Image: Soldiers Chapel, 2021, Big Sky, Montana
Revelation 2:7 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” ’
Revelation 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.
Revelation 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.
Revelation 2:15–16 Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. 16 Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.
Revelation 2:19–20 “I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience; and as for your works, the last are more than the first. 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.
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In chapter 1 Jesus is depicted as standing in the midst of His entire church (symbolized by the number 7, the sign of completeness), and in chapters 2 & 3 He, through the Spirit, speaks to us all. Each church chosen to be addressed should be viewed as both an individual historic church with the specific character He addresses, as well as, a continuing representative of His Church throughout the ages. Thus, we should see, in this chapter, Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, and Thyatira as having their equivalents present even today. Further, we can see within each, trends that can possibly be present in any given church at any time. We should recognize that though Jesus spoke to the ancient churches directly, He is speaking indirectly to all of us now.
In every age, we have churches like Ephesus, who are striving to hold fast to the Word of God, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. These are hard-working churches and Christians within the Church, who toil and show forth patience and insist on denouncing false prophets. But we also have to guard against being so entrenched in our apologetic task that we forget that our first command is to love. Paul commended the Ephesians (Eph. 1:15ff) for the zealous faith and love they exhibited in their witness to the world. They started out as a church "on fire" for the Kingdom of Christ. This loving zeal has a passionate nature that moves Christ's disciples to not only preserve the doctrines and strive for purity but also to touch the lives of others. This is the "first work" of a Christian and one which the church in every age must constantly resurrect in itself.
Like Smyrna, the church in every age can waver in the face of the unrelenting attacks by the spiritual forces gathered against Christ. All too often this results in real and intense suffering (vs. 10) and we must be reminded that we must not "fear" those things but rather be "faithful until death" if such is necessary. The "crown of life" will be ours when the "second death" falls upon all those who cause our suffering.
In the same manner, the church, as Pergamos reminds us, can be infiltrated and undermined by false teachings and the constant pressure to give in to worldly pleasures. Christians can begin to wonder about the call to purity in life when the world abuses them and it would be so much easier to just go with the flow of secular ideals and practices. When every form of social "entertainment" has a message promoting sexual practices that God hates, Christians feel the pressure to not make waves and even, when those practices hit home in their families, to begin to question God's commands. Jesus calls us to not give in but to stand for God's truth about right and wrong. In the face of this constant pressure, He promises to give us "manna to eat" even as we walk through what appears to be a barren, moral wasteland.
And, like Thyatira, sometimes Christ's Church does become dominated by leaders who openly condone and even seek to justify idolatrous activities and perversions. There will always be those who call evil, good. Christians, like those mentioned in verses 24ff, who are grieved about this situation, in their own church or within the wider Church, must not lose hope. They must remember that our Lord, though absent in body, yet rules His Church with a "rod of iron" (vs. 27), and those who have defiled His precincts will be brought to shame.
It only takes a moment's reflection upon our world and the state of the Church in our time, to see how relevant and appropriate these exhortations and warnings are to us. Jesus is still speaking to us and we must always be guarding against error in doctrine and practice. Our Christ is magnificent in Person and terrible in His anger at those who despise His rule. His loving compassion always shows itself in His call to repentance as well as humble perseverance. He is worth the effort and His rewards are as certain as the trials we must face on our way to gaining them. He will overcome and we are to "overcome" with Him, now and forever.
Revelation 11: Two Witnesses - Testimony & Victory
Image: "Two Witnesses", 2021, Norris Geyser Basin scene, Yellowstone Nat. Pk. Wy.
Revelation 11:1–3 Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, “Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. 2 But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months. 3 And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.”
Revelation 11:6 These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire.
Revelation 11:7 When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them.
Revelation 11:11–12 Now after the three-and-a-half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. 12 And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them.
Revelation 11:15 Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!”
Revelation 11:19 Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple. And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail.
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There are as many different interpretations of "who are the two witnesses in Revelation 11" as there are folks who write about the chapter. Some of the more commonly held views are: (1) they represent "the law and the prophets", hence the summary teachings of Scripture, as symbolized by Moses and Elijah on the Mt. of Transfiguration; (2) they represent the faithful church of Jesus Christ in its role as prophet to "peoples, nations, tongues, and kings" (cf. Rev. 10:11 & 11:3) and; (3) they represent physical "prophets" who will rise up in the last days.
These have strengths and weaknesses. My own view is that these witnesses symbolize (1) the true Gentile Church of Jesus Christ and (2) the continued preservation of ethnic Jews in fulfillment of Paul's teachings in Romans 10:1-3 & 11:1-5 where Paul says that "there is a remnant according to grace."
What do both of these groups have in common? (1) Together they make up "all Israel" (Romans 11:26) and therefore will both ascend to heaven (Rev. 11:12, cf. 1 Thess. 4) at the Lord's coming; (2) both have born witness to the God of heaven throughout the ages and incurred the wrath and condemnation of the demonically inspired hordes (11:7ff); both possess the power of prayer as Jesus promised His faithful followers, to the end that their prayers can transform the world (11:6). More could be said but you get my drift.
What this chapter teaches us is that the "subject" of continuing history is the witness of the true, combined, Israel to its God and to His Son Who rules over heaven and earth. They do this because the "temple" on earth has been judged and destroyed, leaving the earth without a worldwide institutional Presence of God. John was given a "measuring rod", like Ezekiel before him (Ezek. 40ff) to measure the temple. As with Ezekiel, this was done to symbolize God's fierce anger at the physical temple "Presence" and its descent into idolatry and perversion. God was going to bring about a "new temple" on the ruins of the old. This "new temple" was instituted in the People of God who are the temple of God in space and time. (cf. Ephesians 1:22; 2:19-22)
The main points of this chapter then become: the combined people of God will continue to bear witness (testimony) to the abiding Presence of the One True God and His Son Jesus Christ, throughout the remaining age preceding the Lord's return; this witness will be effective in gathering many of the elect but it will also be effective in proving the hard-hearted arrogance of the mass of rebellious men; there will come a time when it will appear that this true witness will be stamped out and the "two witnesses" corpses (empty churches) will decorate the pavement; but, God Who is not slow concerning His promises, will return and raise up His faithful witnesses to the astonishment and terror of their enemies.
In the closing verses (11:15-19) we see, undeniably, that the trumpets take us right up to the final day. Then it shall be that "the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ." (11:15) In a direct parallel to chapter 21:15-27, there is a vision of the "temple of God" opened in heaven. the "lightnings, noises, thunderings, earthquake and great hail" take us back to Israel at the foot of Mt. Sinai when God showed Himself to His People in a terrifying vision.
It's a wonderful and solemn story told in these verses. It reminds us that God has set us aside for His purposes and some of these may involve daunting things. But it also reminds us that God will use our testimony to bring His victory, a victory in which we will not only participate but in which we will be glorified and exalted. In other words, whatever He requires... it will be worth it.
Posted by Gadfly on May 19, 2021 at 11:03 AM in Christian Apologetics, Church, Commentary, Current Affairs, Devotional Meditation, Discipleship, Eschatology, Religion, Theology | Permalink | Comments (0)
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