Revelation 2:1-3 - Ephesus

As we read over the writings to these seven churches, we’ll see a slight pattern. There is a description or title that Jesus uses to describe who He is, there is a commendation or good news, criticism or bad news, corrections to be made, and challenge or promise. You can readily see it in this text.

Also, how are we to read these words today? Most scholars indicate that there is a local application. For the Ephesians, this was their actual church and this was an actual problem for this church. Next, this is an admonition for all the churches at that time and this is also an admonition for all the churches of all time. The letter is for the individual church, the seven churches and the complete church throughout time. Revelation, more than any other book, seems to leave time as a variable and not a constant (which is the “revelation” that Einstein got that led to his famous E=mc^2 formula). In addition and perhaps most importantly, I believe this speaks to each us personally. We are to read these commendations and criticisms and analyze our heart and faith.

“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands.  I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.  You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary."

There is a lot of emphasis on this church in the Bible. Paul writes a letter to them and spends years with them. Timothy is there working when he writes his letter. And John writes to them and also spends much time with them. These are some very faithful leaders in the early church!

The temple to Artemis is referenced. This is often referred to as Diana who was purportedly the daughter of Zeus and sister of Apollo if you’re into that mythology. The Arcadian Way was in this city. Ephesus at that time was the largest city of Asia Minor. Eventually, Cayster river would deposit too much silt into their harbor and make the harbor unusable and that would kill the city’s relevance. The temple to Diana is referenced as one of the “Seven Wonders of the Ancient World”. The city is referenced as “the Vanity Fair of the Ancient World” as well. It was easily the capital of Asia at that time.

The worship in the temple of Diana is most often referred to as religious prostitution. Not only did the temple work as a bank to hold your money (which the false god Diana would supposedly watch over and protect), they would offer immorality in the name of worship. One of their own philosophers, Heraclitus, who was known as the weeping philosopher said the citizens were “fit only to be drowned, and that the reason he could never laugh or smile was because he lived in such terrible uncleanness”.

So, the city was wealth and opulence and found ways to justify their rules for their morality as they saw fit.

In addition to their temple to Diana, they city quickly absorbed and participated greatly into the worship of the Roman “Caesars” as gods. It was in this time that the Roman Emperors started declaring themselves to be god and requiring citizens to treat them as such. Ephesus built temples to them and absorbed that worship into their everyday life.

This message to this church starts by declaring who is saying these words. The one “who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven lampstands.” The first point is for them to recognize who is writing this specific message to them. In a city that put such emphasis on worship of Artemis and Roman emperors, Jesus is saying with clarity that the one writing to them is the one who holds the universe in His hand and walks among them. He alone is their protection and the only authority and He is there with them.

Undoubtedly, the Christian Ephesians had been at odds with their society and endured ostracizing, rejection, ridicule, anger, and judgments. No doubt this affected them economically as they were boycotted and repressed, which would cause them to be noticed and deemed a lower class. Yet Jesus commends them for their what they’ve done, the hard work to do it and persevering through it. He goes further to commend that they do not tolerate evil people and they test them to know their doctrine. Jesus is pleased with their good deeds, their dedication, and their sound doctrine.

The Message Bible says, “I see what you’ve done, your hard, hard work, your refusal to quit. I know you can’t stomach evil.” In reading 1 John you can see just how seriously John had written to them to test the doctrine of people in their church to know who was of God and who was a false teacher. Here they are commended for their work on this in their church. This should cause us to ask ourselves a few questions: 

1. What do you believe about Jesus – His person and His work?
2. What is the gospel, and how are people born again? 
3. Do you believe a holy life should complement our confession of Christ? (or should we live how we decide to)
4. Do you teach anything contrary to or in addition to the Word of God and the witness of the apostles?

These are important question to ask ourselves, our local church, our denomination church, and our universal church.

Jesus commends them further in verse 6 for opposing the Nicolaitans. He says He hates their actions! There are only two mentions of these people in the New Testimony and that is in Revelation. The church father Irenaeus who wrote Against Heresies indicated that these were the followers of Nicolaus who was a teacher in one of the first churches. He taught that they could lead lives of indulgence unrestrained. Remember the Gnostics from 1 John? Most scholars believe this is a direct reference to this corrupt strain of religion. Some have postulated that it was their way of not having to stand against society at that time. They could “worship Caesar in the flesh and Christ in the Spirit”. Maybe it was their way to be a part of society and also have their spirit covered as well. A way to ride the fence in both societies. I would call them a misfit and we have many such misfits in society today. Jesus was very clear that He hates such practice.

May we be careful in what we believe and how we act to not be as these were and have Jesus hate what we do.

Revelation 1:17-20

Okay, sorry for the picture in such a serious topic as Revelation.  I mean no disrespect to God's Word, but I thought it was great that someone took the time to make such an image from LEGOs.  

¹⁷ When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. ¹⁸ I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

The same right hand that holds the seven stars, the angels of the seven churches, and controls the heavens is the same hand that reaches down to touch John. And it is the same hand that touches you and me in gentleness of Spirit and power over all life. This is a very important aspect to recognize and let sink into our spirit. The same hand that holds the authority and power over the universe is the same loving hand that reaches down to us. A current day vernacular would be, “mind blown”. We must accept how great our God is and how personal He is to each of us.

He is the First to the Last. Psalm 90:2 tells us He is everlasting to everlasting. He is first because there are none before Him and He is last because there are none to follow Him.

Here He declares the only description that is specific to Jesus. He is the Living One who was dead but now is alive for ever and ever. He is the living one who became dead, He had a redemptive death and resurrection.

And He holds the keys of death and Hades. He speaks here of authority and power over death, as one who has been dead but now lives, and over the unseen world. Hades can refer to the grave or where the spirit goes. Both of which Jesus has been and conquered.

A few things to note here:

1. There is the intercession of Christ.  He is standing at the altar in heaven today, at the right hand of God making intercession for us today.  He is alive and in great power and He represents us. 
2. There is the intervention of Christ.  He steps out of the Holy Place in heaven and He walks with us.  He intervenes to us for our best.  He is ready to wash our feet, forgive our sins, so we may be spotless before our heavenly Father. 
3. Here in Revelation, we are learning of the inspection of Christ.  As we enter into chapter 2 we will see that He is walking among the churches and He is about to hand out an inspection report.  In the tabernacle, the high priest had the sole oversight of the menorah.  He took care of the lampstand.  He put the oil in, trimmed the wicks, and lit the lamps.  Jesus is taking sole oversight of the lampstands, the churches.  John describes in chapter 15 that He will prune the branches to produce fruit.  This is Jesus’ inspection.

This should not be a surprise. If we walk close to Jesus, we are aware that the Spirit does inspection. I feel as though I am always aware of where the Spirit wants me to advance and what I should be cutting away. If we are constantly being raised by our heavenly Father in love to be made perfect then we should expect that He’d do the same for the church as a whole.

19 “Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. 20 The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

We have covered this pretty thoroughly. John’s job is to write what he has seen. What he sees is past, present, and future. This could also be a reference to what he saw before, what he is seeing now, and what he will soon see.

Revelation 1:16

In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. (Rev 1:16)

I wonder what the seven stars appeared to be. I assume it was as seven stars we would see in the night sky. Even so, what a brilliant visualization to see. Where they held like marbles in His hand or did they float above His hand? I find the image fascinating. 

Verse 20 tells us that the seven stars represent the seven angels for the churches. There are other interpretations to go with that.

1. One is that that this is also a reference from Greco-Roman culture and their pagan understandings of the Zodiac. In short, they thought they understood the skies to be a swirling ocean since the stars don’t stay in the same place. Astronomers of their day also noticed there were seven stars that did not move according to the same pattern (the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Mars, Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn). Obviously, the Greco-Romans connected these to their pagan gods and mythology, but to say you “hold the seven stars in your hand” would be a way of saying you control the universe. 
2.  In addition to this, there was a great crisis in astronomy. In the cosmology of the ancient middle-east, the earth was the center of the universe and the stars were all attached to a great shell, referred to as ‘the heavens’. Between the earth and the heavens were seven ’stars’, the sun, the moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Where the crisis occurred was when Greek astronomers found ancient records indicating that during the Vernal Equinox the sky was in Taurus, not Aries. Not understanding that the earth’s “wobble” would take it through each of the signs of the Zodiac, changing every 2160 years, the astronomers realized that something had “killed” Taurus, giving way to Aries. That “something” had to be bigger than the heavens, and controlled the seven stars. So, they made up a new god and named him Mithra. Again, this vision of Jesus holding the seven stars would indicate He was the real authority and power.

I believe the Word that these seven stars were the angels for the churches. I also believe that God does all things perfect and in so representing that He has full control over heaven, to include angels, and He walks among us as well, He could just as perfectly been intent to show any non-believer who would read this that He also has full authority and control over the universe. God’s Word is timeless and seems to be able to always relate to those who lived then and to us who live now to show who He is whether they believe faithfully or not. 

The fact that the stars are in Jesus’ right hand indicates that they are important and under His authority. The word “angel” literally means “messenger.” But that leads us to the question—are these messengers human messengers or heavenly beings? 

It could be that every local church has a “guardian angel” who oversees and protects that congregation. Even if that is the case, one interpretation of the “messengers” is that they are the pastors of the seven churches, symbolized by the lampstands. A pastor is God’s “messenger” to the church in that he is responsible to faithfully preach God’s Word to them. John’s vision shows that each pastor is being held in the Lord’s right hand. And, as we learn in John 10:28, no one can snatch them out of Jesus’ hand.

Post-Millennials or Generation Z Behaviors: How much is economically societal?

In his latest article, Angst in America, Part 7: The Angst of the Millennial Generation, John Mauldin hits on some important aspects of our millennial kids that might provide some insight.  As I sit here typing this, I can readily think of six families that have their college graduated kids living at home with them.  Calling them millennials is actually misleading as they are post millennials or Generation Z (mid 1990s to early 2000s) kids.

Regarding these kids, we have noticed behaviors that are very strange for us to understand.  The most noticeable are that they do not go and do things together often in concerted efforts.  They are more than willing to use technology to do something together and never leave the house, at least until they are 21 and “legal”.  They do not have a drive to accomplish necessary things like getting a driver’s license as soon as they can do so.  They are content to wait until they feel ready.  One family I know has an 17-year-old and he is just now getting his permit.  He does not live in a big city.  They nor we understand how to comprehend this and it is very easy for us to jump to laziness when it could be some kind of societal shift we do not understand.  I personally find it difficult to believe that a whole generation is suddenly lazy.

Tyler Cowan has a book entitled, The Complacent Class: The Self-Defeating Quest for the American Dream.  Edward Luce reviews the book in the Financial Times on February 17, 2017. 

“In this book Cowan expands the scope of argument to sociology.  He believes America’s restlessness of spirit is giving way to a safety-first society. Instead of pushing on to the next frontier, Americans are busy gentrifying the neighborhood.

We used to suffer from the Nimby syndrome – ‘not in my backyard’. Now we have graduated to Banana – ‘build absolutely nothing anywhere near anything’, says Cowen. Public life is stymied by Cave (‘citizens against virtually everything’) in which politicians fall back on Nimey (‘not in my election year’). Politics has reduced itself to a theatre of symbolic gestures in which pressing issues are left unaddressed.”

I find that analysis spot-on.  Where does this generation find its heroes?  It’s not astronauts risking everything to tackle a new frontier in the face of a dismantled NASA.  This spirit of risk-aversion has infected corporate America and the U.S. Government.  Corporations used to have significant R&D budgets, but now they spend it on legal compliance and human resources to avoid lawsuits or meet government regulations.  The government sets the pace for avoiding all risk to the point of self-defeating rules of engagement in war.  The idea of risk, and therefore of having a real live hero, is becoming a lost commodity.

This may or may not because the majority of the population is aging and older societies take fewer risks.  Older people also try to hold on to what they have.  With such an influence, should it surprise us that the millennial generation is the least entrepreneurial of all? 

It is important for us to consider these thoughts of societal influence, which many of us have noticed before, and couple them with Marc Faber’s thoughts in his March 2017 Gloom, Boom, & Doom Report.

“The generation of millennials born after 1995 have been shaped by the debt-growth induced 1990s’ period of boom and prosperity, which was driven largely by rising asset prices. The good side of generation Z is that they are not interested in wars (they seldom ever belong to warmongers) and care little about politics. Unfortunately, they have only a scant knowledge of the meaning of “freedom” and “personal responsibility”.

However, they are concerned about political correctness, about having the latest-model iPhone and the number of likes their photos receive and how many followers they have on Facebook. But most of all, they are concerned about extracting as much as possible from the government in the form of subsidies and other kinds of benefits. It is a generation that avoids hard work (such as on the factory floor), and is content to work part-time in bars and restaurants, and to live a carefree existence. It is also the generation whose major contribution to civilization may be the invention of “retirement before working.”

Needless to say, this concept of retirement before working has been fostered and encouraged by governments, which, with their generous transfer payments, make it more economical for some people not to work, and to collect all kinds of tax-free benefits, than to have a low-paying occupation and pay taxes.”

I actually disagree with this assessment in regard to the politics.  I think many do care about it and discuss it.  They seem to be even more polarized than the rest of America in my opinion and settle on the left or right fringes. 

“Retirement before working.”  I personally love that concept.  Enjoy life and do things while your health is good and you are mobile, before you are saddled down with responsibilities like kids, houses, and jobs.  The problem is it isn’t realistic - it simply isn’t reality.  This concept is definitely something most people of my generation would never understand and the reason is when we graduated we had no money or resources.  How could you possible do anything with no resources? 

I personally believe that a major unknown problem for these kids is the lack of a purpose.  Our purpose was to be able to take responsibility for ourselves.  To become self-sufficient and make enough right decisions so we might live a better life than our parents.  That’s what our parents wanted and it’s what we wanted.  Today, I don’t see that as a driving force in a culture where there is a knowledge that no quantity of wrong decisions will make it possible for you not to be taken care of by the government.  So, with that purpose not immediately self-evident and not instilled as a required step of life in this world, everyone has to go find a cause.  They want to believe they are making a difference.  It might be very daunting to look up at those who have gone before you and realize you most likely can’t do better than they did.  That is the reality of the current economic situation in America.  So, if society grades your worth on what you earn and you can’t earn or conceive a way to accomplish even what your parents did, then how are you going to have worth?  A spiritually ignorant person with no training in personal responsibility as a first goal for themselves and to society must grab onto a cause and believe that by protesting/marching they have a purpose and as a result, worth. 

Those who do not fall into this trap simply do very little because they don’t know what to do.  They might be brilliant or athletic, but with no direction or deep desire inside they “float on” until conditions require change and they can find stasis again.

I personally find this deeply disturbing.  Hitler was able to tap into the youth in his rise to power and they served him against those who could have toppled him before he got too far.  I can easily see a very charismatic leader with the press behind him creating a movement that could be very difficult to counter.  I saw significant signs when Obama was the leader of how this could occur.  I think we are at a fragile time and the country needs a father-figure leader to reinforce the youth into responsibility.  Otherwise, there will not be a middle-class and that will create a very unstable economy and the economy is the strength of America in the absence of a defined spiritual conviction.

Joel Kotkin writes in the strangely titled column, The High Cost of a Home Is Turning American Millennials Into the New Serfs, that

“The problems facing millennials include an economy where job growth has been largely in service and part-time employment, producing lower incomes; the Census bureau estimates they earn, even with a full-time job, $2,000 less in real dollars than the same age group made in 1980. More millennials, notes a recent White House report, face far longer period of unemployment and suffer low rates of labor participation.”

More than 20 percent of people 18 to 34 live in poverty, up from 14 percent in 1980. They are also saddled with ever more college debt, with around half of students borrowing for their education during the 2013–14 school year, up from around 30 percent in the mid- 1990s.

All this at a time when the return on education seem to be dropping: A millennial with both a college degree and college debt, according to a recent analysis of Federal Reserve data, earns about the same as a boomer without a degree did at the same age.”

Marc Faber continues, “This is a serious problem. According to a study by the Huffington Post (February 3, 2016), “President Barack Obama has said that a college degree ‘has never been more valuable.’ But if you borrow to finance your degree, the immediate returns are the lowest they’ve been in at least a generation, new data show.

Wages for the typical recent college graduate working full time have risen just 1.6 percent over the last 25 years, after adjusting for inflation, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.” At the same time, student debt burdens for the typical bachelor’s degree recipient who borrowed for college have increased about 163.8 percent (see Figure 2).”

This shows us that in 1990 a typical college student with student debt graduated with that debt equivalent to 28 percent of their annual earnings, but in 2015 that number is equivalent to 74 percent of their annual earnings.  If we plot out the current trend of the last 25 years, in 2023 the average college graduate will owe more in student debt than they can obtain in annual earning.  Today, 42 million Americans owe $1.3 trillion in student loans, of which, 90% are owned or guaranteed by the U.S. Dept of Education.  Currently, about 7 of every 10 college graduates borrows to pay for their education, this is up from 5 of every 10 in 1990.

So, not only are college graduates not making an equivalent income as they did 25 years ago with relation to the cost of living, they are in significantly more debt.  John Adams said in 1826, “There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation.  One is by the sword.  The other is by debt.”  In addition to this student loan debt, auto loans have risen a record $30 billion in the third quarter of 2016 alone.  In 2010 there were $700 million in auto loans, today there is $1.1 trillion.  This is a startling statistic.  How, in the face of stagnant wages, student debt, and a no-growth economy can there be so many auto loans?  I find myself considering that responsibility conversation again.

All of that conversation regarding debt and we have yet to discuss home ownership, the average person’s single largest debt of their lives.  I find it awkward and frightening.  In LA, San Fran, NYC, and Miami, rent costs take 45% of a worker between the ages of 22 and 34’s income.  In NYC, it’s above 50%.  Is it any wonder then, that rather than strike out on their own, many millennials are simply failing to launch?  The number of people between 18 to 34 living at their parent’s home has shot up over 5 million since 2000.  Between the years 2004 to 2016, home ownership for the age group below 35 declined by 21.2%.  Home ownership for the age group of 35 to 44 declined by 16.7%.  That’s a 38% reduction for the youngest among us according to a CNBC Census.

It is a simple economics decision for them with such staggering debt.  It is not that they do not want to buy homes or are part of some “evolution of consciousness”.  Survey after survey indicates that 80% of renters express interest in acquiring a home of their own.  Roughly 80% of millennials indicate they plan to get married, and most of those are planning to have children one day. 

Plotting such a future is a terrific challenge.  In a society where instant gratification is a real influence and objects you buy are throw away and replace, teaching the patience and wisdom of apprenticeship along with wholesome values that will lead to health and wealth are nearly impossible and are certainly not encouraged anywhere.

The Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville warned that the tyranny of the majority is conformism.  He warned that this modern tyranny (of conformism) would “degrade men rather than torment them.”  Let us hope that these new generations are not a complacent class because of such debt mountains before them.  Edward Gibbon wrote in his description of the Athenians societal downfall: “In the end, more than they wanted freedom, they wanted security. When they Athenians finally wanted not to give to society but for society to give to them, when the freedom they wished for was freedom from responsibility, then Athens ceased to be free.”

The greatest economical gifts parents can provide to their children is an education where their child has no debt and an auto that is reliable and paid off.  This alone puts them ahead of 70% of their peers. 

In my opinion, the real question is what kind of education is necessary in a world of educated people in debt?

John Mauldin comments that one of the most difficult chapters to write in his new book is on the future of work:

“New technology, while destroying old jobs, would create new jobs and opportunities. A clear example of this is the use of drone technology by the military. It requires about 100 people to prep and launch and maintain an F-16 for a single mission. Keeping an unmanned predator drone in the air for 24 hours requires about 168 workers laboring in the background. A larger drone, such as a Global Hawk surveillance craft, needs about 300 people working in the background to make the mission feasible. One of the real problems for the Air Force is recruiting enough people with the savvy to fill these needs.

But here’s the problem. The world is dividing into people who can manipulate information using computers and those who can’t. The differential in wages between these groups is significant.  …  Enter Tyler Cowen, whose book Average Is Over I have been reading and mulling over for some time now. Cowen says the ability to mix technological knowledge with the ability to solve real-world problems is the key to being a big earner in a polarized labor market. The productive worker and the smart machine are becoming ever more complementary. As one reviewer said, “Only those who can learn to think like smart machines or at least enough to understand their operation will get success. Individuals who work with genius machines will need to retrain and learn new systems constantly.

The new jobs will only be available to those who have real aptitude and real training. You may be highly educated, with a PhD in music or literature or even in economics, but the demand for your skills is nowhere near as high as the demand for a super nerd who dropped out of college and can sling code in his sleep. If, on the other hand, you understand how to generate leads and new subscribers using Facebook – something that really doesn’t require a computer science degree but does demand a highly focused and integrated understanding of web technology and marketing – you’ll find people lined up to throw money at you.”

I have to admit that for the first time in my life, I feel the pressure of not knowing enough about how to manipulate the computer programs and operations to make it do exactly what I want it to do.  I know I am behind in this area of technology.  My biggest problem is do I find a way to educate myself back into it to be current or just hire young-uns to do it?  It is a real dilemma and the absence of time for the education while doing my normal job will most likely answer this for me. 

I assume I am not the only older person in the work force feeling this way.  So, I have to express some validity to Mr. Mauldin’s thoughts above.  On the opposite side of that spectrum, less than 2% of the population works in the agricultural field.  We are one new insect we can’t kill or some new plant disease away from not having enough trained people in this field of work to produce in new locations to feed ourselves.

With so many new cars on the road, one would have to assume auto mechanics will be a growing field for a long time as well.  I can attest that finding a reliable, fairly priced mechanic is a difficult thing to find. 

There will always be a viable employment out there for the hard worker, eager to learn and always be learning, and especially one who can mix technology into their productivity.  Even the farmer and mechanic must do this in today’s world.

Revelation 1:12-15

"And I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands." (Revelation 1:12).

I find it interesting that the first thing he saw were the lampstands. How large must these lampstands have been so that he’d see them first and then see someone as he describes walking among them? It just seems that you’d see that person first if the lampstands were of reasonable size.

Verse 11 had mentioned seven congregations located in Asia. The Lord uses seven golden candlesticks to represent these churches as is explained to us in verse 20. It should be noted that this seems to indicate seven separate lampstands. That is, each lampstand was singular and held a single flame. This is contrary to the “menorah” that Moses had constructed for Israel which had seven flame holders as a part of a single instrument. I believe that someone could study the significance of the single menorah with its seven lamps and the Jewish church and the seven lamps of the seven churches of the “spirit” church and how those will come together as the singular church of God, but that is another study for another day. For now, I am simply noting the difference.

The second and third chapter of Revelation go into great detail about the successes and failures of these seven churches. But there are a few characteristics we can note from the lampstand symbol.

1. The Churches were Visible. Unfortunately today the word "church" is often used to describe other things than that which the lampstands symbolize. So often, people use the word to refer to a building which was built for the purpose of worship. The Word never intends this meaning in the Bible. God has something completely different in mind when He uses the term "church" in the Scripture. So, the seven golden lampstands do not represent seven buildings, at least not the kind made with brick, wood and stone. The church is a living group of believers. 
2. The Church has Two Sides. There are two sides to the church. There is the Divine side and the human side. The Bible tells us there is a Head and a body. The Divine side, the Head of the church, is perfect. But the human side, the members of the body, are less than perfect. But the better they listen to the Head, the closer to perfection they get. There were seven golden lampstands. The churches were complete, perfect, as set up from the Head of the church and He walked among them. However, we will see how the body was not complete or perfect. The Law of the Lord is perfect. His design for the local church is just as He wants it to be. 
3. The Church Is Precious. The lampstands are gold. This would symbolize something of great value. Perhaps a case can be made for purity as well. It was in the death of Jesus that He purchased the church with His blood (Acts 20:28) which makes it impossible to calculate the worth of the church. 
4. The Church Holds The Light. The Word of God is that which directs us to Christ, the "light of the world" (John 3:19-21); “I am the light of the world, and when I leave, you are to be the light of the world” (John 8:12). A church can only be the lampstand God intends it to be if it will hold forth the light God has given. The world needs the Light. The church can only be the light if it preaches, speaks, and does the Word as God gave it, not what the world wants it to say.  ( Reference - Jon W. Quinn, Expository Files 9.7, July 2002 )

and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. ¹⁴ The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. ¹⁵ His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. (Rev 1:13-15)

Let’s compare the physical description with Daniel.

⁵ I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. ⁶ His body was like topaz, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude. (Daniel 10:5-6)

The description here is of an angel responding to Daniel. He was sent but was fighting for 21 days and did not get past the fight to Daniel until Michael helped him. This is his own testimony. As soon as he delivers this message to Daniel, he is returning to the fight. The description written by Daniel is very similar to the one in this passage. As John discussed before, this message is being delivered by an angel from the Words of Jesus. This description bears witness to that if we let other passages of Scripture support it.

The clothing is as the high priest (Exodus 28:2-4) would wear and so here Jesus is represented as the Great High Priest. Some of you clothing experts can discuss why the sash was girded around the chest and not around the waist. It was more customary to be around the waist, but at least one writer determines that when a position of strength wanted to be presented it would be worn around the chest.

Revelation 1:9-11

⁹ I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. ¹⁰ On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, ¹¹ which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.”

John was exiled to the island of Patmos because of his witnessing about Jesus. As he writes of suffering and patiently enduring he is talking about his then, not in any future tribulation. It is commonly believed that the Roman emperor Domitian had put John in prison on this isle. John testifies that he was being persecuted because of the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus. The kingdom he refers seems to be a reference to the kingdom of the church in its present state. Not any future kingdom not established.

John says that he was suffering. He was in pain. In this John through his witness to the Word and testimony of Jesus was following Jesus. Jesus began His kingdom as a suffering Savior and John was following as a suffering saint. Our neighbors reminded us on Sunday night in their raising kids talk of the writer David Platt who asks the question, “what has following Jesus costs you?” We need to ask this question to ourselves. Has it cost friends? Work advantages? Relationships? Opportunities? Maybe you’ve been rejected or ridiculed? While it isn’t a mark of a believer to have such in our lives, it happens as we stay fixed on following Jesus in a world that fights to declare He doesn’t exist. As we grow closer to Jesus in our walk, these things/happenings/relationships no longer are costs that we had to give up, but great opportunities to further witness and testify and know that we are on His path in our life. There is no cost we can bear since our very life is a gift and salvation from sin is another gift.

“On the Lord’s Day” he was “in the Spirit”. This infers that he was studying, praying, and/or dwelling in worship to God on the Sabbath. It was at this time that the message of God came to him. In this alone is a powerful message to us. We so often pray for guidance, wisdom, direction, and help but we spend no time “in the Spirit”. Jesus said to “seek Him first”. Are we looking in all avenues of the world for help first or are we spending time praying and worshiping God first? God came to John when he was “in the Spirit” and we can expect God’s voice to come to us when we spend purposeful time with Him also.

John is given these visions in sight and sound. It is a panoramic picture. The voice was great and like a trumpet. This is most likely like a war trumpet used to align armies or announce an army march to battle. John is give a very particular task. Write down what you see and send it to these seven churches.

As we have studied the number seven represents completeness. These seven churches were actual historical churches in Asia. The number seven indicates that they, or their characteristics, also represent the nature of the types of churches that exist throughout the history of the church. Jesus has a word for these churches and their nature and He tells John to write it down and send it to them.

Revelation 1:7-8

“Look, He is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him”;
    and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of Him.” So shall it be! Amen.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”  - Rev 1:7-8 

When Jesus comes He will be seen. The interjection of “Look” or “Behold” depending on the version you read is used 25 times in Revelation. It is a call for us to take note and pay attention to what follows because it is important. The presence of God is coming and every eye, dead or living, will see Him. The whole earth will see Him come in His full power, not incognito as before.

When Jesus comes there will be sorrow. In that day many in Israel will see and understand that they (we) crucified their Messiah. Everyone on earth will be in regret as they realize that they didn’t recognize the living God among them, that their hearts are evil, and they could have lived with Jesus among them. It is a time of confirmation is it not, of “Oh, He is real!” For the unbeliever will now know and the doubting believer (if there is such a thing) can have that doubt erased. Yet Revelation will tell us later that many will mourn in repentance and salvation and others will mourn in remorse and unfortunately seek death, not deliverance.

When Jesus comes it will be in strength. This is one of only two times that God speaks directly in this book. There are three titles applied to God here.

1. “The Alpha and the Omega.”  These are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet.  He is the “A to Z”.  He is the Word.  This is expanded at the end of Revelation in chapter 22:13 and is applied directly to Jesus.  God is the truth, all of it, there is not other truth.
2. “Who is, and who was, and who is to come.”  There was never a time when God was not.  As Genesis 1:1 tells us, “In the beginning God”.  There will never be a time when He is not.  God is and ever shall be – always.  This has been said by John in verse 4 as a part of the Greeting upon who this message is from.  God is the goal of all human history. 
3. “The Almighty.”  This is said 10 times in the New Testament, nine of which are in Revelation.  God has absolute control and power.  He is in control of this world and the spiritual world.  His power is undefinable.  He is not as we are, in process of becoming, He is and ever shall be.

Jesus is here today in the presence of the Spirit.  For the one who looks, He can be seen.  When we realize that we can live, or could have lived all our days filled and in content with His Spirit with us, it is hard not to be in some regret.  And when we see those who are hard-hearted, choosing death we are broken-hearted.  There is sorrow.  But when we are in fellowship with the Spirit there is strength and life.  There should be much joy and celebrating in knowing that our God, the One who loves you in all power forever, will not change.  He will always love you and nothing can take you from His hand!

Who He Is

"A man under conviction is no joke, it's who he is." - Harold Doss, brother of Desmond Doss, the first conscientious objector (cooperator, according to Desmond) to win the Congressional Medal of Honor.  The current movie Hacksaw Ridge is a retelling of his story and Harold Doss is seen making this quote at the end of the movie.

After watching the movie and doing some further reading about Desmond, then hearing that quote, it became clear to me that there was something in that essence of being we are not passing along.  At least, I don't often see it in fellow Christians.  I know I wish I had it, and I've tried to have it, but mostly failed.

Desmond's brother Harold is referring to the aspect that a person under a Christian moral conviction, presumably from the Holy Spirit, isn't just words.  That conviction is a description of who they are, it is a part of their character.  This is very convicting to me personally.  I find myself asking why isn't the character of God a more dominant part of who I am?  The only answer is I purposely, through foolishness (opposite of wisdom) and confusion, do not allow Him to become such a part.  It is way too easy to find people who are not this way and use that as an comfort to "ride the fence" and not be completely "sold out".  It is so much more difficult to find people who's character is unbreakable and seemingly completely covered by the character of God.

Now, unfortunately I'm not saying we all need to go find pastors and hang out with them so we can garnish some of their character.  Having the professional term "pastor" does not propel someone to this character status.  I'm not against pastors, some I know are the most humble and purest of character.  "Good to the bone" is a phrase that comes to mind as I think of them.  I'm just saying these type of people are not common and some are pastors, some are WWII vets, some are grandparents, some are teachers, etc.  We need to be on the look-out for these type of people so we can associate with them and learn.  Ultimately, maybe we'll start to become similar.

My family needs someone with a character backbone that doesn't know how to be anything but the character of God.  That character needs to be who I am.  It needs to flow through my veins.  Doing what God says, following His Word, should no longer be choices I have to make, but who I am - they shouldn't be options because I shouldn't know how to be anything else.  You don't do what's right because you thought about it and am making some choice for others so you can get glory (although you might present some humble facade so people aren't too obvious to it) for sacrificing your agenda.  You do right because it's who you are and there are no other choices.  There is a difference as wide as the gulf between good and evil between those two people.

I pray that I become "good to the bone" one day and sincerely want nothing less than the absolute best for everyone I meet, even if they don't understand that God's Word is what is best for them.  I pray that the character of God will be "who I am" and it will flow through my life's blood.  Then I hope I can pass this down to my sons and others.  America has no strength without people like this in it.

Retirement Anxiety

“People like feeling they have some control over their future, but they also like certainty.” – Economist John Mauldin, in a letter discussing pension plan types.

This retirement anxiety discussion comes up as many pension plans that baby boomers were relying on for their retirement simply have run out of money.  In the 1980s, 60% of companies had pension plans, today only 4% have such a plan.  Most companies opt to the defined contribution type of plan so they are off the hook of responsibility for employee’s retirements.  Today 24% of baby boomers are confident they have enough money to last through their lifetime.  It is a well-founded anxiety then by the remaining 76% since state and local governments across the U.S. have nearly $2 trillion in unfunded pensions.  Yes, you read that correctly, unfunded. 

The difference between a retirement plan and your heavenly plan is that you can look at the balance of your retirement account and know there is something in there.  It might not be as much as you’d like to give you that certainty, that feeling of security to know you will have income as you get old, but you can see it and you know it’s there.  You also have some control over it if it’s a defined contribution plan (401k or similar).  If you want more in there, you can sacrifice income now to add to it over time.  You can also control its risk.  You can manage it so it’s in safer types (bonds) but earn (or lose) less or you can put it into higher risk that earn (or lose) more. 

Too many people cannot get religion outside of this retirement paradigm.  Yet, a faith in Jesus has nothing in common with this.  Nothing.  While my worldly reasons can start building bridges to put the two together, my spiritual wisdom makes it clear that no part of my relationship with Jesus has anything to do with secure financial planning.  Faith in Jesus is trust in His Word.  Period.  Analyzing retirement is counting, evaluating, determining risks, and market forecasting.  Wisdom dictates that it makes no sense to keep something in this world that cannot last for anything in the spiritual world that will last for eternity.  In other words, we should never jeopardize our faith journey with something trivial like retirement anxiety.  

Jesus said “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field.  When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.” (Mt 13:44)

If we are to be anxious about anything, it should be over our spiritual condition and what we are doing to grow in faith and knowledge.  If we aren’t growing, we should be anxious as to why.  Unfortunately, it is a rare person who values their daily spiritual condition, their daily walk in conversation with God, and their daily actions so much that they are even conscious of a spiritual element in their day.  Much like their retirement, most people think that is something they can concern themselves with when they are in their 60s.  I would consider that much less than 24% of retirees are confident in their faith. 

Theodore Roosevelt said: “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”  Anxiety frequently paralyzes us.  Don’t let it.  Where is your faith?  Do you depend upon God for your daily substance?  How are you going to grow closer today?  Do something wherever you are.  God will respond, that is certain.

Revelation - Chapter 1:4-6

Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, ⁵ and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, ⁶ and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

“Grace and peace to you from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come.“  John imparts a greeting to the churches from God Himself.  He is today, He was before, and He is coming again.  How encouraging this has to be in all of our understanding.  We must be lifted in our spirit when we are able to read this and repeat it to ourselves.  He always has been and He lives today and He will be our Lord forever.  He loved us before we were, He loves us today and He loves us forever more.  You were precious to Him before you were born, you are just as important to Him today as you will ever be (it does not matter where you are or what you have done) and you will always be the His most prized creation.  He is, and was and is to come.

It is important to discuss the importance of the number seven as this is used many times in the coming texts.  When the number seven is used in the Bible, it is a reference to completeness.  It does not always represent perfection.  Sometimes completeness is perfection, but not always.  In particular, seven refers to God’s covenant and work in Israel.  A few examples.  The Sabbath and worship are all connected to the seventh day.  Jericho was circled seven times; Naaman had to dip in the Jordan River seven times; there were seven years of plenty and seven years of famine in Joseph’s time in Egypt; Nebuchadnezzar was insane for seven years, there are seven beatitudes in the New Testament; there are seven petitions in the Lord’s Prayer; there are seven parables in Matthew 13; seven loaves fed the multitude; Jesus spoke seven times from the cross; and in the book of Revelation the number seven cannot be considered accidental.

The greeting is also “from the seven spirits before His throne.”  The seven spirits are also mentioned in Revelation 3:1; 4:5; and 5:6.  The seven spirits are not specifically identified, at least in clear language.  This verse mentions that the seven spirits are before God's throne.  3:1 indicates that Jesus Christ "holds" the seven spirits of God; 4:5 links the seven spirits of God with seven burning lamps that are before God's throne; and 5:6 identifies the seven spirits with the "seven eyes" of the Lamb and states that they are "sent out into all the earth."  The interpretation that seems the most relevant is that the seven spirits of God are symbolic of the Holy Spirit.  As mentioned above, the Bible, and especially the book of Revelation, uses the number seven and it refers to completion and perfections.  If that is the meaning of the “seven” in the "seven spirits," then it is not referring to seven different spirits of God, but rather the complete and perfect Holy Spirit.  This greeting then becomes the only one in the New Testament that imparts grace and peace to the reader from God the Father, the Holy Spirit, and from the Son Jesus the Christ and this seems fitting when applied to the revelation to come.

“And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.  To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood,  and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve His God and Father—to Him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.”  This is the 3^rd person of the greeting and He has seven aspects to Him.  He is:

1. The faithful witness   
2. The firstborn from the dead  
3. The ruler of the kings of the earth  
4. Him who loves us  
5. Him who freed us from our sins by His blood  
6. Him who made us to be kingdom and priests to serve His God and His Father  
7. Him who receives the glory and power forever and ever

Jesus is the complete and perfect sacrifice for our sins and He loved us so much that He shed His blood and was raised from the dead so that we might be able to be free from our sin.  He lifts us up from destitution so that we can be a kingdom, a church of peculiar people, who serve Him and represent Him.

Revelation - Chapter 1:4

⁴ John,

To the seven churches in the province of Asia:

John specifically and deliberately indicates that he is writing a letter to seven churches in the province of Asia.  These churches are named in the yet to come verse 11.  This revelation is for them.  This prophesy is to them.  This can lend itself to be important from a learning perspective. 

Biblical Hermeneutics is the study of the principles and methods of interpreting the text of the Bible.  In simple definition, it uses three laws.  1) The Bible should be interpreted literally.  It has a plain meaning and when it can, it should be taken for what it says.  2) The Bible passages must be interpreted historically, grammatically, and contextually. Interpreting a passage historically means we must seek to understand the culture, background, and situation that prompted the text.  And 3) Scripture is always the best interpreter of Scripture.  We always compare Scripture with Scripture when trying to determine the meaning of a passage.  The second law of hermeneutics is particularly interesting and can lend itself to great eye-opening perceptions of what the written Word might have also implied.  However, there can be a danger with this law and it is important to always realize that this method of interpretation must also be balanced with the literal interpretation of verses where possible and further supported by other Biblical text.  Yet with visions, symbols and figures of speech being used in text it isn’t possible to be completely literal in interpretation so it becomes crucial to understand the context of the writing at that time and to also see how other Bible text supports the possible meaning of visions, symbols and figures of speech used.

For example, a Hebrew perspective of a Biblical narrative can be interpreted differently than a typical American or Greek type of trained learning perception.  We, being American, are very factual in our learning.  What is the date that ties to an event – memorize it.  What are the facts – use them to calculate solutions.  Hebrew schools, while factual about events, are very story oriented.  For further example, when describing Goliath, anyone from a Western culture wants a description of how tall was he, how big was the armor and how long was his sword.  List the details and we then are quick to put a size to him.  We translate that he was about 9’-9” tall, his armor weighed about 125 pounds and his iron shaft weighed about 15 pounds (1 Samuel 17:4-7).  Anyone from a Hebrew culture might tend to see the same descriptions differently.  They would see 6 cubits tall as 6.  They would see the 600 shekels his iron point weighed as 6.  It would not be too difficult for them to see 666 and a description of his armor as scales to indicate that Goliath was Satan, the snake, the one who opposes God.  Then they would further read that David collected five stones, the number of the writings of Moses and that David planted that Word into Goliath’s forehead and it crushed him.  The narrative they would read is that David threw God’s Word at Satan and God’s Word crushed or bruised him in defeat. 

As it is evident, there is a difference in how cultures can “see” a written story.  We tend to see the story as the power of God in a person who is brave and courageous enough to stand in front of a giant all simply based on putting the fight into the hands of God.  We know just how big the giant was and how overwhelming the situation was for young David.  So we know that it was God who provided the victory.  Others might see the story of the fight as only between God and Satan and it was God crushing Satan.  David was used, as was Goliath, but the story is God wins and crushes the enemy of all man.  Overall, there is a lot to be gleaned from either view and the views are not too different and also supporting of one another.  In fact, working to see each aspect tends to help one gather the whole picture.  We already know there is a spiritual world and war going on that we can’t see.  I tend to believe that gathering the perception of this Hebrew view helps provide some insight into that world, but it should not be the only law used in interpreting Bible text.  Each method of interpretation should support one another.

All that being described, it is important to realize that the revelation is for the churches in Asia.  We must seek to understand what was going on historically and culturally in those churches at that time and what meaning the visions and symbols might have specifically meant for them reading the text and finally, how that applies to us today.

Revelation - Chapter 1:1-3

¹ The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, ² who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. ³ Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.

“The revelation”, this implies that something is revealed.  In order to be revealed, something has to be hidden or at the very least not obvious.  Whether this is a future event and the revelation is prophesy or if it is current events and the purpose or explanation is revealed or if it is current or past events and a part that was unseen is revealed, something was unknown and will now become known.  “From Jesus Christ, which God gave Him”, the revelation is from Christ Himself to John but was given to Jesus from God, John is just a note-taker.  Jesus is in control of the delivery of the revelation.  “What must soon take place”, this implies that the revelation is a prophesy. 

“He [Jesus Christ] made it known by sending His angel to His servant John”.  Who John saw may not have been Jesus Christ but an angel demonstrating Jesus Christ.  There is a reason for suggesting this and we will refer to it later in this chapter.  The KJV version says, “He [Jesus] sent and signified it [gave signs of the message] by His angel unto His servant John”.  This is at best a little unclear, at least to me, exactly the meaning.  What makes it unclear is what I know verses 17 and 18 say.  Did an angel take the revelation from Jesus and deliver it wholly himself to John as the messenger using signs?  The text in its literal interpretation seems to support this.  The delivery method seems to be: God gave to Jesus, Jesus gave to Angel, Angel gave to John, and John writes it down to give to others.  “Who testifies to everything he saw … the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.”  John has written and testifies to all that was revealed to him.  This is the revelation of God through Jesus Christ, not of or from John.  This is also exactly how the salvation message has been delivered to us.  We are saved by God through Jesus Christ, not by any other person, spirit or thing. 

“Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophesy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.”  This is a prophesy and blessed are you if you read it, or hear it and take to heart (keep) what it says.  There are two aspects of this blessing and each one is two-part.  Read it and keep it or hear it and keep it.  If you do either, you will be blessed.  There are seven such beatitudes in this book, this is the first. 

And, that’s it.  This seems awful negligent, in my opinion, as an opening paragraph considering the incredible visions and testimony he is about to unleash in the written pages of this book we call Revelation.  He doesn’t offer guidance or a guide, not even a symbol legend.  He pretty much just simply says, “I was given a revelation and it came from Jesus Himself, and here it is for you.  It’s important so read it.”  You can almost feel the idea that he was too overcome to say too much else.  However, he answers the “What” question.  What is this?   It is a revelation from Jesus Christ.  As brief as he is here, that is enough.