A Biblical Time Traveler: A Timeless God & A Timeless Text

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven...~Ecclesiastes 3:1

Since I was a kid I have always enjoyed a good time travel novel. Unfortunately, many are written or were written by a godless lot. The idea of traveling back to a different time and a different age always appealed to me. I didn't have much interest in the future since my Bible upbringing I had, sort of precluded the idea of a "bright" future. In the back of my head a bright future looked even less plausible than time travel since God said so. As I grew older the belief that it was possible to travel into the past died away and I found somewhat of a recourse in my interest in history books. As a mostly secular person until the last decade, I generally focused on things of the past that revolved around the New World and the founding of the North American continent...and yes, the virtual genocide of the Native Americans. As a matter of fact I believe that it was my fascination of the Native American experience that ended up getting me into the New Age and Native American mysticism that pervaded my twenties and early thirties. I had spiritually...just the wrong kind.

So when I came to the faith all these rudiments that I had accrued through my past began to make sense. I divested myself of the Native American fascination and broadened my historical horizons farther to the east and farther back into the past.

Along comes the power of the Holy Spirit.

All of my interest in history came to bear on the things of the Bible and it is here I find that not only can I loose myself in something I love...it is to my eternal benefit. As I read the Bible and study the Old and New Testament I am transported to the past in writings that literally bring the past to life. We have narratives and eyewitness accounts that literally build my faith (others also). As I learn more of the culture of the writers and readers of these original documents I am sent off to Ancient Egypt, Canaan during its conquest which eventually became Israel, Persia, and other diverse places distant in both place and time. I am in the mind of Paul, Moses and most importantly...I am in the mind of Jesus/God. I know without question that these accounts are as if I am actually there, standing with the disciples in the Upper Room. I am in the Garden of Gethsemane the night of Jesus' betrayal by Judas. I am with David in the Valley of Elah facing-down the uncircumcised Philistine named Goliath with a sling and 5 polished stones. I am standing on the Plain of Megiddo at the end and I am even in the glorious future looking upon the Kingdom of God in the New Heavens and New Earth.

What's more, I know for a fact that what I am reading is accurate to the letter, not just words and grammar. What I am reading is absolutely true. It is as if I am actually there. I get inside of the heads of great men and women of the faith that have come and gone before me. I see that I am not alone in my desire to pursue God with calculated/reckless abandon. I am not alone in my ostracism from society for my belief. I have not been the only one ridiculed or mocked for my belief, in what I know is true. Looked at as  a fool for believing a man can be raised from the dead and that in that Resurrection, my eternal security is founded.

Non-believers look on in confusion or arrogance at my/our assured conviction of what has happened in the past and what will happen in the future in the absence of empirical evidences. They do not understand how I/we can be so sure of ourselves as Christians. It is actually quite simple. Where the Bible has addressed things about the past (or anything for that matter) and we have found archaeological evidences to back it up...it has proven the Bible correct every time. This has built a precedence for certainty in the future. The burden-of-proof is one the doubters at this point. If there is a fact stated in the Bible about something that has happened in the past that does not have current archaeological evidence to back it up in the empirically minded world, the overbearing preponderance of past accuracy dictates it will be accurate in the future also.

The Bible is a synchronic text yet it is also diachronic text. When I say synchronic or σύνχρονικός, I am saying it is a text that describes events that happened or was written about a specific time. The word σύν/syn (as in synthesis) meaning "with" or "at". When I say diachronic or διαχρονικός, I am saying it is a text that describes events  that happened or was written over time. The word δια/dia (as in diameter) meaning through. It was written over a period of time and it describes events that happened over time...or will happen over time as some events described in the Bible haven't happened yet. The Bible can speak of and is written over the long haul of diachonos/διαχρονικός or elapsed time but is can also deal with the synchronic or kairos/καιρός or exact/perfect time...and it can do so simultaneously as in the case of prophecies that unfold over time but speak of exact events!

How can the Bible narrate or describe things that have not occurred yet in chronological manner? It is because the source of the Bible's inspiration finds its impetus in the divine. God being spirit must transcended time also since physical space and time are linked together by a space-time continuum. Since there was no time as we understand it or one moment followed by another in sequential linear order before Creation, God must also have the characteristics of timelessness. If God is timeless He must therefore be changeless and perfect since changes require linear time. In other words to be eternally timeless and changeless, He is therefore perfect. God is therefore eternally synchronic and sees all time as the eternal present.


So I time travel into the past as accurately as anyone possibly could. How so? There is no other document or record(s) of historical accounts that even comes close to the manuscript base for the Christian Holy Bible. Even through all of the poorly educated accusations of "translation errors" and "transliteration confusion, 99% of what we have today in our current versions of the Bible are the same as they were in the time of Christ. The 1% is the product of variants that are negligible grammar wise and do not affect the theological aspects of the Bible at all. These manuscripts find their source in divinely inspired autographs or original documents from which later manuscripts were transcribed or copied with negligible variances.

So if we read the Bible together in a Bible Study or group devotion,  it is as if we are eyewitnesses to the events themselves. We time travel to the Sea of Galilee, Caesarea Philippi, Jericho, Sodom and Gomorrah. We are between the walls of water with Pharaoh hot on our heels. We are with the Spirit of God as He hovers above the waters. We are in the presence of God in the pillar of smoke and fire. We are with Daniel in the lion’s den and with Jeremiah at the bottom of a well. We are on Mt Moriah as Abraham is about to drop the knife and we are with Adam and Eve in their shame. We are at the site of Araunah's threshing floor as David purchases the floor for fifty shekels of silver to build an altar to the One True God. It is the place where chaff was separated from wheat and it is turned into a place of sacrifice and worship. If we jump forward a few days we see David has indeed built and altar and is offering burnt offerings and peace offerings. It is here that we learn that the burnt offerings and peace offerings are from David to shows that David understood his guilt that resulted in the death of the 70,000 in Israel in a plague. We stare stunned  as the Lord accepts David's offering and consumes them with a searing beam of fire from heaven.

[Our scene shifts forward another thousand years...]

We are at Golgotha the place of the skull as we stare transfixed at the scene that unfolds before us. It is as if we stand at the ultimate crossroad of time. We stand at the perfect time. These moments tick off as if they are divinely ordained...and it is because they are divine ordained. It is as if time and space and all of creation have converged on this hill of execution in Jerusalem. There are three men hanging on a cross and there is something special about the one who hangs between the two thieves in the middle. We are then startled by the  a piercing shout from the man on the middle cross whom we thought to be dead. He yells the words, “It is finished!” The man then expires and slumps limply with his head down on his chest. There is blood still running down the stanchion holding up the cross member on which he has been impaled. We then hear a Roman centurion, after seeing what had happened, he stares at the dead man on the middle cross and he says, “Surely this was a righteous man.” The people around the Centurion in front of us beat their breasts and then go home. At the back of the crowd, the acquaintances and the women who had followed this enigmatic man from Galilee stand cautiously at a distance watching these things. Little are they aware that they are about to be the impetus of the greatest faith ever known. They are our spiritual brethren two millennium removed. They are Apostle and disciples of Christ.

In the end we realize that we need only the Bible and faith for this time travel, not some fancy technological marvel that will whisk us deep into the past one particle at a time. We understand having moved in a matter of hours over the entire arch of history that that the events of history have been so perfectly arranged that they are indeed an intelligent pattern or the unfolding of a preordained or predestined plan. We also see that there are no bit players or unimportant characters in this mind-boggling tapestry of time and humanity. All are important and all play a profound role....like each and every gear within a watch that moves time forward as history unfolds. Finally we realize that everything and everyone is created for a purpose that revealed itself over time and will end in the consummation of time. A consummation foretold of in the past by the Bible which was written through the very people in this tapestry, who were inspired by a God that exists outside of time...and is timeless.

Ecclesiastes 3:17 ~ I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work

Apocalypse Prophecy XXXVII: The Seven Churches of Asia Minor-Part IV: Laodicea

Laodicea: The Conceited Church

Finally, Christ condemns the church in Laodicea for its ineffective witness and deplorable spiritual condition and exhorts its members to persevere by becoming faithful witnesses and renewing their fellowship with him so as to reign with him in Revelation 3:14–22.

The message to this church, as is was for the rest of the churches was crafted specifically for them. The following information was noted by my sources. It was also alluded to in many of my sources. Laodicea was located near Hieropolis, where there were famous hot springs, and Colossae, known for its pure, cold water. Hot springs were therapeutic and beneficial for health. The cool or cold water was refreshing. The problem is that when it was piped from either location to Laodicea, the hot had become lukewarm and the cool had become lukewarm (Gurtner et al 362, Wiersbe). It seemed that whatever ended up in Laodicea ended up “middle of the road” whether it be water or spirituality. The allusions to Laodicea being, “…lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth” is clearly a statement about their spiritual condition as were all the other analogies made and symbols used with the other churches. The will be neither useful in helping the needs of the church to keep it healthy nor will they be revitalizing or refreshing like a tall drink of cool water. They will be like drinking lukewarm bath water…neither therapeutic nor invigorating. Even though He will do something drastic like spit them out of His mouth, the passage clear says they “will not release” and/or would not believe His assessment. They will be blind to their own spiritual malady and pay Him no heed.

Sometimes the hardest thing to do is admit we are wrong. That we have swung wide of the mark and sinned. In our attempts to do the right thing and adhere to truth we end up getting a twisted version of truth and then try to adhere to that. Adhering to anything less than what is outlined in the Bible is no different than obeying a lie. We think we are being faithful but we are just “going through the motion” showing up at church apathetically. We solely go to “pay our dues” rather than pay reverence to a holy and righteous God. The Lord showed this to the  Laodiceans in the letter written to them. They had lost their energy and had become lukewarm. This type of Christian is complacent and does not even realize they are in danger or have gone astray. They take the “once saved always saved” as an excuse to do nothing and become ambivalent. The church at Laodicean wasn’t “hot” enough spiritually to “zing” or burn the lips of the believer. Neither was it biting cool and refreshing with vigor and zest. It was like a warm flat soda that has sat in the sun too long. Fresh ice tea on a hot day requires someone continue to add ice cubes to it. A warm cup of chocolate in a cold day requires someone continue to add coals to a fire to keep a flame stoked under the kettle. Otherwise the fire goes out. If you remove the coal from the other coals in a fire, it cools quickly and is extinguished (Wiersbe).

They had also lost their values. Just the opposite of Smyrna, the Laodiceans boasted that they were rich, when in fact they were spiritually destitute. In their pride and the fact that they felt they needed nothing they were even beginning to hedge out God. Like many churches today they probably gauged themselves by the “numbers” or by the fact they were growing in “leaps and bounds”. I got news for you, the way God gauges us and the way we gauge ourselves are always by different measure if our focus is not on God. Many churches today including ones I’ve been in, end up doing a David style “census” by the numbers to gain their strength only to find they have none because they have a lot of members but most are either alienated or lukewarm to the faith. That’s not a big important church…that’s Laodicea! From what I can see in this passage, Jesus wasn’t exactly singing their praises. They are not really good company to keep. Christ’s answer here appears to be that they should be subject to some form of persecution…just as their spiritual antithesis in Smyrna. They needed to buy from Him "gold tried in the fire." They no longer saw their reality properly and had lost spiritual vision. Because they could no longer see, they were told to put eye salve in their eyes (Laodicea was known for their eye salve).

The irony of Laodicea is they receive no commendation from the Lord. Unfortunately, they were too busy commending themselves. We see this today in many churches and denominations. Instead of putting the focus on the Gospel and the Lord, churches turn the focus on themselves or worse one person in particular. Some churches are literally led by “cults of personality”. These are the type of churches that will probably “belly up” if they lose their primary lead pastor. It is because they have built the church around a person or personality instead of around the Lord and the Gospel. Business models that use the amount of money they make and the amount of people that attend as the measure of their success are not a Biblical model for a church. God’s math is different than ours. Big churches are not necessarily good churches. Just like God does not judge man from the outside, he judges them from the inside. The same goes for the institutions man creates. Our churches are not even supposed to be created by men, that is the work of the Holy Spirit. So if churches are dead and are still growing, what is really building them? Are we building religious businesses or are we building churches? The truth is, nowadays mega-churches or 1000+ attendance at a congregation has become a bane to the faith. They are immediately looked at as pariahs and ridiculed not only by some in the faith but by people outside of the faith. The eventual disingenuous nature (non-faith) that comes from business or money oriented churches is even clear to the non-believer! Even the non-believers understand and can see the incongruity! Big Church immediately gets a jaundiced eye and raised eyebrow from everyone. They not only bring mockery and scorn upon themselves, they bring it upon the rest of the Faith. Behavior that does this to the Church universal is unbiblical. We are to be a light on a hill not a three-alarm fire in the neighborhood! It disgraces us all when people dressed like Hollywood movie stars show up at an arena sized church in Lexus’ and high-end cars. Christian’s that expect to be treated like kings when the King Himself had no place to rest His head during His ministry on Earth. It is absurd and shameful like nakedness! Like the Laodiceans we are called to repent if this is how we are behaving. Many business oriented models with a modicum of success continue to rely on the same man-made formulas that will eventually damn them or cause them to fail spiritually. Many have success and feel they need little from anyone...and this will be their downfall. They may appear temporarily successful and independent…but they were not abiding in Christ just as the Laodiceans. A person or church that does not abide in the vine dies or produces bitter fruit. What do we see in the Laodicean-like churches? We see things like arrogance, materialism, etc. These type of fruits are rotten at their core and nourish no one. More often than not dried, lifeless bitter fruit like this ends up gagging the person that tries to take it in. We are not saved of our own works, it is His work that we cling to. There is not room for haughty arrogance and stand-offish independence in the church. We are called to serve and be humble. To be able to serve and be humble it requires us to interact with our Lord and with other people. Otherwise we could hardly call ourselves Christian. The minute a church believers it has “arrived” or “made it”, that is its death knell.


To Wrap It Up: Repentance and Perseverance

The main reason I chose to dwell primarily on the warnings and negative aspects of the letters to the seven churches is because the fix to overcoming the negatives like apostasy or apathy mentioned find their source in the same place. In the end if we view the churches of Asia Minor in Revelations properly we should see things that convict/condemn us in our sins but also comfort and lift us in our trials. The churches today that are apostatizing or are not quite what they could be are called to repent and turn back to a faithful relationship with Jesus Christ just as those of John’s time. All of this is to lead believers in progressive improvements and trends towards righteousness and progressive sanctification. It is in Revelation’s calls to repent that we hear and see echoes of the Old Testament prophets speaking to the Israelites and the likes of John the Baptist and Jesus during Jesus’ time on earth. We see God working through time and place to bring His sovereign plans to fulfillment and to usher all believers into the Kingdom of God and His glorious reign. The churches that have remained faithful to the Lord need to “stay the course” even under persecution and not swerve into ungodly behaviors like others that have or they risk discipline or judgment.

We see throughout all the churches a call to persevere and remain faithful. We could learn much from these ancient churches in Asia Minor both from the things they did well which they were commended for and also in the things they were doing wrong which they were condemned for. Some of the negative similarities in today’s churches that find parallel in the seven churches from John’s time should humble us and drive us also to repentance. It is our duty as obedient Christians to assure that churches today see these parallels and make the renegade ones understand they are wrong, just as those like Ephesus, Pergamos/Pergamum, etc. Perhaps if we can show people when they have gone errant of Scripture and diverged to the “right or to the left” they will be convicted to return to Christ though the work of the Holy Spirit. We’ve had two millennia to get this right yet we still make the same mistakes and commit the same sins as the churches of long ago. The heresies, idolatries and immorality may have different names but it is still the same sin we battle with. It just goes to show us that we are the same wretched fallen humans that the early Christians and also the Israelites were. We all need to repent and seek forgiveness. We are all sinful humanity with a proclivity to fall away from God (Romans 1-3). If all this time has not allowed us to straighten things out, it then becomes obvious that we are incapable of doing so. This concurs with what the Bible has taught us through its inspired words (ad nauseum). We are indeed no different in terms of sin than our spiritual predecessors the Israelites of the Old Testament. Like us they were only redeemable through the work of Christ on the Cross…hence the need to repent and return to God. If we have not fallen away or apostatized we are well advised to remain faithful, keep His word and never deny His name. If we manage to “walk the line” in faith, eventually all faithful believers will be victorious in Christ. In the end there will either be commendation, comfort or condemnation. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches”


 הַלְלוּיָהּ !!!

One Small Step For Seth, One Giant Leap for Mom & Dad

My son learned to ride all by himself today. I had to post these on my blog. I am proud of him. Seth's exact quote, "Look at me mommy, I'm going as fast as the wind." Yes Seth, yes you are...and then I begin to think of the Holy Spirit and wonder where the

וְר֣וּחַ

Breath of God/Wind will blow this young life...

Apocalypse Prophecy XXXVI: The Seven Churches of Asia Minor-Part III: Philadelphia

We see a distinct tone change with the second to last church Philadelphia. We also arrive at one of the most
interesting churches on the list of seven...

Philadelphia: The Consummate But Afflicted Church

Christ commends the church in Philadelphia for its persevering witness, in which he will empower its members further, and encourages them to continue to persevere so as to inherit end-time fellowship and identification with him. Christ and his people stand as the “true Jewish witnesses” in contrast to those “who say that they are Jews, and are not, but lie” (3:9) by saying that Jesus is a false Messiah and his followers false Israelites.

“Holy” and “true” are divine attributes elsewhere in Revelation (so 6:10), so their use here suggests Jesus’ deity. In fact, Isaiah uses ἅγιος (“holy”) almost exclusively of Yahweh as part of the title “the Holy One of Israel” (about 20 occurrences). This background is probably present here in anticipation of the Isa. 22:22 quotation and of the Isaiah allusions in 3:9, where Jesus assumes the role of Yahweh and his followers represent the true Israel (see on 3:9; ὁ ἅγιος τοῦ θεοῦ [“the holy one of God”] is also a messianic title in contexts of fulfillment: Mark 1:24; Luke 4:34; John 6:69). The idea of “true” carries connotations of Jesus being the true Messiah, who has begun to fulfill messianic prophecy (we twill chat more on 3:14), though he is rejected by the Jews as a false messianic pretender.

Whereas the keys in 1:18b are those of “death and Hades,” here we have instead a quotation from Isa. 22:22: “the one having the key of David, who opens and no one shuts, and who shuts and no one opens”. The substitution is meant to amplify the idea of the original phrase in 1:18b by underscoring the sovereignty that Christ holds over the sphere of “death and Hades.”

The point of the quotation is that Jesus holds the power over salvation and judgment. In 1:18 the stress is on his sovereignty over death and judgment, while in 3:7 the emphasis is on his authority over those entering the kingdom.

In verse 8 we see Christ, who is the true witness and sovereign over the realms of life and death, exercises his power in this regard on behalf of the Philadelphia church. He has granted its members power to enter into the sphere of salvation: “behold, I have given before you an open door, which no one is able to shut.”

This entrance into covenant life is also referred to as entry into the “house of David” (v 7) and into the city and temple of God (v 12), all of which can likewise be understood as images for the kingdom of God. Christ has also given them power to remain in this sphere of life, as demonstrated by their life of persevering obedience and witness. Their “little power” was expressed through their keeping Christ’s word and not denying his name.

In verse 9 we see what is probably ethnic Jews claiming to be the true Israel, though they are not.  In reality, they are liars because they do not believe in Jesus, the true Jewish Messiah, and they persecute those who are faithful witnesses to him. Further we read this also in 9 referring to the Jews: “I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you.” This prophecy has been fulfilled ironically in the Gentile church, which has become true Israel by virtue of its faith in Christ. In contrast, ethnic Israel fulfills the role of the Gentiles because of their unbelief. Therefore, Isaiah’s prophecies that the end-time salvation of Israel would spark off the salvation of the Gentiles has been fulfilled in an ironic manner. The Isaiah prophecies are to be fulfilled imminently in the Philadelphia church’s own experience, though not exclusively, since the letter is also addressed to all the churches. The positive focus on Philadelphia’s persevering witness is another piece of evidence pointing to the likelihood that “witness” is the prevailing theme of all the letters.

This is where Philadelphia’s testimony starts to become real interesting to me and I will elaborate on it. Christ promises that his power, which made it possible for the church to become his people and to maintain their status as his people, will continue to protect them spiritually from the tribulation that is about to come. This same protection in the midst of tribulation is discussed elsewhere through the metaphors of “sealing” (7:1), “measuring” (11:1–2), and “nourishment and protection in the wilderness” (12:6, 14–17).

Verse 10’s “τηρήσω ἐκ” or “will keep you from/out of” can mean either “keep you from undergoing” or “keep you through” this hour of testing “μελλούσης ἔρχεσθαι / about to come”, or imminently. Soon people…soon. Christ will show his faithfulness to the Christians in Philadelphia in the immediate future because they have been faithful witnesses to him in the past. “You have kept the word of my endurance” is best understood as referring to “the word about Jesus’ own endurance” in his ministry as this is written in the genitive case or possessive. This passages summarizing stresses the persevering nature of their witness in imitation of Jesus, who was the faithful, true, and enduring witness to the Father unto death on a Cross. The Philadelphia Christians have been faithful to the early church’s Gospel about Jesus, especially to his courageous loyalty through persecution in testifying to the Father. His perseverance was climaxed by his death.

These Christians will be protected spiritually from any threats posed to their faith by the coming tribulation. On the other hand, the “tribulation” is intended by God as a penal judgment of unbelievers. The tribulation is probably to be seen as having universal effect, since it is to come on “the whole inhabited earth / οἰκουμένης ὅλης”. This matches the same type of statements in Revelation 12:9; 16:14. This very well could me the “known” world of John (Mediterranean) or it could be the whole world. The Scripture is not clear. So here we see allusions to a believers’s endurance is based on the model of Christ’s own endurance.

This type of reading of this passage may suggest more than one way in which Christ will protect believers from the coming tribulation of 3:10. It could be by physically “rapturing” them from earth into heaven…or perhaps…just perhaps…something else.

The more I learn and study the Bible the more I find things I didn’t expect to see…

It must then be noted that if someone does a word usage on the words τηρήσω ἐκ in the New Testament, they are only used one other place: John 17:15. Christ literally prays, “I ask not that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from (τηρήσhς αὐτοuς ἐκ) the evil one."

Right from the mouth of Jesus we see a denial that a physical removal from tribulation is being addressed by this phrase in the proper context. As a matter of fact it seems as if Jesus is affirming some type of protection other than physical removal. Instead it implies spiritual protection from the devil. Pretty heady stuff people. John 16 and Revelation 2–3 use the “overcoming” theme too. Even though believers will experience “tribulation” in the world, they will have “peace” in Christ because he “has overcome the world”.

Hmmmmmm....

It is unlikely read properly in its context that Revelation 3:10 is referring to a protection of believers’ physical lives, since the preceding letters have focused solely on spiritual perseverance, while sacrificing one's physical life. Go read it yourself. if this text speaks of physical removal...its the only text in the book that specifically says so in a literal sense.

It has long been believed and said that the trial described in Rev. 3 is a divine punishment on the wicked and unbelievers, not a form of evil coming from the devil. In reality we must recognize God's omnipotence and  sovereignty in this situation. The tribulation that comes from the devil ultimately issues from the divine throne anyway or God isn't God as He is described in the Bible...is He?

There is no delineation here: The same trials that punish unbelievers serve as tests to strengthen the faith of God’s people (a la Revelation 6:3–8). The trials or (hour of trial) mentioned throughout the letters and the visionary chapters that follow seem to indicate or argue for the fact that both the saints and unbelievers experience the same trials, but for the former trials refine faith, whereas for the latter trials only harden. Earlier, Christ promised Smyrna eternal life if they will endure sufferings and even physical death. Paul repeats the same theme throughout his letters (Romans 2 Corinthians, Philippians) as does Peter.

The next verses tells us that Christ has the key of David and whatever he opens, no-one can shut; and what he closes, no-one can open. This appears rather cryptic at first. It means that when God acts in He does so with power and authority, none can trump a sovereign God. I suppose this is a reference to the fact that man thinks he has control and can do things such as passing laws to force people to do things or excluded believers from things. Nothing could be farther from the truth. We begin to see this today in the litigious nature of the persecution of the modern church in America. We see it in the crippling speech laws of Canada to make it a crime to speak out against homosexuality as a sin. It is getting to the point that it is considered a “hate crime” to mention anything about homosexuality in a negative light without fear of legal or criminal reprisal. This is then compounded by the government trumping the will of the majority of the people passing laws to legalize homosexual marriage which clearly outside the will of God and a majority of the voting constituency of the domain in question. More and more we see the encroachment of the Government on the lives of people to deleterious spiritual effect. We now have laws being passed that will force people to pay into insurance pools for indemnification that will be drawn off of to fund abortions…all mandated by the government. Many of the sources will be Christian and they will be determined by law to fund this pool or will be forcefully extorted by unjust or unethical laws to pay into it. What the civil authorities in this situation fail to see is that Caesar may rule the people but God rules Caesar. As Daniel said:

Daniel 2:21 ~ “He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding

So in this letter to Philadelphia we see that over all it is God either allowing these things and in the end if God chose to end it He will since He is the holder of the keys. Christ alone gives or withholds. This passage goes on to tell the Philadelphians that He has placed before them an open door that none can shut. When we compound this with the idea that Christ knew their works and they had… “kept my word”.  This should come as reassurance to use who are under steepening pressure to go against the Bible and conform to the culture. Philadelphia had “stayed the course” and not deviated into errant doctrine nor had they succumbed to the culture.  They had stayed true to Christ’s even through subjugation and persecution. Philadelphia had stayed firm and unwavering to their devotion to Almighty God. Considering they were a small church against a large powerful worldly force this is commendable. So Christ had given them and “open door” that only He could shut. To me this appears to be a reward for remaining faithful to Jesus even under spiritual and physical oppression. The reward for the one, “who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.” This seems to suggest victory in Christ. To me victory in Christ is eternal life and ultimately to be victorious over the world and death (Morris 78-79).

What I will note as stated in a class lecture is there is no indication of being "ἁρπαγησόμεθα/will be snatched away" in this passage. The implication through the entire address to the Philadelphians as it was with Smyrna is that believers will need to endure tribulation/ θλῖψις until the end (McLaughlin 8C). It is interesting to note that Jesus has told the Philadelphians that “ὅτι ἐτήρησας τὸν λόγον τῆς ὑπομονῆς μου” / “you keep the saying/Word of my patience” and in return due to Jesus, “σε τηρήσω ἐκ τῆς ὥρας τοῦ πειρασμοῦ τῆς μελλούσης ἔρχεσθαι”/ “you will be kept out of the hour of trial soon to be coming”. The word “kept” here or specifically “τηρήσω/will be keeping” is used in the way of protection. More specifically, according to the Linguistic Key to the Greek New Testament it means: “…to guard from loss or injury, properly, by keeping the eye upon. For personal ends which is implied in the text as we as believers are Christ’s, means to hold fast, keep, preserve or to watch. It does not mean to take or remove from and it seems to imply a protection where the object of protection currently is located (Rienecker et al 820).

So...if I've understood my grammar correctly, if this is then combined with ἐκ it makes for some interesting grammatical implications. The word ἐκ is preposition denoting origin not destination or it is the point where action or motion proceeds from based on an orientation point. Christ’s protection will be at the point where the one being protected is located. This preposition refers to the location of the one being addressed and the one being addressed in this passage will be “kept from or out of the imminent tribulation” and the further implication is that this will occur at the point of which they are located or being addressed. At least this is the implication I have gleaned from the text in the address to Philadelphia. This therefore has cascading implications since the letters to the seven churches frames the rest of Revelation which in turn initially closes the Scriptures on an ominous but then glorious note.

The bottom-line which was so clearly elucidated by both the professor of my course and my written sources is this: We are called to persevere, endure and to remain faithful to Jesus Christ in our trials and tribulations of this world. Jesus was absolutely clear in the Gospel of John. You would think Jesus knew something we didn’t.

John 16:33 ~ “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

In the end if we persevere faithfully until the end we will receive the crown (v.11) or a στέφανόν/stephanon which was the garland wreath given to the victor who ran a race successfully and won the price. In this case it is eternal life in glory with Jesus Christ. We today are called to do the same. As Paul said:

1 Corinthians 9:24 ~ “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.”

We need to be diligent and stay the course even under duress and persecuation, just as Christ did. Christ who allowed Himself to be nailed to the Cross. Because He did this God the Father lifted His name above all other names.

Philippians 2:10-11“…so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

This then leads us to our last church which is almost diametrically opposite of Philadelphia and offers us a Scriptural point of contrast which is ironically, much like Daniel in its style of prose (i.e.: Belshazzar/Nebuchadnezzar)

[Please note that through all of this I never said that a "ἁρπαγησόμεθα/snatching away" would not occur at all. That would require that I completely ignore 1 Thessalonians 4 and I cannot and will not do that. What I am simply saying that it is highly improbable that believers will avoid tribulation if Philadelphia and Smyrna set the pattern for a faithful church which will most certainly exist somewhere in the end times. Therefore my previous views on a Pre-Tribulation rapture or a “snatching away” seems less plausible to me than it once did in my Dispensationalism days which were not that long ago. I believe I adhere more to a Pre-Wrath or Mid-Tribulation rapture now. What we know for sure is that at some point God will put an end to the persecutions but it appears some will have to endure. More on this in later posts.]

Like I said, if we misinterpret the first few chapters of Revelation it throws the entire book out of whack and then, viewed from the context of the entire rest of the Bible, we come away misguided. To say that a promise of deliverance from the incomparable physical horrors of a “great tribulation” is a state made out of the context of the introductory chapters of Revelation...therefore it is an except to the remaining prose of the book and the overall pattern of Scripture. If there is anything I am clear on...it is that we should trust the pattern of Scripture when the Scripture is not entire clear on a topic (i.e.: women in ministry, apocalyptic language, prophecy)

During this period the text of Revelation ultimate describes a  threat that is not physical but spiritual harm, which has been a threat to God’s people throughout history. The final tribulation in Revelation is not necessarily escalated with respect to the nature of physical trials, but is an intensification of the inaugurated end-time tribulation (1:9; 2:9), in which persecution is no longer selective but universal (Revelation 11:7–10; 20:8–9).

That John has in mind a spiritual protection of Christians as they go through tribulation is evident also from the fact that Rev. 3:10 may well be alluding to Dan. 12:1, 10 where “that hour” (τὴν ὥραν ἐκείνην) is immediately described as “that day of tribulation” (ἐκείνη ἡ ἡμέρα θλίψεως, v 1) when “many are tested (πειράζω) and sanctified and sinners sin” (v 10).

Daniel 12:1 ~ “Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, 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 your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued.

Also in context

Daniel 12:10 ~ Many will be purged, purified and refined, but the wicked will act wickedly; and none of the wicked will understand, but those who have insight will understand.

This suggests that the “testing” in Rev. 3:10 has the double effect of purifying and strengthening believers and of divine punishment of others. This assessment is confirmed from Rev. 7:14. Much of this is often totally glanced over in an attempt to jump right to the more sensationalized aspects of Revelation and the entire rest of Revelation is then read out of context. these portions in Revelation are impossible to ignore and are not clean-cut. When we take this portion and then combined it with 1 Thessalonians 4:17, things become even more uncertain in relation to timing and actual events. Anyone willing to speculate on the exact sequence and timing of such events runs the risk of reading things into the text that are just not there. Frankly, this is exactly what the Devil does and those who wish to twist Scripture. Many even do this unwittingly.

There saints are depicted as “coming out of the great tribulation” and wearing white robes in allusion respectively to Dan. 12:1 and 12:10 (see on 7:14). The fact that precisely the same two OT allusions are appealed to here further point towards the idea that the subject of both passages is the church as latter-day Israel and its destiny to experience trial. Revelation 7:14 is clearly that of believers enduring through tribulation and coming out of it successfully, which points further to the same picture in 3:10. They are not preserved from trial by removal from it, but their faith is preserved through trial because they have been sealed by God. there is no mention of ἁρπαγησόμεθα or "taking away" physically nor is it implied. We need to incorporate 1 Thessalonians to justify this view but Thessalonians plucks this idea from a  different context that does not involve persecution and suffering per se, it deals with believers who have already died right after a portion that dealt with right living before God or living a life pleasing to God.

Christ promises that he will come imminently (soon) in order further to encourage these believers to stand strong in their faith and witness through the crisis that they are about to pass (“hold fast what you have”). “Hold fast” suggests that they will be going through trials that will require especially diligent safeguarding of faith (of the two other uses of κρατέω [“hold fast”] in the letters, one allows a situation of trial. Such endurance will indicate that they have not been prevented from successfully completing their pilgrimage of salvation.

At the final consummation no form of physical or spiritual suffering will harm the church because of the full manifestation of God’s presence in its midst. This is indicated here by (v.12) “I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and by no means should he go outside anymore”. Christ’s statement that he will write “the name of my God and the name of the city of my God” on the overcomer who becomes permanently identified with the temple recalls Ezekiel 48:35.

The language of Revelation 3:12 is then repeated verbatim in 21:2 to introduce a vision of the end-time temple of God, where God will dwell forever with his people; the temple there is modeled on the Ezekiel 40–48 temple. This further emphasizes the theme of divine presence in Revelation 3:12. This line of thought in which Jesus’ followers persevere through tribulation and then are rewarded with the presence of God and Christ in the “temple” (ναός) is also found developed in 7:14–17.

That the promise of a place in the Ezekiel 40–48 end-time temple has been inaugurated is suggested by the parallel with Revelation 11:2, and the fact that 11:2 pictures the community of faith on earth as already identified with that temple.

The saints are then given a concluding exhortation “to hear” in v 13 because they need spiritual discernment in the midst of the affliction that they are about to endure in order not to deny Christ’s name (cf. 3:8b, 10a) and to inherit the final reward.  If they are not heavenly-minded and focusing on their final reward, they will be tempted to conform themselves to earthly circumstances around them, which includes compromise of their faith because of persecution.

Apocalypse Prophecy XXXV: The Seven Churches of Asia Minor-Part II: Smyrna, Thyatira & Sardis

Overview of the Letters to The Seven Churches

The letters to the churches follow some basic outlines: Commendation of the church’s good works, accusation because of some sin, exhortation to repent with a warning of judgment or an encouragement, an exhortation to discern the truth of the preceding message and a promise to the conquerors. In some shape or formula these are the main components. Christ presents himself with certain attributes particularly suitable to the situation of each church. The logical flow of each letter climaxes with the promise of inheriting eternal life with Christ, which is the main point of each letter. The body of each letter provides the basis upon which the Spirit calls the churches to respond by “hearing,” which should inevitably result in “overcoming,” the consequence of which is inheritance of the respective promises.

Seven Churches Broken Into  Three Groups

The first and last (Ephesus, Laodicea) are in danger of losing their very identity as a Christian church. Therefore, they are exhorted to repent in order to prevent their judgment and to inherit the promises that genuine faith deserves.

The churches addressed in the three central letters (Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis) have to varying degrees some who have remained faithful and others who are compromising with pagan culture. Among these Pergamum is in the best condition and Sardis is in the worst. These churches are exhorted to purge the elements of compromise from their midst in order to avert judgment on those that compromise (and probably also themselves) and to inherit the promises due those who overcome compromise.

The second and sixth letters (Smyrna, Philadelphia) are written to churches which have proved themselves faithful and loyal to Christ even under persecution from both Jews and pagans. Even though they are poor and have little power they are encouraged to continue persevering since more trials will confront them. They are to endure with the hope that they will inherit the promises of eternal salvation when they die (perhaps a martyr’s death).

Smyrna: The Commended Church

The church at Smyrna was troubled, poor, and it was being hammered by false Jews, and some were even being martyred. In this way they were emulating Jesus yet He triumphed in the end even over death. Smyrna was abounding in the spiritual riches that churches like Laodicea sorely lacked yet they viewed themselves as poor (as did the outside world). As we understand from God’s comment to Samuel about David in 1 Samuel 16:7, “The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart”.

As for the Jews here, they are referred to as a synagogue of Satan, probably to bring attention that they are under the influence and power of the world (which is under Satan's influence). Smyrna was a hotbed of the Roman imperial cult, and anyone refusing to acknowledge Caesar as Lord would certainly have been excluded from the guilds if not persecuted outright. There was also a large Jewish community also thrived in Smyrna. The Jews were not required to patronize the imperial cult since their religion was accepted by Rome; but they did not cooperate with the Christian faith. Therefore the Christians were maligned and persecuted. But Christ says they were rich anyway because they would have eternal life if they remained faithful (Wiersbe 573).

Christians were betrayed by Jewish "informers”. By the second century, Jews in Smyrna were notably “ratting out” Christians such as Polycarp. Since Christians were then clearly not Jewish there was no protection afforded them as a sect of Judaism so they were expected to participate in the imperial/emperor cult and most did not so they were subsequently persecuted (Keener 770).

As 2 Corinthians 10:3-4 states, "we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does." The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. Our fight is not with flesh and blood but rather with the enemy, Satan and the people he uses  to accomplish his demonic purposes. The Jewish synagogues therefore were really anchors of influence  in the culture for Satan.  The Jews had worked within the existing world system to magnify the torment and persecution of God's true chosen at this point in time. What had been done to them for centuries they had now maliciously turned around on the Christians. This to me makes them even more culpable as they knew how guilty they were for doing it...having had it done to them. If they were doing it against God's chosen they were therefore doing against God. The truth is the Christian church does not need the approval of the culture and most often the reason the Church is persecuted is because they are not like the world. Jesus told us that we would always be in conflict with the world if we are obedient to God as the world/man is at war with God.

John 15:18 ~ “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.

This being said we see this abundantly today with churches or congregations that attempt to stay the course in terms of obedience to the Bible. In a culture that clearly becomes more immoral with each passing year, obedient churches find themselves more and more in conflict with the culture on the fronts of issues like abortion, homosexuality and homosexual marriage, unethical medical practices like euthanasia, cloning and medicinal drug use. The Bible has informed us clearly that it will get worse before it gets better. We now even have those from other faiths attacking us, such as Islam (not just Jews) and worse...we have attacks from within Christianity from other denominations and churches that are no longer toeing the line of Scripture. Outwardly they are professing to be of God's chosen people but in reality they are not "really Jews" or God's people. We, like Smyrna will be rewarded in the end though. The pattern of Scripture is clear.  Anything that is of the world will be in opposition to God as the world system is controlled by Satan (Newell 43).

Thyatira: The Corrupted Church

We now reach the church of Thyatira who has been unfaithful and immoral. Thyatira was a small military town as well as a commercial center with many trade guilds (Wiersbe 574). The city had a temple to Apollo (Sun God). John levels a severe message. Although they had been a busy church helping others they had and extreme tolerance of evil. They were permitting false teaching to influence the people and lead them into compromise with the world and unbiblical behavior but they were also being led astray.

The mention of Jezebel is symbolic of the fact that the church was behaving like the queen (of King Ahab) who enticed Israel to add Baal worship to their religious ceremonies in 1 Kings (Gurtner et al 359). These teachings were similar to the "doctrine of Balaam" that we saw in the church at Pergamos/Pergamum. The church was literally falling into a form of syncretism involving Christianity and false teaching.

This is the age old question that many churches including some that I have attended struggle with, "How much of the culture do you let in to the church so you can lead them to Christ before the church itself becomes the culture and indistinguishable from it?" If we have become the culture of today, there is a high probability that you/we are no longer biblical. If we do not put a limit on certain behaviors in a church, then all behavior becomes acceptable. We in the church need to define a reasonable standard of behavior, dress, etc…a minimum standard. To be able to do this we need to define what is right or wrong according to a Biblical measuring stick. Even though these are issue of conscience, we also know that anything that causes a brother or sister to stumble is unacceptable and unbiblical. I have battled this in my own churches and I am usually on the losing end. The same things that plagued the first century church still plague us today.

On the flip side of this we can quickly fall into danger or the trap of legalism requiring people to "do" things to make them more Biblical. We always run that risk or tripping over the line from orthodoxy to legalism. We see this in other ritualistic religions (Burqa anyone?). We see this with denominations or sects that require women (or men) to dress certain ways to an excessive legalistic degree or require women wear head coverings. 


Most often it is an issue of commonsense.

Unfortunately, the church always seems to have a deficit of this and it is to the detriment of the church. We need to better educate our laity and our leaders when it comes to matters of conscience and hold to a biblical standard...not a cultural one. We are to engage the culture, not conform to it. It is often the leaders of the church that are either under-educated or uneducated in these matters that end up running rogue of the Scriptures and allowing these extremes to exist. Sometimes these very leaders end up being the purveyers of false doctrine because of their own ignorance. The misinformed or poorly informed leaders become the Jezebel’s. As a Protestant we have even seen this in the authoritative tact of the Roman Catholic Church and errant doctrines such as Papal infallibility and its ilk. (Newell 64-65). In Wiersbe's commentary there was an awesome statement I quote verbatim about this:

Unloving orthodoxy and loving compromise...both are hateful to God and need to be avoided (Wiersbe 575).

Sardis: The Comatose Church

Fifty miles east of Ephesus lay Sardis. It was located on an almost inaccessible plateau or an acropolis. It was (past tense) a great church. There is another warning in this church for churches today. Just because you are great doesn’t mean you will remain that way if your heart drifts and goes cold. They had begun to live on the merit of yesterday but produced nothing relevant for today. As with the other churches there was still hope but things needed to be rectified. Sardis like churches today may look “big” or “great” from the outside but inside they are dead (Newell 62-63). As with anything Jesus Christ is involved with there is the possibility of new life or being born again. It is the story of a church that has grown complacent and dwell too much on what they did and not on what they could do as we are called to continue preaching the Gospel until there is no breath left in us to do so (Wiersbe 576). We see in in the formulaic evangelical churches that have all drawn off the business model: Worship, prayer, sermon, worship, offering, dismissal…all of this interspersed with emotive music, no dead spaces and audio/visual stimulus. This may produce evocative emotional reaction but over the long haul it begins to stagnate congregations because they get tired of having their heartstrings plucked for a buck. Man’s plans do not a good church make. The continual presence of the Holy Spirit makes a good church. Without the Spirit the church is deader than a doornail and about as effective as one too. An attempt at a revival of the body without a Spirit is man trying to create a zombie…an animated corpse with no spirit/soul, therefore it’s not a church.

Apocalypse Prophecy XXXIV: The Seven Churches of Asia Minor-Part I: Ephesus & Pergamos

Mystery of The Seven Stars & The Seven Golden Lampstands

It will be the primary focus of the next few posts to address the negative aspects of the messages to the seven churches addressed by John in the opening chapters of the Book of Revelation. I will then take these aspects and draw parallels or applications to the Church/churches of today. The churches of John’s day were, to a greater of lesser extent being persecuted by the outside world. Some were in stricter abeyance to the word of God than others in John’s salutation. As I again have a plethora of material to cover in a limited space I will be limiting my scope to the calls to obedience and messages to repent more so than the commendations for faithful service to the King.

If all the churches had been totally faithful there would’ve been little reason to write them other than to encourage them through their persecution and tribulation. But because of their persecution they were essentially being weeded out. Persecution separates the faithful from the unfaithful. The wheat was being separated from the chafe. Their persecutions were causing them to waver and/or make bad decisions that were putting themselves or their “congregations” in jeopardy and/or in line for judgment from the Lord. We to a lesser extent are seeing the same today. Although we are not quite under the persecution of those days, we are certainly not being accepted outright by the culture and the world at large. We are also informed through Revelation and its predecessor Daniel that near the end (eschaton) this persecution will increase so by default we are urged eventually through necessity to learn from the negative aspects of these messages. We need to see the call to correction and address the apostatizing influence of the culture and see how false teaching infiltrates and otherwise faithful and obedient church in subtle seemingly innocuous steps.

Bridge From The Past


The living and applicable character of Revelation addressed to the churches of Asia Minor and their importance to the modern evangelical church is usually completely overlooked my modern pastors (Walvoord 51). Modern leaders/pastors have their sights set on the dramatic and sensationalizing aspects of the latter chapters of Revelation. By skipping over the first few chapters of Revelation these poor observers of Revelation miss the messages to the seven churches. It is a message that has incisive and pointed denunciation of departure from Scriptural standards and biblical morality. A denunciation of departure from sound theology and drift into cultural ambivalence and ambiguity is what keeps this off of modern teacher/preachers lecterns. These letters and the Bible in general are an exacting standard that holds Christians to the highest level of righteous behavior and holiness. A level that is shunned even by those in positions of leadership today (an yesterday) because it makes “doing church” too hard. So hard that many leaders within the church believe it will drive adherents away from the faith (Walvoord 51).


These are God’s words and what God saw fit to print is what is best for believers. We are in no position to say this not “doable” in our churches. IF God said it is “doable” and required of us, then to not do it puts our judgment in the place of God. This is bad news and prelude to a failure (apostasy). First, because we are not to be the ultimate benchmark or decider of what is possible in churches and secondly, these are not our churches they are God’s church (no “s”). It is the Church…His Church…His Body.

People need to stop thinking from a human oriented standard and start thinking from a God-oriented standard. Unfortunately, man is prone to think from the flesh and not from the angle of righteousness and this is where man fails. We need to depend on the Spirit, not ourselves. Most of the problems in modern congregations is the softening standards that seek to “dull the edge on” or “or water down” the demands of what it takes to be Christian or “do church” to make it palatable to those that don’t even want to attend on a regular basis anyway. We are therefore adjusting our churches to the lowest common denominator and are not even attempting to raise the level. We’re just trying to maintain the status quo so not to “rock the boat”. We are therefore shaping churches to accommodate those that are not driven enough to maintain the exacting standards outlined in the Bible anyway. So why water them down? This is exactly what the letters to the seven churches condemns. The evils and wolves (many unintended or unintentional) are the outgrowth of neglect or misguided attempts to make the Church more palatable for the masses. Sorry folks…the righteousness of God is not for the masses it is for the faithful and the few.

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Matthew 7:13-14

Many of our individual churches are in a bad way and they will not fix themselves. It will take more than just waiting for others to “right the ship” we all need to do our duty. The first of which is to preach the unadulterated message of the Gospel or as John says the churches at Ephesus and Pergamos...

Ephesus: The Careless Church

“Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. Revelation 2:4-6

What was the love they had at first? They had been busy doing the works of the Lord. They were a sacrificing and giving church, for the word in Greek for “hard work” κόπον/kopon (v.2) means to "toil to the point of weariness". These people had paid the price. They had shown the fruits of the Spirit through their actions. Obviously, part of this labor was rooted in the preaching or the Gospel because without the Gospel…there is no faith to have perseverance in (v.2)

So what happened?

Paul had warned false teachers would arise from within the church at Ephesus (Acts 20). John had instructed them to "try the spirits" (1 John 4: 1-6). Indeed, a church must be constantly alert to detect apostasy and reject it. The word Nicolailan means "conquer the people." It is quite possible there was a portion of the church at Ephesus that either purposely or inadvertently controlled or manipulated the church because of either purposeful or poor leadership and robbed the people of their liberty as equals under Christ which is often the case today with churches who see leadership and laity as hierarchical divisions when no such thing existed then or now. Then and now misinformed our misunderstanding church goers initiated the "clergy" and "laity" division that is not taught in New Testament. All God's people are "kings and priests". We all have equal access to the Father through the blood of Christ. Those that take leadership roles and pastoral rolls with the intent to “lead” rather than “serve” are not suited to the position they are given to serve and guide God’s people (not theirs). We’ll see this “derailing “ of the church again in Pergamos. This church who had separated themselves from the world spiritually to be useful tireless tools of Jesus Christ had abandoned their first love! They had left the fervent, personal love. Labor does not substitute for love which is a condition of the heart, not an action of the body. They are called to repent which is to realize you are wrong and come back to Christ and the original intents of the Bible. In the end we see the fruits of a “careless church” (Wiersbe 571-572).

There is then a parallel church also very applicable today…

Pergamos: The Compromising Church

Instead of careless we see another word that starts with a “C”: Compromising.

Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.” Revelation 2:14-16

We again see the teaching of the Nicolaitans but it is in conjunction with the teachings of Balaam. Pergamos had been Satan’s “seat” because it had the first temple dedicated to Caesar and was a rabid promoter of the imperial cult. Although Pergamos had suffered persecution and had remained true to God they still lacked in Christ’s eyes.  Although mostly faithful and under persecution…

A group of compromising people had infiltrated the church and church koinonia. It is clear what Jesus thinks of them and those that practice the same things today. Jesus Christ hated their doctrines and their practices. What they taught was the teaching of "Nicolaitans” who we already read about at Ephesus (Rev. 2:6). They taught what is called "the doctrine of Balaam". The truth is that the teachings of the Nicolaitans and Balaam are probably the same. Regardless, those leading in the church with these types of teaching were leading the church astray. So what were they teaching?

Balaam was a real prophet (although pagan) who prostituted his gifts in order to earn money from King Balak who hired him to curse the people of Israel. God ended up turning the curses to blessing. Balak knowing he could not overcome Israel or Israel’s God, took Balaam’s advice and “befriended” Israel and invited them to worship at pagan altars. Syncretism folks…the faithful fell right into it hook, line and sinker. It is the blending of the beliefs of the One True God with false/fake gods or worldly philosophies (a la 1 Corinthians 1-4). Balak couldn’t take on God’s people head-to-head…so he led them astray and had them whoring themselves to other gods and eventually whoring themselves to pagan women within a short time through pagan practices and idolatry. In the end 24,000 died (Numbers 25:1-9) due to this “compromise” with the world. This is the context of the passage in Revelation. There was a group within the church that were “lording over” this church that said there was absolutely nothing wrong with accepting and being friendly with Rome and Rome’s way of doing things. Some resisted and were persecute but most took the easy way out and conformed to the culture and demands of the State (Wiersbe 573-574). The Lord literally accused certain Christians leaders at Pergamos of sinning, of allowing "spiritual fornication" by accepting Rome into the Church (i.e.: the world and culture into the Church).

They are called to repent or He will come and bring His sword. Please note this is not the sword of Hebrew 4:12 μάχαιραν /machairan a noun that refers to a small knife-like sword used for removing meat from bone.

Hebrew 4:12 ~”For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

John on the other hand is referring to a ῥομφαίᾳ/rhomphaia in the Revelation passage, a sabre, long or broad cutlass.

Revelation 2:16~ “Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth."

A powerful punishing and bludgeoning weapon meant to exact swift and painful…judgment or death. Since this sword will be coming from Jesus’ mouth…it most certainly is judgment. These people were being warned that they should be more concerned with the sword of Christ than that of the Romans (i.e.: the world/culture). The implications of this text are profound for the church at Pergamos…and us. Jesus will not be playing games. This should give us some idea of how severely God looks upon the infractions of this otherwise faithful church. A church many, many today are emulating and following in the footsteps of. Hopefully this will open a few eyes…but then again…probably not.

The parallel for today’s church should be utterly clear…and frightening.

The admonition for the church then turns singular and individualistic as it is often the individual(s) that affect a change in a church that is in “backslide” mode. (v.17) “Whoever” has ears, let “them” hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the “one” who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give “that person” a white stone with a new name written on it, known only “to the one who receives it”.


Sorry folks, we of the church are called to be a pure bride of Christ, not a dirty whore of the world. I’m listening Lord, I’m listening… I do not want to be whore.