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Readings in the Book of
The Revelation
As we read on in The Revelation we come to the messages the Son of man sent to the leaders of some of the branches of the church in Asia Minor (present-day Turkey). These communications were sent to humans, for there is no need for God to write to angels! They follow a regular pattern of introduction, praise, condemnation, sometimes more praise, and then a promise. God has no favourites, so the reality is that ALL the promises apply equally to ALL the people who follow the Lamb, regardless of which one was singled out for the individual groups to grasp.
These messages had both a present and a future meaning. They applied locally to each congregation as addressed (they really were in the condition described), and also to the succeeding periods of the whole church from Calvary to the end of time. I intend to concentrate mainly on the 2,000+ year understanding, and have supplied dates that I think fit the times. These are not “set in concrete”, but are only intended as guides to the fact that the public face of the church has changed over the years. It’s the way the church has been perceived in history. Today there are still Ephesus-like branches who have left their first love; Smyrna types which are faithful unto death; and those like Pergamos who have Satan dwelling in their midst, just as there are individuals in the same conditions! And so on. What we should not forget is that these messages describe the MAJORITY of the members, but not all of them. There were obviously some good people amongst the bad, and vice versa, just as Moses and Joshua and Caleb were among the rebels in the wilderness.
The introductions are different because He comes to each period of the church in a manner that will benefit it the most.
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Revelation 2:
1 To the angel [the human leader] of the church of EPHESUS [31-100AD] write;
[The intro]
These things says He that holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; [I am your power base through the ministration of the Holy Spirit.]
[The praise]
2 I know your [first] works [the years after Pentecost], and your labour, and your patience, and how you can not bear them which are evil. And you have tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and have found them liars [there were many false prophets with “new light” in those times]: 3 and have borne, and have patience, and for My name's sake have laboured, and have not fainted [given up].
[The fault, which is only referred to in the hope that they will give it up]
4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against you, because you have left your first love [you have committed spiritual adultery by following other gods]. 5 Remember therefore from where you are fallen, and repent, and do the first works [again]; or else I will come to you quickly, and will [have to] remove your candlestick out of his place, except you repent. [In your condition you’ll no longer be of help to the world, you’ll be a hindrance and you’ll give up the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Please don’t!]
[Another commendation]
6 But this you have, that you hate the DEEDS of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate [with Godly “hatred” which describes how God feels when He is rejected. We would call it “sadness”].
[The promise]
7 He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches;
To him that overcomes will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
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Regarding the false teachers, John wrote in another place: “Little children, it is the last time: and as you have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us”. 1 John 2:18-19. It was the end of their time of enthusiasm and the light of the kingdom of heaven was soon to pass to the second candle. Their fault was that, like Israel of old, they had turned again to the way of the god of force, thinking they were still following the God of the Bible. 1 Samuel 8:6-9. (There are three types of antichrists that we should be aware of – the religious one, the worldly one, and the personal one. John was here writing of the personal ones.) The following statement was made all too often of the church in the Old Testament, but it is also true of the New. “And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth”. Judges 2:13.
Nicolaitanes [nick-ko-lay-i-tans] – this name is only mentioned twice in the Bible, here and in the message to the church at Pergamos. There are a few explanations floating around for this group, ranging from a heretical group of Gnostics (they believed in special knowledge [gnosis] given to them by secret teachings), to a group who taught that the deeds of the flesh have no relation to sanctification, the daily living of the Christian, meaning “once saved always saved”.
Christ here refers to the “deeds” of the Nicolaitanes, which He abhors, and this should point us in the right direction. I believe that the name is made up from the roots of two words, “nicos” and “laos”, meaning “to conquer” and “the people”, which can give the meaning of a group who control the laity – a group which men today call “the clergy”. No such distinction should have existed in the early church, for it is written, “But be not you called ‘Rabbi’: for One is your Master, even Christ; and all you are brothers [and sisters]”, that is, equals. Matthew 23:8. See also Matthew 28:25-28. The idea that there should be bosses in the church is very distasteful to the Son of God, for power corrupts and separates. The only titles used are “elder” (who is sometimes called “bishop”, 1 Timothy 3:1-7), “deacon”, 1 Timothy 3:8-13, and “pastor”, Ephesians 4:11, but these are indicative of helpers, as job descriptions, not positions of authority. See note 1. Click below for more:
http://www.oocities.org/weprotest.geo/BibleReadings/revelation/nicolaitanes.html
Here’s what many of the “clergy” were like!
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3 John 1:
5 Beloved, you do faithfully whatsoever you do to the brothers [and sisters in your congregation], and to strangers [those not of your branch of the church]; 6 which have borne witness of your charity [Godly love] before the church [of the universe]: whom if you bring forward on their journey after a godly sort [help them with goods and prayers], you shall do well: 7 because that for His name's sake they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles.
8 We therefore ought to receive such, that we might be fellowhelpers to the truth.
9 I wrote to the church: but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, receives us not. 10 Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he does, prating [using hard criticism] against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither does he himself receive the brothers [and sisters], and forbids them that would, and casts them out of the church.
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The promise to those who overcome themselves and their desire to do their own thing, is everlasting existence through partaking of the Tree of Life in the middle of the Garden of Eden, which is now a park in the new Jerusalem. This, of course, will be available to all the Christians in the new world.
However, the warning and plea by the Son of God was not heeded, and after John died the usefulness of the early branches of the church lapsed under the intense temptations of the devil, causing the LORD to say;
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Revelation 2:
8 And to the angel [the leader] of the church in SMYRNA [100-313AD] write;
[The intro]
These things says the First and the Last, which was dead, and is alive; [He reminded them that He knew what it was like to die for righteousness’ sake.]
[The praise]
9 I know your works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but you are rich [in spiritual values]) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews [followers of God], and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. [There were many “tares” in amongst the wheat, so He encouraged the true-hearted ones to hang on.]
[There is no condemnation for this period]
10 Fear none of those things which you shall suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that you may be tried; and you shall have tribulation ten days: be you faithful to death, and I will give you a crown of life. [Yet the falling away began to accelerate even as the persecutions increased.]
[The promise]
11 He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches;
He that overcomes shall not be hurt of the second death.
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Here’s another example of a prophecy that is not explained in the Bible (remember Daniel 12:11-12?). We have had to wait until this one was fulfilled for us to see it in history. From Calvary to the early 300’s AD Christians were so persecuted in many ways that Christ could find no occasion to rebuke them for any failings. It was a “dying” church, both spiritually and literally! Those who were real Christians were full of fire for their LORD, but so were many of the emotional tares! The most terrible time of outward harassment came in the ten years between 303AD and 313AD when the emperor Diocletian singled out Christians as enemies of the state. See Note 2. The promise that their deaths as martyrs would set them free from the second death was very precious to the saints in those days.
However, after that came the worst time of all around 321AD as a new emperor named Constantine embraced the Christian religion as the state religion! Now the danger came from within as professed Christians jostled for power in the civil area, and the “clergy” became more ambitious. This led to the change of face in the next public section of the church.
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Revelation 2:
12 And to the angel of the church in PERGAMOS [313-538AD] write;
[The intro: I’m telling you straight!]
These things says He which has the sharp sword with two edges. [“Take . . . the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God”. Ephesians 6:17. Get back to your Bible!]
[The praise]
13 I know your works and where you dwell, even where Satan's seat is: and you hold fast My name, and have not denied My faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwells. [The use of pressure in religion was fast increasing.]
[The fault]
14 But I have a few things against [some of] you, because you have there them that hold the DOCTRINE of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, [Numbers chapters 22-25] to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit fornication [in the name of religion].
15 So have you also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate.
[A warning]
16 Repent; or else I will come to you quickly, and will fight against them [the Nicolaitanes] with the sword of My mouth [with the truth].
[The promise]
17 He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches;
To him that overcomes will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knows saving he that receives it.
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When Christ refers to “Satan’s seat” He was telling them that He knew that the Babylonian priests and their church had transferred to Pergamos soon after the fall of Babylon in 539BC. He also knew that the outward religion was no longer in Pergamos for it had moved to Rome when Asia Minor came under the control of the Romans around 331BC, and was simply biding its time to become in control of the world stage again.
But a secular part of Satan’s army had remained in Pergamos, and until about 538AD it was the hub of Satan’s work, for that city was renowned throughout the world as a medical centre, and was very successful in turning Christians away from God as their Doctor. He says, “If you will diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD your God, and will do that which is right in His sight, and will give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon you, which I have brought upon the Egyptians [the people of the world]: for I am the LORD that heals you”. Exodus 15:26. Jesus showed abundantly while on earth that God wants all to be healed. But see note 3. However, what was worse was that the worship of Baal-peor that Balaam had successfully introduced amongst the Israelites in Moses’ times, was also being practised in the church by some who professed to be Christians! See Numbers 25:1-5. Note 4. (The doctrine has surfaced again in recent years in the book “The Da Vinci Code”.)
The promise to the genuine members of this branch of the church was that they would understand some of the deep things of God’s word, which He calls the “hidden manna”, and would receive a “white stone” as an emblem of their place as a building block in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus says, “Him that overcomes [himself] will I make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go no more out [he won’t give up]: and I will write upon him the name [character] of My God, and the name [the purpose] of the city of My God, which is new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God [Isaiah 62:1-2]: and I will write upon him [give him understanding of] My new name [My new job]. He that has a [spiritual] ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches”. Revelation 3:12-13.
However, despite His efforts, the stage was being set for the anti-Christ (the one in place of) to take over the public face of the church in full Nicolaitane mode. We’ll look at that next week.
Bye for now,
Ron
Some of the comments in these readings are adapted from books in my library. No recognition is given because they are not intended as authorities, but are used because they express my understanding clearly. All the ideas expressed in these readings, right or wrong, are my own.
Some of these readings are available at http://www.oocities.org/weprotest.geo/BibleReadings/books_index.html
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Matthew 20:
25 But Jesus called them to Him, and said, “You know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. 26 But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister [helper]; 27 and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: 28 even as the Son of man came not to be ministered to, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many”. Back
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Note 2: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diocletian
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Diocletian brought an end to the period popularly known to historians as the "Crisis of the Third Century" (235–284). He established an autocratic government and was responsible for laying the groundwork for the second phase of the Roman Empire, which is known variously as the "Dominate" (as opposed to the Principate instituted by Augustus), the "Tetrarchy", or simply the "Later Roman Empire". Diocletian's reforms fundamentally changed the structure of imperial government and helped stabilize the empire economically and militarily, enabling it to remain essentially intact for another hundred years . . .
Between 235 and 284, there had been some 20 to 25 successive emperors, an average of a new emperor every two to three years. All but two of these emperors were either murdered or killed in battle. Diocletian seemed at first to be following in the footsteps of his short-lived predecessors in the years between 284 and 298, as he fought a lengthy series of wars from one end of the Empire to the other, maintaining the extended boundaries of the frontiers and stamping out domestic uprisings . . .
Diocletian chose a new title for himself, calling himself Dominus et deus, or "Lord and God" (hence "Dominate").[citation needed] He adopted the title of Jovius while Maximian took that of Herculius, associating them with Jupiter and Hercules respectively.[5] He would actually sit on a throne. He was not to be seen in public, and if an audience was required, he had elaborate ceremonies in which the visitor would be required to lie on the ground prostrate and never to look at the emperor, allowed perhaps to kiss the bottom of his robe. In this way he created a remote, mysterious, theocratic and autocratic office.
According to an analysis by Edward Gibbon in his book The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Diocletian did not require such ritual out of vanity. This type of majesty regarding the emperor had existed since the rule of Augustus. However, whereas Augustus disguised it, Diocletian simply displayed it . . .
In 303, the last and greatest persecution of Christians by the Roman Empire began.
In the earlier part of Diocletian's reign, according to Christian sources, Galerius [a partner emperor] had been the instigator of such persecution. However, Diocletian came to embrace the policy of persecution with unequivocal zeal. In 299–300, the failure of a sacrifice to produce favourable omens was blamed on the presence of Christians, and Diocletian ordered that all Christian civil servants or soldiers were to participate in sacrifices or lose their positions. Some time later, an oracle from Apollo at Didyma was interpreted as calling for the suppression of Christianity.[11]
On February 24, 303, Diocletian's first "Edict against the Christians" was published.[4] This ordered the destruction of Christian scriptures and places of worship across the Empire, while prohibiting Christians from assembling for worship. After fires in Diocletian's palace at Nicomedia and revolts in Asia Minor, the Emperor took harder measures against Christians, ordering the arrest of all bishops and priests. These were later released if they agreed to sacrifice, which was taken as a sign of apostasy from Christianity. In spring 304, a further edict ordered everyone to sacrifice.[12] This wave of persecution was enforced most strictly in the Empire's eastern provinces, where it lasted in some areas until 313.[13] This year saw the issue of the Edict of Milan by Constantine I and Licinius.
According to one estimate, a total of 3,000–3,500 Christians were killed in the persecution,[14] while many others suffered torture or imprisonment.[15] The persecution made such an impression on Christians that the Alexandrian church used the start of Diocletian's reign (284) as the epoch for their Era of Martyrs. Back
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pergamon
Three km south of the Acropolis was the Sanctuary of Asclepius (also known as the Asclepeion), the god of healing. In this place people with health problems could bath in the water of the sacred spring, and in the patients' dreams Asklepios would appear in a vision to tell them how to cure their illness. Archeology has found lots of gifts and dedications that people would make afterwards, such as small terracotta body parts, no doubt representing what had been healed . . .
In honor of Asclepius, snakes were often used in healing rituals. Non-venomous snakes were left to crawl on the floor in dormitories where the sick and injured slept . . .
The original, ancient Hippocratic Oath begins with the invocation "I swear | by Apollo the Physician and by Asclepius and by Hygieia and Panacea and by all the gods . . ."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_of_Asclepius
The Rod of Asclepius is an ancient Greek symbol associated with astrology and healing the sick with medicine. It consists of a serpent entwined around a staff. [This is still the symbol of the modern medical world. Remember Genesis 3?
http://www.usd.edu/~clehmann/pir/asiamysi.htm
Asclepius (Greek Άσκληπιός, transliterated Asklēpiós; Latin Aesculapius) was the demigod of medicine and healing in ancient Greek mythology. Asclepius represents the healing aspect of the medical arts, while his daughters Hygieia, Meditrina, Iaso, Aceso, Aglæa/Ægle and Panacea (literally, "all-healing") symbolize the forces of cleanliness, medicine and healing, respectively. Back
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Numbers 25:
1 And Israel abode in Shittim [before crossing the Jordan], and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab [sexual acts in the name of religion]. 2 And they called the people to the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat [religious meals], and bowed down to their gods. [The physical led to the spiritual.]
3 And [so widespread was this apostacy that nearly all of] Israel joined himself to Baalpeor [and left the God of life]: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel [He could no longer protect them]. 4 And the LORD said to Moses, “Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the LORD against the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may be turned away from Israel”.
5 And Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Slay you [execute] every one his men that were joined to Baalpeor”. Back
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As we have seen in past readings, when the “anger of the LORD” is mentioned in the Old Testament, it is usually followed by a description of men executing men. Working on the principle that the head of a group is responsible for the actions of his followers, the LORD has caused the action to be recorded as one which He instigated, for He is not willing to blame His people – He is not an accuser. But we should know that the God of heaven does not punish, hurt or destroy for any reason, at any time, and read the words accordingly. The man Christ Jesus has shown us the Father very clearly. John 14:9.
However, the deaths of such rebels does illustrate the fact that those who reject the God of life’s offer of salvation will die the second death one day.
oooOooo
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