Going On To Perfection » Revelation

Revelation – Message to Laodicea – Do something!

Howard — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 20:23:16 +0000

Laodicea was an interesting place. It was a center of trade and medicine. It was a popular location for worship of the emperor. It was a bustling city. And it’s also a city that probably shouldn’t have existed. It had no natural resources that made it particularly astounding. The water for the city was provided by aquaduct because it wasn’t near enough to good water. Yet the city was a center of trade and played an important part in the medical community of the day. Nearby springs were thought to be useful in treating a number of illnesses. People would travel for miles to visit the springs and soak in their waters, but not drink them. The waters were so mineral laden that they were not potable. If you drank any you would imediately spit it out.

It’s easy to see, then, where Jesus gets his imagery to the church in Laodicea. He accuses them of being neither hot nor cold and therefore he will spit them out. Interestingly, the hot springs were very useful for medicine. Cold springs, which produced cold, pure water, were also useful. but lukewarm water had no use. His warning is that if they fail to act on their faith, they become lukewarm. If they begin to believe that they do not need God, they fail to have a place among the people of God.

Our faith isn’t a faith that is believed but not lived. Faith requires that we act – that we do something! God seeks us to live out our faith in Him. If we let our faith set and become lukewarm, we have no place in the kingdom of God. We must act if we are to live rightly with Christ.

Revelation – Message to Philidelphia – The Door Is Open

Howard — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 17:42:27 +0000

There is a saying that goes, “When the world closes a door, God opens a window.” We say it to encourage those who are going through rough times and feeling dejected. It’s also one that I never quite figured out – does God expect us to go around climbing out windows in life? While I’m certain that God does look after us, I’m not always sure that he opens doors (or windows) for us in life. Sometimes there are tough times that are just that – tough. And while we can trust that God is the ultimate victor, that doesn’t mean that doors or windows here on earth will open for us to move forward in life.

The church at Philidelphia (the city of brotherly love) was one of those churches learning the hard lesson that to follow Christ was to be rejected by the world. Because of their faith in Jesus, believers were kicked out of the synagogue. They no longer had a place among what they believed were the true people of God. To these faithful Christ brings a message of ultimate hope – the door is open to them. The door to the local synagogue may be closed, but the door to the temple of Christ in heaven is open. And if they endure, they will be a part of the temple of God.

Life may not be perfect. We may not feel like we have a place here when we turn our life over to Christ. But Jesus promises us that we do have a place in eternity. The door is open for us to enter into the kingdom of God.

Revelation – Message to Sardis – WAKE UP!!

Howard — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 20:02:40 +0000

Sardis, unlike some of the other churches, was a church that was fairly well received in its setting. Christians were not overly persecuted and the church was in relative peace with the community. This was the blessing of Sardis, but it was also the curse. The church had a great outward appearance of faith, but inwardly their faith was dying. Because they faced no challenges, their faith was growing weaker and weaker. They were becoming more open to syncretism – the idea of accepting all faiths as equal and blending them together. Jesus warning to them is a wake up call – they need to start living out the life that they propose to live.

The church today sits in a very similar position. We are very comfortable and do not experience persecution. And likewise we are growing weaker in faith as we don’t live it out with passion. Jesus speaks to us today the same message – wake up! Wake up and live out the life that Christ calls you to live!

Revelation – Message to Thyatira – Flee Jezebel

Howard — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 20:34:47 +0000

Unlike the larger cities that have received messages so far, Thyatira was a somewhat non-descript town with little distinction. There were no temples to boast of and no major ports of trade. It did lie on a trade route and was a center of both trade and production. Archeology has shown that Thyatira was a busy marketplace with many different products produced and sold. Because of this, there were a number of guilds to which one would have to be a part of if one wanted to make or sell something. This was a problem for believers because often these guilds held festivals to false idols and to not participate was to chance being ostricized. So what was one to do? One leader, a woman named Jezebel, proposed to go ahead and participate. The argument was likely made that since the idols had no power, it didn’t hurt anyone to participate. The true, however, is that it brought one into a slippery slope toward idol worship and hurt one’s ability to claim Christianity as the sole truth.

The temptation exists even today to go along with something that we know will not harm us even if we know that it does not fit with the will of God. Is going to a restaurant where the women are scantily dressed a sin? One could argue not, but it is certainly a means towards drawing one into a deeper sin of lust or worse. Christ’s words to Thyatira are a warning to us as well – flee that which can draw you down into sin. Satan works slowly to draw us away from Christ. We must be ever vigilant to flee temptation which draws us away from Christ and into the darkness of the world.

Revelation – Understanding terms

Howard — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 14:39:55 +0000

The theology of Revelation and of the last days & return of Christ (what theologians call eschatology) is a tricky roadmap to understand. So many beliefs exist it is hard to understand them all! Here are a few terms and a great chart to help us understand some of the terms that are often associated with Revelation.

Rapture – the belief that Christians will be taken up to heaven before the final return of Christ. It is closely associated with pre-millennial theology. It comes in 3 basic “flavors” – pre-, mid-, and post-tribulation

Millennium – the 1,000 year reign of Christ. Seen as a literal 1,000 years by some and as a symbolic reference to Christ’s eternal reign by others.

Tribulation – a time of great persecution and destruction. Often seen as a 7 year period, based on the prophecy of Daniel 9:22-27. It is closely related to the rapture in that three beliefs concerning the rapture are closely related to the tribulation. (See Rapture above) Below is a chart which diagrams the three views of the rapture & second coming in relation to the tribulation.

Millennial – referring to the timing of the second coming of Christ. The three prevailing views are:

Amillennial – belief in only a symbolic millenium and that Christ’s return and final judgment come at one time at the end of time

Premillennial – belief that Christ will return before the millennium and that the final judgment will follow the millennium

Postmillennial – belief that Christ will return and bring final judgment after a literal millenium (unlike the symbolic mellinnium of amillennialism)

Here is a chart to help us understand the differences: