Letters in Revelation

[Atwood]

It was posted:

"Spock, my thought on you partial rapture theory....

its called the day of the Lord or simply the day, not the days. And there arent any scriptures that speak of a third comming of christ."

Actually to my knowledge there are zero scriptures calling the Coming of the Lord "The Day of the Lord."

It is an important point of interpretation to get rid of the error that "The Day of the Lord" is either the Rapture or 2nd coming of Christ. Do a concordance check to convince yourself that "The Day of the Lord" is a destructive time of judgment.

[Donibm]

Observe something else in the letters.

 

I typed earlier that Jesus opened up with I KNOW in each letter.  But also observe His description of Himself.  Notice how each description is different, but PART of the full description that John gave prior?

 

Take for instance, the letter to the oppressed Church, who were being killed.  Jesus said that He was killed, but ALIVE AGAIN.  

 

So, for each letter, the symbolic thing about Jesus was mentioned so that He can not only show that HE KNOWS and UNDERSTANDS, but that HE HAS CONQUERED the very things that they are going through, and through Him, they too will conquer.

 

That is important too, so don't miss it.

[Donibm]

Donibm, you are so right that persecution promotes the church, that one of the things one can find in the book of acts. Persecution came and the apostles spread out in fear for their lives but all the while they preached the gospel and many heard the good news and where saved because of it,

And we know that all things work together for the good to them that love God, to them that are a called according to His purpose.

romans 8:28

 

Cletus,

 

It also separates the children from the chickens.  (lol, I just made that up)

 

 

Persecution will either drive the redeemed to their knees, deeply rooting them in the Lord ... or it will raise them to their heels while they cowardly run as far away from their relationship to Jesus as they can (to escape the persecution).

 

I pray my heart is ready for any and all forms of persecution, even unto death.  I pray that my love will be pure, no matter what I face.  That I will be CONVINCED, even as the Disciples were convinced!  After all, what sane person would go to a painful death for a ghost or a lie?  They were CONVINCED in our Lord Jesus, that He was indeed God the Son.  Otherwise, at least ONE of them would have been like,

 

"OK!  OK!  OK!  Wait a minute!  We were just kidding!  We took the body of Jesus and made this all up.  Please dont' boil me alive!  Please don't crucify me upside down.  Please don't stone me for blasphemy!"

 

... but that never happened.  Not even with one of them.  They were convinced that Jesus was indeed God the Son.  Convinced and with a pure love.

 

Oh ... such great accomplishments means so much suffering and loss and dedication.  I pray that my heart is ready. 

[Spock]

Thanks guys,

Always look forward to reading your thoughts on these matters.

Shalom,

Spock

[Salty]

I only see our Lord's Messages to the 7 Churches in Asia as historical for John's time, and then as a blueprint for all other Churches that exist from that time all the way up to Christ's return. I don't see a pre-trib rapture idea in any of it, especially not for the Churches of Philadelphia and Smyrna, since Christ gives them points directly involving the tribulation timing.

 

This would mean that those seven Messages are to be used when we go looking for a Church to congregate in. The Churches of Smyrna and Philadelphia especially had one thing in common, they both knew Christ's enemies of the "synagogue of Satan". If you know your enemies, then it's usually easier to know what they're up to so as to not be deceived by them.

 

When we look at the problems the other five Churches were having, it becomes pretty simple to understand how they had not recognized Christ's enemies, and thus had allowed those things to creep into their congregations. Thus I believe the Churches of Smyrna and Philadelphia represent Christ's "very elect" for the end of days, those who cannot be deceived, because Christ has put an open door before them that no man can shut nor open. I believe that open door only comes by proving ourselves worthy to God, rightly dividing His Word of Truth.

Edited May 24, 2014 by Salty