The Seven Churches of Revelation
Now then, let us hear the Lord Yeshua haMashiach, the
Alpha and the Omega, the First [Word] and the Last
Word of Yahweh God's creation, for He Speaks collectively to each one of His seven churches.
Fore
know this,
that John is commanded to write in
one book the testimony of Yahweh God, which is
intended to be for the edification of
all the seven churches - Ecclesia's.
Write the things which you have
seen (in the past), and the things which are (now), and the things which shall
come to pass.
John is commanded to write Yahweh God's revelation letter, and to
send it to all of the 7 assemblies: Write in a book, and send it unto
the seven churches which are in Asia, unto Ephesus, unto Smyrna, unto Pergamos,
unto Thyatira, unto Sardis, unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
As such, the letter
that John is commanded to write, is to bring a
correction to the mind set of all 7 of these types of churches that exist in time, and
hopefully they will hear
the Words that Yahweh God's Spirit is Speaking, so that they would all respond in
repentance to the Apostle John's letter. John, in his faithfulness to
Yahweh God,
is called to write the revealing letter to the churches of his time and to those
that will exist going forward in time.
The letter will remain open throughout time,
for it is an admonishment to the exclusive thinking of the various
assemblies of any day in the history of time.
John begins his writings as he is commanded to address the Church at Ephesus;
Unto the church of Ephesus write: These things says He that holds the seven
stars in His Right Hand, (and) Who walks in the midst of the seven golden
candlesticks. Jesus Christ/Yeshua ha Mashiach holds all things in the Power of His Right
Hand, therefore it is His fiery angelic stars that are in HisRright Hand that
would be with Yashua/Jesus as He walked in the midst of
the seven golden candlesticks. The seven churches are being examined in
the fiery Light of the Spirits of Yahweh God to see if the churches are true to their calling.
The Incarnate WORD of
Yahweh God speaks at the very end of the Revelation
Letter: I Jesus/Yeshua have sent My angels to testify unto you of these things
in the churches. I AM the Root, and the Offspring (genetically) of David, and the Bright
and Morning Star. (Revelation
22:16.)
Now, it should be obvious to the reader that
which is called in transliterated English, the church, is to be a
singular church in principle, for we witness that Jesus Christ is testifying to all of the
7 churches through His Own human messenger, the Apostle John, who
testifies IN the One Eternal Spirit of Yahweh Almighty God. To be absolutely clear, the
Revelation letter is
not written exclusively to any one of the 7 revelation churches of the first
century, but is written to all of the Ecclesia's though out the centuries to be
One in Yahweh's Messiah, the Lamb of God slain before the foundation
(creation) of the world. (
The
Spirit of the
Lord
[Yahweh God]
shall rest
upon Him: The
Spirit of 1Wisdom and 2Understanding, the Spirit of
3Counsel and 4Might, the Spirit of 5Knowledge of the
Fear of the
Lord; and
shall make Him of quick understanding in the Fear of His
Lord: and He
shall not judge after the Sight of His Eyes, neither reprove after the hearing
of His Ears: But with
6Righteousness shall He judge the poor, and 7reprove with equity
for the meek of the earth: and He shall smite the earth with the Rod of His
Mouth, and with the
Breath of His Lips shall He slay the wicked. And
6Righteousness shall be the Girdle of His loins, and 7Faithfulness the
Girdle of
His
Reins. (See
Isaiah 11:2-5.)
Even though Christ Jesus seemingly addresses the differing sin
issues that exist within each of the seven assemblies in Asia Minor, the corruption of sin
and death is not
singular to only a specific assembly, but needs to be seen through out time as common to all
assemblies.
All sin with its death needs
to be confessed to
Yahweh God's Mediating High Priest, Yeshua/Jesus the Christ of
Yahweh God. Then, in Covenant order, the
confessed rebellious sin of the flesh that is repented of, will be forgiven and then cleansed by
Christ's flowing LIFE Giving Communion Blood given by the Holy Spirit of
Yahweh God within the One Holy Body of our
resurrected Living Lord Jesus Christ.
This Covenant Grace of
Yahweh God is evident in the Ecclesia of Philadelphia, for this church has kept
Christ's WORD of Sanctification and is given an open Door by the Holy One Who holds the Key
of freedom in His Salvation Name, for
He
opens and no man can close, and Jesus closes and no man can open the DOOR to the
Throne Room of the Almighty Yahweh God. (See
Revelation 3:7-8.) The flesh and
blood of man does not enter into the Presence of Almighty Yahweh God, except by
the One Spirit of His Only Begotten Son Yeshua, Who Name means the Salvation of
Yahweh God.
No one comes to the
Father except by Me. For I AM the WAY, THE TRUTH, and THE
LIFE of men!
John 14 verse 6,
see
2nd Corinthians 3 verse 6
Even as the absolute Standard of TRUTH is Eternally set in
the unshakeable WORD of
Yahweh God that we know as His Son,
it should be understood that the whole of mankind's reproof is in the Word's of Jesus Christ
and is amplified 7 times: For beginning with
the church of Ephesus and ending with the church of Laodicea, the Lord Yashua/Jesus says to
each of His Ecclesia, born in time:
He that has an ear, let him hear what Yahweh's Spirit says unto the
ecclesia/churches/assemblies. To wit: I
and the Father are One.
The Lord of Glory, as One with His Father, first
encourages His people in their accomplishments, and then He calls for their repentance
from sin and death within all of His ecclesia/churches of yesterday and today.
Christ is speaking to the church at Thyatira, but remember, in essence He is speaking the TRUTH to all of the
churches.
And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write these things Says the Son of
God Whose Eyes are like a flame of fire: I know thy 1st works of love,
and service, and faith, and thy patience; and thy works and the last (works) are more
than the first (works of Love).
The spirit of Jezebel resides in this church and in essence all
of the churches, and Jezebel's teachings
seduce God's servants to commit fornication and to eat things that are
sacrificed to demonic idols. Yahweh God in His patience gives the church
His Means of Grace,
so that she may repent of her fornication, but she remains stead fast in her
presumptive self serving sins. Unless the seduced ones repent of their rebellious deeds,
then those that are fixated in Jezebels fornication will remain in her bed and
will find the troubling works of death.
I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I AM He, Who searches the
reins (wills) of
the
hearts: For I will give unto every one of you (the churches) according to your
works. But I say unto you (the churches) and
the rest of Thyatira who do not hold to this doctrine of Jezebel, and have not
known the depths of Satan, I will put upon you no other burdens. But that which
you already have (been told); hold fast until I come. ( See
Revelation 2:18-25.)
He that has an
ear let him Hear what God's Spirit says unto the churches. (Revelation
2:29.)
What can it be that the One Spirit of Yahweh God tells the churches to hold
fast until He comes?
But that which you already have (been
told); hold fast (to MY Doctrine) until I come.
Cause and effect are laid in the balance of Yahweh God's justice, for
His justice
is
tempered with His Grace and Mercy IN His Messiah to those that are "IN" the Body of Christ Jesus,
and practice His Commandment. The cause
that initiates Yahweh God's justice, is renegade sin, which has its ending in
death's corruption. Without the remediation of the LIFE giving Blood of the Just Incarnate Man of Yahweh
God Almighty, then sin's death will have its end in death.
The historical violence of sin in the world has been mitigated in
times past because of
Yahweh God's merciful
interventions that would temper the destructive force of sin in the world. Even so, the
enemies of the only
Yahweh God of the Living, are relentless, and the renegade
destructive force of sin and death will continue to accumulate in the earth,
until it finally explodes into the catastrophic events at the end of this age.
There is only the One Body of
Salvation, whereby a man must be saved, and LIFE resides IN the Lord Jesus the Christ of
Yahweh God. The Savior of all of mankind, is not divided into Jewish believers
and Gentile believers:
For as the (human) body is one, and has many members
(cells), and all the members (cellular structures) of that one (human)
body, being many, are one body: So also is Christ. For by One Spirit [of Living Grace]
are we all baptized into the One Body
(of Christ), whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free;
and have all been given of the
One Spirit to drink. For the Body (of Christ)
is not one member, but many (dead members).
(See
1st Corinthians 12:11-14.)
And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: Them also I must bring,
and they shall hear My Voice; and there shall be one fold, and one
Shepherd. (See
John 10:15-17.)
All though we may be Jews and Gentiles and say we are believers
in Yahweh's Messiah, however I understand that actions speak louder than mere
words. Even so, like each of us liars, all of ignorant humanity are called
to God's Salvation Gift in the One dead Body of Messiah Yeshua. In
Yahweh God's justice, Messiah Yeshua was crucified to death, not only for our
sins, but for the sins of the whole world that from the beginning was derived
from the first Man that we should know as the Hebrew Adam. For the life of Christ,
the Man/Adam was the Eternal Word of God, born of the Spirit of Yahweh
God. Yahweh God so Loved the world that He gave His Lamb to be
Yahweh's New
Covenant through His Holy Spirit of LIFE and Grace, for Grace is administered to
the dead Body of Christ in
Yahweh God's New Covenant Drink
Offering IN the LIFE giving Blood of the risen Christ Yeshua, the Son of
Adam/Man.
Always consider the Logic of the
Infinite WORD of Yahweh God: If there shall be one
fold and one Shepherd, then there is only the one ecclesia (church) body that
listens and obeys the Voice of its One Master.
As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father, and I lay down My Life for
the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. They
also I must bring and they also shall hear My Voice and there shall be one
fold and one shepherd.
(John
10 verse 15 thru 18).
He that has an
ear let him Hear what God's Spirit says unto the churches. (Revelation
2:29.)
The Body of Christ, is the
church/ecclesia IN Christ, and the ecclesia/church Body of Christ is made up of the many
'called out' persons living with IN the One Faith of Christ Jesus. It makes no difference whether they are Jew or
Gentile believers:
For There is One Body, and One Spirit,
even as you are
called in one hope of your calling;
One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism,
One
Yahweh God and Father of all, Who is above all, and through
(out) all (of His universal creation), and IN you all. (Ephesians
4:4-6.)
Within the One Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, it is impossible to
have the many exclusive divisions that think of themselves as being superior to
another prideful sect or denomination. This carnal thinking is with the
sinful mind of
dying flesh, and that mind will develop its own doctrine of superiority. Now
being possessed by this individualistic mindset, you can pick and choose to follow the
doctrine of the Catholics, or of the Orthodoxy or of Luther, or of Calvin, or of
Wesley, or of the Messianic believers, and even those who think they are of
Paul or Apolios. Oh yes, and now you can
choose the doctrine of the early rapture, and the left behind.
Not
withstanding the prejudices of the multi-splintered church, there remains only the One
Body and Spirit of Christ Jesus that is of Yahweh God's One Faith and Baptism of
both the Jew and the Gentile people that would reside IN the Faith of Christ Jesus.
(See again
Ephesians 4:4-6.)
If any one, Jew or Gentile, IN Yeshua/Jesus the Messiah, then they are also being knit together as One in
Spirit with the One
Yahweh God
and Father of all, ll.
The Faith of all that are called of
Yahweh God will be tried in the tribulation of
sin's own making.
In the finale trial of true faith, the faithful will wash their
garments in the Blood of the Lamb of God: Notwithstanding, the Jewish
nation with its people, will be at the forefront of Satan's persecution during
the great trials seen in the Revelation of John, even as the trials were
previously prophesied by the prophets of old. God Almighty's Word is from
everlasting and the culmination of the Tribulation time will be the fulfillment
of the Eternal Word of God Almighty, and bring forth the Day of the Lord's retribution against
the wicked who will not repent.
MG 24:4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man
deceive you. 5 For
many
shall come in My Name,Yeshua,, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive
many.
Then John says:
And I saw in the Right Hand of Him that sat on the Throne, a book written
within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong
angel proclaiming with a loud voice: Who is worthy to open the book, and loose
the seal thereon? John wept much until it was revealed by an elder
that the Lion of Judah, the Root of David was worthy, for He stood in the midst
of the Throne of God as a Lamb slain, but having great Power. And He (The
Lamb) came and took the book out of the Right Hand of Him that sat on the
Throne. (See
Revelation 5:1-10.)
Before we go on, let us look at John's ending Words of Prophesy
to the churches, and witness the
ending of John's Letter to the churches:
I Jesus/Yeshua have sent My angel to testify unto
you of these things IN the churches. I
AM the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.
(Revelation
22 verse 16.)
Now when we read chapter 5 thru 6
of Revelation, then we should logically understand that the prophecy is for the eyes of John alone. The Apostle John is called to be
the
witness of Jesus Christ for he
writes to Christ's
sheep of the Revelation of the Lamb of God, Who was born the Lion of Judah. Therefore,
we are to see, through the eyes of John, God's Spirit of Prophesy revealing that which has happened and is to happen in
the flow of God's creation of time.
As seen in a vision of time, John
alone is called up in the Spirit of Prophesy to witness for the people of Faith,
the Words of Christ Jesus, the Only Begotten Son of God. It is not any one
of the seven representative churches that are depicted in time, or the elect
that will
disappear from the earth or be raptured away before the coming time of great
trouble.
Witness The Word of the Lord to the Church of Philadelphia:
Because you have "kept" the Word of My
Patience
(endurance), I will also "keep" thee
from the
hour (of the time)
of
temptation (testing), which shall come upon
all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. (For the four
angels were loosed which were prepared for 'an hour', and a day, and a
month and a year to slay the third part of men.)
(See
Revelation 9:14-15.)
Behold I come
quickly: Hold that fast which thou hast that no man take thy crown.
(See
Revelation 3 verse 10 thru 12.) The
word "kept" and the word "keep" are both translated from the Greek word 'Tereos'
(Strongs
G5083.)
Do not be confused. This is not a
premature rapture event, but the Lord Jesus Christ is reassuring the faithful
within the Church that He will "keep" the faithful people secured in
their patience during the time of great testing
that will come upon all that are living upon the earth. Then those who
remain faithful, will be taken out of the way God's Day of wrathful judgment
against the wicked.
2nd Thessalonians 2:1 Now
we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our
gathering together unto Him, 2 That
you be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word,
nor by letter as from us, as that the Day of Christ is at hand.
( See Mounce Greek interlinear
2 Thessalonians 2:1-3.)
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