Wednesday, May 14, 2014

A Walk Through Revelation - Part 5

Letter#2
To the Church in Smyrna
Revelation 2:8-11

Smyrna
“To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:
These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.
11 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.  Revelation 2:8-11
 Jesus starts this letter to the church in Smyrna by proclaiming Himself the First and the Last, the one who died and came to life again. As we go on and read this letter, I think it will become clear why He wanted the readers to remember that Jesus, Himself had tasted death and yet lives.

Again, He begins with commendations for the church. He said...
I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich!
 Seems like a real contradiction, doesn't it?  The people of Smyrna were under severe persecution by the large population of religious Jews in the area. They suffered both physically and financially because of their faith, yet Jesus declares them rich.  They were rich in the spiritual sense of the word. Their faith was strong in the face of opposition and they had a rich reward waiting for them as a result of their unwavering faith.


I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
 Part of the persecution they suffered was slander by the Jews, who were Jewish in name only, not in the practice of living according to God's will, for if they were, they would not have been persecuting people. It's interesting to note that in the book of Corinthians, God says this about believers in Jesus Christ...

Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 1 Corinthians 3:16 NASB
and in this letter to the church of Smyrna, He says that the religious Jews are...

a synagogue of Satan.
Persecution was coming from the Jews, but as with all acts of cruelty, the driving force behind the act is the evil one - Satan - forever trying to destroy God's people.

10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.
Jesus knew what was ahead for this faithful band of Believers. Both the Jewish leaders and the Roman government were bent on wiping out the church (people) of Jesus Christ. They threw them in prison, tortured and usually put them to death. Jesus is telling the people not to be afraid. That seems humanly impossible. How can you not be afraid of being thrown in jail, tortured and put to death?  I believe what Jesus is saying is "don't be afraid for you future," because he goes on to say that He will give them life as a victor's crown. A victor is one who overcomes - in this case, those who do not deny their faith even in the face of affliction, poverty, persecution and even death.

Finally, he ends this letter with...

11 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.
That "second death" part was confusing to me. We are born once (physically) and born a second time (spiritually). We die once (physically), but is there another death?  I went hunting for an answer and found this explanation...

The promise to the overcomer is that he shall not be hurt by the second death. The second death is eternal separation from God in the lake of fire (Rev. 20:1, 14). Believers may face physical death, but because they have had a second birth (John 3:3-7), no believer will ever face the second death (Eph. 2:1, 5; John 5:24; 11:25).
(Taken from The Message To Smyrna at Bible.com. You can read the whole article by clicking CLICKING HERE.)
How does this message to the Church of Smyrna apply to us today?
Have you ever faced persecution because of your faith?
Do you think persecution of Christians is increasing?

If you live in America, you have probably faced the only mildest form of persecution for your faith. Want to know how the rest of the world is treating Christians?

"In this past century alone, more Christians were murdered for their faith than any other century in human history, an estimated 200 million."  ~persecution.org
Learn more about what is happening to Believers around the world. Check out this link to

Persecution.org  

 Be forewarned - you will be moved to tears and moved to pray - and that is as it should be.

Watch a video about the ancient town of Smyrna - An Introduction to the Letter to the Church of Smyrna. (It takes a few seconds to start.)


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Monday, May 12, 2014

A Walk Through Revelation - Part 4

Ruins of Ephesus (creative commons image)

Letter #1
To the Church in Ephesus - Revelation 2:1-7

1“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:
These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.
Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
In this, the first of 7 letters to the churches, Jesus tells John to write a letter to "the angel of the church of Ephesus."  The word angel here means messenger.  First, Jesus commends the Church in Ephesus for several things... 
  • Their deeds, hard work and perseverance
  • That they cannot tolerate wicked people
  • They carefully test those who claim to be apostles, but are not - exposing their deceipt
  • They have endured hardships for their faith and have not grown weary
These things still please God today - are they a part of your life?

Next, Jesus tels them one thing that he is disappointed in them for...
  • They have lost their first love
Remember when you first heard the gospel - that God love you so much that He sent His only Son to die on a cross in punishment for your sin, so that through forgiveness, you could be restored to a right relationship with God and live forever in Heaven with Him for eternity?

Remember how you felt - the love and gratitude that flowed in your heart? The joy? The clean feeling of a newly washed sinner? The excitement of telling others? The deep intimacy you felt when talking to God in prayer?

What about now? Do you still love God every bit as much as you did the day you were saved? Or have you let your love grow dim...even cold? What can you do to stir it up again...or to see that it never grows dim? (Read verse 5)  What happens if you don't return to your first love? (again the answer is in verse 5)What do you think it means to have your "lampstand" removed from its place?

After admonishing the church in Ephesus, Jesus again commends them because they "hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate."  Doesn't hate seem like an awfully strong word for Jesus to use. Notice that He didn't say He hated the Nicolaitans, but that He hated their practices. It's the same today. God loves everyone, but He hates the sinful practices of mankind. Want to know more about the Nicolaitans and what they were doing that Jesus hated so much?  Click here to dig a little deeper.


Jesus closes this letter with the following...

Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
What do you think the phrase "Whoever has ears, let them hear what the spirit says to the churches"? 
What do you think it means to be victorious as Jesus meant it?

Jesus said that if we are victorious, He will give us the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God (Heaven). The Tree of Life was first mentioned in Genesis 3:22-24...


22 And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” 23 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

What happens when someone eats from the tree of life? Why would God not want man to eat of the tree of life after having eaten from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil? (You can read the whole story in Genesis 3.)  

For believers who are victorious in maintaining their first love for Jesus/God, we see that He gives us the right to eat from the Tree of Life, which is now in paradise (Heaven). What do you think will happen when we eat from this tree?


Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit say... 

Prayer:
Father, thank you for showing us some things that please you. We understand that doing these things do not assure us a place in Heaven, for it was the life, death and resurrection that purchased our salvation. Doing these things are a result of our love and devotion to you. Help us to be busy doing those things, which you would have your children doing until we are with you in Heaven. God, help us to keep the fire of our love burning bright for you. Make us aware of sin so that when we fall, we will repent and return to the things we did at first. We look forward to the time when we can be with you forever in paradise. Thank you for making that possible! Amen

Want to know more about Ephesus?
Read the book of Ephesians - CLICK HERE
Ancient Ephesus - CLICK HERE
Watch a video about Ephesus...


What did you think about this study?
What was your "take-away" thought?
What do you plan to do as a result of studying this letter to the Ephesian church?

Please post your thoughts in a comment below.
 
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Friday, May 9, 2014

A Walk Through Revelation - Part 3


John’s Vision of Christ

I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. Revelation 1:9
John states again who he is - a brother and companion there different areas...
  • In suffering. There was great persecution of Christ followers in that day.  John, himself was a prisoner and exiled to the island of Patmos to live out the rest of his days for, as he puts it - the word of God and the testimony of Jesus, for he spent his day doing just that - preaching the word and his testimony - what he saw Jesus do and heard Jesus say.
  • In kingdom. John had worked along side other believers to further the kingdom of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ.
  • In patient endurance - this is the one that trips me up. I am not very patient when it comes to enduring hardship, so I admire John's ability to be patient and consistent in his work for God under great duress.
10 On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, 11 which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.” Revelation 1:10-11 NIV
Interesting that even though John was in exile, he kept the Sabbath. I love how he says he was "in the Spirit" on the Lord's Day. I wonder how many of us are "in the Spirit" on the Lord's Day...or is it pretty much like every other day with the exception of church in the morning? Anyway, John was so in tune with the Lord that He heard Jesus' voice speaking directly to him.
Creative Commons Image


12 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man,[a] dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. Revelation 1:12-16 NIV
What a sight that must have been! Is that how you picture Jesus? Quite a transformation from what he must have looked like when he walked the earth with John and the other disciples. Read that description again slowly and picture exactly what Jesus looked like. Amazing!

Notice the phrase "like the son of man."   This is a cross reference to a passage of prophecy in the book of Daniel. It was part of a vision Daniel had of heaven. 
Here's that passage from Daniel ...
13 “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man,[a] coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. Daniel 7:13-14
Notice again the reference to "one like a son of man" in referring to Jesus. A footnote to this passages states...
*The Aramaic phrase bar enash means human being. The phrase son of man is retained here because of its use in the New Testament as a title of Jesus, probably based largely on this verse.
Isn't it amazing that the book of Daniel was written 605 years before the birth of Christ and yet Daniel and John both have similar visions of heaven?
 
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.  Revelation 1:17-18
I'm sure I would have had the same reaction as John did - falling at Jesus' feet as dead - dropped, flattened - terrified. I love how Jesus reaches out and touches him, then reassures him, telling him not to be afraid. He then goes on to reassure John of his identity. How stunned John must have been to see Jesus again. Thrilled, but humbled to the core to be standing in the presence of the Savior.  Notice that Jesus holds the keys of death and Hades. For followers of Christ, that means we need never fear death or Hades, for death ushers us into the presence of God in Heaven and Hades will never be our destination!
19 “Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. 20 The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches. Revelation 1:9-20 NIV
Jesus gives John instructions. He is about to dictate letters to the seven churches. We'll begin to look at those letters next, with the first to the Church in Ephesus (Revelation 2:1-7) As we read through these letters, let's glean from them what pleases the Lord and what he does not like.

Prayer:
Father, thank you for this book. For this incredible glimpse of what Jesus looks like in Heaven and for what we are about to read. Help us to see in the letters things that we can incorporate into our lives that please you and point out things in our lives that we should change with your help. Amen 

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Thursday, May 8, 2014

A Walk Through Revelation - Part 2


John,
To the seven churches in the province of Asia:
Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
7 “Look, he is coming with the clouds,”
    and “every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him”;
    and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.”
So shall it be! Amen.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”  Revelation 1:4-8 NIV
*creative commons image
John begins to pen a letter to the seven churches. This is the general opening, but we'll see later that Jesus had something specific to say to each church individually, for He knew them intimately...knew what was going on in each of them and wanted to give them individual instruction...just as He knows each of us intimately and wants to communicate with us on a one-to-one basis.

He greets them with grace and peace, then tells who the letter is actually from - the one "
who was, and who is to come, (God) and from the seven spirits (also translated the seven-fold Spirit - the Holy Spirit)before his throne, and from Jesus Christ."

Here, we see the Trinity - the three-in-one - God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit. All three distinct, all three God. This is puzzling to many people and Bible scholars have come up with many ways to explain it. I can't explain it. It's beyond my comprehension, but I believe it.  There are three facets to God. 

I don't have a problem believing what I don't understand about God. I don't understand how He could love me so much that He sent Jesus to die for my sins just to restore a right relationship with Him either, but I am eternally grateful that He did it. I don't understand how He can forgive me when I keep sinning even after I've received salvation through His Son, but he does...and I am grateful. There's much that I don't understand about an Almighty God who created the universe with just a word from His mouth, but I live in that world and I am grateful. Let's not get hung up on trying to understand with our pea-sized human brains, all the ways of our God. Let's just accept that we can't comprehend it all, let's focus on the parts that we can fully comprehend, trusting God to take care of the rest. And let's agree with John, that this amazing God deserves all the "glory and power for ever and ever! Amen."

Now, back to the scriptures.

Verse 7 is a prophecy (a statement of some future event).

“Look, he is coming with the clouds,”
    and “every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him”;
    and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.”
So shall it be! Amen.
This prophecy tells us that Jesus is coming again and when He does, every eye will see Him...everyone alive at the time and those who "pierced Him" - those that are dead. How can that be? I don't know, but I believe that God is able to make that happen. Why would all people on the earth mourn because of Him? I believe that's because the only people left at this coming of Jesus will be those who rejected Him as Savior.  (Notice it says ALL people will mourn. I don't think Believers would mourn if they saw Jesus coming with the clouds.) The rest of mankind - those who did embrace Him as Savior will have been take out of this world in what we have called The Rapture. Though those words "the rapture" do not appear in the Bible, that's what we call the great "catching away" spoken of in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18


John ends this passage of scripture with a direct statement from God, Himself...

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Notice that this is the same wording John used to tell us who this message was from - the one who "is, and was and who is to come."

God confirms this by giving John a direct quote to use, confirming that this message is straight from His heart to His people.  Let's do what our first study said and "take it to heart."

Tomorrow we will look at Revelation 1:9-19 - go ahead and read it so that you will be familiar with the passage and be able to share some of your thoughts. I invite you to comment on each post in this study.

Prayer:
Father, we thank you for loving us enough to send us a personal message, for letting us know what the future hold and for confirming that this message is directly from you. Thank you for opening our hearts and minds to your message. Amen

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Wednesday, May 7, 2014

A Walk through Revelation - Part 1


Today I'm starting my walk  through the book of Revelation. I've read through it before, but that was a long time ago. Decided to read it again to remind myself of the wonders of Heaven and the future of mankind. 

"The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near."  Revelation 1:1-3 NIV
 There are many accounts, in the Bible, of God sending an angel to deliver His message to a man or woman.  I can't imagine what it would be like to suddenly encounter an angel...a real angel.  Call me a skeptic, but all these stories you hear today of people encountering angels...well, I just don't know if I believe them.  But the Bible - I believe.

If I did see an angel, I'd most definitely react the way many in the Bible did - falling on my face, terrified. 

The next thing that strikes me about the opening of this book is that those who read aloud the book of Revelation are blessed and those who hear it (read out loud) are blessed...if they take to heart what is written in it.  It's interesting that there is a special blessing for reading it out loud and hearing it out loud.  It's also interesting that it's not enough to just read it - we must take it to heart. The Free Dictionary defines the phrase "take it to heart" as to consider something very seriously or take criticism seriously and be affected or upset by it.

God wants us to take His word to heart. To seriously consider what it says and what it means to us. Even if what it says is upsetting, we must realize that this is truth. It will happen. Knowing that should cause us to think about the ramifications of what we're about to read in Revelation. How should it change the way we think and the way we behave? Our goals?

So, as we journey through Revelation - the book of our future - let's take it to heart. Please feel free to share with us through comments to this and future posts, what you are thinking and feeling about what we're reading and learning.

(Note - I know that sometimes this invites comments by people who are only interested in stirring up controversy and anger. Those posts will be deleted.  However, posts that ask honest questions or doubts will be posted and addressed to the best of our ability.)

Prayer:
Father, we ask that you open our heart, spirits and minds to understand and receive what you have for us in the book of Revelation. Let us take it to heart. Show us how to apply it to our lives and our behavior. Amen
 
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Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Feeling a bit wilted?


 "...whoever refreshes others will be refreshed." Proverbs 11:25

 Wouldn't you love to be refreshed right now?

Sometimes life can get so tedious. Get up, go to work, clean the house, laundry, grocery shopping, cooking, running the kids around, doctor appointments....it's the same routine day after day after day.

photo courtesy tekla (Traute Klasser), rgbstock.com


A weekend, or even a day away from the ordinary plodding of life can work wonders toward refreshing our spirits, but what if you can't get away? What if you can't afford a vacation or even a weekend get-away? What if the responsibilities of your life won't let you take even a day for yourself? What then? How do you get that much needed refreshing?

The secret's in the sauce.  Just kidding. The secret's right there in our verse for today - Proverbs 11:25...

"whoever refreshes others will be refreshed."

There's something about refreshing others - blessing others - encouraging others that brings a refreshing to our own souls.  It's God's principle of sowing and reaping in action. When we give to others, God honors our generosity and we will reap exactly what we sow.  After all, a farmer doesn't get spinach when he sows corn seeds, does he?

So, if you need a little refreshing, go out there and intentionally refresh others. Share a smile, a helping hand, a word of encouragement and God will see to it that you are refreshed, yourself.

I pray that this blog - Refreshed by the Word - will be one source of renewal for you. Please, God - let it be so.

What brings a refreshing to your spirit? Share that with us in your comment.

Blessings,
Jan

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Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Lord, Show Us Your Glory

What is the glory of God?

 “Then Moses said, “I pray You, show me Your glory!” Exodus 33:18 (NASB)


This is the first mention in the Bible of the glory of God. Moses praying to see God. What believer doesn’t want to see the beauty, majesty and splendor of God in all his radiance and brilliance?

The Old Testament word for glory can be translated as a unique beauty, majesty or splendor that sets a person or object apart from all others. The New Testament word for glory signifies a radiance or brilliance. The glory of God is not an outward appearance, but the beauty, the radiance of His Spirit – the splendor of who He is and what He has done.

God could not, however, fully grant Moses’ request, for no man can see God and live, so He led Moses to a cleft in a rock and there placed His hand over Moses as His glory passed by.

After this encounter with the glory of God, Moses glowed so brilliantly that he had to wear a veil over his face when in the presence of others. The glory of God is not an outward beauty, it’s His greatness and His goodness and it can only be found in His presence. The more time we spend with God, the more we will reflect His glory.

~~~

Prayer: Father, Like Moses, we long to see you in all your glory. As you reveal yourself to us, may our spirits reflect you to the world around us.

Dig Deeper:  Read Exodus 33 & 34

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