spirit interprets the word for us -- This verse goes with verse 29 (110h) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Born of the Spirit by the truth >> Hearing the Spirit -- This verse goes with verse 11 (254i) Trinity >> Holy Spirit’s relationship between Father and Son >> Jesus is equal with the Holy Spirit >> Holy Spirit is life >> Spirit of Jesus KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Rev 2,8-11 (65i) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Satan Glorifies God Rev 2-8 (39l) Judgment >> The essence of life defeated the essence of death (56i) Paradox >> Opposites >> Last is first and the first is last – This phrase, “the first and the last” is a principle of Christ regarding His kingdom, that whatever the Church experiences, Christ experienced it first. Just as Jesus is the first fruits of the resurrection, so He put Himself last among the people He was saving. He humbled Himself and became servant of all, and as a result He received first place in everything. (113l) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> The anointing >> Anointing establishes us in His will – Jesus spoke to the angel, who represents an anointing, and the angel relayed the message to John. If John learns these things through an anointing (Rev 1-4), then the Church must read the Book of Revelation and all the books of the Bible through an anointing if we are going to understand it the way God intended. (248f) Priorities >> God’ s preeminence >> Jesus is first >> Jesus is first born of the Father Rev 2-9,10 (50f) Judgment >> Sequence of Revelations >> First half of the tribulation >> The seals of Satan's wrath >> Fifth seal - Mark of the beast -- Martyrdom – Jesus promised martyrdom to the saints. It seems that people who are most interested in endtime prophecy are those who believe in the pre-tribulation Rapture, yet according to them, they will not even be here while endtime prophecy advances, so why do they care? They would say the people that Jesus mentioned do not pertain to them, but to those who are left behind. They had better be right, because if they’re not, they have not prepared to pay the ultimate price for their faith. After the Rapture, the tribulation of the saints will end, defining the Rapture as a post-tribulation event. Accordingly, Post-tribulation theology suggests that by definition the Rapture occurs at the end of the great tribulation, and after that, God will continue judging the world for martyring His saints in the bowls of His fierce wrath. The first five Seals occur, and then the Trumpets will sound, and at the seventh and last trumpet (1Cor 15-52) the Rapture will occur. See also: Sequence of endtime events; Rev 8,7-13; 49c (172a) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Tares among the wheat >> Devils among the saints >> False brethren among the people of God >> Antichrists among Christians – The Church of Smyrna is one of two churches in this list of seven that are serving the lord, and the false brethren are persecuting them both. None of the other five churches are serving the Lord. These ten days represent ten years, and we know that the tribulation is a seven-year period, so it could be that persecution starts three years before the seven-year Tribulation formally begins. Jesus said to be faithful until death and He will give us the crown of life, meaning that this is a time of martyrdom, that martyrdom begins before Jesus breaks the first Seal (Revelation chapter six). False brethren are responsible for martyring the saints, and it says they claim to be Jews (and are not). The book of Revelation was written after 70 AD (best estimate is 96 AD according to Irenaeus, a disciple of John) during the later part of Domitian’s reign (81-96). These were days of great Jewish persecution; therefore it was disadvantageous to claim Jewish heritage, making this statement about being Jewish illogical. Consider this: a Jew is not a Jew according to the flesh but according to the Spirit, for gentile Christians are spiritual Jews, whereas unbelieving physical Jews do not meet the definition of a true Jew in the new covenant. Therefore, John was talking about Jew and gentile Christians being martyred three years prior to the seven-year Tribulation. These false brethren claimed to be Christians, and they were mostly responsible for persecuting the Church. The Muslim religion of Islam claims to be the true children of God, children of Ishmael, who claim that he inherited the promise and not Isaac. This passage is therefore prophesying about the tremendous persecution of Islam against the Church. The first Seal describes a man on a white horse holding a bow with no mention of any arrows, meaning it will be an unconventional war. Nobody is being killed; it is a war of economics, depicting the collapse of the global economy. Persecution will increase beyond any historical recollection three years prior to this collapse, and we are seeing a great ratcheting-up of persecution against Christians and Jews by the Islamic state, which is a fulfillment of this passage. See also: Ten years; Rev 2-10; 241dd Rev 2-9 (23f) Sin >> Poverty (Oppression) >> Rich are those who are poor in their own minds – This verse is best understood in the backdrop of Mat 5-3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” This is one of the most popular verses in the Bible, yet who knows what it really means to be poor in spirit? Paul spoke similarly in Rom 12-3, saying that we are not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think. Sound judgment should be a trait of those who belong to the Kingdom of God, meaning that the narcissist who is full of himself does not possess eternal life, unless of course he repents. People full of pride find it very difficult to repent, because how do they empty themselves of themselves? If they want to know God, they will need to seek humility in order to relate to Him. (94b) Thy kingdom come >> Perspective on wealth in this life (165k) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Hardship >> Struggles of this life -- This verse goes with verse 2 (183b) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Spirit of Error (Anti-Christ / Anti-Semitism) >> Witchcraft >> Sin is the incubator of witchcraft >> Through satanic influence -- This verse goes with verses 20-24 (186c) Works of the devil >> The result of lawlessness >> Blasphemy >> Cursing the Holy Spirit >> Lying to the Holy Spirit (212j) Sovereignty >> God is infinite >> God is all knowing >> God knows everything about you -- This verse goes with verse 19 (249g) Priorities >> God’ s preeminence >> Wealth >> True perception of wealth >> The infinite and eternal wealth of God >> God’s perception of wealth >> Our hope in this life – God’s perspective on His people is that they can have nothing to their name regarding possessions, yet be rich in faith and be on course with eternal life. Those who are fully committed to Him are rich in spirit; they are truly in possession of life indeed, and one day they will possess all things. God will give them the entire universe as their possession. We can even say that we already possess these things. Some people have stars named after them, and we can observe vast galaxies with our giant telescopes, but if we can’t go there, how do we own them? Many don’t even own a point on the map in their city, much less a star. We usually have everything we need, and that is enough for now, but the Bible teaches that God will give us all things, and we will have access to it. One day we will possess the universe in ways that will enable us to visit other planets that are being colonized by God’s growing kingdom. If we will one day own everything, it is no wonder God is on a campaign to perfect humility in us now; we are going to need it! the Church of Smyrna was in dire poverty; they may not have been dying from hunger and thirst, but they lived without many things, yet they received affirmation from Christ that they were rich, like Paul said in 2Cor 6-10, “As sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing yet possessing all things.” The people who have the affirmation of Christ truly possess all things. See also: Inheritance; Rev 2,26-29; 36h KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Rev 2-10,11 (207cb) Salvation >> God makes promises on His terms >> Eternal security? >> God will accept you into His heaven if you overcome >> Endure to the end Rev 2-10 (5f) Responsibility >> Discipleship tested >> God tests your faith through hardship – God severely criticized most of the Churches in chapters 2&3 of Revelation, but Smyrna was blameless in His eyes. What is God's reward for cleansing themselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit only to be martyred? There will be some who do not see the justice in that. However, because Smyrna was unblemished, they understood the mind of God and His justice, that the reward of eternal life is worth a lifetime of adversity, and that there is nothing man can do to them. (24a) Sin >> Poverty (Oppression) >> Fear of hardship (punishment) – If we are the generation that sees the fulfillment of endtime prophecy, it says, “Do on fear what you are about to suffer.” Suffer is a scary word, but we don’t have to fear suffering; fear will not help us get through the tribulation. Fear has not helped anyone in any way. In fact, according to Scripture, "fear" is about as opposite of God that we can get. When we fear something, it influences the decisions we make to alleviate the problem, so when Jesus said, “do not fear,” He was saying, ‘Do not attempt to fix the problem,’ telling us not to fight them. Jesus has made us overcomers, but He doesn’t want us trying to overcome the circumstances of the last days tribulation using force, for endtime prophecy was predestined to happen, so we must go though it, and He will be with us the whole time, and if we fear, our ability to sense His presence will fade. Fear diminishes faith, and when the entire world is joining forces against us, we will need every ounce of faith God avails to us. (46j) Judgment >> Spiritual warfare >> Demons are subject to Christ (53b) Paradox >> Opposites >> Of life and death >> Death cannot hurt you (57j) Paradox >> Opposites >> Crown of life is awarded to those who die to self (102k) Thy kingdom come >> Loyalty (Faithfulness) >> Tried and true >> Loyal (163b) Works of the devil >> Being a slave to the devil (Addictions) >> Bondage >> Being slaves of men >> Prison – Prison takes away our rights and our options but not our freewill. Does that refer to concentration camps? For some it does, but Jesus may not be talking about concentration camps per se, in that this is a figurative prison. Every Christian on the planet will be in Satan’s prison in one form or another. It will not be the devil testing us, but God, who will ordain this satanic wickedness perpetrated against the saints that will come upon the Church to test His people in the last days as to who is worthy to be a member of His heavenly family. Those who merely pretend Christianity will fall away almost immediately, leaving only the saints, who will then become concentrated and unified. This period of prison will end through the unity of the saints. As Satan persecutes the Church, we will unite and break the power of Satan and Christ will set us free, and in this state of freedom He will come for us. Jesus will not come for a Church in bondage but one that is free of Satan’s power and influence, a people tried and tested and found true (Eph 5-27). (187g) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Die to the flesh >> Dying to receive the glory of God >> Dying to self precedes the resurrection (188e) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Suffering >> Suffering the will of God in your life (189e) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Martyr >> Tested for faithfulness to the death – The worst thing that could happen to a Christian is that the circumstances become more severe than the strength of his faith. The greatest act of endurance is to give our lives as martyrs for Jesus' sake. The question is: how much faith do we need to be ready for martyrdom? This is a question we must all ask ourselves. We know many stories about the saints in the past who were martyred for their faith. The stories are told that God gives them grace at their moment of trial to endure their circumstances. (214dd) Sovereignty >> God controls time >> God’s timing transcends our comprehension >> God’s time is none of our business – Jesus gave us a time period of ten days. We know God is very conservative about time, but in this case He freely divulged a time period of ten days. The question is, how long is a day-unit? Ten years is the most likely case, and if it indicates a ten-year period, then it will be a horrific decade for Christians as the length of time of the first five seals. Start preparing for it now. See also: Ten years; Rev 2-9,10; 172a (226b) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Rewards of the Kingdom of Heaven >> Reserved in heaven >> God crowns us with glory for sharing our rewards >> The reward of a crown (233a) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Seeking the kingdom >> Seeking the goals of the kingdom >> Seek the goal of the resurrection (246b) Kingdom of God >> Spirit realm imposed on the natural realm >> Literal manifestations >> Literal bondage to Christ KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Rev 2,11-29 (50e) Judgment >> Sequence of Revelations >> Great endtime revival >> Church gets right with God -- These verses go with verses 1-8 Rev 2-11 (39e) Judgment >> Jesus defeated death >> Victory >> Jesus overcame the world -- This verse goes with verse 17 (47e) Judgment >> God Judges the world >> Hell is a place of the dead – The second death refers to hell. We must all die once, but the second death will last forever, an existence of continuous death. It is similar to a person who is on his deathbed and worsens each day until he finally breathes his last, only in hell he never dies because he is already dead. He is stuck in that condition, and his suffering never ends, for there is no other place for him to go. In the way that those of us in heaven will go from glory to glory throughout the eons, each day being more wonderful than the last, so the person in hell will continually discover new lows in his depression, new horrors in his terror and new sufferings in his torment. He didn't want anything to do with God, so God took him literally and removed everything about Himself from him and his environment, and the result is hell. (79k) Thy kingdom come >> Know the word >> Listen to the word >> He who has ears to hear, let him hear -- This verse goes with verse 17 (106e) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Hearing from God >> Attaining the hearing ear >> Having the ability to hear -- This verse goes with verse 17 (110h) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Born of the Spirit by the truth >> Hearing the Spirit -- This verse goes with verse 17 (217d) Sovereignty >> God overrides the will of man >> God’s will over man >> God gives up on you >> When you give yourself over to sin Rev 2-12 (46b) Judgment >> Spiritual warfare >> Subjecting your flesh >> Preparing for battle -- This verse goes with verse 16 (111k) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Living and active word of God – Jesus has a sharp two-edged sword, and in Ephesians Paul revealed one edge of the sword to be the Holy Spirit and the other edge to be the word of God. With two edges on one sword, it cuts both ways, but one without the other is no longer the sword that Jesus carries. Some people carry a sword with one edge, the Bible, who dismiss the ministry of the Spirit, while others carry a sword with the other edge, the Spirit, who care not what the Bible says, with the result that both are ineffective. Anybody who rejects the ministry of the Spirit is heretic, and anybody who rejects the Bible has rejected the origin of his faith. The Holy Spirit does nothing without the word of God, and the word of God is powerless without the Holy Spirit, but the two of them working together are the power of God. Had Jesus done what He wanted in disregard of His Father, He would have rejected the Holy Spirit’s ministry and denied Himself as the word of God. So the Bible needs the Spirit to be the truth, and the Holy Spirit needs the Bible to be authenticated. Without the word of God, whatever the Holy Spirit did on His own could not be attributed to God, but with Scripture the Holy Spirit confirms the Bible as God’s holy word. Rev 2-13 (67h) Authority >> Jesus delegates authority >> Sacrificing your life for the name of Jesus -- This verse goes with verse 3. We are an eternal soul and our life began at our birth. The Bible teaches that our life in eternity has already begun; the life we were given that we enjoy will continue in heaven. Therefore, what we learn in this life will directly translate to the life to come, and for this reason, God wants to fill us with experiences of triumphing over darkness, deception, sin and Satan in order to teach us the meaning of evil and the value of righteousness and the freedom of truth. God plans to create another people after us, and we will become as it were their spiritual fathers, and we will teach them right from wrong. If we are going to do this, then we need to know right from wrong ourselves, not on some theoretical basis, but in a very practical way, experientially. This is the kind of God we serve, one who values experience over theory, and this is why we have been forced to live in Satan's kingdom, why we are tempted every day and struggle every day and make decisions every day about what is right and wrong, what is ethical and unethical, moral and immoral. We not only have circumstances against us that test us, we also have a spirit against us that tempts us to make wrong decisions, but God has given us His Spirit to help us make right decisions and to strengthen us with His grace to maintain a life fashioned for righteousness. See also: suffering and evil; 164c / God allows suffering and evil to test us in relation to others; Mat 5-23,24; 137l (97k) Thy kingdom come >> Endurance (Thorn in the flesh) >> Rooted deeply >> Standing firm together in the faith (102m) Thy kingdom come >> Faithfulness (Loyalty) >> Loyalty is unswerving -- This verse goes with verse 26 (144b) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Witnesses of Jesus >> The Church bears witness of Jesus >> It bears witness of the cross (147i) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness to Jesus >> Evangelism >> Solemnly testify about Jesus (150ca) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness to Jesus >> Confessing Jesus to be saved >> Confessing Jesus as the Son of God (164c) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> The world system >> Satan rules the world >> The world is his kingdom – God created the conditions to make us live with Satan. This was God’s design from the beginning that man should be tested in the Garden of Eden, fail and be pushed into Satan’s habitat. If Christ hadn’t come and saved us, we would have all perished in our sins, but God has established His manner of forgiveness and gave us His Spirit, empowering us to overcome temptation, so we can do the will of God and be forgiven our mistakes and go to heaven when we are finished in this life. Some people don’t understand why God left us here and arranged the circumstances that allowed mankind to suffer all these thousands of years. The answer to this is understood in the purpose of God in heaven; He is preparing us for our eternal future. See also: suffering and evil; 67h (189g) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Martyr >> Martyrs witness to the life of God KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Rev 2,14-16 (45b) Judgment >> God judges us for not judging ourselves >> Believer's judgment >> Judged According to our deeds -- These verses go with verses 20-25. Not everyone was guilty of the sin of Balaam, only some, and the Lord wanted the rest to repent of their deeds or He would confront Balaam with the sword of His mouth. The purpose of the faithful are to help those who are weak, not to condemn them but to guide them into the ways of righteousness. If they have a heart for God, they will listen; but if not, we should question their faith and wonder why they want to associate with the saints. Those who love the Lord will accept criticism and rebuke, but if they don’t, they prove themselves false brethren, and we should be wary of them. Their complacency is a danger to the Church and a contagion, yet the hope is always that they will return to the faith and be restored to fellowship, though bear in mind that false brethren are one of a variation of reprobates, and those with a reprobate mind never repent. See also: Balaam; 163d (161k) Works of the devil >> Satan determines the world's direction >> Carried away by religion -- These verses go with verses 20-24 (163d) Works of the devil >> Being a slave to the devil (Addictions) >> Bondage >> Being slaves of men >> Bondage makes you a victim of God’s judgment -- These verses go with verses 22&23. The things that were mentioned here were on the short list of things to avoid in Act 15-28,29, “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials: that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication.” People were demanding that the new covenant had rules, so to appease the people the apostles established a short list, and these two things were on that list: eating things sacrificed to idols and fornication. We should remember that the apostles didn’t want any rules at all. In the new covenant there is no need for rules, because the Holy Spirit leads us into all the will of God and away from things that are displeasing to Him. We instinctively know His will by the new nature that He has given us, and so we have the list written in our heart. Why then did these people who received such a good report from the Lord also receive this criticism? They were legalistic and consequently did things they knew were wrong. Therefore, God’s complaint was that they were violating their conscience. They were denying Christ's lordship in their lives and overriding the Holy Spirit. God wants His people to listen to their conscience and follow the Holy Spirit, and anything less is like being led by a dumb donkey (2Pet 2-15,16), like Balaam. The New Testament says, “We know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one” (1Cor 8-4). Those who walk in the Spirit are not constrained by these rules, so we should not eat things sacrificed to idols for conscience' sake and for onlookers, who would learn the unintended lesson of worshipping other gods as though it were acceptable to God. See also: Balaam; Rev 2-14; 250hh (172e) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Tares among the wheat >> Communion between the world and the Church >> The Church in the world -- These verses go with verses 20-24 (178f) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Hypocrisy >> Hypocrisy of the Church is rebuked >> The Church is rebuked for sin -- These verses go with verses 20-25 (179f) Works of the devil >> Practicing witchcraft >> Wolves >> False prophets >> False prophets preach works to deny Christ -- These verses go with verses 20-24 (180a) Works of the devil >> Practicing witchcraft >> Wolves >> Wolves lead people into a cult >> Leading people for sordid gain -- These verses go with verses 20-23 (181c) Works of the devil >> Practicing witchcraft >> Rebellion >> Rebelling against God >> Rebelling against the men of God – Act 21-25 says, “As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality.” God has a problem with dabbling in things that are included in this short list of restrictions. The early apostles were careful not to turn Christianity into a legalistic credo of dos and don’ts, similar to what happened to the old covenant, and for this reason it was a short list. The things on the list to avoid were for health reasons and for conscience sake (1Cor 10-28,29). It would seem logical, then, that those who lived entirely in the interest of their flesh would want to avoid them, but they are more interested in rebellion than they are in their physical health, which is an anomaly. (192j) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Turn from sin to God >> Repent >> Stop practicing sin >> Stop sinning (202b) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Running from God >> Running to your sinful nature >> Run from God by running to the world -- These verses go with verses 20-24. (241f) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Hindering the kingdom >> Obstacles in the way of the kingdom >> Obstacles that keep you from Jesus -- These verses go with verses 20-24 Rev 2-14,15 (232j) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Seeking the kingdom >> Embrace (Jesus during the storm) >> Things not to embrace -- These verses go with verse 24 Rev 2-14 (134i) Temple >> Your body is the temple of God >> Sins of the body >> Immorality >> Adultery >> Spiritual adultery -- This verse goes with verses 20-25 (151e) Witness >> Validity of the Father >> New Testament bears witness of the Old >> The Patriarchs >> The Old Testament prophets (155d) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Witness of the believer >> Conscience >> An evil conscience keeps us from believing God >> Knowledge of evil testifies against our deeds -- This verse goes with verse 20 (173h) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Catholicism >> Unholy sacrifice (Penance) >> Offering sacrifice without God’s approval >> Sacrifice against the ways of God -- This verse goes with verse 20 (195g) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Idolatry >> Worshipping men >> Worshipping the idol of pleasure -- This verse goes with verse 20 (250hh) Priorities >> God’s prerequisites >> Sequence of priorities >> Believe the first message; all subsequent messages are meant to dissuade you – Balak, king of Moab, hired Balaam the false prophet to curse the people and prophesy falsely against them, because Balak was afraid of them, and so Balaam climbed a high mountain where he could see the nation of Israel in the valley, and God commanded Balaam not to curse these people because they were blessed, but Balaam disobeyed the Lord's command and attempted to curse the house of Israel, but the curse backfired on him. Balaam had a dream that night to go with them but to speak only the word of the Lord, but the dream was not from God. Balaam's sin was that of a disobedient prophet (also read 1King 13,11-24). Gal 1-8 says, “Even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!” Therefore, Christ's message to Pergamum was to stop listening to false prophets. See also: Balaam; Rev 2,14-16; 45b KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Rev 2-16 (45g) Judgment >> Believer’s sin >> God will judge us with the world if we live like them -- This verse goes with verse 5 (46b) Judgment >> Spiritual warfare >> Subjecting your flesh >> Preparing for battle -- This verse goes with verse 12 (150h) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness of Jesus >> Speak the word of the Spirit >> Speaking the words that God speaks (215g) Sovereignty >> God controls time >> Suddenly >> The judgments of God come suddenly >> Without warning – The word “suddenly” frequently appears in the New Testament, most often in context with endtime prophecy, enough that it should catch our attention. Quickly people will have to turn and run in the opposite direction; but if we are not prepared, many will run out of time, because the last day’s events will come fast and furious, like a locomotive barreling down the tracks. Rev 2-17 (39e) Judgment >> Jesus defeated death >> Victory >> Jesus overcame the world -- This verse goes with verses 26-29 (76n) Thy kingdom come >> Desires >> Word is food >> Bread of life is the word of God – Manna fell from heaven like dew on the ground for the children of Israel for the forty years that they wandered in the wilderness. Jesus depicted Himself as manna, saying He was the bread of life that came out of heaven from God. Since Jesus is also called the word of God, “manna” refers to the spiritual knowledge of God, written in our heart, the revelation of Jesus Christ. He illumines our mind to understand the knowledge of God through the Spirit. Anyone who overcomes, God will give spiritual wisdom regarding His truth, but we must first believe, and through our convictions push through our fleshly hindrances, until God enlightens our mind with His faith that overcomes the world. (79k) Thy kingdom come >> Know the word >> Listen to the word >> He who has ears to hear, let him hear -- This verse goes with verse 29. (98ka) Thy kingdom come >> Endurance (Thorn in the flesh) >> Endurance invites the Holy Spirit into your life >> The salvation of God >> Enduring the wicked is to overcome them -- This verse goes with verse 26 (106e) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Hearing from God >> Attaining the hearing ear >> Having the ability to hear -- This verse goes with verse 29. This verse speaks of a white rock with a new name written on it, which refers to a highly intimate relationship between God and His true children; note that the stone represents permanence. Meanwhile a statement was reiterated seven times in chapters two and three that also testifies of our intimate relationship with God, "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." No other statement in the New Testament has been more often repeated than this one, and of course the purpose was to pound home its significance by rote. When endtime prophecy begins to unfold, those who have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying will navigate through the tribulation, unlike those who have not cultivated a hearing ear. Those who are deaf to the Spirit of God will not know what He is doing, and they won't know who to follow. We need to have a hearing ear, so when we hear the truth, it will ring true in our heart, while other messages will fail the test of the Spirit. See also: Hearing ear; 110h (110h) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Born of the Spirit by the truth >> Hearing the Spirit -- This verse goes with verse 29. God will give the hidden manna in the Ark of the Covenant located in the Most Holy Place. That is where we go to meet with Him, and He will give us a white stone. In the last days God will call us into a Most Holy Place with Him. The way into the Most Holy Place is to become a student of God’s word and a disciple of prayer. What does it say about this white stone? Written on it is a new name that God will give us that no one else knows. It is our new identity that we receive as we minister to Him. Developing a life of prayer causes a change in our innermost being, and we become a different person. We will remain ourselves with other people, but with God we can relate to Him in ways we cannot describe. See also: Hearing ear; Rev 2-29; 106e (208e) Personal Relationship (Key verse) (208j) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Personal relationship >> Being married to God >> Knowing God >> Sharing intimacy with Him – No one else knows the meaning of our new name except God, suggesting that we will share a special intimacy with Him that we cannot share with anyone else. A transformation takes place in those who dedicate themselves to the word of God and prayer, giving them a new identity that will be written in stone that will be unique to each person. This speaks volumes about our intimacy with God in heaven. Only He knows our inner self; we try to explain what God has done for us and discover there are no words. There is a transformation in behavior that we can share with others, but our inner person intimately communes with God in ways that are an abrupt mystery even to ourselves. Overcoming will redefine us, and our new name is written in stone that we can hold in our hand as our most precious possession. (221e) Kingdom of God >> The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Kingdom hidden behind the veil from the world >> God hides from the mind of man >> He hides the truth from man’s understanding (227d) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Rewards of heaven >> God rewards endurance >> Rewarded for overcoming sin -- This verse goes with verse 26 Rev 2-19 (81b) Thy kingdom come >> Prayer >> The priesthood >> Striving to please Christ (99k) Thy kingdom come >> Perseverance (Working to keep in motion) >> Persevere in doing good (102a) Thy kingdom come >> Ambitious to fulfill God’s calling >> To see God’s will in your life -- This verse goes with verse 3 (125b) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Faith and love >> Faith toward God and love toward man (137g) Temple >> Building the temple (with hands) >> Maturity >> Maturing in Jesus is hard work >> Maturity is the process of growing – After this commemoration we wouldn’t think the Lord would have anything negative to say to Thyatira, but He did; they tolerated the woman Jezebel. These are very serious charges that the Lord is leveling against them, and there was only one church that dodged criticism, the church in Philadelphia (Rev 3,7-9). Christ had no complaints about her, but the rest he told the good things they were doing and then showed them areas they could improve, and those improvements would make them less vulnerable to the antichrist. Just the fact that their deeds of late were better than earlier indicates they were growing, and there can hardly be a better complement than that. Just the fact that we are growing means that no matter what the problem, we can rise above it, but if we are not growing, how can we conquer the antichrist who is growing into the material realm? See also: Jezebel; 236e (155ka) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of salvation >> You will know them by their fruits >> You will know them by their good deeds >> Good works prove our faith (212j) Sovereignty >> God is infinite >> God is all knowing >> God knows everything about you -- This verse goes with verse 23 (236e) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Invest in the kingdom >> Invest your strength into the kingdom >> Invest your labors – This is the church of Thyatira, who persevered in difficulties, whose faith did not stop short of faithfulness. We would think this would be enough to please the Lord, but He critiqued them and said they tolerated the woman Jezebel who called herself a prophetess, who teaches and leads His bondservants (prophets) astray to commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols (1Kings 16-31). Christians of Thyatira did these things, and the Lord doesn’t want us partaking of the wrong spirits, and if we do, our devotion will be to demons instead of Christ, stirring Him to jealousy. If these were issues of the early church; how much greater are the issues of the Church in the last days that is prophesied to slump into a state of apostasy? See also: Jezebel; Rev 2,20-25; 134i KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Rev 2,20-25 (45b) Judgment >> God judges us for not judging ourselves >> Believer's judgment >> Judged According to our deeds -- These verses go with verses 14-16 (134i) Temple >> Your body is the temple of God >> Sins of the body >> Immorality >> Adultery >> Spiritual adultery -- These verses go with verses 4&5. It says they committed acts of immorality, which could be adultery or fornication. Fornication was not prohibited in the Old Testament; in fact, you could have more than one wife, but adultery was always against the Law. They had to be faithful to their wives, and they couldn’t marry the same sex, and they couldn’t have sex with animals. All these things still apply in the new covenant, but now fornication has been added to the list of taboos. Anybody who lies with this woman will go through the Great Tribulation. If we don’t have sex with a harlot, we won’t have to worry about her diseases, but if we do, we open ourselves to the STDs of her many lovers. We cannot tell what diseases she has by looking at her, only afterward will the symptoms of her diseases present themselves. The Church in the last days is diseased with false doctrine, and when the antichrist reveals himself, the STDs of the Church will also become apparent, exposing the fact that many Christians have committed adultery with the spirit of Jezebel. She takes us back to the Old Testament with King Ahab who wielded the authority of the kingdom, while his wife, Jezebel, called the shots (1Kings chapters 18&19). See also: Jezebel; Rev 2,20-24; 3j (178f) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Hypocrisy >> Hypocrisy of the Church is rebuked >> The Church is rebuked for sin -- These verses go with verse 4. This is not the gospel that people preach today; the Church warns the world of God's judgment, yet most Christians consider themselves exempt from judgment. It says here that God will give to each of us according to our deeds. Repentance is relatively unmentioned in the Church today. Instead, all we hear is ‘love, love, love’ and ‘grace, grace, grace,’ but we never hear the other side of the gospel about repentance, which is the new covenant version of the law. Just as God dictated the law to Moses and expected Israel to follow it, so repentance is expected in the new covenant. Repentance is not based on an itemized list of dos and don’ts; instead, the Holy Spirit teaches us what is right and wrong, and so the Church needs to repent of disregarding the Holy Spirit. (193j) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Turn from sin to God >> Repent >> Consequences of not repenting – God understands all forms of disobedience, most of our questions and some of our doubts, but stubborn resistance is plain unacceptable to Him. He understands when we fall flat on our face, get up and keep walking with Him, but the pretenders who make grandiose claims of an invisible faith do not know Him. Those who have died without Christ will meet Him at the White Throne Judgment as the worst misfortune of their existence. They will wish they repented, but they don’t believe in God, and so what can they do? God accepts repentance, not remorse. If we regret our life enough to change our ways, God accepts that, but if our remorse never materializes, God says our heart hasn’t changed. God doesn’t need our repentance; we do and those around us; but if we can’t manifest our faith, how do we know it is real? Rev 2,20-24 (3j) Responsibility to the Family >> God addresses both genders >> Evil women – This woman Jezebel was the wife of an evil king in the Old Testament (1Kings chapters 16 through 21; 2Kings chapter 9), but John refers to her as a spirit. She is not the actual Jezebel, but is in fact the spirit of Satan influencing great masses of people to think and act like Jezebel. See also: Jezebel; 161k (135h) Temple >> Your body is the temple of God >> Sins of the body >> Abortion >> God’s judgment against abortion >> God kills that which is conceived by the Jezebel spirit (161k) Works of the devil >> Satan determines the world's direction >> Carried away by religion -- These verses go with verses 14-16. The fact that the woman Jezebel fancies herself as a prophetess speaks of the Charismatic (including and especially prosperity teachers) and Pentecostal denominations, who seek to operate in the gifts of the Spirit, and the fact that her name is Jezebel smacks of her rebellion. They always seek after a more spiritual side to Christianity, but the only thing that comes of her searching is counterfeit truth, being unwilling to place love before the gifts (1Cor 12-31). Most Charismatics don’t come any closer to genuine spirituality than Christians who condemn the gifts of the Spirit. Charismatics and prosperity teachers have become sick in their minds and sick in their souls that even their doctrines have become ill. Anybody that commits adultery with them and adopts their views God will cast into great tribulation together with them, and He will kill her children with pestilence, and the fruit of her religion will die. See also: Jezebel; Rev 2-20; 198h (172e) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Tares among the wheat >> Communion between the world and the Church >> The Church in the world -- These verses go with verses 4&5 (179f) Works of the devil >> Practicing witchcraft >> Wolves >> False prophets >> False prophets preach works to deny Christ -- These verses go with verses 14-16 (183b) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Spirit of Error (Anti-Christ / Anti-Semitism) >> Witchcraft >> Sin is the incubator of witchcraft >> Through satanic influence -- These verses go with verse 9 (202b) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Running from God >> Running to your sinful nature >> Run from God by running to the world -- These verses go with verses 14-16. This is a very dark description of the Church in the last days. It knows the so-called deep things of Satan, when it should be exploring the deeper things of God. The phrase, “as they call them,” suggests that there is really nothing deep about Satan, who uses the elementary principles of the world to achieve his goals. The Lord is talking to many in the Church today who refuse to repent, who practice violating the law, only worse—they violate the Holy Spirit who is trying to steer them away from these things and into repentance. They are idolaters who love the world more than they love God (Jm 4-4). (241f) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Hindering the kingdom >> Obstacles in the way of the kingdom >> Obstacles that keep you from Jesus -- These verses go with verses 14-16 Rev 2,20-23 (18l) Sin >> Twisted thinking >> Evil is good >> Loving bondage (180a) Works of the devil >> Practicing witchcraft >> Wolves >> Wolves lead people into a cult >> Leading people for sordid gain -- These verses go with verses 14-16 Rev 2,20-22 (156K) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of being hell-bound >> Living an ungodly lifestyle >> Practicing sin Rev 2-20 (155d) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Witness of the believer >> Conscience >> An evil conscience keeps us from believing God >> Knowledge of evil testifies against our deeds -- This verse goes with verse 14 (160e) Works of the devil >> Led by the devil into sin (161e) Works of the devil >> Wandering >> Follow the wrong leader (173h) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Catholicism >> Unholy sacrifice (Penance) >> Offering sacrifice without God’s approval >> Sacrifice against the ways of God -- This verse goes with verse 14 (180d) Works of the devil >> Practicing witchcraft >> Wolves >> Be shrewd as wolves and more innocent than they appear >> Wolves in sheep’s clothing -- This verse goes with verses 2-4 (195g) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Idolatry >> Worshipping men >> Worshipping the idol of pleasure -- This verse goes with verse 14 (198h) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Ordained by man >> Having evil motives for seeking leadership positions >> Seeking to gratify their flesh through the ministry – Jezebel calls herself a prophetess; she is very much alive and well in the Church today. She was King Ahab’s wife, and she was rebellious, taking over her husband’s kingship. Some people say they resemble Bill and Hillary Clinton's administration. Ahab was an evil man, and Jezebel was stronger-willed and even more zealous for her hatred of God than her husband. She especially hated God’s prophet, Elijah. A similar Jezebel spirit will attack an Elijah figure and his counterpart (the Two Witnesses) who in the last days will lead a Great Endtime Revival that will suddenly take over the world as Satan is establishing his one-world government at the same time, which will incite a spiritual war, the likes the world has never seen. It will be a catfight between the princess of the Lamb and the Jezebel spirit. The Lord is criticizing the church in Thyatira that her present trajectory will lead her to reject this Great Endtime Revival led by the Jews and will instead side with the devil and join the persecution of the saints. Catholicism teaches and leads Christ's bondservants astray, so that they commit acts if immorality and eat thing sacrificed to idols, referring to their form of communion, and her immorality refers to her idolatry. See also: Catholicism; Rev 2-23; 60f / Jezebel; Rev 2-23; 60f / Great Endtime Revival (Catfight between the princess of the Lamb and Jezebel the adulteress); Rev 18,6-8; 49f KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Rev 2,21-23 (48h) Judgment >> Levels of judgment >> Judged according to your type of sin Rev 2-21 (8a) Responsibility >> Use time efficiently >> Use wisely what time you have – To repent (154c) Witness >> Validity of the Father >> God bears witness against the world >> No excuse >> There is no excuse for sin (201i) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Running from God >> Man’s will over God >> Man is unwilling to repent – Some of the most horrific wars have occurred in the twentieth century, yet repentance was not the result of either World War I or II. Those responsible for what happens in wartime blame the soldiers for the atrocities, but what would they have done if the soldiers didn’t go to war? They would have lined them before a firing squad and shot them for treason. No, it's not the soldiers who are guilty of atrocity, but all of mankind. Everybody gets their hands dirty in war, both those who are sent and those who send them. (215b) Sovereignty >> God controls time >> God’s timing >> God Has Good Timing >> God’s time is sufficient Rev 2-22,23 (104a) Thy kingdom come >> Purifying process >> Purified by circumstances >> Purified through judgment (163d) Works of the devil >> Being a slave to the devil (Addictions) >> Bondage >> Being slaves of men >> Bondage makes you a victim of God’s judgment -- These verses go with verses 14-16 (217l) Sovereignty >> God overrides the will of man >> God’s will over man >> You cannot control the judgment of God >> You cannot control how God responds to sin Rev 2-22 (165i) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Hardship >> Circumstances caused by the devil (218e) Sovereignty >> God overrides the will of man >> God’s will over man >> Reaping the harvest >> We choose our actions, not their consequences >> Reaping the harvest of our works KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Rev 2-23 (51k) Judgment >> Judging the Church with the world >> No partiality with God’s justice – God intends to judge the world in the last days according to its deeds through the apocalypse, and afterward He will judge the world according to its deeds at the White Throne Judgment and sentence unbelievers to eternal damnation in hell. This statement, 'God judges us according to our deeds,' rebuffs the idea that God judges us according to our intensions or according to our doctrines, or according to the accuracy of our theology. (60f) Paradox >> Two implied meanings >> Killing the offspring of the Jezebel spirit / Abortion – All the churches described in chapters two and three of Revelation reflect attributes the Church will have in the last days, and we are currently living in those days. According to the Revelation of John, the Church in Thyatira has a Jezebel spirit. It says that Jezebel has offspring through harlotry, and through her immorality she conceives and bears children of a prostitute, referring to the Catholic Church. Catholicism cannot win souls to its religion, so they must grow them, and for this reason the Catholic religion opposes abortion. It says that God will kill her children with pestilence during the great tribulation. See also: Catholicism; Rev 2-20; 198h / Jezebel; Rev 2-19; 137g (74f) Thy kingdom come >> Heart is man’s central value system >> Where value interprets the man (88g) Thy kingdom come >> Fear of God >> Fearing God's judgment is the beginning of wisdom >> Fear the consequences of your disobedience (212j) Sovereignty >> God is infinite >> God is all knowing >> God knows everything about you -- This verse goes with verse 2 Rev 2-24 (55f) Paradox >> Opposites >> Deep things of Satan (63l) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Sarcasm >> Scoffing at the wicked (177g) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> False doctrine >> Doctrines of demons (194e) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Turn from sin to God >> Hate evil >> Condemning sin >> Hate evil by being innocent of it -- This verse goes with verse 6 (232j) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Seeking the kingdom >> Embrace (Jesus during the storm) >> Things not to embrace -- This verse goes with verses 14&15 Rev 2-25 (98b) Thy kingdom come >> Endurance (Thorn in the flesh) >> Rooted deeply >> Plant the word deeply in your heart (232g) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Seeking the kingdom >> Embrace (Jesus during the storm) >> Hold on to your faith – There are many incidences in Scripture that speak about the return of Christ, and this is one of them, and His mandate was to keep the faith until He comes, though it be 2000 years and counting. The Lord spoke this to the Church in Thyatira, and His word has spoken to every generation after them. The greatest blessing that God has given man’s flesh is death, so that people have waited 70 or 80 years and then died and went to heaven so nobody had to wait 2000 years. God expects us to believe in Him, even if we never see His return, die, and then meet the Lord in heaven where faith is rewarded. Those who faithfully waited and never saw Him are like Abraham, who was faithful and never received what was promised (Heb 11-39). We hope to see the day of Christ, but if we don’t, our body will fail and we will go to be with Him, and become one with the saints of old, who patiently waited for his promise, which was made for a specific people and for a specific generation and for a specific time that He has prepared from the foundation of the world. Everything God said will come to pass and nobody will suffer loss. Those who waited and never saw His return are blessed with Christ, and those who see His return are blessed indeed, as the generation of Jesus’ day was blessed at His first coming. Long before Jesus came the promise was made through the prophets, and those generations expected the age we call Millennium that is still to come. See also: Abraham sacrificed his son; Jn 17-10; 34g KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Rev 2,26-29 (34d) Gift of God >> Believer owns everything >> New creation belongs to us – The Lord promised authority over the nations during the coming age of Millennium to those who overcome, but He was actually talking about this life. The Millennium will be a thousand years of peace, but to get there we must cross over the tumultuous tribulation, which we could define as the war of Christ that resembles King David setting up his kingdom in the midst of all his enemies. The last chapters of the book of Revelation speak about a new heavens and a new earth; it will be a creation that will support eternity, whereas this current creation is wearing-out. Christ's eternal kingdom will start before the Millennium, according to Rev 11-15, “Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.’” Christ’s reign will have officially begun at the First Resurrection, at the last trumpet as it says in 1Cor 15-52. God will destroy this present universe, including the earth, and He will create a new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells, meaning sin will no longer exist. God will establish His kingdom that will last forever and ever, whose creation will not crumble beneath His feet. God would not attempt to establish an eternal kingdom on a temporal universe; rather, He will create a new heavens and a new earth and establish His eternal kingdom on it, where it will remain forever, built on elements that are different from this present age, on the principle that God's Spirit will imbue the new creation. Then God will create a new people and command us to rule over them, as we will in the Millennium. The Millennium is a thousand-year training practice, preparing us for eternity. See also: Purpose of the Church in eternity; 36h / Millennium; 70ja / Judgment appended to the resurrected body; Act 17-30,31; 48b (36h) Gift of God >> Inheritance >> We are heirs according to the will of God – When Satan rebelled in heaven, there was no one who could intercede for him; therefore, Satan was doomed. The future creation that God will establish (and the people He will make), God will give to us, and we will intercede for them. There will be no sin, and they will not know good from evil, and so we will teach them, bypassing the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. In this way sin will never gain a foothold in His new creation. Jesus is called the morning star (Rev 22-16) that once belonged to Lucifer (Isaiah 14-12), and He will give it to us (Rev 2-28), suggesting that Christ plans on giving us everything Lucifer lost. Moreover, He has granted that we should sit on His throne that Lucifer gambled everything to obtain and lost. We will own far more than Lucifer ever dreamed of having; we already have far more than God gave Adam, and infinitely more in eternity. In the beginning He gave Adam and Eve the earth, and commanded them to be fruitful and multiply. The earth was the limitation of His inheritance, but God has given us the entire universe, and His kingdom will have no end (Isaiah 9-7). The people God will create after us will populate the new earth and spill to the next planet and beyond; throughout the universe over the course of eternity we will rule an infinite people. See also: Purpose of the Church in eternity; 70ja / Inheritance; Rev 2-9; 172a / He will give us a planet to govern; 2Jn-12; 104j (39e) Judgment >> Jesus defeated death >> Victory >> Jesus overcame the world -- These verses go with verse 7 (43b) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Conform to the character of Christ >> Conform to His nature (70ja) Authority >> Believer’s authority >> We have been given authority over all creation >> We are the children of God >> We have a place on His throne – Jesus will rule the nations with a rod of iron (Rev 19-15), and here it says we will reign with Him. Man populating the earth during the millennium still has a sinful nature, but Satan will have been locked in prison, so man won’t have a spiritual enemy prodding him to sin. Instead, they will have Christ gently guiding them, and so it will be a wonderful time of peace throughout the Millennium. Then Satan will be released from His prison and he will rally the nations together again to make war on Christ’s throne as he did from the beginning. All the gold of the world molded into bars will lay at Jesus' feet in the labyrinths beneath the holy city, left there a thousand years earlier by the antichrist before the war of Armageddon. “And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them” (Rev 20-9). See also: Purpose of the Church in eternity; 245i / Millennium; 245i / Satan wanted to be God; he wanted His throne; Rev 3-21; 67e (245i) Kingdom of God >> Spirit realm imposed on the natural realm >> Literal manifestations >> Manifestation of God’s righteous judgment >> Manifestation of Jesus’ victory over sin – There are reasons God wants to have a Millennium; everything that God has ever done since He created man was for the sake of teaching His people about Himself. Therefore, He will have a thousand-year reign when a number of things will happen: there will be a remnant on the earth from the tribulation, and prior to the bowls of God's fierce wrath they will migrate to Jerusalem seeking refuge, and at the millennium they will emerge from the catacombs to repopulate the earth, and by the time the thousand years is complete, there will be billions of people alive on the earth again, just as it was before the tribulation. There won’t be any wars, and the Bible says that people will live longer (Isaiah 65,19-20), so they will populate very quickly, and we will rule over them in training for our purpose in eternity. See also: Millennium; Rev 2-26; 227d / Purpose of the Church in eternity; Rev 2-26; 68d Rev 2,26-28 (34g) Gift of God >> God is willing to Give >> He is generous with His spiritual blessings (36e) Gift of God >> Gifts from the Holy Spirit >> The gift of authority Rev 2-26,27 (70jb) Authority >> Believer’s authority >> We have been given authority over all creation >> We have authority over the elements KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Rev 2-26 (68d) Authority >> Jesus delegates authority to execute judgment >> Against sin – This verse corresponds with Mat 5-5, “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth,” which is actually something that the ungodly cannot believe, because they live by the principle: Survival of the Fittest. Jesus, however, uses different principles. For example, one of the great weapons that Christians use to fight their enemies is gentleness, but to the ungodly these passages oppose each other (Rev 2-26 and Mat 5-5), in that unbelievers interpret “overcoming” in terms of taking up arms. The aim of every army in the world is to shoot more of the enemy than the enemy shoots of them, but Jesus taught that His people will overcome by faith through the spiritual fruit of gentleness. When any spiritual fruit is cited, it implies them all. For example, James gives a similar principle: whenever someone transgresses one commandment, he has violated the law as a whole (Jm 2-10,11), like poking a pin anywhere in a balloon pops the whole balloon. Therefore, if we use gentleness to overcome our enemies, we use all the fruits of the Spirit (Gal 5-22,23). Safely entering heaven is our goal, even if we must be brutally martyred to get there (Lk 21-16,17). The opposite of gentleness is violence, warfare, killing and mass genocide; therefore, gentleness is the spiritual fruit that directly opposes the enemies of God's kingdom. Those who try to defend themselves using the elementary principles of the world won’t receive authority over the nations because their choice of weapons proves they are not God's children. He who keeps the faith and continually repents and maintains the lordship of Jesus Christ in His heart until the end will be made a king of nations with Jesus who is King of kings and Lord of lords. The world sees us as small, insignificant and foolish, though they have no hope, but we hope for a kingdom that has no end. See also: Purpose of the Church in eternity; Rev 2,26-29; 34d (93a) Thy kingdom come >> The narrow way >> Keep yourself on the narrow way (98ka) Thy kingdom come >> Endurance (Thorn in the flesh) >> Endurance invites the Holy Spirit into your life >> The salvation of God >> Enduring the wicked is to overcome them -- This verse goes with verse 7 (102m) Thy kingdom come >> Faithfulness (Loyalty) >> Loyalty is unswerving -- This verse goes with verse 13 (127j) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Goodness >> Rewards for doing good >> Doing good is the prerequisite to going to heaven (227d) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Rewards of heaven >> God rewards endurance >> Rewarded for overcoming sin -- This verse goes with verse 17. God acknowledges overcoming to the end, not overcoming for a while, only to later give-up and fall-away. God has given us power to overcome to the end, even if we must be martyred for our faith. So if we give up, it is because of us and not because of Him. Those who are martyred will be resurrected and given authority over the nations during the millennium. It is possible that only the tribulation martyrs will be privileged to rule the earth during this time (Rev 20-4). See also: Millennium; Rev 2,26-29; 34d Rev 2-27 (253i) Jesus Is Subject to the Father (Key verse) (253j) Trinity >> Relationship between Father and Son >> Jesus is subject to the Father >> Jesus is under the authority of the Father >> Jesus obtained power through subjection to the Father KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Rev 2-29 (79k) Thy kingdom come >> Know the word >> Listen to the word >> He who has ears to hear, let him hear -- This verse goes with verse 7 (106e) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Hearing from God >> Attaining the hearing ear >> Having the ability to hear -- This verse goes with verse 7. Talk to people about the promises regarding the afterlife and they will say they have no application to this life, and so they don’t concern themselves with them, yet Jesus reiterated this statement seven times to emphasize its importance: “He who has an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” This means that the promises God intends to give us in the ages to come are relevant to us today, in that eternal life began the moment God planted His Spirit in us, on the day of our salvation. The reason people don’t consider the eternal promises to be of any significance is that they don’t care about the life to come; they only care about this life. They are so entrenched in the issues of this world that they can’t stop for a minute to consider the hope that Christ offers. If they had an ear to hear the Holy Spirit, they would know that engendering hope in their eternal future is more important than focusing on the vain circumstances of this life. See also: Hearing ear; Rev 2-5; 222b (109ha) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Spirit the teacher >> Spirit interprets the word for us -- This verse goes with verse 7 (110h) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Born of the Spirit by the truth >> Hearing the Spirit -- This verse goes with verse 7 See next page