I Seal Good…You Knew That I Would (Revelation 7:1-17)

Marine Corps Raiders… Marine Corps Force Recon… Army Green Beret… Army Rangers… Air Force ParaRescue… Navy SEALS…

Search for ‘elite units,’ and these will be on the list.
(If I got something wrong, or overlooked any, don’t blame me; blame military.com. My military knowledge is limited to GI Joe action figures).
Super-special forces are a staple in the movies and on television. Whether it’s the Dirty Dozen or the Suicide Squad, humanity depends on their heroics.

As Nick Fury put it, “The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people, see if they could become something more. See if they could work together when we needed them to fight the battles we never could.”

There are elite forces in the Bible.

David had a group of warriors called David’s Mighty Men. The International Standard Version calls them “David’s special forces” (Second Samuel 23:8). Their exploits are legendary.
After Judas’ betrayal and suicide, the believers sought the Lord to fill his apostleship. Mathias was chosen and the group was afterward known as “The Twelve” (Acts 6:2). They turned the world upside down with the Gospel.

God has an elite force in the Great Tribulation.

An angel introduces John to them in chapter seven. We’re calling them Sealed Team 144,000.
“One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed” (v7).

Most futurist scholars believe this chapter reveals the success of their mission. The saved “great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues” in verse nine were likely evangelized by the Sealed Team.

I’ll organize my comments around two points: #1 Seal Me & I Will Be Sent, and #2 Seal Me & I Will Be Heard.

#1 – Seal Me & I Will Be Sent (v1-8)

Jesus said, “And this Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14). It seems straightforward enough.

The Gospel must be preached to every person on the earth before Jesus can return.

Jesus will return to resurrect and rapture His church to Heaven, thereby keeping His promise to keep us out of the Great Tribulation.
Seven years later, Jesus will return to the earth in His Second Coming to establish the kingdom.

When He told His disciples “this Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world,” Jesus described evangelism that would take place after the rapture of the church and during the Great Tribulation on the earth.

We should do everything we can to reach the world for Jesus. However, it is not something that must occur before we can be raptured.

The rapture is always imminent.

In chapter six we attended a prayer meeting under the altar in Heaven that involved martyrs from the Great Tribulation. Since the church will be gone, who shares Jesus with them?

Deploy Sealed Team 144,000.

Rev 7:1  After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree.

Angels must be eagerly awaiting the Great Tribulation. God will task them with amazing missions.

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse rode out in chapter six. It is not a type, or a figure, or an allegory. They are four angels on four heavenly horses. They see to it that the conditions on the earth correspond to the operational plan for the Great Tribulation.

Four additional angels are given a different task. They stand at the four points of the compass to keep the wind from blowing.

I’ve been pointing out as we go that there are many striking performances and pauses in the Revelation. It is a true future history, but God has a flair for the dramatic.

Withholding the wind is positively operatic. An eerie stillness comes over the entire planet. No wind or breeze or air movement anywhere. It is noticeable; it is palpable. God pauses the action to seal His elite force.

Rev 7:2  Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea,
Rev 7:3  saying, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”

The five-angel unit is on this support assignment. We’ll see other units of angels as we read further in the book.

The angel tells the four wind-blockers that once the servants of God are sealed, they are cleared to harm the earth.

A “seal” signifies ownership and protection:

These are “servants,” owned by God because He redeemed them from slavery to sin and Satan.
They will enjoy supernatural protection during the Great Tribulation on the earth. The next time we see them, their number is intact.

Will this “seal… on their foreheads” be visible? It will certainly be visible to those in the unseen realm.
Rev 7:4  And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed:

I find it beyond absurd that anyone reading the Revelation would mistake the identity of the 144,000 or claim it for themselves or some other group.

As far as being clear goes, this verse is crystal. “The tribes of the children of Israel” are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob’s physical descendants.

God is going to save Israel and the Great Tribulation is how He will do it:

The book of Romans devotes three full chapters (9, 10 & 11) to a discussion of God’s future plans for Abraham’s physical descendants.
We read, “I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! (11:1) … So all Israel will be saved” (11:26).
The prophet Jeremiah calls the Great Tribulation the Time of Jacob’s Trouble. Their persecution will make them realize that Jesus is their Messiah.
The Great Tribulation events that Jesus highlights in His Olivet Discourse describe Jews in the Holy Land.
Isaiah (66:19-23) and Joel (Acts 2:16-21) both speak of a group of Jews who will bring the Gospel to the world during the Great Tribulation.

The Lord wanted us to ‘get’ this so much that He added a monotonous breakdown of the numbers.

Rev 7:5  of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand were sealed;
Rev 7:6  of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand were sealed;
Rev 7:7  of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand were sealed;
Rev 7:8  of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand were sealed.

This list includes the tribes of Levi and Manasseh, and it excludes the tribes of Dan and Ephraim. Before you ask “Why?” I should point out that “of the nearly twenty Old Testament listings of the twelve tribes, there are not even two lists that are the same. There are various names excluded from these lists without any explicit significance attached to their exclusion.”

Since the Bible provides no explanation, any explanation is speculation. If God wanted us to know why Dan and Ephraim didn’t make the cut, He would have told us.

Sealed Team 144,000… Jews for Jesus… the 12²… the Maker’s Dozen Dozen… the Durable Dozen Dozen… The Salvation Squad.

They’ve been called “144,000 Billy Graham’s.” With no disrespect, they will be “144,000 apostle Paul’s.”

God deploys an evangelistic army. His seal will supernaturally protect them as they preach the good news around the globe to the last generation before Jesus returns.

#2 – Seal Me & I Will Be Heard (v9-17)

The Revelation is sequential.

It follows a linear timeline:

Jesus will open the seven seals on the scroll He takes from His Father.
When Jesus opens the seventh seal, angels will blow seven trumpets in sequence.
When the seventh angel blows his trumpet, seven additional angels will pour seven bowls of God’s wrath in sequence upon the earth.
Then we read, “It is done.”

There are many events chronicled in the Revelation between the seals, the trumpets, and the bowls. They are flashbacks or flash-forwards.

In the film Saving Private Ryan, a squad of Army Rangers must find Ryan before he is KIA like his three brothers. The film begins at the end of the story… then flashes back… then flashes forward.

Jesus opened the first six seals in chapter six. Instead of the seventh seal, we get a flashback and a flash-forward:

The sealing of the 144,000 in verses 1-8 is a flashback. It happens sometime before Jesus opens the sixth seal.
In verses 9-17 we see a flash forward of those saved by Gospel preaching throughout the Great Tribulation.

Rev 7:9  After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands,

“Which no one could number” is a literary hyperbole. John wanted to communicate the success of God’s program sending out the 144,000.

The “white robes” are actual heavenly garments that additionally serve to illustrate salvation by grace through faith:

Humans are born dead in sin. The Bible depicts us wearing “filthy rags.”
When a person believes God, they are declared righteous thanks to the death of Jesus on the Cross.
Jesus takes away your filthy rags and exchanges it for a white robe of righteousness.
The robe cannot be deserved or earned; it is a gift. Without it you cannot enter Heaven.

In Hong Kong, I was excited to buy brand-name clothing at a fraction of the cost. Too bad the Izod shirts I purchased were knockoffs sized for Hobbits.

All the world’s religions and philosophies are knockoffs – bad knockoffs.

In the end, they are all attempts to launder your filthy garments. None of them can provide you with Jesus’ robe of righteousness.

The stain of sin only comes out by Lamb’s blood.

The saved multitude has “palm branches in their hands.”

It immediately reminds us of Jesus’ triumphal entry when the crowd spread palm branches to make the way for the King. He was rejected in His first coming; Jesus is received in His Second Coming.

Palm branches are prominent at the annual Feast of Tabernacles. Jews build a temporary structure to camp outdoors. The tabernacles, also called booths, commemorate the shelter of the Israelites during their forty years in the wilderness.

The Feast of Tabernacles will be a world-holiday during the Kingdom Age:

Zechariah 14:16 And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.

The mention of palm branches seems to favor a future earthly celebration.

Rev 7:10  and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
“Salvation” in the Bible is three-fold:

You are saved the instant you believe God and He counts it as righteousness.
You are being saved, or we say sanctified, as you walk day-by-day with the Lord.
You will be perfectly saved when you are resurrected or raptured.

Salvation is only available as a gift from God. Jesus was sent from the throne in Heaven to earth as God in human flesh to be the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world.

Rev 7:11  All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,
Rev 7:12  saying: “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, Thanksgiving and honor and power and might, Be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”

In chapter four, we identified the twenty-four “elders” as a heavenly council of supernatural beings who assist God the Father. They appear behind the scenes several times in the Old Testament.

The church is safe in Heaven, but the twenty-four elders are not the church.

Worship is a significant activity in Heaven, as well it should be. They praise God for “Blessing and glory and wisdom, Thanksgiving and honor and power and might.” Each of these words has many definitions, many applications. It is therefore impossible to exhaust their depth and breadth.

Instead of defining them, we each ought to reflect upon them in our own life and circumstances. For example, there are seven praises in the list. Maybe take one of them each day and think about it all day.

Make Taco Tuesday Thanksgiving Tuesday.

Rev 7:13  Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?”

Interestingly, the elder asks John the question rather than vice-versa. You know John must have been wondering what he was witnessing.

Ask questions about a text when you are reading the Bible. But don’t forget to wait on it and let it ask you questions. Interact with it as a living Word.

Rev 7:14  And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

You don’t need to be a know-it-all regarding spiritual things. The man born blind could not answer the probings of the religious leaders. He knew that he was blind but now could see. It stumped them.

If you are saved, you know more about what is essential than the most brilliant nonbeliever.

Every believer can be described as having “washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” It isn’t something you do, because you must be given the robe in its already pristine condition.

Rev 7:15  Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them.
Don’t read verse fifteen as a job description. It’s a joy description. One of David’s psalms puts this into proper perspective: “One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple” (Psalm 27:4).

Rev 7:16  They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat;

These conditions describe a person on the run without resources. They are subject to the elements and malnourished. No more; never again. They are home.

Rev 7:17  for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Jesus was and is unique as the God-man Who alone in all the universe could die in your place as a lamb.

Knowing what it’s like to live as a lamb He is the perfect Shepherd.

Do you know that God saves all of your tears?

In Psalm 56:8 you read, “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.”

Every tear is accounted for in a ledger. In Heaven, that account will be ‘drained’ as God wipes away every tear. I don’t think it means you will suffer memory loss. You will understand things in a way you cannot until you are glorified.

It isn’t simply that we won’t cry anymore. God will heal every emotional wound and pain once-for-all.

God’s saved sealed servants will be heard and multitudes will receive Jesus. Mission Accomplished.

There is another elite unit we need to discuss. It is the church. In Second Corinthians 1:22 we’re told God “has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.”

Ephesians 1:13-14 is even more specific:

Eph 1:13  In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
Eph 1:14  who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

Apologist Don Stewart writes:

“We do not seal ourselves. It is completely an act of God. There are no outward signs which accompany the sealing of the Holy Spirit. The seal of the Holy Spirit guarantees believers that they are God’s children. Those who have been sealed by the Holy Spirit belong to the God of the Bible. Thus, when the Holy Spirit seals the believer, He guarantees that person’s security. God’s authority is behind the sealing. The sealing is thus a promise that the salvation the Christian receives is granted both now and forever. Whomever He seals, He claims as His own; He will never abandon them.”

You are not sealed to be protected from physical harm. The Church Age is a dispensation during which God is glorified in our weaknesses. Your sealing is far greater. It is the guarantee that He Who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.

Elite units normally have ridiculously high standards.

According to military.com, only about 6% of Navy SEAL applicants meet the requirements. Odds on completing training are 1 in 4.

You are sealed before you are trained.

You are instantaneously equipped with everything you need:

You are indwelt by God the Holy Spirit.
You have access to all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies.

In one important sense, you do not need more of anything except the willingness to yield to God the Holy Spirit.

On With The Scroll, This Is It (Revelation 6:1-17)

Shadowfax, “Lord of All Horses.” He is the white steed in the Lord of the Rings who bore Gandalf on his Middle Earth missions. A horse of Rohan, the chief of the Mearas, he was noted for his speed, “like an arrow.”

Trigger, Silver, and Cochise were once household names thanks to television. Sea Biscuit, the Black Stallion, and Hidalgo ‘starred’ in equine feature films.

By far, beyond any doubt, the greatest of them all:

Quick Draw McGraw.

Sheriff Quick Draw originated the iconic saying, “I’ll do the ‘thin’in’ around here and don’t you forget it!”No matter he occasionally shot himself. That’s what hero-horses do.

There are at least nine impressive steeds featured in God’s Word.

Four of them are in the Old Testament. In Zechariah 1:8-10 we read,

Zec 1:8  I saw by night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse, and it stood among the myrtle trees in the hollow; and behind him were horses: red, sorrel, and white.
Zec 1:9  Then I said, “My lord, what are these?” So the angel who talked with me said to me…
Zec 1:10  “… These are the ones whom the LORD has sent to walk to and fro throughout the earth.”
There are five significant steeds from Heaven’s stable in the New Testament. The most majestic is the war horse Jesus will ride in His Second Coming:

Rev 19:11  Now I saw Heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.

There will be a lot of horses when the Lord returns. “And the armies in Heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.” (Revelation 19:14).

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are the most widely known biblical horses. They are prominent as Jesus opens the seals on the scroll that He alone is worthy to take from His Father’s right hand.

I’ll organize my comments around two points: #1 You Hear The Voices Of The Martyrs Crying Out In Heaven, and #2 You Hear The Voices Of The Martyr-ers Crying Out On The Earth.

#1 – You Hear The Voices Of The Martyrs Crying Out In Heaven (v1-11)

The apostle John was “in the spirit,” raptured to Heaven, to attend the Scroll Call ceremony in chapters four and five. Jesus, the Lion of the tribe of Judah and the Lamb of God, stepped forward as the unique Person qualified to take the seven-sealed scroll from God the Father’s right hand.

The scroll is the operational plan for the seven-year Great Tribulation.

Rev 6:1  Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, “Come and see.”

We instantly recognize certain celebrity voices. James Earl Jones is at the top of most lists. He’s excellent, but no competition for the angel speaking “with a voice like thunder.”

When he says, “Come and see,” he is not talking to John. The word means proceed. The time has arrived for Jesus to proceed and open the seals.

Rev 6:2  And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.

The colors of the horses, and the outfitting of the horsemen, definitely suggest certain things. We are not free, however, to treat this as a figure or an allegory.

The horses of a different color are horses & the four horsemen are supernatural beings.

The first horse and rider are not Jesus Christ and His white horse:

Jesus rides out of Heaven to end the Great Tribulation, not to start it.

When Jesus returns, multitudes of His saints will follow him on white horses, not three angels on colored horses.

The Lord will be crowned with many crowns, not one.

The Lord will defeat His enemies by the power of His Word, depicted by a sword, not by a bow.

Neither is the first horseman the antichrist. The antichrist will be a human being on the earth. He won’t be sent from Heaven.

These riders are supernatural beings, most likely angels. They are members of Heaven’s Mounted Patrol.

They have power to ensure that conditions on the earth correspond to the first four seals.

On the Tuesday before His crucifixion, Jesus gave His disciples a talk about the Great Tribulation while on Mount Olivet. We title it the Olivet Discourse, but it is also known as the Little Apocalypse. Matthew recorded it in chapters twenty-four and twenty-five of his Gospel. It simplifies and summarizes the eighteen chapters in the Apocalypse that describe the seven-year Great Tribulation.

Jesus understood the seven years to have a very definite beginning, middle, and end. Here is what He said about its inception: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.

And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows” (Matthew 24:4-8).

The first thing Jesus mentioned was “false Christ’s.” The antichrist will be the ultimate false Christ. The color and the equipping of the first horse and rider suggest the conditions necessary for the antichrist to bring peace in a volatile atmosphere of “wars and rumors of wars.”

We know from other Scripture that the antichrist will sign a treaty with Israel guaranteeing peace. We know, too, that peace is the condition on the earth at the start of the Great Tribulation because, in verse four, peace is taken away.

Rev 6:3  When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come and see.”
Rev 6:4  Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.

“Wars and rumors of wars” is how Jesus put it to His disciples. In addition to wars, people will be killing one another. Think of any apocalyptic movie. Groups form seeking limited resources and are willing to kill for them.

The red horse and rider ensure that conditions on the earth are tumultuous.

Rev 6:5  When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand.
Rev 6:6  And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.”

“And there will be famines,” Jesus said in His discourse. A “denarius” was a day’s wage for a laborer. The measures of wheat and barley would be less than one person required each day.

“Oil and… wine” are luxuries. It suggests that there will be a severe gap between classes.

The black horse and rider ensure famine conditions on the earth. It could be as a result of wars, but not exclusively. There are many ways the food supply could be affected.

Rev 6:7  When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see.”
Rev 6:8  So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.

“Death” and “Hades” are inseparable companions in the Bible. You could make a buddy movie about them, but it would be very dark.

From Adam and Eve until the resurrection of Jesus, after Death everyone went to Hades. It consisted of two areas:

One was a place of comfort for believers awaiting Heaven.
The other was a place of torment for those who died in their sins, awaiting Hell.

Jesus conquered Death by dying on the Cross. He descended to Hades and when He ascended to Heaven He brought the righteous dead with Him.

When post-resurrection believers die, we no longer spend time in Hades. We are immediately absent from our bodies and present with the Lord. The unrighteous dead are still consigned to Hades to await their final judgment.

The pale rider is identified as Death, and Hades seems to walk alongside him.

“Death” and “Hades” aren’t their names. Sticking with Westerns, in the film Tombstone, Wyatt Earp announces his intention to execute his wrath upon the Cowboys. He tells Ike Clanton, “Run you cur. And tell the other curs the law is coming. You tell ’em I’m coming! And Hell’s coming with me you hear! Hell’s coming with me!”

Wyatt Earp was coming, not “the law” and not “Hell.” Likewise for Death and Hades. When the pale rider appears, Death is coming, and Hades is coming with him.

One “fourth of the earth” is killed. The serial killers listed are:

“Sword,” which could refer to violence in general.

“Hunger” is worse than famine. There will be nothing to eat. Hungry people will take up weapons against those who have food.

“Death” could refer to epidemics and pandemics.

“Beasts of the earth” will be set upon the human race as killers. Cujo… The Birds… Ben…

Rev 6:9  When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held.

Jesus said, “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake” (Matthew 24:9). People saved during the Great Tribulation have a strong likelihood of being martyred.
The “altar” in Heaven would correspond to the Altar of Incense in the Jewish Temple. I cannot visualize how these “souls” were “under the altar” without more information.

One scholar insightfully pointed out, “The verb tense shows this to be a single, definite appeal, not one that was continually urged.” These Great Tribulation martyrs gather “under the altar” for one specific prayer meeting when Jesus opens the fifth seal.

Rev 6:10  And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”

Their prayer could be read as them asking God to “judge and avenge.” It can also be read as their longing for God’s righteous rule on the earth that will put an end to evil. It is their way of saying, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.

A believer in the Great Tribulation will know that it lasts seven years, starting with the peace treaty, and that it will be marked by certain prophesied events at its middle and end. Yet they ask, “How long?”

Affliction and suffering cause us to question what we know to be true.

John the Baptist pointed to Jesus and told the world that He was the Savior. However, when languishing in prison he sent his followers to ask Jesus if He was the One.

Rev 6:11  Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.

At the Martyr’s Under Altar Prayer Meeting, they will be presented with a heavenly garment, a white robe, and told to rest. All believers get a white robe. This one may have a unique designation. Great Tribulation martyrs are an exclusive group. Not more spiritual than other believers, just distinctive. More will join the group and get robed before the end.

God’s plan to redeem sinful man and to restore ruined creation takes time. It takes the exact amount of time God has ordained. It seems to us to be unfolding at a sloth’s pace. To the Lord, “one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (Second Peter 3:8).

We calculate that there have been seven-thousand years since creation. To the Lord, it’s less than a week.

Whether it is now or in the future Great Tribulation, Christians are persecuted and martyred for “the word of God and for the testimony which they [hold]” (v9).

There are currently in America movements and mandates, pending legislation and proposed laws, that essentially make it criminal to preach what God’s Word condemns as sin. The California Globe titled an article, “The 2021 List of Family Values Killer Bills is Out and It’s Bad.”

Jesus promised the church that he would keep us out of the Great Tribulation. But we also know things are liable to get worse as the time approaches. Each of us can expect a moment of decision when, no matter the human cost, you must take your stand for Christ.

#2 – You Hear The Voices Of Martyr-ers Crying Out On The Earth (v12-17)

Jesus marked the mid-point of the Great Tribulation by saying, “When you see the ‘ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (v15).

It isn’t our subject, and I don’t want to go off on any tangents. Simply put, the ‘abomination’ is the antichrist going into the Holy Place of a rebuilt Jewish Temple in Jerusalem and demanding worship.

Our interest is that Jesus said “the abomination” marks the mid-point of the Apocalypse. He went on to tell His disciples what would follow over the next three-and-one-half years.

“For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be… Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from Heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in Heaven…” (v21, 29 & 30).

When Jesus opens the sixth seal, we read about those catastrophic events in the heavens.

Rev 6:12 I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood.
Rev 6:13 And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind.
Rev 6:14 Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place.

John saw the awful, final judgments that precede the Second Coming of Jesus.

You’d think that all there was left to do was to open the seventh seal and rejoice at the Second Coming.

To John’s (and our) surprise, the seventh seal is not the Second Coming.

When Jesus opens the seventh seal, seven trumpets are blown (8:6). The seventh trumpet is not the end. When the seventh trumpet is blown (11:15) seven bowls of God’s wrath are poured out (15:1). When the seventh bowl is poured-out we read “A loud voice came out of the temple of Heaven, from the throne, saying, “It is done!” (16:17).

The sixth seal brings us to the end of the Great Tribulation, then the seventh seal flashes back to show us everything that leads up to the end.

You have probably read a book or watched a movie that starts by telling you what will happen at the end. Then it flashes back to explain how the end came about. The opening of Ghandi portrays his assassination and the world’s reaction to his death. The whole film after that is a flash back of his life leading up to that end.

The Revelation timeline can be confusing because of the flash backs between the seals, the trumpets, and the bowls. Nevertheless it is sequential with a definite beginning, mid-point, and ending

Rev 6:15 And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains,
Rev 6:16 and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!
Rev 6:17 For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

Meteorites will be striking the earth like a hail storm. Colossal, unprecedented seismic catastrophes will collapse mountains and islands. There will be global atmospheric disturbances.

Instead of turning to the Lord in repentance and receiving the forgiveness of their sins, lost human beings will seek refuge in the rubble. They prefer being entombed on earth then to surrender to the Savior.

Thus begins the beginning of the new beginning.

Refuge in the rubble.

Think of all the places of refuge men prefer over Jesus on this ruined earth:

There are the four “P’s” – philosophy, psychology, politics, and pharmacology.

There is the big “R” – religion.

A Christian therapist put it this way: “Any refuge that I create is something akin to a cardboard box in the rain. The harder the rain, the more boxes I go through.”

Jesus is our refuge. He was dead but is now alive. He conquered Death and emptied Hades.

Your rest is in Him. Your rest IS Him.

I Pray The Lord His Scroll To Take (Revelation 5:1-14)

There is always ‘the one.’

In the Lord of the Rings, it was Aragorn. He was the ‘one’ true king who could wield Andùril, Isildur’s broken sword reforged.
Speaking of swords, only Arthur, the ‘one’ true king, could pull Excalibur from the anvil.
If you’re a fan of the Matrix… I’ll pray for you. Neo was the ‘one.’
Emmet is the ‘one.’ In the Lego movie, Vitruvius prophesies that a person called “the Special” will find the Piece of Resistance capable of stopping the Kragle.

The apostle John was taken to Heaven “in the spirit.” He saw a seven-sealed scroll in the “right hand” of God. A “strong angel” issued a call for someone “worthy to open the scroll.” “No one in Heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll.”

John despaired. Just then, dramatically, the One stepped forward Who was “worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals.”

He is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah… He is the Lamb of God… He is Jesus.

We are beyond privileged to witness with John one of the most significant and magnificent moments in the history of the created universe. It is a day Jesus has been waiting upon since His ascension into Heaven. All of creation groans waiting for it.

I’ll organize my comments around two points: #1 You Witness The Beginning Of The End Of Weeping, and #2 You Witness The Beginning Of The End Of Waiting.

#1 – You Witness The Beginning Of The End Of Weeping (v1-5)

If you want to make a movie about earth, it needs to be in the horror genre. Every minute of every day, day after day, unspeakable sufferings are experienced worldwide.

God gets blamed. Why doesn’t He do something?What God has done, is doing, and will do, can be discovered in our text.

Rev 5:1  And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals.

It is common in Bible commentary to become sidetracked by speculating on matters that will not be resolved with certainty.

The scroll in God’s “right hand” – the physical scroll – is in that category. There is a lot of discussion about the exact placement of its seven seals. Some say they run the length of the scroll; others, that they are all at one end. Comparisons are made to Roman scrolls common at the time. Truth is, the scroll isn’t described well enough to come to a definitive conclusion.

One detail that we can comment on is the writing “on the back.” For most any ancient scroll, it summarizes what is written “inside” so you can distinguish it from other scrolls in your scroll pile.

God the Father has in His right hand a scroll sealed with seven seals. As Jesus opens each successive seal, we see on earth an accelerating progression of the wrath of God that Jesus described as “great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time… nor ever shall be” (Matthew 24:21).

The scroll is the ‘operational plan’ for the seven-year Great Tribulation that prepares the way for the Second Coming of Jesus.

Rev 5:2  Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?”

Some angels work-out more than others at God’s Gym. On his way to see Daniel, the angel Gabriel was delayed by a supernatural being he called the Prince of Persia until the archangel Michael was dispatched to take his place.

We are witnessing a very solemn future ceremony. Chapter four is its prelude:

John, representing the church, was resurrected and raptured from earth to Heaven. We will be evacuated before God’s wrath begins to be poured out.
God’s throne was “set,” indicating readiness.
Twenty-four subordinate thrones were “set” for a subordinate, supportive divine council of supernatural beings.
Beautiful living creatures gave God praise.
The twenty-four beings tossed crowns as they prostrated themselves before God singing “You are worthy O Lord.”

It raised excitement and expectation for this strong angel to step forward with his call.

Rev 5:3  And no one in Heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it.

“In Heaven… on earth… under the earth” describes all the possible locations of men and angels, both good and fallen.

It could be that this angel’s strength is his voice. His call will be heard everywhere. In case you are wondering, Irish teacher Annalisa Flanagan holds the world record for the loudest voice – 121.7 dBA. It is the equivalent of a jet engine.

Fans of the MCU will recall the scene where a few of the Avengers try to lift Thor’s hammer. They can’t do it. The mighty Thor suggests that he alone is ‘worthy’ to wield it.

I’m pretty sure no one came forward to attempt taking the scroll from the Father’s right hand.

The strong angel’s call is a suggestive pause that builds anticipation for what is coming next in this ceremony.

Rev 5:4  So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it.

John did more then shed a solitary tear. “Wept much” describes something more like convulsing. It confirms that there was a pause of some length after the strong angel’s call.

John understood at least this much: Heaven was seeking the One, and unless He stepped forth there was no hope to redeem mankind and restore creation. At the very least, until the One stepped forth things would continue as they were.

Rev 5:5  But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.”

Did John interrupt the ceremony and need to be told to quit weeping?
As far as I can tell, it was part of the ceremony, though a part of it that John was unaware of. Like being called on stage during a performance to become a participant and not just a spectator.

Knowing John the way Jesus does, it followed that the apostle of love would weep for the world’s tragic condition.

We live in a pause between the ascension of Jesus and His return to resurrect and rapture the church. Weeping is appropriate. So is the counsel, “Do not weep.” We must gently encourage those who suffer to look to Jesus. A.W. Tozer said, “It is Jesus, and Jesus alone, Who makes sense out of everything in this world.”

One of the twenty-four said, “Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.”

It is one of the superlative lines in all the history of the universe.

It proclaims the incredible time in future history when God will directly and openly intervene in men’s affairs to give mankind one last opportunity to be saved before the coming of Jesus.

A commentator said, “Here [Judah’s] noblest son is fitly called its lion. It aptly pictures kingly might and boldness.”

The One is simultaneously “the Root of David.” The Greek Squad says it can mean that the One was the “root” from which David was born, i.e., David’s ancestor. He is both the ancestor and the descendant of David.

It sounds like a riddle in the dark. How can a person be your ancestor and your offspring? Jesus once used this to stump the religious leaders hating on Him:

Luk 20:41  And He said to them, “How can they say that the Christ is the Son of David?
Luk 20:42  Now David himself said in the Book of Psalms: ‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND,
Luk 20:43  TILL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES YOUR FOOTSTOOL.”’
Luk 20:44  Therefore David calls Him ‘LORD’; how is He then his Son?”

In the last chapter of the Revelation Jesus says, “I am the Root and the Offspring of David…” (22:16).

Jesus is root & offspring by coming in human flesh through the nation of Israel as the unique God-man to die for the sins of the world to redeem mankind and restore creation.

Why doesn’t God do something?

He has done something. He sent a willing Jesus to earth as God in human flesh to suffer and die in our place thereby saving those who believe.

He is doing something. He is calling-out a people for Himself, the church, by sending human servants to preach the Gospel, which is the power of God unto salvation.

He is going to do something. He will unleash upon the earth a time of trouble such as has never been, nor ever will be again. We call it the grace of wrath on the grounds that He continues to call sinners to repentance and salvation throughout it.

The Scroll & the Savior is Heaven’s breathtaking 7-year mini-series of the beginning of God ending weeping once-for-all.

#2 – You Witness The Beginning Of The End Of Waiting (v6-14)

I was tempted to give you a list of how much time is wasted throughout our short lifetimes waiting for things. I decided it would be a waste of time.

Rev 5:6  And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

John looked to see the Lion; He saw the Lamb.

I am no artist. If I was asked to draw what John saw I would cut-and-paste these images and it would look grotesque.

Heaven and all that is in it is supremely beautiful and wonderful. This portrayal of Jesus is beyond beautiful. When we see Him this way, we’ll think, “OK, that is what John was saying.”

If you are a big fan of some story, you can be pleasantly surprised at how one of its characters is translated to the screen in a film. You think, “OK, that is what a Balrog looks like.”

John the Baptist proclaimed Jesus “the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world.” He was the final and the fulfilling sacrifice that all of the animal sacrifices in the Bible were merely representing. It is no coincidence that Jesus was crucified at the exact time the Passover lambs were being slaughtered in the Jewish Temple.

“Horns” are used in the Bible to represent power. “Seven horns” indicate perfect power, or as we would say, omnipotence.

“Seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.” Compare this verse from the fourth chapter of Zechariah: “for these seven shall rejoice… these are the eyes of Jehovah, which run to and fro through the whole earth” (v10).

God the Holy Spirit likes to remain invisible and must be depicted by various things, e.g., a dove, oil, water, fire, wind, or in this case, “seven eyes.”

John saw the Lion as the slain Lamb of God Who was very much alive and poised to execute the operational plan of God’s wrath upon the whole earth in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Rev 5:7  Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.

There was some choreography involved in Jesus being “in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders,” and His movement to take the scroll from God the Father.

In relinquishing the scroll God the Father invested Jesus with the authority to open it and accomplish it.

Rev 5:8  Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

It’s the final movement of the ceremony. The four & the twenty-four fall down in acclamation. The twenty-four hold a “harp” in one hand, and “bowls full of incense” in the other.

The “harp” is more than any other instrument associated with praise in the Bible. You might like this. According to Vincent’s Word Studies, “…[the word for] harp signifies an instrument unlike our harp as ordinarily constructed. Rather a lute or guitar… Anciently of a triangular shape, with seven strings, afterwards increased to eleven. Josephus says it had ten, and was played with a plectrum or small piece of ivory.”

“Incense” is “the prayers of the saints.” Which saints? Probably the ones saved during the Great Tribulation. We will read of their prayers a time or two as the Great Tribulation unfolds.

It anticipates the seven years are a time when many will heed the warnings and be saved, even though they will most likely experience martyrdom.

Rev 5:9  And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,

They will sing “a new song,” written for the ceremony, never heard before. It will be #1 for seven years on the charts in Heaven.

I’m reading from the NKJV. It says, “you have redeemed us to God.” It sounds like these are humans that Jesus died to save. Here are some good, scholarly alternate translations:

ESV “by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation…”
ISV “With your blood you purchased people for God from every tribe, language, people, and nation.”
NRSV “by your blood you ransomed for God saints from every tribe and language and people and nation.”

You get the idea. These translations and many others acknowledge these are not glorified humans who are singing about themselves. They are supernatural beings singing about God’s plan to redeem humanity.

Jesus’ death on the Cross is the universal payment for sin by which any human being can be saved. He is the Savior of all men, especially those who believe.

God’s Law, given to Israel, lists the requirements for someone to act as a redeemer:

He has to be blood relative who is willing to act as the redeemer.

He would also have to be God. No mere man who was born a sinner could hope to redeem himself, never mind others, from sin and death.

This person who was both God and man would then have to pay any outstanding debt. The debt owed for sin is death. The God-man redeemer would have to offer himself willingly as a substitute sacrifice and die in our place.

When the angel cries, “Who is worthy?,” he isn’t taking applications. It’s not a job-posting. He is announcing that none is worthy except for One – the God-man, the Lord, Jesus Christ.

It’s a little off our topic, however this verse gives us a chance to mention something that has become popular. For reasons that escape me, lately Christians want to contend that angels never sing. I know; it sounds odd. It’s a thing. If we are correct that the twenty-four elders are angelic rather than glorified humans, that settles it. Plus when it says “they sang a new song,” it is grammatically possible that “they” includes the four living ones. Robert Thomas writes, “This angelic host cannot be denied the ability to sing.”

Rev 5:10  And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.”

Those same translations I just referred to all say “have made them kings and priests” and “they will reign.”

The reign they are proclaiming is the Millennial Kingdom on earth after Jesus’ Second Coming. The church will return with Jesus and share in His earthly reign over earth as a kingdom of priests.

Rev 5:11  Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands,

Annually at the Disneyland Resort they hold a Christmas service called Candlelight. It features a full orchestra, multiple choirs and a celebrity narrator. The Main Street Train Station serves as the stage. The first time we attended I was surprised part way through it. All of a sudden we heard loud trumpets from the roof of the Train Station. The trumpeters were in the dark until it was time for them. It was very cool.

Without warning, yet at the right time, John could see and hear innumerable angels adding their voices.

Rev 5:12  saying with a loud voice: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”

In the Millennium, King Jesus will receive these universal accolades. Every knee will bow.

Rev 5:13  And every creature which is in Heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: “Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!”

It sounds very Narnian. All sentient life, everywhere in the universe, will acknowledge the power and position of God the Father and Jesus Christ. I would include God the Holy Spirit. He is not specifically mentioned, which is in keeping with His humility in remaining invisible while pointing to Jesus.

Rev 5:14  Then the four living creatures said, “Amen!” And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever.

It ain’t over until the four living creatures “Amen!”

The twenty-four must get up at some earlier point in as much as they “[fall] down” a second time. They continue to worship after the “Amen!”

Thus comes to its conclusion this magnificent future moment. The wait will finally be over. When we turn the page, the Great Tribulation begins.

Waiting is hard. It might encourage you in your waiting to realize that Jesus knows waiting. Jesus consented to leave Heaven and become a man… To live in relative obscurity, working with His hands, for some thirty years… To be hated by those He came to save… To weep over Jerusalem… To be arrested, illegally tried, crucified… Still He waits, not willing that anyone perish. His will is that they would receive eternal life.

Is Jesus waiting for you to be saved?

Endgame Of Thrones (Revelation 4:1-11)

They’re called war rooms or situation rooms:

✎ During the Second World War, a group of basement offices served as the center of Britain’s war effort. They were known as the Cabinet War Rooms.
✎ JFK created the White House Situation Room in 1961 in the basement of the West Wing.
Heaven has a war room.

The apostle John sees “a door standing open in Heaven.” He is taken up through it to witness the execution of Operation 7year Great Tribulation.

It is an unusual war room. Before God declares wrath, the parties in Heaven gather for worship.

I’ll organize my comments around two points: #1 You’ll Be Safe From The Wrath Of God, and #2 You’ll Be Surrounded By The Worship Of God.

#1 – You Will Be Safe From The Wrath Of God (v1)

In verse nineteen of chapter one, Jesus provided us with the outline of His Revelation: “Write 1the things which you have seen, and 2the things which are, and 3the things which will take place after this.” Follow this outline and the Revelation makes sense.

✎ Chapter one was “the things [John had] seen,” a vision of the risen Jesus. It is in the past.
✎ Chapters two and three were “the things which are,” the churches on the earth during the Church Age. They are the present.
✎ Chapters four through the end are “the things which will take place after this” in the future.

The bulk of this book is its detailed description of the Great Tribulation. It occupies chapters six through eighteen, from the release of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (6:2) to Jesus returning on His great white steed in His Second Coming (19:11).

Chapters four and five reveal maneuvering in Heaven prior to the launch of God’s measured campaign of wrath.

Jesus made the church a strong promise that we would not be left on the earth to experience the wrath of God:

“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” (3:10)

The words were carefully chosen by Jesus so there would be no confusion. He will keep His church out of the entire period of global trial. We won’t be kept safe going through it; we will not be in it.

The church will be removed from earth to Heaven. Chapter four begins with a figure, a type, of that removal.

Rev 4:1  After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.”

“After [the] things” of chapters one, two and three, John “looked” and noticed a “door standing open in Heaven.” It was a special door, a mystery door, opened just for John to be received into Heaven.

The “first voice” John heard, back in chapter one, was that of Jesus. John compared Jesus’ voice to a “trumpet” that preceded his being taken through the door into Heaven.

It sounds similar to the apostle Paul’s description of the church’s resurrection and rapture in his letters to Corinth and Thessalonica.

John is a type of the church removed from the earth before the Great Tribulation.

✎ The apostle Peter likened the Great Tribulation to “a thief in the night” (First Peter 3:10). The apostle Paul told the believers in Thessalonica that the Great Tribulation would not overtake us [the church] like a thief (First Thessalonians 5:4).

✎ Paul sounded exactly like Jesus when he said to the Thessalonians, “For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (First Thessalonians 5:9).

✎ The words “church” or “churches” are used some twenty times in the first three chapters, but not at all as the Great Tribulation is described.

✎ Beginning in chapter four of the Revelation the church is conspicuously absent from the earth. The church won’t be seen again until we return with Jesus to end the Great Tribulation at Armageddon.

✎ All seven letters to the churches in the Revelation end with the familiar words, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” We encounter a similar phrase during the seven years, but it reads, “if anyone has an ear, let him hear” (13:9). There is no mention of “the churches.”
✎ The New Testament teaches imminence. The Lord’s coming for His church could occur at any moment. No signs precede it. The only way for the rapture to be imminent is for it to happen sometime before the Great Tribulation. Every other theory of the timing of the rapture undermines imminence.

These observations are strengthened by Jesus’ promise to remove us. This typical ‘rapture’ of John to Heaven is consistent with the pretribulation rapture of the church. He represents the experience of all the believers of the Church Age before the Day of God’s Wrath.

I came across this bit of history in my research:

The British government during World War II relocated citizens out of urban centers to locations where the risk of bombing attacks was low or non-existent. Called Operation Pied Piper, millions of people, most of them children, were shipped to rural areas in Britain and overseas to Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. Almost 3 million people were evacuated during the first four days of the operation, making it the most significant and most concentrated [evacuation] in British history.

Before declaring His wrath, the Lord will conduct a global evacuation & relocation of His church.

#2 – You’ll Be Surrounded By The Worship Of God (v2-11)

Have you seen those, If you remember this memes on Facebook? One of my favorites is the picture of the speakers at the drive-in theater.

Something else I vividly remember: The Cuban Missile Crisis. I was seven years old and it seemed certain I’d never see my 8th birthday. Khrushchev & Castro would disintegrate me while I ducked & covered under my desk at school.

A lot has been written about what went on in the aforementioned White House Situation Room during those tense days in October 1962. I don’t remember anyone reporting that worship was the first priority. It is first and foremost in Heaven.

Rev 4:2  Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in Heaven, and One sat on the throne.

It’s unproductive to be dogmatic about what John meant by “in the Spirit.” The apostle Paul is an I’ve Been to Heaven alumni. He said he was “caught up to the third Heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know – God knows” (Second Corinthians 12:2). God knows the mechanics of it.

If repetition is something we ought to pay attention to, note that the words “throne” or “thrones” occur 14 times in these 11 verses.

We’re not told directly, but the first Person we see on His throne is God the Father. He will be distinguished from God the Holy Spirit and Jesus.

Rev 4:3  And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald.

Commentators cannot definitively identify the “jasper and… sardius.” We therefore cannot read anything much into them as symbols.
A pregnant woman seems to glow. It’s a real thing, with a biological basis.

God the Father glows in His glory.

If you took Earth Science, you met ROY G BIV. It’s how to remember the colors of the rainbow. The Wrath Room rainbow is circular and is different shades of green. One commentator said of the rainbow:

It is a reminder that God’s mercy is as great as His majesty, i.e., that there will be no triumph of God’s sovereignty at the expense of His mercy. The disasters portrayed in the following pages cannot be interpreted as meaning that God has forgotten His promise to Noah.

Why so much green? I looked at the meaning of colors in the Bible. There may be a few things we would agree on, but it is mostly subjective.

We futurists who take the Bible literally whenever possible too often make the same mistake non-literalists do. We insist on assigning symbolic meaning to everything.
Sigmund Freud once famously admitted, “Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.”

Rev 4:4  Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads.

News flash: I have changed my mind about who these guys are

I used to think they were human beings who represented the church. They could be, for sure, and if you take that position it’s OK.

Who or what these are has nothing to do with believing in the church’s pretribulation resurrection and rapture. It doesn’t have any affect on our premillennialism.
The scholars agree that no one knows who or what these guys are because we are never told. Any position you take is a best guess.

My best guess is that they are created supernatural beings, probably an order of angels. God has supernatural beings around Him.

The Old Testament describes what some call a “Divine Council” or “Divine Assembly” of supernatural beings.

✎ Psalm 82:1 says that “God takes His stand in the divine assembly; among the divine beings He renders judgment” (ISV).
✎ Psalm 89 asks, “Who is like the Lord among the heavenly beings? In the council of the holy ones God is greatly feared.”
✎ One translation of Deuteronomy 32:8 reads, “When the High God gave the nations their stake, gave them their place on Earth, He put each of the peoples within boundaries under the care of divine guardians” (MSG).

But aren’t these twenty-four called “elders,” and don’t they have crowns and white robes?

✎ “Elder” is a general title for leaders not just in the church.
✎ There is nothing in the Bible to prove that white robes and crowns are unique to humans.

One of the commentaries gave two solid reasons to think they are probably not human:

“Throughout the [Revelation] they are distinguished from the saints” (7:13-14; 14:3; 19:4-8).
“They are seated on their thrones already, but humans will not be so positioned until some point in the future” (20:4).

It makes more biblical sense that these thrones are occupied by some type of Divine Council or Assembly that God convenes.

Rev 4:5  And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.

“Lightnings and thunderings” are typical of a storm. The storm of biblical proportions… The storm of the centuries… the perfecting storm… Is coming.

There were also “voices.” A scene in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring portrays voices in a storm. The nine members of the fellowship are attempting to climb Mount Caradhras. A diabolical snowstorm breaks upon them.
They discern a fell voice in the storm. It’s the voice of their enemy, the White Wizard, Saruman.

The voices in the storm of God’s wrath are not fell, but full of compassion as God calls upon mankind to repent of their sin and be saved.

We will see Him calling to men through two incredible human witnesses. They appear in chapter eleven to preach the Gospel with power for one-thousand two hundred sixty days.

We will see God calling to men through 144,000 Jewish evangelists. They are sealed to serve then sent out as His voices.
In chapter fourteen an angel flies through the atmospheric heavens having the everlasting Gospel to preach to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people who dwell on the earth.

We have discussed the “seven spirits of God” several times in our studies already. It is a descriptive way to recognize the perfect working of God the Holy Spirit. His presence in this scene is represented as “seven lamps of fire burning before the throne.”

The Holy Spirit is always invisible and must be represented in some way:

At the baptism of Jesus He was represented in the form of a dove descending upon the Lord.
Jesus likened the Holy Spirit to wind.
At the church’s birth He was represented by tongues of fire resting above the believers gathered in the upper room.

Oil, fire, water, breath, rain, wine, and clothing are other ways God the Holy Spirit is represented.

When God the Holy Spirit is performing His perfect work He brings glory to Jesus Christ. If He is at work in and through us we will not bring attention to ourselves.

We should be invisible as we serve

Rev 4:6  Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal…

John reported what he saw. I think we take it as an accurate description, with no symbolic ramblings about what “a sea of glass like crystal” represents.

Rev 4:6  … And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back.
Rev 4:7  The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle.

“Creature” is an unfortunate translation. The word means Living Ones. They resemble the Cherubim that the prophet Ezekiel saw in his vision of God’s throne (Ezekiel 1:4-14; 10:20-22), and their praise reminds us of the Seraphim Isaiah saw in his vision of God’s throne (Isaiah 6).

Here is a non-exhaustive list of some supernatural beings we encounter in the Bible: Archangels, Angels, Seraphim, Cherubim, Hosts, and Authorities. Then there is the devil and his fallen Angels, Principalities, Powers, and the Rulers of the darkness of this age. There were wicked supernatural Princes in Persia and in Greece.

John saw the Living Ones positioned one on either side, one behind and one in front, of God’s throne.

This does remind us of something from the Old Testament. In the Book of Numbers, God told the nation of Israel how they were to set up camp around His presence in the wilderness Tabernacle. One on either side, one behind and one in front, of God’s Tabernacle. Each of the four sides were to be encamped by three tribes:

✎ The tribes of Judah, Issachar and Zebulon were to camp on the east and were collectively called the camp of Judah. What was the symbol on the flag of Judah? A lion.
✎The tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin were to camp on the west side and were collectively called the camp of Ephraim. What was the symbol on the flag of Ephraim? An ox.
✎The tribes of Reuben, Simeon, and Gad were to camp on the south side and were collectively called the camp of Reuben. What was the symbol on the flag of Reuben? A man.
✎ The tribes of Dan, Naphtali, and Asher were to camp on the north side and were collectively called the camp of Dan. What was the symbol on the flag of Dan? An eagle.

There is a deliberate emphasis in chapters six through eighteen on the nation of Israel. All living Israelites on the earth will recognize Jesus as their Messiah and be saved.

The Tribulation, or the Great Tribulation, are the popular titles among Gentiles. That’s OK, as long as we don’t overlook the facts that ground zero in those seven years is Jerusalem and the Jews.

✎ In His Olivet Discourse on the End Times Jesus said, “For then there will be great tribulation” (Matthew 24:21). Later in the Revelation we will be introduced to martyrs who are described as “the ones who come out of the great tribulation” (7:14).

✎ The prophet Jeremiah called the Great Tribulation the Time of Jacob’s Trouble (30:7). It is called Daniel’s 70th Week (Daniel 9:27).

Rev 4:8  The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!”

If you are a massive fan of some book, you will either be delighted or disappointed at how your beloved characters are portrayed on film. Ben Affleck is mostly panned as both Daredevil and Batman. Sometimes a studio reveals an actor it almost cast in an iconic role who would have been disastrous. Al Pacino, Jack Nicholson, Chevy Chase, and Bill Murray were considered for the role of Han Solo.

The four supers around the throne are perfectly cast. They seem monstrous and creepy, but we know that everything in Heaven will be beautiful beyond our imaginings.

If you think modern worship choruses are too repetitious, they are preparing you for worship in Heaven. “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!” is repeated and repeated and repeated and Pete & RePeated.

Rev 4:9  Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever,

These angels have other responsibilities during the Great Tribulation, e.g., they release the Four Horsemen in chapter six. When they are not on some particular assignment, they worship giving “glory and honor and thanks” to God.

We have full, immediate access to God’s throne. Our default position in all things is to give Him glory, honor, and thanks. Those are to become characteristic of our belief and behavior.

Rev 4:10  the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying:

The popular Christian band, Casting Crowns, is a cover band. The original “casting crowns” are these twenty-four elders.

The casting of crowns indicates total submission to the authority of the One Who sat on the throne. They are ready to do His bidding.

Rev 4:11  “You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.”

The Great Tribulation is not just a show of God‘s wrath. It is an important part of his plan to redeem and restore what was forfeited in the Garden of Eden. Mankind’s sin ruined His creation. At once God revealed His plan to. He’s been sustaining His creation these few centuries while providentially working out His plan. When all is ready, He will assemble in the SitRoom, and a major spiritual offensive in God’s plan of redemption and restoration will be flawlessly executed.

A shout from the Lord… A Trumpet blast… A door opened to Heaven… “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed – in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” (First Corinthians 15:51-52).

“Even so, come, Lord Jesus! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen” (Revelation 22:20-21).

The Hurl Of Great Price (Revelation 3:14-22)

Two words you never want to hear: Induce vomiting.

When I was a young warthog… “Induce vomiting” was a common suggestion on labels for things you shouldn’t have swallowed.

We always had in the medicine cabinet an emergency bottle of Ipecac Syrup. It was right next to the Mercurochrome, which was right next to the Iodine.

If you had those three miracle products, you had a good chance of surviving childhood.

Ipecac Syrup is no longer recommended. Research proved it not only ineffective but dangerous. If you want some, I’m pretty sure the bottle in my childhood home is still in the medicine cabinet. Along with Witch Hazel, Geritol, and Brioschi.

Throwing-up ¹ can make things worse. That doesn’t stop well-meaning folks from posting on the world-wide inter-web the best natural home remedies to induce up-chucking:²

✎ Drink Coca-Cola that has run out of its bubbles. Drink it every hour, which will make you sick and want to heave³. After you drink your Coca-Cola, drink mineral water as a follow-up to trigger regurgitation⁴︎. 
✎ Gargle with egg whites.
✎ Expose yourself to disgusting smells.
(I hope you’re not one of those who get nauseous just thinking about it. If so, today might be rough).

Best barfing⁵︎ in a movie, you ask? The Exorcist. Honorable Mention goes to Tom Hardy in Venom.

The church of the Laodiceans made Jesus want to vomit them.
🤢 🤮

“So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth” (v16).

The Lord’s nausea was triggered by their spiritual temperature. They were “lukewarm.”

Jesus had not yet spewed⁶︎. He was hoping He wouldn’t have to. He suggested a remedy for His nausea was for them to “be zealous and repent” (v19).

I’ll organize my comments around two points: #1 Jesus Takes Your Spiritual Temperature, and #2 You Can Tweak Your Spiritual Temperature.

#1 – Jesus Takes Your Spiritual Temperature (v14-17)

We’ve become familiar with someone taking our temperature before being allowed to proceed.

Jesus takes our spiritual temperature when we gather in His name.

Rev 3:14  “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God:

The “angel of the church” is its pastor. He was the most likely individual read aloud to those gathered.

There is a subtle difference in this greeting from the previous six letters. Instead of saying “the church in Laodicea,” Jesus calls them “the church of the Laodiceans.”

It might be an Easter egg. Not the Cadbury kind, but the kind that is a hidden clue in a movie. The word “Laodicea” roughly translates into English as self-rule.

The Lord addressed them as their own masters rather than as His bondservants.

Jesus was going to give an eye-opening testimony about the spiritual condition of the people in this church. He was going to expose their hearts. Before doing so, He established Himself as an expert witness capable of such pronouncements.

You’ve seen movies and TV shows where they call upon expert witnesses. Sometimes the experts contradict one another. I just learned, for example, that bite marks are junk science.

No one could contradict the Lord. There is no junk science in His spiritual evaluations.

✎ Jesus’ testimony was from “the Amen.” Think of it as having the final, authoritative word. Whatever Jesus says, it is “Word.”
✎ Jesus’ testimony was from “the Faithful and True Witness.” As “Witness,” He sees everything, including the heart of man. His assessment of what He witnesses is “Faithful and True.”

The “Beginning of the creation of God” cannot mean Jesus was created because elsewhere we learn He is Creator. Colosse was a city in the same region. In his letter to them, the apostle Paul said, “For by [Jesus] all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him (1:16).

“Beginning of the creation” means that Jesus is the origin of Creation.

Is this a not-so-subtle clue as to false teaching in Laodicea? Had they begun to teach that Jesus was not very-God of very-God, but a created being? Can’t say for sure. It fits with self-rule.

Rev 3:15  “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.

We can’t comment on hot, cold, and lukewarm without some enlightening background. This is going to blow your mind, but it is true.

Laodicea had almost no water sources of its own
According to one document, I read “No other city in the Lycus Valley was as dependent on external water supplies as Laodicea.” They purchased water from Hierapolis and Colosse:

✎ Hierapolis, about six miles away, was known for its natural hot spring water. The baths of Hierapolis attracted citizens from all over the Roman Empire.
✎ Colosse was known for its cold water. Located about eleven miles from Laodicea, it was situated at the foot of Mount Cadmus, which peaked at 9000 feet. Ice-cold snow-fed streams rushed down the mountain.

One water was naturally hot 🥵 at its source; one water was naturally cold 🥶 at its source. By the time either arrived in Laodicea, it was lukewarm.

We normally think that being “hot” is something good, and to be desired, and being “cold” is something bad, and to be avoided. “Cold” can be a good thing. It was a special treat to drink icy-cold water 💦 at a time before there were any means of refrigeration.

The bigger picture that Jesus was drawing for them was that of a banquet. He will famously say He is at the door, knocking, to share supper. (v20).

Jesus was talking temperature in the context of sharing supper with them.

Rev 3:16  So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.

Lukewarm food can be deadly.
☠️

If hot food, or cold food, sits out too long at room temperature, it can allow bacteria to grow to dangerous levels that can cause severe illness.

Think how much worse this was in ancient times. Just ask Alexander the Great. He died in Babylon at 33yrs of age. Doctors at the University of Maryland studied historical accounts of Alexander’s symptoms and death. They say he died from typhoid fever caused by Salmonella typhi. It can be found in “raw or undercooked eggs, raw milk, contaminated water, and raw or undercooked meats.”

The US Department of Agriculture calls it “the Danger Zone.” It’s the range of temperatures (40° – 140° Fahrenheit) in which cooked food sits out for longer than two hours. During that period, bacteria can grow rapidly.

I made a delicious Avocado Egg Salad last week. Properly stored, egg salad will last for three to five days in the refrigerator. Egg salad should be discarded if left out for more than two hours at room temperature.

Other foods must be heated to a certain temperature to kill existing bacteria. Meats, for example.

I believe that this is what Jesus had in mind when He said they were neither hot, nor cold, but had become lukewarm.

The Laodiceans had assumed a toxic lukewarm temperature by preferring to be out in the world.

This might be a good time to address the issue of whether the folks in the church of the Laodiceans were saved.

In Laodicea, we’d say that the majority were unsaved. It shouldn’t shock you. Many so-called churches are led by, and attended by, nonbelievers.

The minority who were saved in Laodicea could also be addressed this way on account of their preferences for the things of this world. Commentators talk about what they call “Nominal Christians,” who take on the characteristics and habits and pursuits of the world, so much so that it is hard to distinguish them from the average nonbeliever. They might not be doing anything sinful, but their heart is in the world.

We too quickly interpret ourselves out of a verse. If this letter were only directed toward nonbelievers, we could ignore it. We’ll see at its end that, like all six previous letters, it is for everyone who has “ears to hear.”

Room temperature food that has been out too long; and food not thoroughly cooked; makes you blow chunks⁷︎. Jesus wanted to sup with them, but He might ralph⁸︎ on account of the lukewarmness in Laodicea.

We see them too long out in the world in v17:

Rev 3:17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’ – and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked –

✎︎ “Rich” means rich. They had plenty of money. Too much money.
✎︎ “Have become wealthy” is better translated as increased with goods. They used their too much money to buy more-and-more of this world’s goods. They invested heavily in the world, not in Heaven.

Rich people who surround themselves with the comforts of this world trust in the external rather than the eternal. It’s easy to begin to think you have need of nothing.

Maybe we’re not rich or wealthy or increased with goods. We can still want to be. The love of those things, the love of the world, will just as quickly ‘lukewarm’ us as actually having riches, wealth, and goods.

You’re familiar with eating-disorder sufferers who look in the mirror and, even though they are dangerously thin, see themselves as overweight. Jesus held up His mirror to the church of the Laodiceans to show them they were “wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.” They saw themselves otherwise, but spiritually they were blind beggars so wretched and miserable that they didn’t even have clothes to wear.

Jesus is the only expert witness on the condition of the human heart. His Word is the mirror we look into to be shown, and to hear, His testimony. It isn’t to find us guilty. It’s to lead us to grace.

#2 – You Can Tweak Your Spiritual Temperature (v18-22)

The church of the Laodiceans made a classic blunder, the most famous of which is… “Never get involved in a land war in Asia.”

Their classic spiritual blunder was thinking that worldly success, wealth, and comfort signify God’s favor. It too often leads us away from Him.

The Lord meets us where we are at. We should love Him for His condescension to us. Jesus spoke to the rich church of Laodicea like a financial adviser.

Rev 3:18  I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.

He counseled them to “buy.” Trouble was, the things Jesus listed could not be purchased.

There are three more things that you need to know about the city of Laodicea:

It was noted for its many banks.
They manufactured a medicinal eye ointment.
They bred and raised sheep with unusual black wool and were noted for the garments made with it.

They deposited gold into the many banks. Maybe you follow the stock market. Me, not so much. I do own one share in Disney. My dividend last year was $0.98.
Jesus is a gold-broker. He can store up your rewards in Heaven where they are safe from theft and corruption.

He says here it is “gold refined in the fire.” Jesus can make gold out of your trials. He’s talking about what we might call Job-gold. Job said, “But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold” (23:10).

Jesus next said, “buy from Me… white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed.”

Laodicea, with its black wool, was a garment district. I’m sure the Laodiceans were clothed in the finest apparel. They could afford to visit their tailors, and have custom-made outfits suitable for every occasion.

None of their earthly garments, however, would stand a chance in Heaven. They’d all be disintegrated – leaving them naked.

The Bible uses clothing to illustrate your salvation.

When you get saved, Jesus takes upon Himself your filthy and inappropriate garments. He gives you, instead, His robe of righteousness. It’s the only garment that is Heaven-approved.

Jesus next said, “… and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.” A popular eye ointment known as Phrygian Powder was produced in Laodicea.

No amount of Phrygian powder would restore sight to the blind. But Jesus does – especially to the spiritually blind.

Rev 3:19  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.

This sounds like family discipline, does it not? There were believers in the church. They should be “zealous” to repent – eager to, and wholeheartedly, turning to God and from the world.

Rev 3:20  Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.

Haters like to say that this verse should not be used for evangelism since Jesus was addressing a church. But the church was nearly all unsaved. It is an appropriate verse for anyone, nonbeliever or believer, in whatever spiritual state you find yourself.

If you are not a Christian, the sinless, risen, ascended, Son of God sends His Holy Spirit to knock on your heart, by grace freeing your will to open it to Jesus.

He’s “knock, knock, knockin’ on your heart’s door” – and that means you are being enabled to answer the knocking. Open the door to Him. Don’t be one who says, “I hear you knockin’ but you can’t come in.”
✊ 🚪

As for His knocking on a believer’s heart… I have no problem thinking of Jesus knocking on my heart’s metaphorical door. His knocking can shock me into the realization I have kicked Him out, at least temporarily, while I self-rule.

Jesus knocks, and He will keep knocking. Knock… knock… knock… knock… knock.

Louder at times, too. Each knock is intended to capture your spiritual attention.

Today we surveil our doors with cameras. In those days, a knock on the door would be accompanied by the knocker identifying himself. Knock-knock… “It’s Jesus. Thought I’d do a pop-in to let you know you’re blowing it, and unless you repent, I’m going to retch⁹︎.”

Jesus wants to “dine” with you. There are a present and a future application of this dining experience:

✎︎ In the present, Jesus wants to have a relationship with you that can be likened to friends sitting down and conversing over a meal.
✎︎ In the future, at His Second Coming, Jesus will dine with you as His bride in what is called later in this book, the Marriage Supper.

Rev 3:21  To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

It is the Christian who overcomes, not the overcomer who becomes a Christian.
You overcome the world by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Jesus was raised from the dead ascended into Heaven, and rewarded with a seat at the Father’s right hand, from which He will return to rule the universe.

In Colossians 3:1 we learn that we “have been raised with Christ.” We already share in His life, in His power. Our position is with Him, on His throne.

We will be physically raised from the dead or raptured, then rule with Jesus in the Kingdom on earth.

These self-ruling, self-sufficient, miserable, poor, wretched, naked, blind people are nevertheless promised they can rule with Jesus.

Not just that they might barely make it into Heaven; but that they will share a seat of honor.

You didn’t see that coming.

Rev 3:22  “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

Did they listen to Jesus? According to the Biblical Archaeology Society,

The church at Laodicea… became the seat of a Christian bishop, and a Christian council was held there in the fourth century AD. Archaeologists have discovered about 20 ancient Christian chapels and churches at the site. The largest church at Laodicea [called Calvary Chapel of Laodicea] took up an entire city block and dates to the beginning of the fourth century.

That is the way to repent.

Laodicea started as the church in Laodicea, but the pull of the world led them to be the church of the Laodiceans. They repented and returned to their original foundation.

Without sounding in any way puffed-up, we are a church in, not a church of. Let’s remain that way by continuing in the Spirit, and by resisting the downward spiral of the world.

This quote attributed to Voddie Baucham might stir you as a believer: “No matter how good things get in this world, it’s all Egypt! There will never be enough gold chains, fine linen… or anything else to satisfy the yearning [for Him] that God has placed in us.”

If you are not a believer… Not saved… Jesus is knocking, and saying to you, “Let My love open the door.”

O Key Door Key (Revelation 3:7-13)

When our daughter was moving out of our home, I asked her to turn in her house key. It seemed appropriate to me; and by “me,” I mean only me.

Both she and Pam disagreed with my request. Like Ricky Ricardo, I asked them “splain it to me.”

They were more than happy to oblige.

Jesus presented Himself to the church in Philadelphia as “He who has the Key of David.”

“David,” of course, is King David of Israel. God promised him a descendant who would establish the Kingdom of God and rule it forever.

Jesus’ possession of the Key of David is proof that Jesus is the descendant of David who will establish the Kingdom of God and rule over it forever.

The Lord’s comments to the faithful believers in Philadelphia assured them of their future entrance into the forever Kingdom. Since Jesus’ comments to the churches in the Revelation are to all churches for all time, He is likewise assuring those of us who are in Christ that we, too, are assured our future entrance into the forever Kingdom.

I’ll organize my comments around two points: #1 No Great Tribulation For You, and #2 New Jerusalem Awaits You.

#1 – No Great Tribulation For You (v7-10)

Monsters Inc is my favorite Pixar film. The explanation of the monster under your bed, or in your closet, is pure genius.

To enter the human world, the monsters had to go through a door. That sequence at the end, the door chase, is classic. You never know where the next door is going to take them.

We know where our “door” is taking us.

Rev 3:7  “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 NO ONE SHUTS, AND SHUTS AND NO ONE OPENS”:

“The angel of the church” is referring to its pastor in his role of delivering God’s message to the church.

Even though all seven churches in the Revelation were contemporary, and geographically near one another, Jesus had a separate, unique message for each of them.
We should expect God the Holy Spirit to have a unique message for our church, and for each of us, every time we come together to worship the Lord.

Jesus revealed Himself to Philadelphia as “He who is holy, He who is true.”

✎ “Holy” is a title for the Messiah (e.g., Mark 1:24).
✎ “True” means genuine or real.

If you are on twitter you’ve noticed famous people use the preface “@TheReal” to designate that it is really them. When I get famous, I’ll be @TheRealGenePensiero.

“Holy” and “True” means Jesus is @TheRealMessiah.

“HE WHO HAS THE KEY OF DAVID, HE WHO OPENS AND NO ONE SHUTS, AND SHUTS AND NO ONE OPENS.”

In your employment, some of you are Key Holders. You open and shut your place of business.

Jesus is a Key Holder.

✎ In Matthew 16:19, He tells Peter “And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven.”
✎ In Revelation 1:18 Jesus said, “I have the keys of Hades and of Death.”
✎ In our verses, He has “the key of David.”

🗝 A couple of chapters after Jesus said that He would give the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven to Peter, He makes it clear that He will give them to every believer in the Church Age (Matthew 18).

Peter becomes an example for us of a believer using the key to the Kingdom:

✎ On the Day of Pentecost, he presented the Gospel, and three thousand Jews were saved (Acts 2:41).
✎ Later in the Book of Acts, Peter and John are instrumental in the conversion of the Samaritans (Acts 8:14).
✎ Then Peter is the one sent to give the Gospel to the Gentiles as he visits Cornelius (Acts 10).

When a Christian shares the Gospel with nonbelievers, we are using the key in the sense that we have authority on earth to declare that their sins can be forgiven by believing in Jesus. They can be saved; or they will perish.

🗝 The Keys of Hades and Death open two terrible doors to those who die having rejected the Gospel:

✎ Hades is a temporary holding cell, a place of torment for souls awaiting final judgment.
✎ “Death” is what the Bible calls the Second Death. It is resurrection to eternal separation from God in the Lake of Fire.

🗝 The Key of David looks forward to the future Kingdom on earth. In Second Samuel God said to David, “Thus says the LORD of hosts… I will appoint a place for My people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more… Moreover, the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish His Kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of His kingdom forever… And your house and your Kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever” (Ch 7).

(Theologians call the unconditional promises that God made to him the Davidic Covenant).

By “Kingdom” we mean that Jesus will return in His Second Coming and establish a Kingdom on the earth that lasts one-thousand years. When that Millennial Kingdom ends, Jesus will reign over the new heavens and the new earth forever and ever.

In the five previous letters, Jesus used a description of Himself borrowed from John’s vision of the Lord recorded in chapter one. Regarding “keys,” in chapter one Jesus said, “I have the keys of Hades and of Death” (v18). Why, then, does He say He has the Key of David?

Rather than focus on which key he pulls from His key back, the important thing is to see that Jesus is the Key Holder.

He has the power and authority to save you, then to consign you to Hades and Death or to welcome you into the Kingdom.

Rev 3:8  “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.

They had commendable “works,” so “little strength” cannot be referring to spiritual strength. It most likely refers to their small size in comparison to the other churches.

I have no problems with mega churches. The church started as a mega church. In the Book of Acts, “three thousand souls” were added on the first day. Not long after at least another five thousand were saved – and that number might not include biological women.

Truth is, the majority of churches are mini-churches. In the US, that means under 100 saints.

It’s more important that a church have a testimony of how the Holy Spirit led them to be established. After that it’s up to the Lord how little or large it will be.

Among their “works,” Jesus said they had “kept [His] word, and [had] not denied [His] name.” There was some pressure to deny the Lord. They were enabled to instead [keep] His word.”

The “Key of David” has entirely to do with the future Kingdom of God:

✎ In v7 the topic was the future Kingdom.
✎ In v9, where we will read, “worship before your feet,” we will see it refers to the future Kingdom.
✎ v12 is entirely about our life in the future Kingdom.

The “door” that this key “OPENS AND NO ONE SHUTS, AND SHUTS AND NO ONE OPENS” is our guaranteed entrance to the Kingdom of God.

@TheRealMessiah was guaranteeing Philadelphia’s finest that He would open the door for them to the Kingdom. They could therefore have assurance of their salvation.

Rev 3:9  Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie – indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you.

They were Jews, physically. They were “not” Jews because of their unbelief.

Satan had taken over their synagogue. They were especially called-out by Jesus for lying – probably lying to the authorities about the Christians.

Churches can be the Church of Satan.

I just read about a self-described “progressive Christian” church in Nashville that declared the Bible is not the Word of God.

They say it is “a living and dynamic” “multi-vocal library of texts” that is “a product of community” as “a human response to God.” Huh??

The article said, “Though receiving pushback from Christians, they did receive applause for their criticism of Scripture from popular atheist commentators.”
Expect a lot more of this apostasy nonsense as, tragically, churches rush to seem woke.

Jesus said, “I will make them come and worship before your feet…” We can rule-out that Jews, or anyone for that matter, will “worship” us. In terms of the future Kingdom on earth, we know that every knee shall bow to Jesus. When the people of the earth worship Him in the Kingdom, we will be present as He is worshipped.

“I will make them… know that I have loved you.” It won’t be hard for people to see that the Lord loved the church. We will return with Him having been resurrected or raptured. Every eye will see us, too. We will have glorified physical bodies that are similar to our Lord’s resurrection body. We will be holy and unblemished. We will be perfect. Transformed by His love.

Rev 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.

The Philadelphians were promised 100% they would be “[kept] from the hour of trial.” The “hour of trial” is the seven-year Great Tribulation that will be meticulously described in chapters 6-19.

There is no Great Tribulation for the church.

First, the words “keep you from” literally translate to “keep you out of.”
Second, the church will be kept out of the entire period of time – not somehow be kept safe through it.
Third, when Jesus said they “kept [His] command to persevere,” He wasn’t exhorting them to persevere during the Great Tribulation. It is past tense. They had already persevered in their walk and work and witness, and they would be delivered from the Great Tribulation entirely.

Since the church is not going to be on the earth during the Great Tribulation, it presupposes that the Lord will return to resurrect the dead in Christ, and to rapture living believers, before the Great Tribulation.

The Great Tribulation will “test those who dwell on the earth.”
“Those who dwell on the earth are nonbelievers. In Revelation 17:8 you read, “those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life…”

God gives them opportunity to repent. It’s why we call this series in the Revelation, The Grace of Wrath. God will be pouring out His wrath, yet still offering salvation by grace to sinners. In His wrath God remembers mercy and calls out, through many means, to every human being on the planet, urging them to repent and receive the forgiveness of their sins, and eternal life.

The Great Tribulation is not to prove or purify the church. Jesus does that a different way:

Eph 5:25 …Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,
Eph 5:26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,
Eph 5:27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

Jesus is not going to purify His church by leaving us on the earth to suffer the wrath of God.

“No Great Tribulation for you!”

#2 – New Jerusalem Awaits You (v11-13)

Have you seen somewhere online, Hilarious Misspelled Tattoos? There are several examples of where they were going for No Regrets, but the finished tattoo reads, No Regerts. Then there are these:

You Only Life Once
Never Don’t Give Up
It’s Get Better
No Pen, No Gain
Thunder Only Happens When Its Raisin

An honorable mention goes to one full back piece, that gets three points of the compass wrong.

I mention tattoos because there is a chance you might be inked in Heaven. (Hold that thought).

Rev 3:11  Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.

“Quickly” doesn’t mean soon. It’s that word from which we get our word tachometer. When you put the pedal to the metal in your car, the tach redlines all at once.

Jesus is coming “quickly,” and before the Great Tribulation. It is the Doctrine of Imminence.

The Bible mentions different “crowns” as potential rewards for believers. For example, every believer gets the crown of life as a result of salvation; but only those who die for Jesus get the martyr’s crown.

Coupled with His command to “hold fast,” I think Jesus meant to motivate us to go for it serving Him now so that we can earn even more crowns, even more rewards.

The word translated “hold fast” means to seize. Remember the popularity of the phrase, Carpe diem, “Seize the day?” “Crown” in Latin is corona. “Seize the crown” would be, Carpe corona. Alas, thanks to the corona virus, another great slogan bites the dust.

“That no one may take your crown” can’t mean your crown can be stolen. It’s in Heaven, where we are told no thief can enter in and steal.

Let’s say God has a work for you, but you refuse to perform it. God will raise up someone else to do it. They will take the crown you could have received.

Rev 3:12  He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on 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 I will write on him My new name.

Are you an overcomer? If you are a believer, you are. The apostle John wrote elsewhere, “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (First John 5:4-5).

It is the Christian who overcomes,
not the overcomer who becomes a Christian

Jesus promised them, and us, that we all are going to be “pillars” in Heaven. You’re familiar with calling someone a “pillar in the community.” Every one of us will be “pillars” in the community of saints.

“He shall go out no more.” One of the songs we sing, Golden City, captures the sense of this:

Soon your trials will be over
Offered up by mercy’s hand
A better view than where you’re standing
A doorway to another land
We will meet in the Golden City in the New Jerusalem
All our pain and all our tears will be no more

Rev 3:12 … I will write on 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 I will write on him My new name.

We will see the New Jerusalem at the end of the Revelation. It isn’t Jerusalem, in the Middle East, rebuilt. It is a city being built, that comes down out of Heaven and is in orbit above the earth.

It’s the brilliant, pearl-gated jeweled city whose streets are made of gold, where our mansions are being prepared for us by Jesus.

If you have a problem now with tattoos, you’re really gonna have trouble in Heaven. Jesus is going to ink you. You’re going to get at least three lettering tattoos:

“The Name of My God.”
“The name if the city of My God, the New Jerusalem.”
“My [i.e., Jesus’] new name.”

I’m having some fun with this idea of being tattooed. But there are other passages in which believers are said to be marked:

✎ In Ezekiel 9:4 we read, “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.”
✎ In Revelation 7:3-4 we read, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed…

You won’t have any regerts. You might want to think about fonts and colors.

Rev 3:13  “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

This is the common closing to these letters. We should always approach God’s Word expecting Him to speak to us through it.

The United States is the one country in the world that has historically been the place everyone wants to live.

“A shining city on a hill.” Ronald Reagan loved the phrase. He used it over and over again to describe his vision for America.

No one talks about living the French dream, or the Cuban dream. It’s the American dream that motivates people to risk everything to get here.

Taking nothing away from the Great Communicator, or from the American dream…

Achieving the American dream can make the future Kingdom of God seem less urgent to us.

Those more in need… Who are oppressed… Persecuted… You who are weary… Weak… Grieving… Sick… Dying. The Kingdom of God is their city.

We are not home. We therefore ought to be constantly homesick. It is the sick who appreciate the physician. And that includes being homesick.

A.W. Tozer said it better: “In nature, everything moves towards the direction of its hungers. In the spiritual world it is not otherwise. We gravitate toward our inward longing, provided of course that those longings are strong enough.”

Things To Do In Sardis When You’re Dead (Revelation 3:1-6)

What if you opened up the morning paper and read your own obituary? (You’d probably do it online nowadays… But you get the idea).

You might paraphrase Mark Twain and say, “Reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated.”

It wasn’t exactly fake news, but April 16, 2003 was a bad day for CNN. A technical glitch made some obituaries they’d prepared for several famous but not-yet-dead persons accessible to the general public. They announced the deaths of Dick Cheney, Ronald Reagan, Bob Hope, Fidel Castro, Pope John Paul II, Nelson Mandela, and Gerald Ford.

Tony Stark produced not one but two video obituaries in Avengers Endgame. I’ve thought about filming something for my memorial. So far I’m the only person in my family who doesn’t think it’s creepy.

Jesus’ letter to the church in Sardis reads like a premature obituary.

As their pastor read aloud the scroll of the Revelation to the church, they heard Jesus say to them, “You have a name that you are alive, but you are dead” (v1).

The Lord’s comments to Sardis didn’t get much better. But, if heeded, there was a chance that the Lord would retract their obituary.

I’ll organize my comments around two points: #1 Check To See If You Are Dead, and #2 Continue To Show Signs Of Life.

#1 – Check To See If You Are Dead (v1-3)

“Well it just so happens that your friend here is only mostly dead. There’s a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. Now mostly dead is slightly alive. All dead – well, with all dead, there’s only usually one thing that you can do. Go through his clothes and look for loose change” (Miracle Max).

Jesus told the church in Sardis they were dead. It was, however, a ‘dead’ that they could recover from. Thus Jesus could also say to them that they were “ready to die” (v2).

There were a few in Sardis with life. Look at verse four:

Rev 3:4  You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.

Jesus contrasted the mostly dead majority with a remnant who were “worthy.” The one difference between the two was that the worthies had “not defiled their garments.”

We start with the mostly dead, defiled majority.

Rev 3:1  “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, ‘These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.

“Angel” is a word meaning messenger. The pastor was the most likely person to read aloud the message.

The human author of the Revelation, the apostle John, recorded a vision of the risen Lord in chapter one. Each description from chapter one is applied to one of the seven churches. The description chosen is perfect to minister to the church in its particular circumstances.

To Sardis Jesus used that weird phrase, “He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars.” A Jew, or anyone familiar with the Old Testament, would understand that it refers us to chapter four in the Book of Zechariah.

Zec 4:6 For who has despised the day of small things? For these seven rejoice to see The plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. They are the eyes of the LORD, Which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth…

Later in the Revelation we will be told that, “… The seven eyes [are] the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth” (5:6). The passages are saying the same thing.

Zechariah wrote about completing the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem after the Jews returned from their captivity in Babylon. He assured the returnees that they could complete the work, but it must not be by “might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord” (4:6). God’s people would complete God’s work if they depended upon God’s Spirit.

Like all churches, the church in Sardis was the temple of God on the earth. It had become more a mausoleum. God’s people could complete God’s work if they returned to depending upon God the Holy Spirit.

Sardis would need to rediscover the dynamic empowering of God the Holy Spirit in order to, rebuild His spiritual temple on earth.

Jesus also mentioned the “seven stars.” These were said to be “the angels of the seven churches” (1:20). Why mention them? Because it was the blessed obligation of the pastor-teachers to build on the foundation of the church. The quickest way for a church to quit depending upon the Holy Spirit is for the pastor and the leadership to introduce thinking from the world. It’s likely that is what happened in Sardis.

“I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.” You wouldn’t know it to look at them that they were “dead.” I am infamous at LPD, among the veterans who were around at the time, for almost introducing myself to a dead person during a Chaplain call-out. He looked so alive.
I should have noticed he wasn’t moving… Blinking… Or breathing.

Sardis had “works,” but their works were neither endorsed nor energized by God the Holy Spirit.

Similar to the churches in the region of Galatia, Sardis had begun in the Spirit, but they were trying to continue in their own natural, human energy.

This group of walking-dead saints was distinguished by “defiled” garments. Immediately we think “defiled” indicates the kind of misbehaviors we saw in Thyatira, e.g., eating meat sacrificed to idols, and committing sexual and spiritual adultery.

If they were committing adultery, would they have a good “name?” Of course not.

Their defilement must be something else. Could it be that trying to do the “works” of God in your own energy rather than by the empowering of the indwelling Holy Spirit is the defilement? It makes sense in the context. Independence from God is way worse than we think.

Rev 3:2  Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God.

We don’t know precisely how the church in Sardis was founded.
Like all the first century churches, it was “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:20). They had begun in the Spirit.

There was time to “strengthen” what remained of that foundation and cornerstone. Thus they could be described as “dead” and as “ready to die.” They might yet “perfect” the “works” God intended for them.

The next verse seems to confirm what we are suggesting:

Rev 3:3  Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.

How had they “received and heard?” By the power of God the Holy Spirit. They must “remember” how they started.

In the Book of Acts you can read the stories of how some of the churches were founded.

The narratives are amazing, recounting the supernatural leading of men like the apostle Paul to exactly the person in the precise location God intended. They were all begun in the Spirit. No one sat down and strategized. Church planting was entirely supernatural.

Church planting strategies abound. One that I have trouble with is setting a financial goal as the indicator of when to plant the church. A website will be created for the church plant letting folks know that they can start as soon as they have $250,000.00 (or more) as their foundation.

The mostly dead saints in Sardis should do at least three things:

✏ “Hold fast” to the original foundation.
✏ “Repent” of their building on it in their own energy with wood, hay, and stubble.
✏ “Watch,” meaning be on guard, lest they continue to adopt the methods of the world.

How do we drift into depending on our own efforts and energy?

The Lord’s wisdom often presents itself as absolute foolishness. Our decision in 1983 to engage in full-time ministry; then our deciding to come to Hanford in 1985. Absolutely foolish. I know that it was because everyone told us it was.

When we reject God’s wisdom because it seems foolish, it is the beginning of an illness that leads to being mostly dead; then dead.

Dead – as in we forfeit our salvation? No, of course not. Listen to what Jesus said, keeping in mind the context within which it is set: “If you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.”

Several passages describe Jesus’ coming as a thief in the night as the Day of the Lord. It catches people unaware. But it doesn’t mean that here. These are believers and, as such, not subject to the wrath of God.

Is this the first time that the Lord said He might take something from a church? Jesus said to the church in Ephesus, “I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place – unless you repent” (2:5). He didn’t call Himself a thief, but He was going to act like one.

✏ In Ephesus, Jesus was coming quickly to remove their lampstand.
✏ In Sardis, Jesus was coming as a thief, and it makes sense it was to remove their lampstand.

The “lampstand” symbolizes the local church, specifically its testimony of the Gospel. Since Christians are expected to be lights in the world, to have our lampstand removed or taken is to have our witness go dark. That darkness is the death Jesus was taking about.

Alan Redpath was the first person I heard say, “If the Holy Spirit was removed from many churches, 95% of their works would continue.”

In Sardis, they were using elbow grease instead of the super abundant anointing of God the Holy Spirit.

These seven letters are for all churches throughout all the Church Age. Any church could substitute its name in place of these seven.

We could read this, “And to the angel of CalvaryHanford write, ‘These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.”

I do not think our church is mostly dead. I love our church, and see it to be vibrant with spiritual life. Nevertheless it is true that no church, and no Christian, is perfect. We all individually, and corporately, have areas where we are continuing in our own energy – with elbow grease – rather than by God’s Spirit.

As children growing up, we learn greater and greater independence from our parents. There is a sense in which as we grow spiritually we must learn greater and greater dependence on our Father in Heaven.

#2 – Continue To Show Signs Of Life (v4-6)

Before the COVID-Apocalypse closed Disneyland, it was our happy place. In that vast sea of line-waiting, turkey leg-eating humanity, one group of people always stood out. They were Buddhist monks, and I knew they were because they wore distinctive saffron colored robes.

The inhabitants of the supernatural realm know you are in Christ because you wear a distinctive white robe.

Here are two passages that talk about your salvation as if it were a robe given to you by God:

✏ Isa 61:10  “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness.”

✏ Rev 19:7  “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.
Rev 19:8  And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright…”

Why do you need this robe? In your natural state, you are wearing what the Bible calls filthy rags:

Isa 64:6  But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags;

There’s a scene in Robin Hood – Prince of Thieves, the Kevin Costner version, involving filthy rags.

A master of disguise, Robin Hood robed himself with the torn and tattered outer garment of a beggar in order to avoid being detected while visiting Maid Marian in the church.

To make it even more believable, he picked-up dung from the road, and rubbed it all over his robe. He was filthy.

Like it or not, this is how every human being is robed. None of us are righteous. We all fall short of the glory of God. We are all sinners. It is what we look like to God and all angels and creatures in the supernatural realm.

You receive your spiritual white robe the moment you are saved. It is given to you in exchange for the filthy garments of your natural birth.

Like any white garment, it will pick up stains as we walk in a world whose god is the devil. Not to worry: The precious blood of Jesus bleaches it white as snow as we remain in fellowship with Him.

Rev 3:4  You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.

A bride, just before she makes her appearance, is a buzz of activity. She’s got bridesmaids and moms fixing her train, adjusting her veil, getting her bouquet in order, checking her for stains or lint, making sure that she has some thing old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.

The church is the bride of Jesus. He likewise sees to it we are kept ready to make our appearance with Him.

We are told in the book of Ephesians, “that He might sanctify and cleanse [His bride] with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish” (5:26-27).

C.S. Lewis wrote, “The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us.”

Some in Sardis were said to be “worthy.” In the Strongs Concordance, one possible translation of “worthy” is due a reward. In a couple of places, our rewards are likened to adornments to our white robes:

✏ At the end of the Isaiah passage about the robe, we read, “And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”
✏ Later on in the Revelation we are told that believers adorn their white robes with rewards given them for their works (19:8).

This minority in Sardis were going to be “due a reward” at the Reward Seat of Jesus; and those rewards will adorn their robes.

Rev 3:5  He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.

I may be way out on a limb here…But I wonder if this is an altar call?

This letter was read aloud in a public gathering. Nonbelievers were almost certainly in the crowd.

The saints in Sardis knew that a special event was taking place – the reading of inspired Scripture from John that included a personal letter to them.
I could see the believers inviting their unsaved friends and relatives.

Listen to this point-by-point:

✏ “He who overcomes…” We’ve seen in previous studies that an “overcomer” is synonymous with a born-again believer. Jesus was telling them they required a new birth, a spiritual birth.

✏ “… shall be clothed in white garments…” When you believe and are born-again, the white garment is given to you as a gift. Jesus takes upon Himself your filthy rags. You are thereby fit for Heaven, meeting its strict dress code.

✏ “… and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life.” If you are born-again, your name remains permanently in this book. You will stand before Jesus at His Reward Seat, not with the wicked at the Great White Throne judgment.

✏ “… but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.” You will be received into Heaven – into eternal life – with joy and rejoicing.

If this wasn’t an altar call, it sure makes a good one.

Let’s get into being blotted-out of the book. Language scholars say that the words mean that names can and will be blotted out. Any explanation we give must account for the removal of names.

Here is a verse that I think will help us understand the blotting:

1 Tim 4:10  … we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe.

✏ Jesus is the “Savior of all men” means that His death on the Cross was and is sufficient to save anyone. We can therefore say that initially everyone’s name is written in the Book of Life.
✏ “Especially of those who believe” means that Jesus’ death on the Cross only saves those who believe in Him.

If a person passes into eternity having rejected God’s salvation, his or her name is removed from the Book of Life. Blotted-out, as it were. It will not be there when they stand before the Lord to be cast alive into conscious, eternal torment.

Rev 3:6  “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ‘

These words are part of the template for each letter. Whatever church you attend, in whatever time period, the Lord is writing to you, and to us.

Did Alfred Nobel decide to start giving his famous prizes after reading his obituary in a French newspaper? It may be an exaggeration; but some historians say it is likely.

As the story goes… Ludvig Nobel died. Several papers published obituaries naming his considerably more famous brother Alfred.

Alfred Nobel was the inventor of dynamite. The obituaries were cruel, with the headline, The Merchant of Death is Dead.

Alfred took stock of his life and decided he’d rather be remembered for something good. When he did die, the bulk of his estate went to setting up the prizes that still bear his name.

Reading his own premature obituary changed his life.

Reading our own premature obituary ought to change us.

Ask the Lord: “Where am I dead and ready to die?”

WooHoo Witchy Woman She Got The Saints In Her Sights (Revelation 2:18-29)

A judge in New Zealand granted a young girl’s request that she be made a ward of the court so that she could legally change the name her parents gave her. What was her name, you ask?

Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii.

One reader left this comment on the article: “My unusual name hasn’t affected me at all; in fact, it has helped me make friends and improve my confidence, especially since leaving school.” It was signed Russell Sprout.

We all remember the boy who had to fight his way through life on account of his deadbeat, absent father naming him Sue.

There are a few names that have become notorious and are commonly used as insults:

✏ Judas and Benedict Arnold are used to describe a backstabbing, double-crossing traitor.
✏ Scrooge describes a penny-pinching, cheapskate miser.
✏ Nimrod, used by Bugs Bunny to describe an idiot.

One woman’s name stands out as the most notorious. Two days after Kamala Harris was sworn in as vice-president a pastor took to twitter with this:

“I can’t imagine any truly God-fearing Israelite who would’ve wanted their daughters to view Jezebel as an inspirational role model because she was a woman in power.”

✏ The Bible identifies Jezebel as a harlot who practiced witchcraft (Second Kings 9:22).
✏ The dictionary says the name denotes “a wicked, shameless woman.”
✏ The synonyms listed in the thesaurus… Well, I don’t feel comfortable mentioning them in church.

Jesus boldly called a woman who was attending church in Thyatira ‘Jezebel.’

That would have certainly got Jesus banned from all social media.

Jesus’ bride, the church, was being seduced and like the jealous Bridegroom He is, the Lord was taking action.

The seduction of Christians is a constant strategy of the devil. ‘Jezebel’s’ of various kinds are to be expected and strongly resisted.

I’ll organize my comments around two points: #1 Jezebel Is In Church To Seduce You, and #2 Jesus Is In Church To Secure You.

#1 – Jezebel Is In Church To Seduce You (v18-23)

Jesus used language that pictured a betrothed bride being seduced. He thereby urged Thyatira, as a Bridegroom would His bride, to remain pure for their wedding.

Rev 2:18  “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write, ‘These things says the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass:

“Angel” means one who brings a message. In this case, the message to be read was Scripture. The apostle Paul instructed Pastor Timothy to “devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture” (First Timothy 4:13). The “angel” is therefore most likely referring to the pastor.

The apostle John was the inspired human author of the Revelation. In chapter one he saw Jesus and described Him. Jesus introduced Himself to each church using one or more of those descriptions.

The description(s) He chose spoke directly to the circumstances of each church. To Thyatira He was “the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass.”

Read commentaries and you’ll encounter dozens of suggested meanings for “eyes like torches of fire” and “feet like solid brass.” Which is correct?

We need to take a broader view. It turns out that there is a verse in the Old Testament Book of Daniel that introduces a Person with fiery eyes and brass feet:

Daniel 10:6  His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like torches of fire, his arms and feet like burnished bronze in color…”

(Note: Other Bible versions translate “fine brass” in Revelation 2:18 as “burnished bronze” (e.g, ESV.)

Daniel saw the Lord in a pre-incarnate appearance.

Jesus described Himself to Thyatira in a way that referred them back to this passage.

Whatever else flaming eyes and brass feet might suggest, their primary purpose here in the Revelation is to identify Jesus as the Glorious Man Daniel saw.

How did this description of “the Son of God” address the situation in Thyatira?

✏ After he saw Jesus, Daniel gets an earful of prophecy regarding the Second Coming.
✏ In the second section of this letter, the Second Coming is prominent.

The saints in Thyatira likely knew that Jesus would be returning with His bride, the church, at His Second Coming. If they did not know, they would when the reading got to chapter nineteen.

Whoever this woman in the church was, they were to think of her as a seductress leading the pure, precious bride of Jesus into both physical and spiritual adultery.

A betrothed bride ought to recognize and decisively reject seduction.

Rev 2:19  “I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience; and as for your works, the last are more than the first.

I absolutely did not expect this commendation to a church that was allowing a Jezebel to operate in its midst. It tells me that there were many genuine believers who had not been seduced by her.

✏ Their “love” is agape. It is the self-sacrificing love that is produced in the heart of a believer by the presence of God in his or her life.
✏ “Service” is the word from which we get the word deacon. It was used of waiters who would wait tables and be attentive to every need while remaining almost invisible.
✏ They had “faith.” Here it indicates faith working, or we would say, “faithfulness.”
✏ “Patience” is a word that indicates a hopeful waiting.

Rev 2:20  Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.

In order to form an alliance with the pagan Sidonians, King Ahab of Israel took for his wife Jezebel, the daughter of King Ethbaal. Queen Jezebel introduced the worship of her gods, Ashera and Baal, to Israel.

Fast forward about a thousand years to the church in Thyatira. Their Jezebel was claiming to be a “prophetess,” but her prophecies were satanic, and were seducing the saints “to commit sexual immorality and to eat things sacrificed to idols.”

In Thyatira, you could not work if you did not belong to a trade guild.
Each guild was dedicated to, and worshipped, a pagan god or goddess. Each year it was mandatory for you to attend a feast to the god or goddess of your guild.

✏ At that feast, the food you were served was first openly offered as a sacrifice to the idol of the god in a pagan religious ceremony.
✏ At that feast, the god or goddess was honored by rituals that involved the guild members having sex with the temple priestesses.

Those guild meetings were TripleX-rated orgies complete with temple prostitutes. Christians had trouble with this. How far could or should they go as mandatory members of the trade guilds?

A woman in the church claimed to receive prophecies that encouraged them that it was alright to attend the guild meeting and to partake in the pagan practices.

The church’s leaders “allow[ed]” her prophecies to go unchallenged.
Footnote: The Holy Spirit isn’t quenched by church leaders disallowing certain teachings or behaviors. In fact, it is necessary for the spiritual safety of the church.

Rev 2:21  And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent.

Our gracious God is longsuffering with sinners, withholding judgment, not willing that they perish, ,but receive eternal life.

The literal wording of “time to repent” is “she does not wish to repent.” It was her conscious, free-will decision.

If you are not yet a believer in Jesus Christ, His grace is operating on your heart to free your will so you can repent, and be saved.

You can repent…Do you wish to?

Rev 2:22  Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds.
Rev 2:23  I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works.

Jesus explained His use of ‘great tribulation’ as a “sickbed,” and by saying, “I will kill her children with death.” He was not going to consign her and her followers to the Great Tribulation. He was about to make them sick and kill them.

In the Old Testament story, first her children, and then Jezebel, were “killed with death.” Jezebel was thrown out a tower window, stomped, then eaten by wild dogs until “they found no more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands” (Second Kings 9:30ff).

There are references in the New Testament to individuals being “kill[ed] with death”:

✏ Ananias and Sapphira sold their land and then lied about the amount of the proceeds they donated to the church. They were “kill[ed] with death,” one after the other.
✏ In the church in Corinth some of the believers were misbehaving at the pot-luck that preceded the Lord’s Supper. They were hoarding their food and getting drunk. Some of them were being disciplined by God with sickness; some were “kill[ed] with death.”

Caution: While sickness and death can be God’s discipline, it is rare. If you are sick or dying, it is not discipline for sin, unless you are a Jezebel, or are committing particularly heinous sins that endanger the church.

Jesus said, “All the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts.” His dealings with the children of Jezebel would become a matter of public knowledge among the churches. It reminds us of the killing of Ananias and Sapphira bringing fear upon the church.

“And I will give to each one of you according to your works.” His gifts to us for eternity, for our “works,” far surpass the temporary sinful indulgences of this world.

There were Nicolaitans in Ephesus. There were Nicolaitans and Balaamites in Pergamos. Jezebel attended in Thyatira.

Attending church has proven to be a successful strategy for the devil.

Having the devil in church creates a hostile “works” environment.

#2 – Jesus Is In Church To Secure You (v24-29)

Jesus also attends church.

In chapter one, He compared the churches to lampstands, and said that He was “in the midst of the seven lampstands” (v13).

A Bridegroom and a harlot walked into a church…

✏ One has secured you by giving you the indwelling Holy Spirit as an engagement gift of His abiding love.
✏ The other seduces by appealing to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.
Who are you going home with?

Rev 2:24  “Now to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, who have not known the depths of Satan, as they say, I will put on you no other burden.

Jezebel’s “doctrine” was to encourage sexual immorality and participation in the sacrifices to idols.

What were “the depths of Satan?” And who are “they” in “as they say?” Language scholars conclude that “they” means Jezebel and her followers. They openly claimed to have tapped into the same deep spiritual power source as Satan. The power was neutral, they said, and could be used for good or for evil.

It’s an old satanic teaching. Essentially, it was the Force, but without the cuteness of Grogu. What Christian would believe such nonsense?

✏ Some time ago, one of the prominent churches in Hanford was strongly promoting a book by Paul Yonggi Cho, titled The Fourth Dimension. Cho claimed that there is a fourth spiritual dimension we can, and should, tap into, just as other supernatural beings do – to do good or evil. AKA, “The depths of Satan.”
✏ When so-called ‘Christian’ psychology first made its assault on the church in the 1980’s, its adherents compared it to the children of Israel “spoiling the Egyptians” by taking their riches on the Exodus. The principles and practices of modern psychology were said to be the valuable “spoil,” a veritable treasure for us. Never mind that one of the most renowned secular psychologists whose “spoil” we were to use is Carl Jung. He openly admitted he had dialog with a spirit being he named Philemon. AKA, “The depths of Satan.”

Jesus had no “other burden” to put on them. One commentator explains it this way:

The “burden” upon the faithful was that of resisting the pressure of Jezebel and her group. Choosing to abstain from her evil practices doubtless resulted in trouble. Jesus promised to place upon them no burden other than continuing to stand against her.

Rev 2:25  But hold fast what you have till I come.

They were victorious, still “hold[ing] fast,” and they both could and should continue to “hold fast.”

I emphasize they absolutely could “hold fast.” It was a choice to be empowered by God the Holy Spirit.

If you are a believer, you know that you can have victory over seduction because you’ve experienced it.

I got saved and immediately sin was unattractive to me. I didn’t need to try to quit sinning. I was transformed into a new creation.

Ah, but as time goes on… Satan has his strategies to seduce us. He knows what buttons to push.

Rev 2:26  And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations –

✏ Overcomer is more-or-less synonymous with being born-again.
✏ “My works” is in contrast to keeping Jezebel’s works. We “keep” by walking in the Spirit rather than in the flesh.

My simple paraphrase: “Keep on following Jesus being led along by the Spirit rather then being led astray by a Jezebel.”

Rev 2:27  ‘HE SHALL RULE THEM WITH A ROD OF IRON; THEY SHALL BE DASHED TO PIECES LIKE THE POTTER’S VESSELS’ – as I also have received from My Father;

“Power over the nations” (in v26) is defined by quoting Psalm Two (in v27). That supremely Messianic psalm proclaims the Second Coming of Jesus to rule over the nations of the world.

Rev 2:28  and I will give him the morning star.

Pages and pages have been written about “the morning star.” It is especially controversial because the Old Testament prophet, Isaiah, in chapter fourteen of his book, identifies Satan using the phrase. But then Jesus calls Himself “the Morning Star” in Revelation 22:16.

What’s up? A large part of the confusion comes from the translation in the KJV & NKJV of “morning star” in Isaiah 14:12 as “Lucifer.” It makes “morning star” sound like a name rather than a description.

Morning star is not a proper name; It is a description.

Apologist Don Stewart explains:

The reason Lucifer has been understood to be a proper name of the Devil has to do with the Latin translation of the Hebrew term Helel. This word was understood… to be a proper name for the king of Babylon. It means “light bearer,” or Lucifero in Latin. The Latin title became a popular name for this evil figure. When the King James translators rendered the Hebrew term into English, they kept the popular term “Lucifer” for the Devil.

Listen to this commentary on Isaiah’s use of the phrase:

The first reference of “morning star” [in Isaiah 14] is not to the devil but to the human king of Babylon.

The whole section is directed to the king of Babylon, who is clearly depicted as a human ruler. Other kings of the earth address him; he is called “the man”; and he possesses a physical body. At the same time, Isaiah 14:12-15 seems to go beyond a description of a mortal king. A double-fulfillment prophecy is thus probably in view.

The facts are these:

✏ Isaiah uses “morning star” as a description of a human king.
✏ Isaiah also uses “morning star” as a description of the devil.
✏ Jesus uses “morning star” of Himself in His Second Coming as the rightful King of kings.

“Morning star” was, and it is, a description for someone, human or supernatural, who aspires to rule over the nations of the earth.

✏ In Revelation 2:26 we read, “I will give [you] power over the nations.”
✏ Jesus said, in verse 28, “I will give [you] the morning star.”

They are two ways of saying the same thing; “Power over” the nations and “morning star” are interchangeable.

Jesus is coming in “power” to rule over the nations.

When He does, we will be ruling with Him. He will give us the “morning star,” means that He will share with us His authority over the nations of the earth.

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Jesus’ words to each church are for all the churches, both then and now.

Sexual immorality leading as it does to spiritual adultery is a prevalent strategy being employed against the church right now.

I don’t think it is necessary to point out any of the multitude of examples, both internationally and local.

It will be getting much worse. We can nonetheless hear the Lord say, “I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience; and as for your works, the last are more than the first.”

Please Don’t You Be My Neighbor (Revelation 2:12-17)

I’ll name the neighbors… You name the show:

Fred & Ethyl Mertz (I Love Lucy)
Ed & Trixie Norton (The Honeymooners)
Barney & Betty Rubble (The Flintstones)
Lenny & Squiggy (Laverne & Shirley)
Ned Flanders (The Simpsons)
Wilson W. Wilson, Jr. (Home Improvement)

One more to show that I’m on the cutting edge: Agnes (WandaVision).

While the majority of television neighbors are rather likable, movie neighbors can be your worst nightmare. You can probably think of a film in which the neighbor turned out to be anything but Fred Rogers. I submit Lars Thorwald in Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window, with an Honorable Mention going to the Klopek’s in The Burbs.

The believers in the church in Pergamos had a supremely undesirable neighbor.

Who was their neighbor? As the Church Lady would say, “Satan!”

Jesus said, in verse thirteen, “Where you dwell… Satan dwells.” The devil had his “throne” there. It was not a good day in the neighborhood with Satan going about singing, “Won’t you be mine?”

Satan wasn’t only living in their city. He was attending their church.

Not personally, but through certain false teachers he had equipped. In verses fourteen and fifteen, Jesus said, “You have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam… You also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans…” The Lord wanted the believers to take action against them.

I’ll organize my comments around two points: #1 Hold Fast And You Reveal Jesus Enthroned, and #2 Hold Loosely And You Reveal Satan Enthroned.

#1 – Hold Fast And You Reveal Jesus Enthroned (v12-13)

There are two symbols that are used to represent medicine:

The Caduceus is a symbol with a short staff entwined by two serpents.
The Rod of Asclepius is the one with a single serpent.

Isn’t it weird? Why serpents? It reaches back through the centuries to mythology.

Pergamos was especially known for its temple to Asclepius, the god of medicine. People from all over the world traveled to Pergamos hoping to be healed. The method for healing was unorthodox. William Barclay writes:

Sufferers were allowed to spend the night in the darkness of the temple. In the temple there were tame snakes. In the night the sufferer might be touched by one of these tame and harmless snakes as it glided over the ground on which he lay. The touch of the snake was held to be the touch of the god himself, and the touch was held to bring health and healing.

Satan was similarly slithering around the church seeking to ‘touch’ the believers – not for healing but for havoc and for harm.

Rev 2:12  “And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write, ‘These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword:

The Revelation that John wrote out on a scroll was carried from church-to-church in the region we know today as Turkey.
It would be read aloud by the “angel” of the church. “Angel” means messenger. Strong’s Concordance comments that it “implies the pastor.”

John gave a detailed description of Jesus in chapter one. We read that, “Out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword” (1:16). That observation is now edited by the Holy Spirit to read, “He who has the sharp two-edged sword.”

You’ve probably seen a representation of Jesus with a “two-edged sword” coming out of His mouth. Are we to take this literally? I mean, we are the literalists, aren’t we?

We’ve mentioned how dependent the Revelation is on Old Testament references; and we’ve said that Jews would understand references that we miss for lack of Old Testament familiarity. A Jew, upon hearing about a sharp sword coming out of the mouth, would remember Isaiah writing, “And He has made My mouth like a sharp sword…” (49:2).

Other translations include, “He made my words like a sharp sword,” and “He gave me speech that would cut and penetrate.”

If you read the entire Isaiah passage, you see that it is describing God’s Suffering Servant – the Messiah who would save Israel. It’s a prophecy about Jesus.

So, no, Jesus doesn’t have a sword coming out of His mouth. It is a well-known expression for the power of His speech.

It’s the perfect attribute of Jesus for Pergamos because the words of these false teachers needed to be dealt with by the sword of the Word.

Rev 2:13  “I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.

The words “your works” do not appear in the best manuscripts. The emphasis was on knowing where they dwelt. Not just the city; that’s obvious. Jesus let the saints know that their city was Ground Zero for the devil. Pergamos was “Satan’s throne.”

It seems that the nations of the world have angels, both good and fallen, assigned to them:

In the Book of Daniel, a mighty fallen angel called the Prince of Persia detained the angel Gabriel from coming to Daniel.
Also in Daniel we read that the Archangel Michael is “The great prince who stands watch over [Israel].”

Satan is called the “god of this world,” and as such it is logical that he would have a headquarters.

“You hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you.” The Bible tells us nothing more about Antipas. He was an impressive one-verse wonder.

Faced with the pressure to deny Jesus or die a violent death, Antipas chose to die a martyr, and the believers stood with him, willing to become martyrs themselves.

Martyrdom seems a triumph for evil. Looking back on church history, we see that it is, in fact, a victory for the Lord, every time.

You probably know that the word “martyr” means witness. We who are in Christ are all witnesses who by holding fast to Jesus could become martyrs.

You might think martyrdom is the ultimate witness.

It can be harder to live for Jesus than to die for Him.

I freely admit that I am not the most qualified Christian to say that. Sadhu Sundar Singh is. He is credited as the first missionary to cross the Himalayan Mountains to take the gospel to Nepal and Tibet. One source said, “He was known as, ‘the apostle with the bleeding feet’ for he walked far and long.” At thirty-six-years-of-age he made his last trip over the mountains. He never returned and is assumed by some to have been a martyr for Jesus.

In his diary he had written, “It is easy to die for Christ. It is hard to live for Him. Dying takes only a few minutes – or at worst an hour or two – but to live for Christ means to die daily to myself.”

Beloved, in our daily lives we have opportunities to show the world that Jesus is on the throne, so to speak. All we need to do is die to self.

Where do you need to die to yourself and thereby reveal Jesus enthroned?

#2 – Hold Loosely And You Reveal Satan Enthroned (v14-17)

Sauron was defeated largely because of Gandalf’s hidden strategy to destroy the one ring of power. With the good guys coming at the bad guys head on, the Great Eye of Barad-dûr was kept distracted until it was too late.

Satan was employing a similar strategy. As the bad guy, he came at the believers head-on. He killed Antipas. But while the saints were faithfully enduring a direct assault, the serpent had secretly slithered in to their midst.

Satan is always playing the long-game.

You don’t know what it is. But you can be prepared for it.

That’s one reason it is so important to continue in doctrine, in fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.

Rev 2:14  But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality.

They were “there,” not just in the city, but in the meetings of the church.

Balaam’s story is recorded in chapters twenty-two through twenty-four of the Old Testament Book of Numbers. The nation of Israel was marching from Egypt to the Promised Land. No Gentile nation could withstand them on their journey as they walked with God through the wilderness. They seemed invincible.

King Balak of Moab was terrified of them. He sent for a Gentile seer named Balaam, to employ him to curse the nation of Israel. Three times Balaam tried to curse them but each time God overcame him and the words he spoke blessed them instead.

Unable to curse them, but still desiring the money that Balak had offered him, Balaam counseled Balak on how he might yet stop the march of the Jews.

Balaam understood that the only way to defeat them was to entice them to sin against God. Then God would step in to discipline them Himself.

Balaam told Balak to send the temple priestesses into the camp of Israel to seduce the Jewish men into celebrating their pagan feast of Baal-Peor. The feast involved idolatry and sexual immorality.

The plan worked. The Israelite men worshipped idols, and had sex with the priestesses.

Their sin had devastating results. God sent a plague into the camp of the Israelites, as a discipline, that killed twenty-four thousand of them.

Jewish men were sinning openly…God was killing people…And no one was doing a thing about it!

Then this happened:

Num 25:6  And indeed, one of the children of Israel came and presented to his brethren a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.
Num 25:7  Now when Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose from among the congregation and took a javelin in his hand;
Num 25:8  and he went after the man of Israel into the tent and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her body. So the plague was stopped among the children of Israel.

These folks in Pergamos did not call themselves Balaamites. Jesus exposed them by using the story from Numbers. They were little Balaams.

What were the Pergamos Balaamites promoting?

“To eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality.” A portion of the meat served in the various temples was first offered in sacrifice to the god of that temple. The worship of the gods involved sexually immoral practices.

The influence of the Balaamites was to tell the saints it was fine – even mature – to visit the pagan temples. Go ahead, eat the sacrificed meat. And, ultimately, engage in the immoral sexual practices there.

The problem was compounded because food was served all the time in the temples, not just in religious rituals. There were food booths and restaurants.

In those days, you didn’t go to McDonalds; you went to McDionysus… Or to Bacchus King… Poseidon Hut… Cronos Junior… Little Caesars… Taco Baal.

The temple food was superb. But it was food that had been offered to an idol, leading to idolatry and sexual sin.

Is the church today under assault from within by Balaamites? Let me preface my remarks by quoting from Genesis:

“So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (1:47).
“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (2:24)

There are two genders: Male and female. Marriage is one biological male and one biological female in an exclusive heterosexual, monogamous covenant of companionship for as long as they both shall live.

A quick look at Wikipedia identifies twenty-two denominations in North America (Protestant and Catholic) that affirm the LGBTQ agenda. They no longer acknowledge that homosexuality or transgender identity are sexual sins.

It didn’t occur overnight. Balaamites slithered in to the North American denominations. Unlike the snakes in the temple of Asclepius, these snakes are deadly poisonous.

In related news: The Australian province of Victoria has criminalized prayer that seeks to change a person’s sexual orientation.
The offense is punishable by imprisonment for up to ten years. UK activists are lobbying for similar legislation. It will be coming our way soon.

Rev 2:15  Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.

Pages-and-pages have been written on these guys to no avail in solving exactly what they believed and taught. It’s a good thing we don’t know more about them. If we did, we’d concentrate on their particular teachings. Instead we can see them as a placeholder for any and all false teachings.

Here is a quote on the subject of tolerance:

The original definition of tolerance and the way in which the word is used now are quite different. Originally, tolerance meant to acknowledge that others have differing beliefs and accept that it is their right to do so. In this way, Christians are to absolutely be tolerant. Recently, tolerance has come to mean accepting that those other beliefs are true – something Christians absolutely cannot do.

Rev 2:16  Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.

The saints were tolerating sin in their church. Up until then, there was no Phinehas to wield God’s Word against them.

There is a very strong distinction between “you” – the believers – and “them” – the false teachers. The believers should do something about “them” or else the Lord would come and deal with it.

You might think, “That’s great! Let the Lord handle it.” That isn’t how we ought to think.

The apostle Paul urged the factious believers in Corinth to set things in order before he arrived.

He put it this way: “What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness?” (First Corinthians 4:21).

The saints in Pergamos ought to “repent” by immediately doing something about the problem. Otherwise the Lord would, but it probably would also involve a “rod” of discipline.
Rev 2:17  “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.”

“He who has an ear” means the things in these letters are for any believer at any time.
“What the Spirit says to the churches” (plural) means that the things in each letter are for any church at any time.

“Him who overcomes” is not a super-saint. In one of his letters in the New Testament, John says a born-again believer in Jesus is an overcomer.

The average, everyday believer in Jesus Christ can count on some things in the future.

He or she can expect some of “the hidden manna to eat.” Manna was the bread that fell from Heaven which fed the children of Israel as they wandered in the wilderness for forty years. The “hidden manna” refers to the manna that was put in the Ark of the Covenant that was covered by the Mercy Seat within the Holy of Holies of the wilderness Tabernacle.

To eat some of the hidden manna you would need to be in the Holy of Holies in God’s Temple.

Any moment, the church could be in Heaven, in God’s Temple. Why get so insistent about indulging our flesh at the ‘temples’ of the world when we will one day be in Heaven?

The wilderness-wandering Jews grew tired of eating only manna. So can we. In our case, the manna is God’s Word. We want to add to it ingredients from the world.

I was thumbing through an old recipe book when I came across one recipe that called for ammonia. You probably already knew that there is a kind of ammonia used in baking – ammonium carbonate. I didn’t. (Don’t worry; I didn’t kill anyone).

The world that Satan is god over urges you to add its ingredients. You are prone to add something deadly. Christian con carnal is not good.

“And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.”’
Apparently it was common to use stones the way we use tickets. Think of it like having a wristband or a hand stamp that allows you access to an event.

The ultimate invitation… The capital “E” coupon… Is our invitation to the future Marriage Supper of Jesus that believers are going to attend as His bride.

My mom used to tell me junk food would ruin my appetite for dinner. The junk food of the world system Satan heads can ruin our spiritual appetites.

“And on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.”

It’s pretty common for believers to be renamed:

In the Old Testament, Abram was renamed Abraham, Sarai was renamed Sarah, and Jacob was renamed Israel.
In the New Testament, Jesus told Simon that he would be called Peter.

Do you have endearing, pet names for those you love? A name that no one else is really allowed to use? That’s the idea here.

Satan was not only their nemesis, trying to kill more believers like he did Antipas. He was their neighbor. He was in church with them.

I don’t know where Satan’s throne is today. It’s probably not where we’d guess. It doesn’t matter anyway; we’re not told to try to discover it. Or to do anything to assail it. Our warfare is right in front of us.

If you are in Christ, you desire to reveal Jesus enthroned. Remember the words of Sundar Singh:

“Dying takes only a few minutes – or at worst an hour or two – but to live for Christ means to die daily to myself.”

Scent Of A Witness (Revelation 2:8-11)

Residents of Pawley’s Island off the Carolina coast tell the legend of the Gray Man.

In the early 1800’s, a young man was going to visit his love to ask for her hand in marriage.  Along the way, his horse stumbled and he was thrown.  He landed in quicksand which slowly pulled him under. 

When she learned of his fate, the young woman was devastated.  She took to walking the beach alone. 

One night while on her walk, she came upon a man dressed in gray staring at the ocean.  When the figure turned to her, she recognized her true love.  He told her the island was not safe and to leave.

Her family evacuated to the mainland.  That very day, a hurricane swept over Pawley’s. When they returned to the island, everything was in shambles.

Everything, that is, but one thing: Their family home was untouched.

Residents say that the Gray Man has appeared several times over the years right before a major storm.  Those who heed the warning survive, as do their homes.

As early warning systems go, the Gray Man is pretty lame. He doesn’t always appear. Maybe he is too busy hanging out with the Moth Man. The National Hurricane Center gives everyone 36hrs notice. I’d go with them.

Jesus issued a warning to the saints in the church of Smyrna.

It’s in verse ten: “The devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days…”

It would seem wise to get out of Dodge.

But this was not an evacuation notice.

Jesus advised them to “be faithful until death.”

I’ll organize my comments around two points: #1 God Released The Fragrance Of Eternal Life As Jesus Was Crushed For You, and #2 You Release The Fragrance Of Eternal Life As You Are Crushed For Jesus.

#1 – God Released The Fragrance Of Eternal Life As Jesus Was Crushed For You (v8)

You don’t need to be a linguist to see the word myrrh in Smyrna. Myrrh is a gum resin taken from a tree that was an important ingredient in several fragrances. The resin would be collected from the tree by making an incision in the outer bark. Then it would be allowed to harden. It released its fragrance only when crushed.

Myrrh was especially associated with the suffering of Jesus:

✏ The magi brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh as gifts for Jesus. Myrrh was significant in that it was used as an embalming agent. Their gift of myrrh indicated that Jesus was born to die.
✏ As He hung on the cross, Jesus was offered wine mingled with myrrh to drink. Myrrh in this form was an anesthetic. Jesus refused it; He refused to dull His suffering on the Cross.
✏ At His burial, Jesus was anointed with myrrh according to the burial customs of the time.

In Isaiah 53:10 (ESV), prophesying of Jesus, we read, “Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him.”

The apostle Paul was alluding to Jesus being crushed when he wrote, “Christ … loved us and [gave] Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice
to God for a sweet-smelling aroma” (Ephesians 5:2).

The crushing of Jesus to obtain salvation for all who believe is the context in which the Lord will tell the saints in Smyrna to endure to the end.

Rev 2:8  “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write, ‘These things says the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life:

The “angel of the church at Smyrna” is a reference to its pastor. He would be the most likely individual to read aloud the scroll, and thereby present the message, as it was carried from church-to-church.

Each of the seven letters opens with a description of Jesus from John’s vision of the risen Lord in chapter one.
Each time Jesus described Himself, His description was also the comfort or the correction to the dangers or difficulties that particular church was facing. Here Jesus identifies Himself as “the First and the Last.”

“First and Last” is a title for Almighty God in the Old Testament.

Notice what He couples together with this description of Himself: “Who was dead and came to life.”

When Jesus says He was dead, it means that He “became dead.”

✏ Jesus came as God in human flesh and was crucified on the Cross at Calvary.
✏ Jesus rose from the dead three days after His crucifixion.

Some of them were going to “become dead.” But, like Jesus, they would rise from the dead. It was and is the perfect word, is it not, for someone facing death?

Death stinks… Literally. One of my favorite lines in the Bible was uttered by Martha. Jesus ordered them to “take away the stone” from the tomb of her recently deceased brother, Lazarus. “Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days” (John 11:39).

In my support of law enforcement as Chaplain I’ve smelled the stench of death. Sometimes the cops light-up cigars to keep from being overwhelmed.

Jesus changed all that for believers. The crushing of Jesus released the sweetest spiritual fragrance the world has ever, or will ever, know. It is the fragrance of eternal life.

#2 – You Release The Fragrance Of Eternal Life As You Are Crushed For Jesus (v9-11)

Would you knowingly go to an unlicensed doctor?

Under Domitian, emperor worship was made compulsory.

Each year every citizen had to burn incense on Caesar’s altar while saying, “Caesar is Lord.” They would then be issued a certificate attesting to their loyalty.

Think of the certificate the way we do licenses.

Christians could not, in good conscience, burn incense and declare that Domitian was god. Thus in verse nine,

Rev 2:9  “I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich); and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.

The majority of Bible scholars say the word “works” is not in the best surviving Bible manuscripts. The three difficulties the Smyrnaean believers faced were tribulation, poverty, and blasphemy.

✏ Why poverty? You’re a believer. You can’t offer incense to Caesar. But you don’t want to disobey the government, and you can’t work without a license.
✏ Why tribulation? Maybe you take the position that you are going to remain working without a license. When the authorities find out, you’re in deep, deep trouble.

How were the authorities finding out? Jews – who, by the way, were exempted from emperor worship – would rat you out on account of their hatred for Jesus and His followers. They “blasphemed” you to the authorities.

“Those who say they are Jews and are not” is a description that has garnered lots of speculation from commentators. End of the day, Jesus was referring to the physical descendants of Abraham who faithfully attended synagogue. Jews. They were “not” Jews to Jesus because of their unbelief.

Once when He was on the earth, in a tense confrontation with Jesus, the Jews accused Him of being Mary’s illegitimate son. Jesus replied, “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do” (John 8:44).

Regardless their claim to be descended from Abraham, Satan had taken over their synagogue, and they were doing his bidding in blaspheming all those who were in Christ.

Jesus said of the mistreated believers, “but you are rich.” They were rich in the spiritual currencies of Heaven.

You are wealthy beyond your wildest imagination.

Nowhere was life more dangerous for a Christian. If I’m in Smyrna, I’m looking to evacuate before things get any worse. Seems like I’d be safer in any of the other six cities. I have to think some of the believers had already fled. Maybe to Arkansas. (That’s the new Eden for Californians relocating, BTW).

Rev 2:10  Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.

As of the writing of the Revelation, no one had been imprisoned or martyred. Not yet.

Notice these key phrases: things which you are about to suffer, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, you will have tribulation.

Read verse ten carefully and you realize that Jesus was telling them to stay put…to submit to imprisonment…to submit to “death” as His martyrs.

Jesus understood evacuation. When just a child, Joseph and Mary were told to flee to Egypt with Him to avoid His being murdered by King Herod.

But Jesus also knew blasphemy, false imprisoning, and death for His testimony.

Jesus got very specific. He told them they would have “tribulation ten days.” There are all kinds of interesting theories about what “ten days” means, e.g., it means a long but definite period of time; or it refers to ten successive future periods of persecution through the centuries.

It most likely means ten days…ten 24hr days

Limited periods of persecution are common in biblical history. For example:

✏ Genesis 7:4  “… I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and I will destroy from the face of the earth all living things that I have made.”
✏ Numbers 14:33  “And your sons shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years…”
✏ Jeremiah 29:10  “For thus says the LORD: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place.”

How long is the future Great Tribulation going to last? Seven years; no more, no less.

Then there was that time in Persia… Wicked Haman lobbied the King to pass a law saying it was legal “to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their possessions” (Esther 3:13).

That potential one-day of infamy was the time Queen Esther stepped-up to save the Jews in Persia from annihilation. Haman’s plot backfired big time.

No reason to take the ten days as anything but literal days exists.

Jesus said, “that you may be tested.” Listen to this quote:

“The same word refers to the demonic attacks destined to befall unbelievers on earth during the future hour of trial, but here its sense is that of testing by persecution. It does not mean a trial for the purpose of proving them, but a trial by way of enticing them to fall away. The prominent thing is the declared role of Satan in soliciting Christians to sin by renouncing their faith.”

This wasn’t a trial from God; this was an assault by the devil. We trip all over ourselves theologically trying to understand or explain why God permits such things.

It’s not really that unusual. Maybe this illustration will help. Let’s say it’s a time of war. To achieve the greater good, you and your fellow soldiers are commanded to hold your position at all costs. Your valor will save thousands of lives; but it will most likely cost yours, and your men’s.

We see that as heroic. We honor those men with medals.

We are in a war – a cosmic, spiritual war – and there will be casualties.

Why do we think an earthly military war requires the ultimate sacrifice, but that the cosmic struggle for souls should not?

We are soldiers. We are not privy to understand all of the Lord’s strategies in the war. The Smyrnaean believers were told to stay put and endure the test, even unto death.

Not everyone in the church would die as a martyr, but each one should be willing to.

Literally Jesus said, “Stop being afraid.”

Johnny Fontane was denied the lead role in a movie. Talking about it to his godfather, he began to weep. Don Corleone rose to his feet, grabbed him by the hands, and shouted, “You can act like a man!” Then he slapped him, saying “What’s the matter with you?” He went on to mock his crying.

While I don’t recommend the Godfather’s methods, his message was spot-on.

We need to quit whining and act like believers.

John had appointed Polycarp bishop in Smyrna. Polycarp was burned at the stake and pierced with a spear for refusing to burn incense. Church history has it that on the day of his martyrdom, Polycarp said, “Eighty and six years I have served Him, and He has done me no wrong. How then can I blaspheme my King and Savior? You threaten me with a fire that burns for a season, and after a little while is quenched; but you are ignorant of the fire of everlasting punishment that is prepared for the wicked.”

Foxe’s Book of Martyrs records the smell of the burning, “not as burning flesh, but as gold and silver refining in the furnace. We received also in our nostrils such a fragrance as proceeds from… precious perfume.”

Some of the sources I searched say it is likely Polycarp was in the meeting when the Revelation was read. Do the math:

✏ Polycarp was born in 69AD and he died in 155AD at age 86.
✏ The revelation was written somewhere around 95AD. Polycarp would have been in his late 20’s, or early 30’s, at the time of its circulation.
✏ The apostle John, who wrote the Revelation, died around 100AD.

If, as church historians hold, John appointed Polycarp bishop in Smyrna, he was likely there to hear the letter. In fact, he may have been the “angel” who read it aloud.

The various pagan temples scattered around Smyrna were called “the crown of Smyrna.”

It was similar to the volcanoes scattered around our region that we call “the ring of fire.” In a play on words, Jesus promised them the crown of life.

This is the type of crown given to those who were victorious in an athletic competition. It is more what we would call a garland or a wreath.

There are various other crowns available to us. You can look them up. Yes, we will toss our crowns at Jesus’ feet in heaven (Revelation 4:10). But that only makes me want them all the more. Their use as an object to honor the Lord increases rather than decreases their value.

When you graduate from high school or college or an academy you toss your cap up into the air. It represents the achievement, but also the joy of its completion. You’re gonna want a crown or two in Heaven.

Rev 2:11  “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.” ‘

✏ “He who has an ear” makes everything in these letters applicable to any Christian anywhere at anytime.
✏ “To the churches” makes everything in each letter applicable to any church anywhere at any time.

The “second death” is explained later in Revelation, in verses eleven through fifteen of chapter twenty.

The second death is the judgment of all nonbelievers from all of time. Having rejected eternal life by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, they are cast alive into the Lake of Fire – into Hell – to suffer for eternity.

Christians need have no fear of death, especially of the second death. Death for the believer is a departure for home. They will never stand before the terror of the Great White Throne. Instead they will stand before their Lord at His reward seat.

✏ Christians die once – or maybe not at all
✏ Nonbelievers die twice

We talked previously at some length about what it means to be an “overcomer.”
It doesn’t only apply to super-Christians. It is synonymous with being saved. If you are born of God, born again, you are an overcomer.

Satan has his strategies. No one is better at counter-strategy than is Almighty God.

My strategy in Smyrna would be to have all the Christians evacuate. At that moment in history, the Lord determined that his troop of saints could do the best witnessing by dying as martyrs.

We need reminding that while what God permits may make no sense to us, it is wisdom in the warfare.

No Bible study about the believers spiritual fragrance would be complete without referencing Second Corinthians 2:14-16,

2Co 2:14  Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.
2Co 2:15  For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.
2Co 2:16  To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things?

I’d say the chances are pretty good none of us will die as martyrs. But according to the apostle Paul, we are nonetheless diffusers of the fragrance of eternal life in our daily witness.

Let’s go out into the stench of the world with the scent of a witness.