Faith or Good Works. Which Will Save Us?

 Continued from previous post:

Salvation vs. Deeds

The question now arises:  Why are salvation and deeds two separate things?  This is a topic that has been debated for thousands of years, and we will not settle the matter here in this book.  But we will try to put it as simply as possible so we have a basic understanding.  Salvation is a gift that we receive freely:  we can do NOTHING to earn it.  …the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.  (Rom. 6:23)  So how do we receive this free gift?  It says in John 1:12, But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.  Jesus said …This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.  (John 6:29)  When Jesus was crucified, one of the criminals being crucified next to him asked Jesus to remember him when he came in his kingdom.  Jesus replied that the criminal would be with him in paradise.  (See Luke 23:42, 43)  This man was a criminal, and he was such a bad man that the death sentence had been passed against him.  So how could Jesus simply say yes, you will be in heaven with me?  Because this criminal believed that Jesus was the Son of God and said he wanted to be with him. 

That is all that is required to be saved:  believe that Jesus is sent of God to save you and ask him to be in your life.  Suddenly your name is written in the Book of Life and heaven is yours.  …he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent me, has eternal life, and…has passed out of death into life.  (John 5:24)

            So where do deeds come into the picture?  When you fall in love with someone you desire to please that person, and our love for Jesus will be no different.  The longer Jesus is in your life, the more you will know him and the more you will love him and the more you will want to please him.  So what is it that pleases Jesus?  When asked what the greatest commandment was, Jesus replied, …”You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.”  This is the great and foremost commandment.  The second is like it, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”   (Matt. 22:37-39)  Loving God and treating people as we would want to be treated are the deeds for which we are judged.  (See Matt. 25:31-46)

 By ourselves we cannot please Jesus, but he promises to help us personally, to give us the Holy Spirit to help, and to cover us when we fall short.  I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever…  (John 14:16)  …he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.  (John 15:5)   …for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.  (Phil. 2:13)  …if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.  (1 John 2:1)  For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.  Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.  (Heb. 4:15, 16)

Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.  Rev.20:6

 

Heaven and Judgement. Book of Revelation.

 Continued from previous post:

The world is destroyed, the wicked are dead, and Satan and his angels are trapped with nothing to do.  The rest of us have been caught up in the clouds with Jesus and our loved ones.  The burning question at this point is: what happens next?  What is heaven like and what will we be doing there?  The apostle Paul says, …Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.  (1 Cor. 2:9)  We cannot imagine what heaven will be like.  Our eyes and ears have never been exposed to anything resembling what is awaiting us, and our wildest imaginations cannot even come close to what the reality will be.  But the Bible gives some clues as to what to expect.

Heaven

New Bodies:

…flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God…but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.  For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.  (1 Cor. 15:50-53)  When Jesus returns and the saved are reaped from the earth, everyone will immediately receive a new, immortal body that will never experience sickness or death.  And no resident will say, “I am sick”…  (Is. 33:24)  For they cannot even die anymore, because they are like angels, and are sons of God…  (Luke 20:36)

The Party:

…Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb…  (Rev. 19:9)  The Bride of Christ (the true church, those who are saved) takes part in what is described as a marriage supper.  When Jesus was on earth he was a guest at a wedding in the city of Cana, the event of his first miracle where he changed water into wine.  In those days a wedding celebration was a huge affair that lasted about one week.  In heaven, Jesus will be the host of a party so huge that it is impossible to imagine.  We will be with Jesus, with our loved ones, and with those we have only read about.  I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.  (Matt. 8:11)

Royalty:

See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are.  (1 John 3:1)  Jesus said, In My Father’s house are many dwelling places…I go to prepare a place for you.  (John 14:2)  We are sons and daughters of the king of the universe and in heaven we will be living in the same mansion as Jesus and God the Father! …in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.  (2 Tim. 4:8)  Royalty wear crowns to signify their positions.  So we too, on the day Jesus returns to this earth and gathers up his people, will be given a crown by him personally.

 

The Book of Life:

God keeps several books, one of which is called the Book of Life.  Those who have their names written in the Book of Life are those who are in heaven.      (See Phil. 4:3; Rev. 3:5; Rev. 21:27)  Jesus does the entering or deleting of names in the Book of Life before he returns to earth to collect the saved.  Now at that time Michael, the great prince…will arise.  And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time… everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued.  (Dan. 12:1)  The seven bowls full of the seven last plagues bring to this earth a time of distress that had never been experienced before.  We who have our names written in the Book of Life will be rescued and caught up in the clouds with Jesus before the world ends.

Our Deeds Judged:

But that is not the end of our judgment.  All of us have to stand before Jesus and be judged by him.  …we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.  (Rom. 14:10)  For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son… (John 5:22)  But why are we being judged if we are already in heaven?  What is it that is being judged?  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.  (2 Cor. 5:10)  Every person in heaven will receive rewards based on his or her deeds.  What these rewards are, the Bible does not say. 

Deeds of the Lost Judged:

Our time in heaven will not be a time of idleness.  Along with the great and unimaginable pleasures we will be experiencing, we will have work to do.  …do you not know that the saints will judge the world?  Do you not know that we will judge angels?    (1 Cor. 6:2, 3)   Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them.  And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshipped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead or on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.  (Rev. 20:4)

Satan, his angels, and those whose names are not written in the Book of Life will have their deeds judged by the saints in heaven.  Jesus has already judged who is and who is not to be saved, so why are we going to judge the works of those who are not saved?  We can speculate and come up with a twofold answer.  First, the punishment for their deeds must fit the crime.  Adolph Hitler was responsible for the murder of millions of people, but Joe Schmuckatelly down the street simply did not believe in God and he never killed one other human being.  Do they deserve the same judgment?  Of course not.  Judgment occurs…so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.  (2 Cor. 5:10)

            The second speculative answer as to why the saints are allowed to judge the world is to satisfy questions we may have.  For instance:  Why isn’t that TV preacher here in heaven?  When we look at his deeds we see he was not a servant of God, but instead he was a greedy and power hungry megalomaniac.  He did not have a personal relationship with Jesus; he used Jesus’ name to advance his own agenda. 

 Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.  Many will say to Me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?”  And then I will declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.” (Matt. 7:21-23)  (Emphasis supplied)       

 

The Seal of God. Laodicea in the Book of Revelation.

 Continued from last post:

Up to this point in our study of prophecy we have looked backwards in time; we have seen what the Bible told would happen and then we have learned that history proved the prophecies correct.  From this point forward, we do not have the luxury of historical hindsight.  We are now entering the unknown; we are now going to study what will happen in the future.  No one can say with absolute certainty what will happen or when it will happen, all we can do is take what we have learned about prophecy, apply it the best we can to what we study from now on, and keep watch on the events occurring in the world around us to see the fulfillment of what we have learned.

  In Chapter 4 of this book we saw that we are now living in the Philadelphia Church era.  The Laodicea Church era and the seventh seal are yet to come. (My sister told me she believes we are now in the Laodicea Church Era. She wrote her book in 2007.)

Laodicea:  Salvation        

Spirituality:

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot.  So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.  Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.  Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore, be zealous and repent.  Behold, I stand at the door and knock’ if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.  He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.  Rev. 3:15-21

Here we see that as the Laodicea Church era begins, Christians have become complacent and self-satisfied with their spiritual condition.  The people have lost their zeal for God and just go through the motions, thinking that they have and are doing everything they need in order to be saved.  Jesus says that he rejects their self-righteousness, but he offers to clothe them with his righteousness, to fill them with the Holy Spirit, and to give them understanding.  Those who accept his offer to live in their hearts will reign with him in heaven.

This is a warning for us, especially as the Philadelphia era ends and the Laodicea era begins.  We cannot offer anything to God in order to secure salvation.  Our good works, our church attendance, everything, is unacceptable.  For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment… (Is. 64:6)  Only Jesus’ good works, only his sacrifice, only his righteousness can cover us and make us acceptable to God.

Laodicea

  How we really are……….How we think we are

Seal of God

After this (the end of the Philadelphia Church era and the sixth seal) I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, so that no wind would blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree.  And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God; and he cried out with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the bondservants of our God on their foreheads.  Rev. 7:1-3

 Before the seventh seal is opened, something happens to the servants of God; they are sealed on their foreheads with the seal of God.  Throughout history, an important document or letter was sealed shut with wax and the author or sender of the document would press a stamp or a signet ring into the wax to identify the origin and the authenticity of the document. 

In Revelation 7 we see an angel has been sent to place God’s seal on his followers, in effect marking them as authentic and belonging to him.  …and His name will be on their foreheads.  (Rev. 22:4)  This seal will not be visible to the human eye, it is a spiritual seal: a setting apart, or separating, of those who follow God from those who follow the beast.  But why does the Bible specifically say the seal will be placed on the forehead?  Because that is where the mind is.  With our minds we make the decision to follow God and his truth, no matter the consequences.  He who has received His testimony has set his seal to this, that God is true.  (John 3:33)

But why is this so important?  The mark shows which people are to be protected from the first five trumpets of God’s judgment.  We see an example of this in Ezekiel Chapter 9.  God sent a messenger to Jerusalem to mark those loyal to him on the forehead, and then God sent five beings to kill everyone in the city who did not have the mark.  This story will repeat itself at the end of time.  We will be marked with the seal of God and the angels sent to execute the first five trumpets will pass us by.

 And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel… After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb… Rev. 7:4, 9

 

 

Righteousness by Faith Not Works.

 Continued from previous post:

The pagans also worshipped on Sunday, but their worship included feasting and partying.  The church reasoned that there was little chance of converting the pagans if all stayed the way it was, so it slowly began to change in order to get more people to convert.  The big thing they changed was Sabbath observance.  By changing the Sabbath day from Saturday to Sunday, they knew the pagans would be more inclined to convert and, since the church already considered Sunday a holy day in honor of the resurrection, it was a simple thing to slowly shift emphasis from Saturday to Sunday. 

…testimony of Jesus.

 Before Jesus came to this world, the Old Testament prophets prophesized about him and the work that he would do.  In the meantime, the sacrificial system was in place where someone who sinned would sacrifice an animal and his or her relationship with God would be restored.  Revelation 19:10 says, For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.  It is the plan of redemption prophesized by the Old Testament prophets that Jesus fulfilled when he came to this earth, died, and went to heaven as our advocate.  Once Jesus came, we no longer had to make a sacrifice or do any work in order to be accepted by God; Jesus did and is doing all the work for us.  This is called Righteousness by Faith; our relationship with God is put right through belief and trust in Jesus.  And we do not have to go to the temple or to a priest to seek restoration of a right relationship with God, we go straight to Jesus and he does it for us as our High Priest in the temple in heaven.  He is our High Priest who argues our case, who gives “testimony” on our behalf, who offers his life and his death in our place, granting us forgiveness and eventually eternal life.  The writer of the book of Hebrews says, …we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle…  But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.  …how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living god?  (Heb. 8:1, 2; 9:11, 12, 14)

Why did the Catholic Church hate the testimony of Jesus?  Because it usurped their power and control of the people and it took money out of their pockets.  As we have seen, the Bible teaches that Jesus is our High Priest and he shed his blood for the forgiveness of our sins.  The Catholic Church, in the spirit of Balaam and the Nicolaitans, saw an opportunity to control individuals, obtain absolute power, and make a lot of money.  So it began to teach that you had to confess your sins to a priest in order to gain forgiveness.  

Then you had to prove that you had truly repented of your sin by paying some sort of retribution.  This would be in the form of penances, such as saying so many Hail Mary’s, performing some physical hardship, or doing charity work.  Those who could afford it could bypass the acts of penance and pay for what was called an Indulgence.  (See Appendix 1)  The Church made money and they had complete control over the actions of their subjects.   Thus the Church had substituted themselves and their own rules in place of Jesus and his sacrifice.  The horn had …magnified itself to be equal with the Commander of the host (Jesus); and it removed the regular sacrifice from Him…  (Dan. 8:11)

Thyatira gave “testimony” to the truth by refusing to go to a Catholic priest and say confessions, by refusing to do any kind of penance, and by refusing to buy any indulgences. Martin Luther discovered the truth about Jesus being our priest and our substitute while he was still a Catholic Monk. He saw that confession to a priest, the performance of penances, and the selling of indulgences were wrong, and this led him to rebel against the false church he had loved and the false beliefs he had held all his life, starting the Protestant Reformation that took place during the Sardis church era. 

…this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth uttering great boasts. (Dan. 7:8)  The Catholic Church was not blind, it knew what it was doing and even bragged that it had the power to do what it did. (See Appendix 4)  In Daniel 8:12 it says the horn, …will fling truth to the ground and perform its will and prosper.  The Catholic Church did as it wished, flinging truth to the ground if it got in the way, and it prospered mightily.  Anyone else who wanted to prosper fell into line because the horn only gives, …great honor to those who acknowledge him and will cause them to rule over the many… (Dan. 11:39)  But those who opposed him paid the price.  Daniel said, …He will destroy mighty men and the holy people. (Dan. 8:24)  Just like the three kingdoms that opposed the Bishop of Rome when he was given power by Justinian, the church waged war against those who ...keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.

 As we have seen, the horn held absolute power for 1260 years, from 538 CE to 1798 CE.  During this time the two lamp stands, the two churches Thyatira and Sardis, held on to the truth.  They kept God’s commandments and gave testimony of the truth of Jesus.  But why do Daniel and Revelation spend so much time on this?  Because not only was it a big deal in the past; it is going to happen again in the future.  The more we understand the experiences of Thyatira and Sardis, the better prepared we will be when history repeats itself and Laodicea, the seventh and final church era, faces the same things. 

The effect of the changes made by the Catholic Church can still be seen today.  Sunday is when most Christians keep the Sabbath; priests still hear confessions; penances are still assigned to the repentant.  Now that you know the truth, what will you do with it?  Jesus said, From everyone who has been given much, much will be required…(Luke 12:48)  You have been trusted with the truth, God is now watching to see if you measure up to his trust.

War in Heaven. The Book of Revelation.

 Continued from previous post:

A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman…and she was with child…Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems…And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.  And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne.  Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she would be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.  And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon.  The dragon and his angels waged war, and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven.  And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.  Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.”  Rev. 12:1-10

Here we see the birth of Jesus: the birth of Christianity.  Satan tried, and failed, to kill Jesus through king Herod when Jesus was born (see Matt. 2:13-20).  Prior to Jesus’ death, Satan was the ruler of this world within limits set by God (see Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7; Matt. 4:8, 9), but Jesus’ sacrificial death redeemed the world from Satan’s control and Jesus became the absolute ruler of this world (see Rev. 5:9-13; Rev. 12:5).  Satan did not want to give up control so a war broke out and he and his angels were thrown out of heaven by force. 

Satan is no longer allowed to come before God in heaven and accuse us of anything.  We now belong to Jesus and he represents us before God as our redeemer, our savior, and substitutes his perfection for our faults.

 And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child.  But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.  And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood.  But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his mouth.  So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.  

Satan is furious about losing to Jesus and decides to go after those who follow Jesus.  The true followers of Jesus were forced to flee, many hiding in the mountains and forests where they were able to avoid the flood of people searching for them (see Appendix 2).  Those who remained in the populated areas were less able to avoid persecution.  The persecution lasted …a time and times and half a time…, which is the 1260 days, mentioned in verse 6.  It is calculated this way: a time is one year, times is two years, and half a time is six months, giving a total of 1260 days (360 + 720 + 180 = 1260).  This time period is also mention in Daniel 7

 …out of this kingdom (Rome) ten kings will arise; and another will arise after them, and he will be different from the previous ones and will subdue three kings.  He will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One…and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time.  Dan. 7:24, 25

The Church of Philadelphia in the Book of Revelation.

 Continued from previous post:

Philidelphia: Evangelism.     Sixth Seal: Stirring Up.      1798 CE - ?

Spirituality:

I know your deeds.  Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name.  Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.  I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown.  He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and 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 My new name.  Rev. 2:8, 10-12

            The Protestant movement withstood the assault from the false church and it began to grow exponentially.  On top of that, in 1798 CE General Berthier of the French army removed Pope Pius VI from his papal throne, religiously weakening and politically crippling the Catholic Church.  The Protestants had persevered, had kept God’s truth, and now that the Catholic church was in a weakened state, a door had opened and it was time for them to reach the whole world with their message.  (See 1 Cor. 16:9; Col. 4:3)

But what is this hour of God’s testing?  It is a two-week (see Appendix 2) period of time that ends the Philadelphia church era when the people of the world will be shaken up and tested.  (see Jam. 5:9)  You see, when you test something, you are trying to determine if it passes a certain criteria; you are making a judgment as to something’s worthiness.  For instance, in school we wrote exams so the teacher could judge whether or not we knew the subject matter well enough to pass and move on in our studies.  In this passage Jesus is telling his followers during this era that the testing is not for them, it is meant for the world.  They are told to simply hang on to the truth.  Jesus promised his messengers that they would be with him in the temple of the New Jerusalem when it was set up and that they would be called by his name.

Experience:

I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; and the stars of the sky fell to the earth…The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.  Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?  Rev. 6:12-17

As the Philadelphia church era ends, the sixth seal will be opened and, within the two-week period time of testing, these signs are going to be given.  As they occur, great fear will grip people and test their beliefs – or lack thereof.  Jesus, in Luke 21:25, 26, said the same thing as here in Revelation when he said, There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars…men fainting from fear…. Jesus also said in verse 31 that, …when you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near.

These signs will frighten even the bravest, but we see in Revelation 7:1, the verse that immediately follows the sixth seal and precedes the seventh seal, that John says, After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, so that no wind would blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree.   Angels are sent to delay the final calamities that will begin to occur under the seventh seal and fall upon the earth during the era of the seventh church.  This is so that the gospel can be preached to the entire world and those shaken up by the hour of testing will have a chance to turn to God and be saved.  This is the start of a probation period for people living in the end times, similar to the 70-week probation period given to the Jews that ended in 34 CE when Stephan was stoned.  (See chapter three)  We do not know how long our probation period is going to be, but Jesus’ warning in Luke 21:31 that says these signs mean that the kingdom of God is near, so we can assume it will be a short time span.

Thyatira and Sardis in the Book of Revelation. The Seven Seals.

 I made two mistakes in my title last post. I've fixed it now. I have illnesses and am pretty old, so forgive me when I make mistakes. 

Thyatira: Faithfulness     Fourth Seal: Religious Persecution    538 CE - 1516 CE

Spirituality:

I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first.  But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality…But I say to you, the rest who are in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan, as they call them – I place no other burden on you.  Nevertheless what you have, hold fast until I come.  He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations…  Rev. 2:19, 20, 24-26

Jezebel was a wicked queen who led the people of her nation to abandon God and worship idols and she killed those who refused to submit. (1 Kin. 16:31; 21:25;                2 Kin. 9:7, 22)  In prophetic language, a woman represents a city, which represents a group of people that have something in common (i.e. citizens of a city [“city”zens] have their place of residence in common). (See Appendix 2)  Here, Jezebel calls herself a prophetess, so Jezebel is a city, a group of people (“city”zens), who have a religion in common since they believe they speak for God. 

In the year 533 CE the Roman Emperor Justinian declared that the Bishop of Rome was to be the head of all Christian churches.  By the year 538 CE all opposition to this appointment, both religious and civil, was crushed.  The Bishop of Rome (city) was firmly established in his authority over religious and civil matters.  Those church members with the traits of Balaam and the Nicolaitans (“city”zens) had finally attained all the power and riches they had so desired (commonality).  They had set up a powerful church and were designing doctrines that would strengthen their control and would lead the masses astray.  But there were still believers who remained faithful to the teachings and the spirit of Jesus although they did not fight hard enough in the beginning against this false church with its false doctrines.  However, what was done was done and Jesus told them to hang on and as a reward they would rule with him.

 When the Lamb broke the fourth seal…I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him.  Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.  Rev. 6:7, 8

Hades is the Greek word for hell, and the experience of many of those who refused to follow Jezebel, the teachings of this false church, went through hell on earth, dying for their faithful adherence to the pure teachings of Jesus.  The Inquisitions and persecutions, the torturous and agonizing deaths of the faithful were unrivaled by anything in history.  Truly the ashen horse of Death followed by Hades fell upon those faithful people.

Sardis: Truth    Fifth Seal: Reformation    1517 CE - 1797 CE

Spirituality:

…I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.  Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God.  So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent…But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.  He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.  Rev. 2:1-5

Jezebel had almost completely wiped out those who remained faithful to the pure teachings of Jesus, but the truth was not yet dead even though it looked like it.  A spark remained and it was about to be kindled into a full-blown fire.  Martin Luther, a Catholic monk, was a man in search of truth.  As he dug into the Bible he found that much of what he had believed in his previous religious life was untrue.  In 1517 CE he bravely wrote out the truths he had discovered and then posted them (his 95 theses, see Appendix 3) so everyone who could read would see the truth.  Some others, both in religious and political offices, saw the truth in what Martin Luther had discovered and together they started what became known as the Protestant Reformation (“protest”ing the false teachings of the Jezebel church).  Jesus promised those who fought against the false church that they would be clothed in white and have their names written in the book of life.

Experience:

When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”  And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also.  Rev. 6:9-11

The Jezebel church was not going to give up its power easily and the persecutions continued, but this time it was aimed at the visible and vocal Protestant movement.  Some European political powers stood up to the church for the first time, refusing to turn over their citizens to be killed, and Jezebel found herself losing power.

Pergamum and Smyrna in the Book of Revelation.

 Continued from previous post:

Moving on to the next two churches and two seals.

Smyrna:  Martyrdom      Second Seal:  Roman Persecution       c. 100 CE – 312 CE

Spirituality     

 I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich)…Do not fear what you are about to suffer.  Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days.  Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life…He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.  Rev. 2:9-11

  The church during this time may have been poor when it came to money and power to protect itself, but it was rich spiritually.  There was fear in the church due to the persecutions but Jesus says they will have eternal life.

Experience

          …He broke the second seal…And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another;  and a great sword was given to him.  Rev. 6:3, 4

 The red color of this horse denotes the spilling of the blood of the saints.  Beginning with Nero, the Roman Emperors often persecuted Christians for one reason or another.  But late in the first century CE, the emperor Domitian demanded everyone within his empire to worship him as divine, but Jews and Christians refused.  This began a full-scale persecution and makes it easy to identify the rider of the red horse as the office of Emperor.  

Pergamum:  Spiritual Corruption     Third Seal: Church/State      313 CE – 537 CE

Spirituality

          I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is; and you hold fast my Name,  and did not deny My faith…But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam…So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.  Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth…To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.  Rev. 2:13-17

 In 313 CE, the Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan which stopped the persecution of Christians and made all religions legal within the Roman Empire.

For the most part the church remained faithful to the teachings of Jesus.  However, some who had the traits of Balaam and the Nicolaitans had infiltrated the church.  Balaam was supposed to be a prophet for God way back when the Hebrews were leaving Egypt and entering the Promised Land, but he was really in business for himself and eventually led the Hebrews astray (Num. 31:16; 2 Pet. 2:15; Jude 11).  The Nicolaitans were “Christians” who compromised their beliefs so they could justify taking advantage of sinful practices.  Jesus promised that those who did not get trapped by the teachings of these false believers would attain heavenly rewards.

Experience:

When He broke the third seal…I looked, and behold, a black horse; and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand.  And I heard a voice…saying, ‘A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil and the wine.  Rev. 6:5, 6

During this time the church was growing rapidly as Christianity was replacing paganism.  But those who had infiltrated the church and who had the traits of Balaam and the Nicolaitans were intent on having the best of both worlds.  They believed in God and wanted eternal life, but they also wanted all the power and pleasures the world had to offer…even if it meant compromising their faith.  So here we see, in the history of God’s church, the beginning of the unifying of church and state, of religious and political (secular) powers.  The black color of the horse represents the spiritual darkness in which the church found itself, and the scales denote shared weight given to both the church (religion) and the state (politics).  Even though much of the Christian purity was being bartered away, the oil and the wine (see Appendix 2) was not damaged because there were still many faithful followers of Jesus who refused to go along with the corruption entering the church.

Religious Freedom is a Novel Idea. The Book of Revelation.

 Did you ever have a best friend?  Someone with whom you had a lot in common; someone you hung out with constantly; someone you would trust with your most important secrets and possessions?  John, the guy who wrote down what became the book of Revelation in the Bible was, and had, a best friend – Jesus.  When Jesus was on this earth John was his closest buddy and as Jesus was dying on the cross he trusted John enough to ask him to take care of his mother Mary as if she were his own mother. (John 19:26, 27)  And when it came time to reveal (the definition of Revelation) the end time prophecies, Jesus once again turned to John, someone he could trust.

In the first chapter of Revelation, we learn that John was in exile on a little island called Patmos because he refused to stop preaching the Gospel of Jesus to anyone who would listen.  By this time John was an old man and one Sabbath morning, while he was praying, a loud voice behind him made him turn around and there was Jesus, his old friend.  Jesus was clothed with the glory of heaven and was standing amid seven lamp stands while holding seven stars in his right hand.  Jesus explained to John that the seven lamp stands were the seven churches in Asia and that the seven stars were the angels of the seven churches.

            Who are the seven stars, or angels, of the seven churches?  Some say they are literal angels assigned to guide and watch over the churches, but because the messages sent to the churches contain reprimands, we have to conclude that the seven angels/stars cannot be perfect heavenly beings.  The stars must represent flawed humans, so the logical conclusion is that they represent church leaders such as priests, pastors, elders, etc.  And what are the seven churches?  Jesus himself lists them in Revelation 1:11:  Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. 

             As we have seen in previous studies, prophecies often have a dual application.  The characteristics of the literal seven churches in Asia Minor (modern day Turkey) parallel the spiritual characteristics of the Christian church as a whole throughout its history.  So as we study what Jesus says about the seven churches, we will be applying it to the history of Jesus’ true followers for the past 2000 years.

 But that is only half the story.  Along with the spiritual characteristics of the church at different times, we will also learn what worldly experiences the church went through.  In Revelation Chapters four and five we are shown something that occurs in heaven.  God, on his throne, is holding a book with seven seals securely closing it.  The Lamb of God – Jesus – takes the book from God.  The Lamb has …seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth.  (Rev. 5:6)   Jesus is the leader, the horn, of all seven churches, and the Holy Spirit (the eyes) watches over and guides the seven churches through their experiences. (See Appendix 2) 

We will now begin with the first of the Seven Churches.

Ephesus:  Apostolic Age           First Seal:  Purity        31 CE – c. 100 CE  

 Spirituality     

 I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary.  But I have this against you; that you have left your first love.  Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first…To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.  Rev. 2:2-7

 The early church, from Jesus’ ascension into heaven until the death of those who knew Jesus personally, is often called the Apostolic Age.  Here they are commended for their work and tenacity that was motivated by love for Jesus.  But as time went on their motivation changed and was replaced by something else, perhaps a sense of duty.  Jesus’ promise to them is that they will be in paradise. 

 Experience     

 …the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and…I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.  Rev. 6:1, 2  (see Appendix 2 for an explanation of horses in prophecy and in visions)

 The white color of the horse denotes the purity of the early church, and the rider represents the apostles spreading the word and conquering paganism.

 

Jesus' Baptism and Death in Prophecy. The Book of Daniel.

 

Continued from previous post:

The angel Gabriel said that the Messiah would make a covenant with the many for one week (7 years).  If Jesus began his ministry in 27 CE, then the covenant week ends in 34 CE.  What is this covenant week?  This is the last 7 years of the 70-week, or 490-year, probationary period for the Jews.  The Messiah was here on earth in person, ready and willing to make a permanent covenant with the Jews if only they would accept him. 

But in 30 CE, in the middle of the last seven years, the Jewish religious and political leaders successfully schemed to have Jesus killed.  Jesus was cut off and had nothing, separated and rejected by the chosen people, the people blessed with God’s personal attention for centuries.

  What does it mean that Jesus’ death put an end to the sacrifice and grain offering?  Why did Jesus have to die?  All of our decisions and actions have consequences and when we sin it separates us from God - erecting a wall in our relationship with him.  God had set up a substitutional system that would restore our relationship with him and transfer the punishment (eternal consequences) we should receive for our bad choices onto something else.  Those people living before Jesus was on earth would go to the temple, symbolically transfer their sin onto an innocent animal (usually a lamb) and kill it as a sacrificial substitute.  God would accept the substitute, they would be absolved, and their relationship with him would be restored.

 Jesus came to this world to be the ultimate sacrifice.  He was offering himself as our permanent substitute; taking our punishment, absolving us of sin, and becoming a permanent bridge connecting heaven and earth – God and man.  Once he did that, the sacrificial system was put to an end because the ultimate sacrificial substitute had died for us (Heb. 10:11, 12).  When John the Baptist saw Jesus coming to be baptized, he appropriately declared, …Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29)

In 34 CE, the time of God’s favoritism towards the Jewish nation ended because they stubbornly rejected Jesus and his sacrifice for them.  God had to start all over from scratch because, although he had a few followers, he had nothing in the form of a nation of followers anymore.  In that same year the Jews killed a Christian named Stephen and began persecuting all the Christians in the area, so many of them scattered and began preaching wherever they found refuge.  God was building a new “nation” of followers, gathering anyone who wanted to belong to him.

Once God removed his protection from the Jews, they were in big trouble.  In 70 CE the Roman general Titus and his army destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple.  Jesus had told his disciples that the temple would be destroyed to such an extant that …not one stone here would be left upon another… (Matt. 24:2) and that is exactly what happened.  When Titus’ army set fire to the city, the gold in the temple melted along the walls and the soldiers tore the building apart stone by stone in order to scrape up the gold.  Thus, Titus destroy(ed) the city and the sanctuary.

We have just looked at an extremely important timeline, and we have proven that our interpretation of timelines is accurate from the start to the end, and all points in between. 

Artaxerxes' decree to rebuild Jerusalem was from 457 to 408 BCE. That is 7 weeks in prophecy which translates to 49 years.

Jerusalem rebuilt until Jesus baptized: 408 BCE to 27 CE. 62 weeks = 434 years, 

Jesus baptized until Stephen stoned: 27CE to 34 CE.  One week = 7 years 

Empires of the World. The books of Daniel and Revelation.

 

The Babylonian Empire was the largest reigning force in the world at the time Nebuchadnezzar had his dream.  It was well represented by gold, as it was a rich and lush empire.  In fact, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

But in the year 539 BCE, 66 years after Daniel had been taken captive from his homeland of Judah, the Medo-Persian army conquered Babylon and the Persian Empire entered the world stage.  Eventually the Medes would fade and the Persians would strengthen, causing the Medo-Persian Empire to become simply the Persian Empire.

Map by Anton Gutsunaev

The Greeks were a pain in the neck for the Persians.  First, the Greek cities of Ionia rebelled against Persia but they were defeated.  Then, as retribution for the rebellion, Xerxes decided to overtake Greece itself. 

 You have probably seen movies or heard about the 300 Spartans and other Greek warriors fighting against the Persian king Xerxes at the pass of Thermopolae.  This battle took place in 480 BCE while the Persian Empire was extremely strong.  The Greeks lost the battle at Thermopolae but they eventually stopped the Persians at the navel battle of Salamis and forced Xerxes to withdraw from Greece.  This was not the end of the Greek/Persian story as Greece was to be the ruin of the Persian Empire.

Phillip of Macedonia would be the first to unite the City States of Greece under one ruler. After Phillip died, his son Alexander would solidify the allegiances of the lesser kings in Greece and in 334 BCE he took his armies into Asia Minor to fight against Darius and his Persian Empire.  In just three years Alexander the Great had defeated the Persians and Greece was now the world’s largest empire.  In 323 BCE at the age of 33, Alexander died and his empire was divided among his Generals (see Appendix 1). 

Now we move on to the legs of iron portion of the prophecy: Rome.  Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar that the fourth kingdom would be as strong as iron and would crush and shatter all that came before it.  This is a good description of the Roman Empire.

 There are debates as to the exact beginning of the Roman Empire.  This is due to the fact that the rise of Rome seems to be almost accidental.  Rome did not start out with a conscious plan to conquer other nations and begin its own empire; it actually started to expand through reactionary events.  When it perceived a threat of any kind by an outside force, Rome would rally the troops and march into battle.  In the middle of the second century BCE Rome squashed a threat from Macedonia and it became the first of the Greek provinces divided after Alexander’s death to come under the rule of the Roman Empire.

  

No two scholars can agree on what exactly caused the end of the Roman Empire, and that is probably because no one thing is to blame.  Some of the theories given for its fall: an undisciplined army, civil wars, barbarian invasions, over extension, political infighting, laziness, etc.  What matters to us is the fact that the Roman Empire had collapsed by the end of the fifth century CE and is no more. 

This leads us to the feet part of the statue where iron is mixed with clay, or where nations are no longer ruled by one World Empire but are a mixture of strong and weak nations.  Never again would a human world empire exist.  That does not mean people have stopped trying.  Napoleon tried to create a French Empire but failed, and Hitler tried to create a Third Reich that would last a thousand years, but he too failed. 

 People have even tried to unite countries through marriage.  A royal from one country would marry a royal from another country in an attempt to unify, but it always failed.  As late as World War I we saw the failure of these intermarriage attempts in that the Russian, German and British monarchies were all related but were at war anyway (see Appendix 1).  God told Daniel there would not be a human world empire after Rome and no matter how hard people have tried, this prophecy has held true.

The rock that pulverized the statue in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream smashes first into the feet of the statue, signifying the establishment of Jesus’ kingdom will occur sometime after world empires have ceased to exist and the world is divided into different nations.  It is fitting that God used a rock to signify his kingdom as the Bible has often referred to God as a Rock of Salvation (Deut. 32:15), an everlasting Rock (Is. 26:4), a Rock, a fortress and a deliverer (Ps. 18:2), a Rock and a Redeemer (Ps. 19:14), etc.

 ...Is there any God besides Me? Or is there any other Rock? I know of none.                                                                        

                                                                                                                   Is. 44: 8