0108 - THE SEVEN LETTERS OF REVELATION

THE SEVEN LETTERS OF REVELATION

INTRODUCTION

These seven letters follow certain standards, although has certain particularities. For those who wish to figure more deeply the content of these letters, behold a tip:

 

·        First, try to identify the problem of the Oholyah (group of the believers united to know the Creator):

·        Second, try to recognize the link between the presentation of Jesus, the problem of the Oholyah and the recompense to the winners.

 

Some curiosities we can observe:

 

·        Smyrna and Philadelphia weren’t reproved;

·        Laodicea didn’t receive any approbation;

·        The order to repent was given to all Oholyah which sinned (Rev 2:5; 2:16; 2:21; 3:3; 3:19).

 

The angel of the Oholyah are all believers that are mature in the faith. Each one of them ought to be responsible for the Oholyah, as if they were the unique in such a condition.

1 - LEGALITY (becoming organization instead of organism)

Rev 2:1 -> “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.”.

Rev 2:2 ->“‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false.”.

Rev 2:3 -> “I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary.”.

Rev 2:4 -> “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.”.

Rev 2:5 -> “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.”.

Rev 2:6 -> “Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.”.

Rev 2:7 -> “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’”.

 

·        Addressing: to the angel of the Oholyah (people call “church”);

·        The identity of the Author: “The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands”;

·        The reinforce of the promise of Mathew 28:20 (that He know everything about us – our good and bad actions): “I know your works”;

·        The qualities of the Oholyah: “I know… your toil and your patient endurance, you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary”;

Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 

·        The fault: “I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.”.

·        The Advice: “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first;”.

·        Admonishment:

·        The punishment to the disobedient: “I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.”. 

·        The order to hear the Holy Spirit: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”.

·        Specific promise: “”.

·        The promise to the winners: “To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’”. 

 

This Oholyah forsook the love they had at first. Many people think that this is referring to the extinguishing of the faith. Not at all! They loved Jesus. The problem is that they change the form of manifesting this love.

 

They liked very much to have Jesus with them. So much so that they made great effort to preserve the sound doctrine in the hope of please Him:

 

·        They toiled in order to produce good works -> they had works, but not works of faith and love; their toil aimed at reward and recognition before the Creator;

·        They had patient endurance -> but not because they loved the brethren and expected their salvation in Jesus, but because they desired blessings of Jesus and the eternal life (1 Thess 1.3);

·        They could not bear with those who were bad ->

o   Psa 101:4 -> “A perverse heart shall be far from me; I will know nothing of evil.”.

·        They had tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false.

o   Jn 4:1-3 -> “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.”.

o   1Co 14:24,25 -> “But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you. They endured patiently and beared up for Jesus name's sake, and they have not grown weary”.

·        They hated the works of the Nicolaitans -> that is to say, they hated the division between “clergy” (the elite) and “outsider” (the rabble), a false division which wasn’t taught at any place in the New Testament.

 

The problem with the Ephesians is that, instead of believing in the power of piety (2Tim 3:5) in order to recover the sinners, they opted for investing in a hard investigation and grievous nemesis in order to preclude evil to infiltrate in their place. That is to say, instead of investing their life in the goodness and kindness (so that Christ could use each other to keep them apart from the sin and being transformed inwardly), they prefer to love more the evil, to wit, to fight against the evil. They hated more the evil than loved the goodness.

 

They didn’t love more the salvation of the Creator (1Sam 2:1; Ps 9:14; 13:5; 21:1; 119:166). They got pleasure in have intimacy with Jesus (hence they did so many things in order to please Him and conserve His presence amidst them), but didn’t have patience and alacrity to bide Jesus to work His salvation in the weak and rebels.

 

They neglected the commandment:

 

·        Amo 5:15 -> “Hate evil, and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the LORD, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.”.

 

It’s good to recall that Jesus taught that the mutual love should be the identity mark among the Christians (Jo 13:34,35). While the mark of the beast is commercial relationship, the seal who identifies the believers is the love between them. Although is important to follow all the commandments in purity and holiness, the commandments aim only to identify breaches in each heart and help each other to get them obturated to, thus, increasing in faith, truth, justice and love (Eph 4:11-16).

 

It’s important to understand that the Oholyah ought to be the place where each one can be free to express who they really are and find compassion and grace in the life of each other. When Barnabas arrived at Antioch (Act 11:23), he got very relish for seeing this.

 

The Oholyah is a place where each one can find, in the other ones, support for their faults. If it was for everyone being perfect for their own efforts, there was no necessity of Church. And the worst is that, in our days, everyone demands perfection of the members of the religion institution and, when someone fails, they are criticized and ostracized.

 

In the marriage the situation is the same: if husbands feel tempted, they feel constrained to spit this up to their wife. I know that the situation is opprobrious and delicate. Nonetheless, if the wife isn’t able to hear the weakness of her husband and seek in Christ close this breach, he won’t find room to walk in the light as Jesus is in the light (1John 1:7) and, covering his sin, this will come about:

 

·        Pro 28:13 -> “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.”.

 

At the same way, the wife ought to be secure in being herself and count on her husband to love her and give his life to help her to overcome her flimsiness and occlude their breaches. The same is true for to the children.

 

Recall what Jesus and John said:

 

·        Joh 3:19-21 -> “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

·        1Jn 1:7 -> “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”.

 

It is necessary to walk in the light (without any secret and without doing something that can be reason to hide) so that it can be doable to have fellowship with one another and get the cleanliness of the sin through the life of Christ springing miraculously (1Cor 4:19,20) from each one who offered their life in living sacrifice to the Creator (Rom 12:1).

 

It is important to observe that they didn’t “lose” the love, but “forsake” the first love. That is to say, they didn’t lose the love for negligence; it was a premeditated decision. They had great alacrity in spread the gospel all around the world, but weren’t inclined to fight for the lives.

 

They were like some religious leaders nowadays: they desired to constitute more and more religious groups, with the intention of preaching the right gospel, but hoping that Jesus alone did all the work in the heart of people. They didn’t wish to accept that Jesus makes the work, but using them (as Paul taught them in Ephesians 4:11-16).

 

Forsaking the love for the neighbor which followed them (Ps 23:6), they were abandoning the Creator. They desired to forsake the sin without perceiving that, without binding to the brethren, they were reinforcing the sin. After all, sin, before being a bad action, is an unbinding of the spiritual link with a believer in Christ (see Mat 18:18-20).

 

In order to fight against this problem, Jesus presented Himself as the One who:

 

1     - holds the seven stars in His right hand, of which nobody can snatch them out (John 10:28,29).

 

The seven stars are the messengers of the seven Oholyah, that is to say, each person that love their Oholyah (as if their members were their children) and, for this, are always seeking in Jesus something to convey to the brethren (as it is instructed in 1Cor 14:26).

 

Here Jesus is saying that nobody, with all their heresies and blasphemies, has power to deviate the sincere in Christ from the true faith:

 

·        Php 1:15-19 -> “Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance,”.

 

It only goes out those who don’t belong to Christ and His Church (1John 2:18,19).

 

2     - walks among the seven golden lampstands. 

 

The golden lampstands are the seven Oholyah. Once Jesus walks among His Church, therefore, there is no necessity of being so rigorous in identifying and ousting the evil. Instead, trust in Jesus to uncover all apostasy, heresy, blasphemy and to reveal what it is necessary to do so that He can manifest His power and sort out the situation:

 

·        1Co 4:5 -> “Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.”.

 

 

In other words, Jesus was saying that they didn’t need to abandon the love in order to keep all the Oholyah in purity and holiness:

 

* As He has firm in His hand every one of those who belong to Him and gets pleasure in being a messenger in His hands, there is no risk that they will veer of the faith in virtue of some heresy;

* As He walk amidst the Church, He is seeing everything and ready to bring up all the truth and show His force toward those who has their heart perfect before Him (2Chr 16:9).

 

And the promise to the winner is to eat of the tree of life. This tree and the tree of “death” were in the center of the Eden’s garden:

 

·        Gen 2:9 -> “And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”.

·        Gen 3:2,3 -> “And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’”.

 

Two so different trees clung to one another:

 

·        The Tree of the Knowledge of the Good and Evil is the tree which allow the man to arbitrate between “good and evil”, “right and wrong” with the promise of death for those who try to sort out the problems based on it;

·        The Tree of Life, which promises eternal life for those who eat of it:

o   Gen 3:22 -> “Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—”.

 

Nonetheless, many people misunderstood this. See what Jesus said about the Holy Spirit:

 

·        Joh 4:13,14 -> “Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.””.

 

Here it is said that if we drink of the Water of Life (the Holy Spirit) we won’t be athirst anymore. However, this doesn’t mean that we need to seek the fullness of the Holy Spirit only one time, but every day.

 

At the same way, we need to eat of the Tree of Life every day. If eating of the Tree of Life only one time sufficed to live forever, after every elected eat of the Tree of Life, it could be destroyed, instead of yielding its fruit from month to month (Rev 22:2).

 

So, to those who overpower the temptation of trying to keep the purity and holiness of the Church by the ministry of condemnation and death (2Cor 3:7-9), Jesus promised the Tree of Life, which symbolizes Him:

 

·        Joh 15:1 -> “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.”.

 

In other words, Jesus was promising that they could feed their soul and spirit having intimacy with Him. They could count on Him to sort out all problems:

 

·        Mat 28:20 -> “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”.

 

Not to mention that, with the direct company of Jesus, there won’t be possibility of being misguided in the faith, nor lose those who Jesus put in our life.

 

Four things are also compared to “tree of life”.

 

1 – Wisdom:

 

• Pro 3:13,18 -> “Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding,  She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called blessed.”

 

2 – The fruit of the righteous:

 

• Pro 11:30 -> “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever captures souls is wise.”.

 

3 – a desire fulfilled:

 

• Pro 13:12 -> “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.”.

 

4 – A wholesome tongue:

 

• Pro 15:4 -> “A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it crushes the spirit.”.

 

Therefore, Jesus is the tree of life Who use the tongue of the believer to confer wisdom, which can make the person to produce the fruit of the Holy Spirit and, thereby, have His desire in their life fulfilled.

 

If they didn’t repent, their lampstand would be removed of its place. What does it mean?

 

The lampstand of Ephesus (like the others) was in heaven:

 

·        Eph 2:6 -> “and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,”.

 

They were blessed there, full of the light of Christ (Mat 5:14-16; John 8:11; 9:5):

 

·        Eph 1:3 -> “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,”.

 

However, they fell from the heaven. Instead of staying in the heaven, in the counsel of the Creator (Jer 23:18,22) in order to make people hear Jesus’ word which is like hammer and fire (Jer 23:29), they decided to do Jesus’ work using physical weapons and resources.

 

If they didn’t come back to do the works in behalf of making them perfectly united each other for the salvation and growing of the Jesus’ body (Eph 4:11-16), they would lose the access to the heavenly regions (to the operation, authority and revelation of the Holy Spirit).

2 - PHYSICAL PERSECUTION (persisting before suffering to death)

Rev 2:8 -> ““And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.”.

Rev 2:9 -> “‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.”.

Rev 2:10 -> “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.”.

Rev 2:11 -> “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.’”.

 

• Addressing: to the angel of the Oholyah (people call “church”);
• The identity of the Author: “The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.”;
• The reinforce of the promise of Mathew 28:20 (that He know everything about us – our good and bad actions): “‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.”;
• The qualities of the Oholyah: “you are rich”;
• The fault: “”.
• The Advice: “Do not fear what you are about to suffer.

Be faithful unto death”.

• Admonishment: “Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation.”.
• The punishment to the disobedient: “”.
• The order to hear the Holy Spirit: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”.
• Specific promise: “I will give you the crown of life”.
• The promise to the winners: “The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death”. 

 

As the Oholyah in Philadelphia, the believers were having problems with the false Israelites. But, what is a false Israelite (or false circumcision - Phil 3:2)? Paul explained:

 

• Rom 2:28,29 -> “For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.”.

 

Those Israelites who really were descendants of Abraham, should behave like him:

 

• John 8:42-44 -> “Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”.

 

But many refused to accept Jesus and His Church, becoming, for this, adversaries:

 

• 1Th 2:14-16 -> “For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews, who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them at last! 

 

So, the Israelites who refuse to accept Jesus Christ as their Messiah are adversaries (satan) of the followers of Jesus. Even if they are born in Israel or are descendant of Abraham, they are false Israelites because, in our dispensation, to be Israelite is more than a question of nationality or genealogy. Only it is Israelite before the Creator those who deliver their life to Jesus; the other ones are false Israelites.

 

And these false Israelites were persecuting the followers of Christ physically. While the persecution in Philadelphia aimed to denigrate them, here, in virtue of the good position that these false Israelites had before the Roman emperors, they could inflict physical sufferings.

 

To this, they acted like devils (accusers), slandering them before the authorities. For this sake, many of Jesus’ followers had their goods confiscated by the Roman empire (hence they were poor). Not to mention that they would be thrown into prison and would have tribulation during ten days.

 

Although all this tribulation aimed to prove them, so that the proof of their faith could make them more precious that they were (1Peter 1:6,7), they should stay faithful until the death, without fear what they were about to suffer.

 

In other words, the Creator was showing to them that they were about to suffer, but this suffering would be controlled by Him until their faith had been proved. Although the tribulation would be promoted by the servants of Ha-Satan (the false Israelites) who hated them, the tribulation would be for a short period (ten days).

 

And to convince the believers of Smyrna of this, He presented Himself as:

 

·        The first and the last –> that is to say, everything begins and finish in Him. Everything takes place only with His permission and aims to draw the person nearer to Him;

·        The One Who died and came to life -> the proof that, in Him, nobody stays dead. The death is only a change of dwelling.

 

And to those who believe in this and overcome, Jesus promised reward in this life: “I will give you the crown of life.”. They will have life, and life with affluence (John 10:10), that is to say, a life who can make difference and serve of inspiration for many believers.

 

And, to all believers who are undergoing such persecution, Jesus promised eternal reward: “The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death”. That is to say, after going through a temporary suffering, they will forever be free of any pain, agony.

 

Abridging: this letter are words of joy of a Savior (for a persecuted Oholyah) who:

 

·        is above all;

·        knows everything;

·        proves everything (nobody unworthy will be accepted – 2Thess 1:4-8);

·        has everything under control (tribulation of 10 days);

·        is alive and exhort everyone who trusts Him (Rev 2:10);

·        promises life in this world and after it.

3 - POLITICAL ALLIANCE (to convince the believers to come back to the world)

Rev 2:12 -> “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword.”. 

Rev 2:13 -> “‘I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.”.

Rev 2:14 -> “But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality.”.

Rev 2:15 -> “So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.”.

Rev 2:16 -> “Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.”.

Rev 2:17 -> “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’”.

 

• Addressing: to the angel of the Oholyah (people call “church”);
• The identity of the Author: “The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword.”;
• The reinforce of the promise of Mathew 28:20 (that He know everything about us – our good and bad actions): “I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is.”;
• The qualities of the Oholyah: “Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.”;
• The fault: “But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.”.
• The Advice: “Therefore repent.”.
• Admonishment:
• The punishment to the disobedient: “I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.”.
• The order to hear the Holy Spirit: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”.
• Specific promise: “”.
• The promise to the winners: “To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it”. 

 

This Oholyah had two defects:

 

1 – they had some there who followed the teaching of Balaam (who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality) – these people, aiming at the reward of injustice (2Peter 2:15), came in accord with the “Balak” of that time (namely, the leaders of the Roman Empire), committing to teach them how to seduce the Oholyah so that their members would deviate from faith and, thus, all the influence of believers in society was eliminated and, thus, only the emperor was worshipped.

 

After all, the more Roman Empire killed Jesus’ followers, the more they increased.

 

And to fight against this group, Jesus presented Himself as “‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword.”.

 

How will He war against them with the sword of His mouth? He will do this in the future:

 

·        Rev 19:21 -> “And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.”.

 

Jesus will manifest Himself and pronounce His Word:

 

·        Heb 4:12 -> “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”.

 

And only His Word can put someone at death (2Th 2:8), as we can see in the case of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-10; 2Thess 2:8):

 

·        Jer 23:29 -> “Is not my word like fire, declares the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces”.

 

Jesus promised to fight at them with His Word. But, for this to be effective there should be necessary consecrated believers who could be used to utter His word (as Peter did in Acts 5:1-10) so that all Oholyah can see and fear.

 

So, Jesus promised to these believers: “To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna”. This recalls the manna which was put in the gold jar inside the ark of the covenant (Exo 16:32-34; Heb 9:4).

 

That is to say, Jesus promised to supply them with a daily provision much better than any reward that the “Balaks” of this world could give them. As Paul said:

 

·        1Co 2:9 -> “But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”—“.

·        Eph 3:20 -> “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,”.

 

2 – they had some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans – It’s doable that this name comes from the name Nicolas (Νικόλαος, conqueror of the people), one of the deacons of Acts 6:5. Recollect that Pergamum was where was the throne of satan (adversary), Nicolas means “conqueror of the people” and (Prov 6:19) shows that the Creator abominates those who sow discord among brothers.

 

Therefore, the doctrine of the Nicolaitans are the teachings which aim to put the believers under the dominion of religious leaders (as in Gal 4:17,18), enslaving them. And this, of course, yields quarrels.

 

It is for this reason that Jesus promised to them “To the one who conquers… I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it”.

 

Well, doesn’t they desire to have primacy or, at least, to be considered someone special, important? So, this promise has to do with this:

 

·        Isa 56:4,5 -> “For thus says the LORD: “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.”.

 

Consider that:

 

·        1Pe 2:5-8 -> “you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.”.

 

So, Jesus is promising to the winners a stone to be part of His House (New Jerusalem) wherein it is written their new name (a name better the sons and daughters) and only them will be able to figure out the quality of this identity and relationship with Him.

 

In other words, they will occupy a marvelous place in the New Jerusalem and will have a peculiar intimacy with the Creator, something unique (see Ps 25:14).

 

4 - ENLIVENED CULT (bringing the world into the church with lots of entertainment and Christian witchcraft, promoted by women's leadership)

Rev 2:18 -> “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze.”.

Rev 2:19 -> “‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first.”.

Rev 2:20 -> “But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.”.

Rev 2:21 -> “I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality.”.

Rev 2:22 -> “Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works,”.

Rev 2:23 -> “and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.”.

Rev 2:24 -> “But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden.”.

Rev 2:25 -> “Only hold fast what you have until I come.”.

Rev 2:26 -> “The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations,”.

Rev 2:27 -> “and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father.”.

Rev 2:28 -> “And I will give him the morning star.”.

Rev 2:29 -> “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”.

 

• Addressing: to the angel of the Oholyah (people call “church”);
• The identity of the Author: “The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze”;
• The reinforce of the promise of Mathew 28:20 (that He know everything about us – our good and bad actions): “I know your works.”;
• The qualities of the Oholyah: “I know … your love and faith and service and patient endurance and your latter works exceed the first”;
• The fault: “you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.”.
• The Advice: “Only hold fast what you have until I come.”.
• Admonishment: “I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality.”.

“But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden.”.

• The punishment to the disobedient: “I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.”.
• The order to hear the Holy Spirit: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”.
• Specific promise: “I do not lay on you any other burden.”.
• The promise to the winners: “The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. And I will give him the morning star.”. 

 

Although this Oholyah didn’t lose their love and many are still walking in the right Way, Jesus mentioned the tolerance in regard to Jezebel as their fault.

 

First of all: who was Jezebel. Well, I don’t believe that there was a woman with this name in this Oholyah. I believe that this was a mention to Jezebel of the Old Testament.

 

Jezebel was wife of Ahab (the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians. Her expertise was witchcraft – 1Kings 16:31). Although Ahab was the king, it was Jezebel that, indeed, ruled over Israel (see 1King 21:8,9) in the back of Ahab. Ahab gave up on his authority and this was a tragedy for his life (1Ki 21:20-22) and of all Israel (1Kings 17).

 

So, this woman was behaving like this.

 

1 – She called herself a prophetess (when, indeed, she was a sorcerer).

 

In Hebrews is written:

 

·        Heb 1:1,2 -> “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.”.

 

In the Old Testament, the Creator used prophets to utter His words. From the moment that Jesus came to this world, He became the author of the revelation, speaking personally to the apostles, making them recall His teaching and adding, through His Holy Spirit, what they couldn’t bear with when He was here in flesh and blood (John 16:12).

 

The prophets, from this time, passed to have a role of confirming these teachings in each other’s life (Gal 1:6-9), as well as reveal hidden things in the hearts (1Cor 14:25) and Jesus’ promises for His Church:

 

·        1Co 2:9 -> “But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”.

 

But the prophetess of this Oholyah was claiming to be able to reveal what each one was thinking or feeling.

 

To these people, Jesus presents Himself as the One Who has eyes like a flame of fire, that is to say, the One Who fathoms mind and heart.

 

In other words, the believers of this Oholyah craved for discovering what was covered (regardless if it was through Ha-Satan’s or Jesus’ power). However, Jesus shew that He is the only One who knows all motivations of the heart and can bring to the light what is hidden (Mat 10:26; 1Cor 14:24,25).

 

And to those who believe in Him as the only fountain of revelation, Truth, direction, He promised to give the morning star (that is to say, Himself – Rev 22:16) so that they can walk in the light even in the murkiness of this world (2Peter 1:19).

 

2 – She was teaching.

 

The simple fact that she was teaching was a tragedy:

 

·        1Co 14:34,35 -> “the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.”.

·        1Ti 2:11,12 -> “Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.”.

 

The woman only can teach through her testimony of life, in thorough submission to her husband:

 

·        1Pe 3:1,2 -> “Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct.”.

 

I know that this is hard to accept. However, can you be sure: there is a good reason for which Jesus bestowed the authority to the man. See the case of Eve. When she felt an empty in her heart (for neglecting of the commandment of Gen 1:28 and don’t bear children), she yearned for other source of ken. Hence, she had heard Ha-Satan and eaten of his deep things (the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil).

 

When people make this option too, the love lessens, the number of laws boosts and, thereby, increases the number of things to attract people to the religions institutions and keep them in a way that fits the leaders.

 

I know that most of the men don’t know how to cope with their wives and overlook the importance of bearing children and caring for them (Ps 127:3-5; 128; 1Peter 3:15). Nevertheless, instead of trying to compensate this frustration and loneliness doing works in the Oholyah, what she needs is to seek in Jesus the restauration of her home and bear children (both physical and spiritual).

 

Trying to occupy the role of the men and get control of them only will draw away, from Christ’s salvation, the woman and her followers

 

The truth is: it doesn’t mind how consecrated can be the woman. If she disparages the authority of the man, she will be obliged to find an alternative source of revelation apart from Christ (as it took place with Eve – Gen 3:5) in order to teach and take over the control (direct or indirect) of an Oholyah. After all, it was the Creator who determined man’s authority.

Resulted: she will usher in the Oholyah in several customs from the world or paganism whose target is to exalt the “Prince of this World” (Ha-Satan – John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11). She will paganize the Oholyah, inducing them to worship the Creator as the rabble worship their gods in order to satisfy the flesh (contradicting Deut 12:31) and get favors of the divinity (it was thus in the history of Israel – Amos 4:4,5). Not to mention that this is an excellent source of profits for the religious leaders.

 

And the worst is that, once the strength of the woman in the soul and flesh is greater than the man, if she gets the power, she will crush her home (see Prov 14:1) and abet sexual immorality (Rom 1:26,27). It’s not in vain that the Great Babylon is symbolized by a woman mounted on a beast (Rev 17:1).

 

Considering the great force of the woman, the best place for her is under her husband, serving of support in his life, as his body, wherever Jesus takes him.

 

To worst the things, she was teaching them the deep things of Ha-Satan. Jezebel alleged to receive revelations from the Creator which went beyond what is written in the Holy Scripture, as if the Creator had chosen her to compose one more book of the New Testament.

 

The prophetess of this Oholyah was trying to introduce extra-biblical teachings in the Oholyah (different of Pergamum where they tried to teach to political leaders to entice the Oholyah so that they retreat to the world).

 

Jezebel didn’t seek outward reward and recognition, but power on the mind and heart of the believers inside.

 

So, to combat against her heresies, Jesus present Himself as the “Son of God”, that is to say, the only One Who has the perfect teaching (not partial, as it was with the prophets (1Cor 13:9); but with the perfect revelation of the identity (glory) of the Creator (2Cor 4:6)).

 

And to those who overcame the temptation of trying to learn from unauthorized sources (Gen 3:11), but stayed only in Jesus, He promised to give the morning star, that is to say, He promised to teach them what was really important to them (Isa 48:17,18).

 

The Oholyah are the lamps (to support light), the angels are the stars (little lights), but Christ, the morning star (the Chief light).

 

3 – She was seducing her servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.

 

One important thing is the emphasis in this letter to the word “works”. This Oholyah was known for the quantity of its works (which exceed the first ones). Jezebel introduced charges which went far beyond the Holy Scripture, promising to get control over the nature, people and circumstances through supernatural ways (demoniac forces, but she made them thought that it was works of the Holy Spirit).

 

She ushered in rituals which allowed her to enchant the members, making them depend on her, as if she was the only one who had power to attract “the Holy Spirit” (exactly as the religious leaders does nowadays).

 

And this worked. Many members forgot that the important isn’t the quantity of works that we do “supposedly to Jesus”, but the quality of works. And a work only will be precious if it is Jesus’ work in us. Our salvation isn’t fruit of what we do by ourselves and for ourselves (with the excuse that it is for Jesus’ glory), but the aftermath of what Jesus does in us and through us.

 

See! It isn’t our works who save us, but Jesus’ works in us.

 

However, many people, in their haste to see justice being done, pass to believe that the end justify the ways. But Jesus was clear: He is the only licit Way (John 14:6). When people try to know something beyond what Jesus designed for them (in order to sort out a problem, for instance), they open the door for extra-biblical teachings and, of course, its false prophets.

 

Jezebel, taking advantage of the desire of believers in take control of the circumstances around them, ushered in several customs which, supposedly, would allow them to entice Jesus and convince Him to do what they wished. But, indeed, what they were doing was Christian witchcraft.

 

And, why not, boost this with something pleasant to the flesh (savor food) and soul (prostitution)?

 

In short, Jezebel was:

 

1     – urging people to eat what was sacrificed to idols making they think that they were celebrating the Holy Supper.

2     – presenting many practices (in our days, fasts, campaigns, etc. ) which is apparently based on the Sacred Scripture, an end to make the worship more pleasant to the flesh (with an excuse that is for making the gospel to reach the lost) and, at the same time, a way to receive blessings from the Creator.

 

3   – encouraging people to practice sexual immorality. Although she was married (Rev 2:22), she should be very beautiful, sensual and of sweet words (Prov 5:3; 7:21), to the point of making the men consider the prostitution something natural and even a worship to the Creator.

 

How? Well, if when Israel whored with the daughters of Moab (Num 25:1,2) this was looked on a worship to other gods (many other passages compare worship other gods with prostitution – Exodus 34:15; Judges 2:17; 8:33; 1Chr 5:25; Jer 3:9; Ezek 6:9) by the demoniac logic, if they prostitute with a supposed servant of Jesus they would be worshipping Him.

 

It is for this that Jesus presented Himself as the One whose feet are like burnished bronze, that is to say, the One who give to each one according to their works. 

 

Bronze is symbol of judgment. So, Jesus tramples all bad works:

 

·        Rev 19:15 -> “From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.”

·        Eph 1:22,23 -> “And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.”.

 

To those who shun from bad works, Jesus promised:

 

·        “The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. And I will give him the morning star. ”.

 

Note that the winner will get power on the nations and the morning star, exactly what these believers desired. The winner will be able to control all nations (and circumstances, of course) in order to make justice and, thus, rejoice with the end of the darkness of this world.

 

The winners will carry out the justice over evil works with great power to, if necessary, break “earthen pots in pieces”. That is to say: they will be able to eliminate the turpitude effectively (not as our juridical system whose justice doesn’t promote any significant change in the world. On the contrary: only worse the things).

 

By the way: it’s curious how the men of this Oholyah, who desired so much authority, delivered their small authority to Jezebel.

5 - RELIGIOUS PARTIDARISM (following Jesus’ word as it is suitable)

Rev 3:1 -> “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. “‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.”.

Rev 3:2 -> “Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.”.

Rev 3:3 -> “Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you.”.

Rev 3:4 -> “Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy.”. 

Rev 3:5 -> “The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.”.

Rev 3:6 -> “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”.

 

• Addressing: to the angel of the Oholyah (people call “church”);
• The identity of the Author: “The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.”;
• The reinforce of the promise of Mathew 28:20 (that He know everything about us – our good and bad actions): “I know your works.”;
• The qualities of the Oholyah: “”;
• The fault: “You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead”.

“I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.”.

They had soiled their garments.

They were sleeping, not watching so that the remain didn’t die.

They didn’t practice in order to keep what they had received and heard.

• The Advice: “Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die.

Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent.”.

• Admonishment: “Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy.”.
• The punishment to the disobedient: “If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you.”.
• The order to hear the Holy Spirit: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”.
• Specific promise: “they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy.”.
• The promise to the winners: “The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.”

 

The problem with this Oholyah is that they were desecrating their spiritual garments, which are the acts of justice of the saints (Rev 19:8).

 

How? They weren’t keeping what they had received and heard. What did they receive?

 

They received the Holy Spirit with His spiritual gifts and Jesus’ Word, but, instead of keeping all these things, they started to do the works of the Creator without seeking and biding for His direction and power, and the worst: following what looked to be good to their eyes.

 

Nowadays, we see this in the religion institutions. Each evangelical denomination tries to obey the Holy Scripture in their way:

 

·        Some people accept women to occupy leadership office;

·        Some people adopt dance as a strategy of evangelism;

·        Some people promote campaign, fasts.

·        Some people introduce beneficent work. And so on.

 

Instead of praying, seeking the unction of the Holy Spirit in order to carry only the light yoke of Jesus (Mat 11:30), the religious leaders introduced heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, while they themselves were not willing to move them even with their finger (Mat 23:4).

 

And, when the person abandons the simplicity that is in Christ Jesus (2Cor 11:3), the Holy Spirit doesn’t manifest His presence and power and, thereby, the work becomes incomplete, dead.

 

In other words: although they can do many works and attract many people to the Oholyah, in the end, the worship will get cold, many people will cool in the faith until die spiritually.

 

This was happening in Sardis. Many members of the Oholyah was about to sink in the faith and the messengers of Jesus wasn’t watching in order to debar this.

 

And, from the moment that the believers of Sardis decided to fulfill Jesus’ commandments by themselves, in their way, their acts of justice became filthy rags (Isa 64:6). As everyone is clothed with the acts of justice of the saints, consequently, everybody was being clothed with the soil garments of the bad behavior of their brethren.

 

Only few believers preached the gospel with fidelity, moved by the Holy Spirit. Only these ones impacted positively people’s life and, for this, were dressed of white.

 

For this sake, the members of Sardis, by and by, started to doubt that the Word that they received of Jesus’ messengers weren’t inspired by Him. For this, they weren’t taking heed in the messengers (angels - stars) that the Creator sent to them.

 

Instead of paying attention to all the plenty of the Holy Spirit sent throughout the Earth (Rev 5:6), that is to say, seeing Him act in the minimal details in behalf of all His Church around the world, hearing and following Him, they decided to follow only the part of the Holy Scripture which fits them, and as it was convenient.

 

Although there are many false apostles and prophets, they started to think that they could do everything by themselves, sufficing only observing what they thought to be the Holy Scripture.

 

Of course, once they carried on doing good works in Jesus’ name, they looked like alive, full of faith. Nonetheless, without heard the voice of the Holy Spirit (directly and through His messengers) and obey ALL Jesus’ Word (and not only part), everything is dead, incomplete, inasmuch as:

 

·        Col 2:10 -> “and in him ye are made full, who is the head of all principality and power:”.

 

In the end: they didn’t perceive that all the messengers of the Creator belong to them (1Cor 3:21-23) and that, so, there is no voice without sense in this world:

 

·        1Co 14:10 -> “There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and no kind is without signification.”.

 

Even in the cases of the false prophet, at no moment the Creator enjoined His people to belittle such prophets, but:

 

·        1Co 14:29 -> “Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said.”.

 

That is to say, they should prove the spirits so that they could find out if they came from the Creator (1John 4:1).

 

The impression is that they considered themselves auto-suffice, apparently knowing everything about the Holy Scripture (all the mysteries) and, thus, apt to sort out every problem (as it happens with many sects):

 

·        1Co 14:36 -> “Or was it from you that the word of God came? Or are you the only ones it has reached?”.

 

Now it is easy to understand the promises done:

 

·        “I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels” -> that is, they will receive spiritual authority (Act 19:13-16).

·        “I will never blot his name out of the book of life” -> They will be always taking part in the actions of Jesus in this world. In the book that shows what He carried out here, they will appear several times as His instruments.

·        “The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments” -> that is to say, their nakedness will be covered with the justice of those who are reached by Jesus through their ministry (Rev 19:8)

·        they will walk with Jesus in white, for they are worthy.

 

Joining everything: Jesus will impart spiritual authority to the winners so that they can be used for Him to write His history in this world. This will make many people be saved through their ministry, what allow them to be dressed with their beautiful acts of justice and stay walking in Jesus’ presence while they peregrinate in this world (1Peter 2:11).

6 - RELIGIOUS PREJUDICE (guiding them to doubt of their salvation in Christ)

Rev 3:7 -> “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.”.

Rev 3:8 -> ““‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.”.

Rev 3:9 -> “Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you.”.

Rev 3:10 -> “Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.”.

Rev 3:11 -> “I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.”.

Rev 3:12 -> “The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.”.

Rev 3:13 -> “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”.

 

• Addressing: to the angel of the Oholyah (people call “church”);
• The identity of the Author: “The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.”;
• The reinforce of the promise of Mathew 28:20 (that He know everything about us – our good and bad actions): “I know your works.”;
• The qualities of the Oholyah: “I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.”.

“you have kept my word about patient endurance”.

• The fault:””.
• The Advice: “Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.”.
• Admonishment: “Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut.”.

“Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you.”.

“I am coming soon.”.

• The punishment to the disobedient: “”.
• The order to hear the Holy Spirit: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”.
• Specific promise: “Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.”.
• The promise to the winners: “The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.”.

 

The great problem in Philadelphia was the presence of false Israelites who were trying to fluster them (as it happened in Acts 15):

 

·        Act 15:1 -> “But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.””.

·        Act 15:7-10 -> “And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?”.

 

This also took place in Galatia and Colossus. Paul had to reprehend their members:

 

·        Col 2:16 -> “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath.”.

·        Gal 3:2,3 -> “Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being per”fected by the flesh?”.

 

And, unfortunately, until today, people insist on keeping many precepts of the Old Alliance and condemning those who dissent them.

 

And how can I say that the Oholyah of Philadelphia was being pursued by the Israelites? Because of Jesus’ promise:

 

·        Rev 3:9 -> “Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you.”.

 

This promise wouldn’t add up if they weren’t harassing the Philadelphians. The believers of Smyrna and Philadelphia were being hassled by the Israelites. The difference is that, in Smyrna, the persecution was physical and here, in the soul (discrimination, religious prejudice, mockery).

 

To fight against these false Israelites (and, also, false Christians), Jesus and Paul said that the true Israelites aren’t those who go to synagogue:

 

·        Rom 2:28,29 -> “For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.”.

 

And, to conserve their faith in the right things, Jesus promised:

 

·        “Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you.”.

 

And added:

 

·        Rev 3:11 -> “I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.”.

 

In other words, they should stay keeping Jesus’ word about patient endurance (Rev 3:10), even though the false Israelites were trying to apart them from the simplicity of Christ and His gospel (2Cor 11:3). If they got it, He would keep them from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.

 

Not to mention that, through this, Jesus would show to the false Israelites that He loved the Philadelphians for their kind of worshipping and the Creator would make them to worship Him to the feet of the Philadelphians so that these ones could have for sure that their efforts weren’t without reward and that they were in the right path.

 

And as Jesus was coming soon, they should persevere, even in face of many harassing. But how, if Jesus didn’t come until now?

 

·        Rom 8:18 -> “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”.

 

As the reward is good, the days of toil seems to be few (as it was with Jacob for the sake of Rachel):

 

·        Gen 29:18-20 -> “Jacob loved Rachel. And he said, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.” Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me.” So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her.”.

 

Not to mention that Jesus take away our heavy yoke if we, in His Church, assent on take His yoke.

 

And to strengthen their faith Jesus presented Himself as the One Who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens. And added: “I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut.” (Rev 3:8).

 

In other words, Jesus was combatting the false affirmation of the Israelites that only through them someone could be saved.

 

Jesus shew that no! It is Him who has the key of the true House (city) of David:

 

·        Isa 22:22 -> “And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David. He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.”.

 

That is to say, it is Jesus who determines who will come in or be ousted of the New Jerusalem (a nation of *kings* and priests before Jesus – Rev 1:6; 5:10).

 

And He had opened one of the twelve doors of the New Jerusalem for them so that they could go in and out and find nourishment:

 

·        Joh 10:9 -> “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.”.

 

And to firm their faith outright, Jesus added, saying that:

 

·        He is the Holy One, that is to say, the unique who is perfect. The Israelites tried (and tries until today) to convince all believers that only their customs, culture, language, country, race, etc., are perfect, pure, so that whoever longs for salvation needs to become like them. Jesus was fighting against this idea;

 

·        He is the True One, that is to say, the unique Truth which can save. Only in Him and His word (and not in the traditions and teachings of the Israelites – Mat 15:3,6) people have to trust.

 

And, to the overcomers, Jesus promised something that could efface every doubt that they really belonged to Him:

 

·        I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it -> they, despite their weakness, would be done pillar and buttress of the truth in the life of all believers (His temple – 1Cor 3:16; 6:19; 2Cor 6:16) (1Tim 3:15).

 

·        I will write on him the name of *my God* -> With the identity of the Creator marked on them, it would be evident that they belonged to Him (complete consecration to Him – as in Rev 14:1);

 

·        I will write on him the name of the city of *my God*, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from *my God* out of heaven, -> With the name of the New Jerusalem in them, this would be an evidence that they are integrant part of His Holy City (untransferable citizenship) .

 

·        I will write on him my own new name -> they would acquire a name of Christ which will have anything to do with His new role in the New Jerusalem. Although we will always recollect His sacrifice for question of gratitude, in the New Jerusalem nobody will have sin. So, the relationship between Jesus and His Church will gain a new dimension.

 

His new name will express this new dimension and once His name is on them, they would have part in this excelsior relationship.

And with all these names on them, they would know how they would be known in the heavenly regions (1 Cor 13.12).

 

One important detail is the emphasis that Jesus gives to “my God”. Jesus could have said only “God”, but not, He said “MY God”. That is to say, the winners will:

 

·        receive the name of Jesus’ God, and not the name that they give to the Creator, namely, what they think or expect about the Creator.

 

·        dwell in the city of Jesus’ God, and not in the city of “their God”, that is to say, in the city that is governed by laws which reflects who the Creator is (and not what delights their flesh).

7 - LACK OF IDENTITY

Rev 3:14 -> “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation.”.

Rev 3:15 -> “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot!”.

Rev 3:16 -> “So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.”.

Rev 3:17 -> “For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.”.

Rev 3:18 -> “I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.”.

Rev 3:19 -> “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.”.

Rev 3:20 -> “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”.

Rev 3:21 -> “The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.”.

Rev 3:22 -> “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”.

 

• Addressing: to the angel of the Oholyah (people call “church”);
• The identity of the Author: “The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation.”;
• The reinforce of the promise of Mathew 28:20 (that He know everything about us – our good and bad actions): “I know your works.”
• The qualities of the Oholyah: “”;
• The fault: “you are neither cold nor hot”

“For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing; not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.”

• The Advice: “Would that you were either cold or hot!”

“I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.”.

“so be zealous and repent.”

• Admonishment: “Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.”.

“Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline,”;

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock.”.

• The punishment to the disobedient: “”.
• The order to hear the Holy Spirit: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”.
• Specific promise: “If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me”.
• The promise to the winners: “The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.”. 

 

What is the problem of this Oholyah? Certainly, many will say: they were wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. However, do you know someone who is really:

 

·        Wretched (worthless, paltry), but thinks to be prosperous?

·        Pitiable, but thinks to be elated (and doesn’t need anything)?

·        Poor, but thinks to be rich?

·        Blind, but thinks to have perfect vision?

·        Naked, but thinks to be decently dressed? Who are naked or semi-naked is aware of their condition and acts like this in order to impress and entice people.

 

This doesn’t add up. Probably, they were the opposite of it. But, then, why Jesus qualified them like this?

 

·        Although they were prosperous and full of potential (extremely useful), they didn’t use all their good gifts to help people around them, but only to take advantage of their weakness. This made them worthless, paltry (physically speaking);

·        Although they were extremely elated, satisfied with themselves and had everything that they desire, they were pitiable because nothing of this could change the life of someone, nor make people (including themselves) find sense to their lives (they didn’t have access to the spiritual gifts, nor could bring peace of soul and spirit to anyone);

·        Although they were rich, all the wealth couldn’t buy to them the Truth and True love (Song 8:6,7).

·        Although they were wise, full of knowledge and intelligence, being able to discern and foretell many events (political, social, economic), they couldn’t see people with purity and get free of all hatred (1John 2:9-11).

They couldn’t see Christ in them, that is to say, Christ trying to teach them, guide them through people around them. In other words, they didn’t see Jesus’ testimony;

·        Although they were well-dressed, all these apparels couldn’t cover their flimsies, faults, corruption of character. Their life didn’t influence anybody.

 

Obs.: The three parts of the verse 18 match to the last three adjectives of the verse 17: “poor”, “naked” and “blind”.

 

Joining all of this, how is it doable that someone wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked don’t realize their terrible situation?

 

The problem is that they were:

 

·        proud -> they desired to sort out everything by themselves, without any assistance in order to receive all glory and honor to themselves. They didn’t have vision of the Creator and, for this:

o   Pro 29:18 -> “Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law.”.

·        ignorant -> they were unconscious of the Holy Scripture, its promises and Jesus’ values and, for this, they couldn’t fancy what is the truth relish, peace and love;

·        self-sufficient -> they thought they didn’t need nobody and nothing. They felt sated because their world was short, reduced to their “Eden Garden”.

 

And, without spiritual vision, knowledge of the all wealth that Jesus conquered to us (1Cor 2:9) and large heart (2Cor 6:11-13), people get satisfied easily and, thereby, lukewarm (neither cold nor hot). In other words, they lose their identity.

 

And when people become lukewarm (without identity) Jesus spews them out of His mouth. That is to say, Jesus won’t acknowledge them before His Father who is in heaven (Mat 10:32) (and, thereby, before His Church), inasmuch as someone without identity isn’t trustful (can’t be counted on because they only work when they wish). In other words: there are moments that they work, there are moment that not.

 

For you understand, imagine a car that only work in random times. And if this car fails at night or in the middle of a road?

 

In face of this situation, Jesus present Himself as:

 

1 – The Amen:

 

·        2Co 1:17-20 -> “Was I vacillating when I wanted to do this? Do I make my plans according to the flesh, ready to say “Yes, yes” and “No, no” at the same time? As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been Yes and No. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes. For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.”.

 

Jesus show that all the promises of the Holy Scripture have its “yes” in Him. That is to say, it’s useless to wait for the fulfillment of any prophecy out of Christ. And, as most of the people don’t wish to comply with Jesus’ will, they prefer ignore Jesus promises and put their trust only in their resources and capacity.

 

And, to some extent, they desire the not fulfillment of His promises (as Ahaz – Isaiah 7:10-13) so that they can have an excuse for their attitudes and get proud of their realization.

 

In the end, it is through Him that we ought to say “Amen” in order to confirm this promise in our life, and, thus, He can be glorified. The fulfillment of His promises doesn’t aim our satisfaction, but the certain that He is with everyone who submit to His thoughts, feelings.

 

In other words, Jesus is the Amen to every good present and perfect gift (James 1:16,17) which make us truly rich without adding pains (Prov 10:22). Out of Him, any realization can be an encomium for us during a few moments, but certainly will bring to us many frustrations and deceptions.

 

2 – The faithful and true witness:

 

Jesus is a witness that was present when the Creator made His promises and is a living proof that His promises won’t fail (faithful – Rom 8:31,32) and are truth, that is to say, something that, indeed, is beneficial to us.

 

Without Jesus, we are blind to all heavenly wealth for us.

 

3 – the beginning of God's creation.

 

As Paul said:

 

·        Col 1:17 -> “And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”.

 

In other words, a promise can only be fulfilled in our life if what we are doing started in Jesus and is firmed on Him. All realization out of Christ, instead of clothing us of good fame and virtues, will only be leaves of fig tree, that is to say, will only arouse false expectances about us, which we will be obliged to shore them up in order not to thwart people and, thus, have all the glory that we conquered made into shame.

 

 

And, to these winners, Jesus promised: “I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.”. 

 

That is to say, Jesus promised to impart authority to them, to wit, make of them someone who can be an inspiration to others:

 

·        1Pe 5:1-3 -> “So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. 

 

In other words, when people see the winners with Jesus, they will be able to see the intimacy (love) of Jesus toward His beloved ones and, with this knowledge, they will have the confirmation that it’s doable to be acceptable to the Creator. Thereby, they will be able to dream in being an example of good inspiration to the others and, at the same time, the plummet and rule of measure used by Jesus in order to convince the wicked that their nemesis is deserved.

 

One thing worth of being observed is the language used by Jesus to exhort them. Instead of “I ordain you”, He said “I counsel you”. Jesus used this kind of language to teach us that, with those who are haughty, it is useless to give orders. They are rebels and, for this, people who the Creator knows at a distance (Ps 138:6).

 

When the Creator gives an advice, it is our option to do or not and, of course, suffer the consequences of the choice; when He ordains, we are obliged to do but, if we accept His commandment willingly, He will fulfill His will in us:

 

·        Php 2:12,13 -> “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”.

 

This Oholyah was poor in an opulent financial center, blind in a community which had an excellent medical university and produced a Phrygian powder drops, beyond being famous for the manufacture of clothes made of black wool of great quality.

 

Probably they said the same as Hosea:

 

·        Hos 12:8 -> “Ephraim has said, “Ah, but I am rich; I have found wealth for myself; in all my labors they cannot find in me iniquity or sin.”.

 

Hence the use of the term “to buy” as in Isaiah:

 

• Isa 55:1 -> “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.”

 

Note that the purchase was without money and price, that is to say, impossible of being acquired with the resources of this world, but something that requires a price.

 

But, why a price? Because there is something in us that needs to be removed. When we pay for something, it is a sign that we are with something that isn’t to belong to us:

 

·        Pro 3:27 -> “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.”.

 

So, we need to give to Jesus what doesn’t belong to us, that is to say, the sin. In the case of the Oholyah of Laodicea, there were many things in their life that was making the wall of their heart into styrofoam (isolating them of every external influence).

 

They needed to give up all of this. And note the emphasis of Jesus in saying “buy from Me”. It is thus because, what is important, we can buy only from Him.

 

Furthermore, only Jesus could remove of them (and of us) what was necessary to open room in their heart for what He desired to work in them. Of course, they needed to accept His amorous discipline, repenting (regretting) of their old lifestyle and convert from their bad way.

 

If they (and us) gave in to this, He would bestow them what they needed in a “business dinner” with Jesus.

 

And, what is the price to be pay for every gift? As it was said by Isaiah, there is no money (is beyond of our efforts and capacity) and price (the redemption of a soul is very expensive – Ps 49:8) (Isaiah 55:1). So, what will be bought and what should be paid?

 

·        Gold proved in fire (people proved in their faith in Jesus’ word – Prov 2:3-5; 3:13-15; 1Pe 1:6,7) -> the price is the proudness. When the person gives up the proud, they start to pray and pore on the Holy Scripture so that they could know what Jesus has reserved specially for those who love Him (1Cor 2:9; Eph 1:3; 3:20; 2Peter 1:3). In other words, they could know what is the reward of His vocation for them (that is to say, what He designed for them).

·        Salve to anoint the eyes (the testimony of that Jesus is carrying out His marvels, that is to say, greater is the number of those who are with us than those that are in the world – 2Kings 6:16,17) -> the price is the ignorance (the time spent with picayune things). Doing this, they could use the time to pray and mull over the Holy Scripture so that they can see people and the circumstances that accompany them as Jesus sees and, instead of nurturing hatred (which blinds – 1John 2:9-11), they can have the certain that Jesus is in control of everything, doing what is necessary for their good (Rom 8:28). Thus, they could walk in the light in spite of all the evil intended against them.

·        White clothes (the acts of justice of the saints – Rev 19:8) – the price to pay is self-sufficiency. Doing this, they could enlarge their heart, as it is exhorted below:

o   Isa 54:1-3 -> “ “Sing, O barren one, who did not bear; break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of her who is married,” says the LORD. “Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes. For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left, and your offspring will possess the nations and will people the desolate cities.”.

o   2Co 6:11-13 -> “We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians; our heart is wide open. You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections. In return (I speak as to children) widen your hearts also.”.

 

And where will be this dinner? In the heart.

 

Jesus, having a dinner with those who receive Him, is a symbol of communion, harmony, affection, trust, intimacy and sustenance. This dinner is a moment of sharing, not only the food, but of the heart.

 

The moment of the lunch or dinner should be seen with the eyes of someone who is in a place where there is lack of food; when, with much effort, the father of family procures some food, all his house gets relish and they celebrate the lunch and dinner with joy, gratitude and delighting in sharing the food each other, so that everyone can have their portion.

 

The problem is that, many times, we take the sustenance for granted and, for this, each one only sit on the table to eat voraciously.

 

But lunch and dinner were so sacred that Jesus and Peter suffered criticism for eating with “unsuited” people:

 

• Luk 15:2 -> “And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”.
• Act 11:3 -> “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.”.

 

And understand: first, Jesus will eat with the person of what they have to offer: “proud, ignorance and self-sufficiency”. After He “eats and get satisfied” (see Luke 17:8), He will invite the person to eat of what He conquered for them “gold, salve, white clothes” (Luke 12:37).

 

Unfortunately, many believers live luxuriously, while many people are passing away without hearing the gospel. Many believers are crowned before the men instead of carrying their cross. They dedicate what they have of best to:

 

·        develop in their career (including gospel careers), leaving to Jesus the “leftovers”;

·        sate the desires of their body which, very soon, will come back to the dust;

·        amass instead of giving up;

·        gather treasures in the Earth instead of the heaven;

·        procure all the world, without perceiving that their souls are being lost in the way (Mat 10:39).

 

In short, to help people to win this problem, Jesus promised: “If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”. 

 

In the end: when Jesus comes into the heart of someone, He:

 

·        eats with the person of what they have (the sin), making them increase in love from the moment that they apportion what they have;

·        invite the person to eat of His kingdom, the knowledge about Him, His vision and His testimony of life.