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Letters in Revelation


Donibm

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This is more of a "study" thread, but since I cannot create threads in that section...

 

This is not going to be exhaustive.  I'm only going to point out a few simple things that are often overlooked.

 

1)

John was on an island, not travelling all over the place.  So, how could he have known what was going on in all those locations?  He couldn't.  How can someone from Bermuda know what is going on in Cuba, or North Carolina, or Texas, or Florida (before all this technology)?  They couldn't.  Likewise, John couldn't have known what was going on in those locations, so the RECEPIENTS clearly received the letters with great joy, knowing and convinced that it was inspired by Jesus, not observed by John.

 

2)

Jesus opened each letter with two powerful words, that I'm finding most overlook - I KNOW.

 

Not only was He saying that He was well aware, but that He also understood because He Himself suffered greatly, and was poor, and was often hungry, and was beaten, and made to feel ashamed, etc.

 

3)

The letters were not for those individual Churches only, but for ALL Christians across ALL generations.  As the saying goes, "who the cap fits - wear it."

 

We know this because of how each letter ends.  "... what the Spirit says to the ChurchES".  That is plural.  And it is not specific to a location, but to the body of Christ.  So, when you read those letters, you should be asking yourself, which of them do YOU fit into.

 

 

... maybe some more later.  I've a great deal to say about Revelation, but too much to type in any online thread.  Still, just sharing these morsels.

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Donibm: These are good points you made. Yes, I think we could well ask about both a local church and about ourselves, which of the 7 church-types are you? We would like to be either Smyrna or Philadelphia, since they get no rebuke -- though we may be too chicken to really want to be Smyrna! Because of the correspondence between these 7 churches and the history of Christendom, I am inclined to think that the 7 churches are not only literal city-churches, but also typical of 7 movements in "Church History."

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Eating my popcorn (while waiting for the next scene)

You have my attention. I love me some Revelation talk. Nice start.

Spock drooling in anticipation

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Do you think there are many Churches standing like the Church of Philadelphia?

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BoPeep asks: "Do you think there are many Churches standing like the Church of Philadelphia?"

Let's check out the likenesses:

7 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:

These things says

He Who is holy,

He Who is true,

He Who has the key of David,

He Who opens and none shall shut, and who shuts and none opens:

8 I know your works

(behold, I have set before you a door opened, which none can shut),

that you

have a little power and

kept my word and

did not deny my name.

9 Behold, I give of the synagogue of Satan, of them who say they are Jews, and they are not, but do lie;

behold, I will make them to come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you.

10 Because

you kept the word of my endurance,

I also will keep you from the hour of trial,

that hour which is to come upon the whole world, to try them who dwell upon the earth.

11 I come rapidly:

hold fast

that which you have, that no one take your crown.

12 He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God,

and he shall go out thence no more: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God, and my own new name.

13 He Who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

SO LET'S SEE HOW THEY STOOD:

They have works

They

have a little power and

kept Christ's word (and the word of His endurance)

and

did not deny His name.

They have something, a crown coming.

that which you have, that no one take your crown.

They have works so I think they were not lazy (big sin). Diligence is the virtue (neither haste nor laziness). I don't see them as Sunday go to meeting Christians. They have a fellowship that furthers the gospel (see the theme of Philippians). Some churches may have a fellowship that is vain. Are not many churches mostly wasting time? IMHO, for every Church where significant sermons are preached, there are at least 1000 dud-preacher-churches where lazy preachers (who hardly prepared) blather away saying nothing significant, boring the congregation out of its gourd or scratching itching ears.

They

have a little power.

How many have even a little? This reminds one of faith the size of a mustard seed. They actually win some souls and edify some saints. Many have a form of the gospel but deny its power, or pervert the true power of the gospel in transforming persons into sensational nonsense, pew-hopping madmen playing church with magician tricks.

and

kept Christ's word (and the word of His endurance)

For every church where they actually believe Christ's word, there must be at least 1000 where the fact that the Word is true, is a matter of debate or disregard.

and

did not deny His name.

Denial of the nature of Christ is quite common. It can be practically against the law to pray in Christ's name. There must be many churches where Christ is another religious teacher alongside others.

They have something, a crown coming.

that which you have, that no one take your victor's wreath/crown.

I suppose there must be few churches around where there are many soul-winners eligible for the soul-winners crown.

Typically speaking, it seems to me that:

right now we have at least two Church/Christendom eras overlapping (and probably four); that is, movements that started sequentially but overlap before they end: Thyatira being the Papist, Sardis being the Reformation, Philadelphia being the great missionary movement, and Laodicea being the modern apostate pseudo-church of the unregenerate. There still are Philadelphia missionary/evangelizing churches where real Bible teaching occurs. And I expect that movement to continue until the Rapture (this Church is promised not to go through the tribulation), while Laodicea goes into the tribulation.

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Eating my popcorn (while waiting for the next scene)

You have my attention. I love me some Revelation talk. Nice start.

Spock drooling in anticipation

 

I wholeheartedly agree Spock, this should be very interesting

 

 

Do you think there are many Churches standing like the Church of Philadelphia?

 

Thanks for asking this question Bopeep, as I really enjoyed reading Atwood responses.

 

 

BoPeep asks: "Do you think there are many Churches standing like the Church of Philadelphia?"

Let's check out the likenesses:

7 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:

These things says

He Who is holy,

He Who is true,

He Who has the key of David,

He Who opens and none shall shut, and who shuts and none opens:

8 I know your works

(behold, I have set before you a door opened, which none can shut),

that you

have a little power and

kept my word and

did not deny my name.

9 Behold, I give of the synagogue of Satan, of them who say they are Jews, and they are not, but do lie;

behold, I will make them to come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you.

10 Because

you kept the word of my endurance,

I also will keep you from the hour of trial,

that hour which is to come upon the whole world, to try them who dwell upon the earth.

11 I come rapidly:

hold fast

that which you have, that no one take your crown.

12 He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God,

and he shall go out thence no more: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God, and my own new name.

13 He Who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

SO LET'S SEE HOW THEY STOOD:

They have works

They

have a little power and

kept Christ's word (and the word of His endurance)

and

did not deny His name.

They have something, a crown coming.

that which you have, that no one take your crown.

They have works so I think they were not lazy (big sin). Diligence is the virtue (neither haste nor laziness). I don't see them as Sunday go to meeting Christians. They have a fellowship that furthers the gospel (see the theme of Philippians). Some churches may have a fellowship that is vain. Are not many churches mostly wasting time? IMHO, for every Church where significant sermons are preached, there are at least 1000 dud-preacher-churches where lazy preachers (who hardly prepared) blather away saying nothing significant, boring the congregation out of its gourd or scratching itching ears.

They

have a little power.

How many have even a little? This reminds one of faith the size of a mustard seed. They actually win some souls and edify some saints. Many have a form of the gospel but deny its power, or pervert the true power of the gospel in transforming persons into sensational nonsense, pew-hopping madmen playing church with magician tricks.

and

kept Christ's word (and the word of His endurance)

For every church where they actually believe Christ's word, there must be at least 1000 where the fact that the Word is true, is a matter of debate or disregard.

and

did not deny His name.

Denial of the nature of Christ is quite common. It can be practically against the law to pray in Christ's name. There must be many churches where Christ is another religious teacher alongside others.

They have something, a crown coming.

that which you have, that no one take your victor's wreath/crown.

I suppose there must be few churches around where there are many soul-winners eligible for the soul-winners crown.

Typically speaking, it seems to me that:

right now we have at least two Church/Christendom eras overlapping (and probably four); that is, movements that started sequentially but overlap before they end: Thyatira being the Papist, Sardis being the Reformation, Philadelphia being the great missionary movement, and Laodicea being the modern apostate pseudo-church of the unregenerate. There still are Philadelphia missionary/evangelizing churches where real Bible teaching occurs. And I expect that movement to continue until the Rapture (this Church is promised not to go through the tribulation), while Laodicea goes into the tribulation.

 

Excellent Response Atwood, you have given me some fresh food to chew on.

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Hey Atwood,

Do you think your response here as well as our Lord's answers to the 7 churches lends "some credibility" to my two rapture theory?

Philadelphia church-faithful only believers get a secret before tribulation rapture (Sardis probably too)

Other churches - not clean enough in need of some purging, thus into the fire. These people get Raptured before wrath of God is unleashed (7th seal)

Thoughts?

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@ Atwood,

 

For me, I've identified where I fall.  I've done it in  personal conversation and in online threads.  It's really no wonder or question.  But I do wonder about those tho think they are "alive" but are dead.  I wonder if they can discern who they are.

 

Intersting, but I'm much slower to adopt things that are beyond what is written.  Perhaps there is a measure to the movements, but then again, the CHURCH is not a certain area or a certain age of a certain nation.  The CHURCH transcends nations, cultures and generations.  The CHURCH, are the born against believers, whether they are black, white or Asian, rich or poor, male or female, educated or not, great and mighty in works or new converts.  So, to me, it is far beyond an age or movement, though elements of what is in Revelation could most certainly apply.

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@ Spock. 

 

Funny.

 

Well, there is another morsel, and it concerns the Jews.

 

The part that says "who say they are Jews, but are not, but are of the synagogue of Satan" ... isn't talking about people who claim to be Jews, it IS about Jews.  Let me explain...

 

Jesus is having this message sent to Christians.  Jews rejected the Messiah, and as such, were rejected BY the Messiah.  They are heading for damnation.  No if, ands or buts about it.  Jesus Himself said to them that they will feel awful when their fathers and all nations enter in but they themselves are cast out into outter darkness.

 

You see, Isaiah said it.  Isaiah told us who and what ISRAEL really is.  He said that Israel are those who turn from sin (basically).  What Isaiah was saying was reinforced and further explained by Paul.  Paul wrote that the real Jew is not the one with blood ties to Jacob, but the one who is INWARDLY.  Basically, and African who has a heart towards God and a desire to live for Him is more of a Jew than someone who is unsaved, rejects God, but can prove their geneology tie right back to king David.  A lot of things the Paul taught weren't actually new teachings.  They were things that existed already in the Hebrew text, such as circumcising the foreskin of your heart.  That was what Moses originally taught, not Paul.

 

So, fast forward to Revelation and you see Jesus Himself essentially saying that "You see these Jews?  These ones who have rejected Me?  These, whom My bride will call "Judaizers" in times to come?  They are not of Me.  They do not belong to Me.  Their persecution of you is of no command of Mine.  In fact, I don't even know them and I have already cut them off."

 

Basically, that is what Jesus was saying to those Gentile/Jewish Christians in that Church.  He was saying that their geneology means nothing to Him and they are not what they boast about - Gods special little people (for God Himself had cut them off, evidenced by all the suffereing and them being scattered).

 

I think, when people learn what "only a remnant will be saved" really means, they will know that Isaiah was talking about only a small number of Jacobs descendants will enter the Kingdom.

 

But when they also learn what "all of Israel will be saved", they will know that ISRAEL is all the saints, from every nation, tongue, creed, since even before Jacob was born.  Job was no Hebrew, but he is indeed part of Israel, because he died in Gods will.

 

This is what Isaiah and Paul were saying ... and what Jesus was eluding to.

 

"They call themselves Jews, but are not, but are of the synagogue of Satan" - Jesus

 

Powerful, powerful words by our Lord.  But too often people forget who the audience was - Christians - and they forget about the persecution of the Christians by the Judaizers.  But God has told us, that not even the Jews are in any position or right to tell us that we are wrong in Jesus.

 

 

Think on it.  Read it.  Pray about it ... if you have a problem with it due to mainstream teaching and rumor spreading.  This has nothing to so with "fake Jews", such as these Hebrew Israelites walking around, or these people who go through the hard process of converting to Judaism, and then are called "Jew" ... but have no bloodline to Jacob.  Now, this isn't what Jesus is talking about at all.  He is talking about JEWS, but because of their rejection of Him, He has rejected them.

 

And since Paul was called and sent by Jesus, is not Paul correct when he says that the REAL JEW is one who is inward (children of faith and obedience) and not one outwardly (bloodline of Jacob)?

 

Jesus warned the Jews not to boast of that, saying that God could turn the very stones into sons of Abraham.  lol  They trust in their bloodline and traditions to save them, but they are already doomed.

 

Only a remnant...

 

But ALL of Israel will be saved.

 

 

EDIT: and this is a Messianic Prophecy, that they would reject the Messiah (God) and in turn, will be rejected BY Him.

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Hey Atwood,

Do you think your response here as well as our Lord's answers to the 7 churches lends "some credibility" to my two rapture theory?

Philadelphia church-faithful only believers get a secret before tribulation rapture (Sardis probably too)

Other churches - not clean enough in need of some purging, thus into the fire. These people get Raptured before wrath of God is unleashed (7th seal)

Thoughts?

Revelation 3:10 Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.

 

This very well could be a verse regarding the rapture.

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