My heart is saddened at the passing Whitney Houston. I do this blogg with the desire of leading people to Jesus. I feel that one of the best ways to do that right now, is to look at Whitney. Whitney is a perfect example of the type of believer that Satan really hates. Whitney, no matter what Satan would throw at her, would always fight to work her way back. She knew and loved Jesus, and definitely knew that she was very much loved by Jesus. Trials are more precious than silver or any amount of money that a believer can gain. Whitney was wealthy because of the trials she went through. Satan goes after believers like Whitney, because he sees the affect that someone with her popularity has on the lives of those who don't yet know the Truth. Whitney was obviously a target of Satan. I can't imagine the type of spiritual warefare Whitney had to persevere. It is not like the trials of an average believer. Satan came against her with full force, and still she never stopped confessing Jesus as her Lord and Savior. No matter how dark her life got, Whitney always hung on. One day I will meet Whitney face to face, and she will be a giant in heaven. The Trials that we go through in this life, determine what we will be for all eternity. Whitney will be glorious. Even more glorious than she was here, if that even seems possible. I heard tonight that she was going to come out with a gospel album. Elvis' life was similar to Whitney's. Evis also was working on recording a gospel album that was being written by Reba Rambo, who had aready written many popular gospel songs. Satan would hate the affect that a gospel album by either Whitney or Elvis would have on leading people out of his kindom of darkness and into Jesus' Kingdom of Light. I can picture Satan whinning before the throne of God crying, "That's not fare if they do a gospel album, because people will come to you (Jesus) because of them and not because of you." One day I will get to meet Whitney and see Elvis again. I once saw Elvis perform at the Sahara Tahoe, and I just found out tonight, if it is true, that Whitney's mom was a member of the Sweet Inspiration. They were three background singer's for Elvis, that he introduced as the three brillo pads, being funny. This was around 1970 and all three had fros. They got a kick out of it. Times were friendlier then. They were beautifull and sang like angels. If that is true, I can see why Whitney wanted to sing and why Jesus blessed her with a voice from on High. My prayers are with all of Whitney's family, friends and fans. May the living letter that she was, never go down in vain. Until I meet you in heaven, thank you Whitney.
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Saturday, February 11, 2012
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Revelation Chapter 5
In Chapter 5, we see what Jesus, the Lamb of God, accomplished on the cross and the results of His sacrifice. John saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne of God, a book that had writting on the inside and on the back. A strong angel, probably one of the Arc angels. Enoch had seen four angels before the throne of God. He told of Michael, who was over the merciful and patient; Raphael, who was over the suffering and afflicted; Gabriel, who was over the powerful; and Phanuel, who was over repentance. So probably one of these four Arc angels was the one who cried out,"Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seal?" John began weaping because no one in heaven, or on earth or under the earth was found to be worthy enough to open the book and look into it. One of the 24 elders that were before the throne told John to stop weeping, saying,
"Behold the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David,
has overcome as to open the book and the seven seals."
Then John saw in the middle of the throne and the 4 living creatures, and in the middle of the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain, having 7 horns and 7 eyes, which are 7 Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth. I am always intrigued by the 7 Spirits of God and with Spirits being capitalized means that they are actually a part of the existence of the Living God, that are out into all the earth. These 7 Spirits are a part of the Lamb of God. You cannot seperate Jesus from the Living God. Isaiah wrote in his 44th Chapter, verse 6, that God said, "Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of host: I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God besides Me." Jesus is the first and the last, as we have learned already in the earlier chapters of Revelation. With God being One, it is obvious that there are many attributes and exstensions of this One God. It is much more than any of us can even begin to comprehend. If we can understand that all the fullness of God dwells in the existance of Jesus then we can see who God is, by knowing Jesus.
John then saw the Lamb take the book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. When the lamb took the book, the 4 living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the Lamb, having each a harp, and golden bowls of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. Notice how God refers to the prayers of the saints. He looks at the prayers as incense, a pleasent aroma. The prayers of the saints are precious to God.
The 4 and 24 sang a new song, saying'
"Worthy art Thou to take the book and to break its seals; for Thou wast slain, and dist purchase for God with Thy blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. And Thou hast made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth."
Anyone, from anywhere on this earth, who receives what Jesus did for them on the cross, will receive the things that are promised in this song. The saints will reign with Jesus over the earth during Jesus' mellinial reign. Their dwelling will be in the heavenly Jerusalem, that Jesus is preparing at this very moment, and they will rule from there. In the gospel of John Capter 14, verses 1 - 6, Jesus told His disciples this,
"Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.
In my fathers house are many dwelling places; if it were not so,
I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again,
and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
And you know the way where I am going."
Thomas said to Him," Lord, we do not know where you are going, how do we know the way?"
Jesus said to him," I am the way, and the truth, and the life;
No one can come to the father, but through Me."
Then John looked and heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads and myriads, and thousands and thousands, saying with a loud voice,
"Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches
and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing."
The least shall be the greatest in the kingdom of God. The biggest servant shall shall be the greater in the kingdom of God. John tells us in the 1st Chapter of his gospel, that 'God Himself became flesh', taking on the form of a man, became the sacrificial Lamb Himself. He became the least, taking on Himself the sins of the world. Jesus was the greatest servant of all,
serving up Himself to death, burying both sin and death in the grave. When he rose again, He was raised in glory. Therefore, He is worthy of the honor, of being the greatest in heaven. No greater love than this, that a man lay down his life for a friend.
What John has seen here are three seperate progressions of time before the throne of God;
1st - John sees before the throne when Jesus is declared the One worthy to open the book.
2nd - John sees the saints before thone after the ressurection of the saints.
3rd - John sees before the throne, the white throne judgement after the 1000 year reign of Jesus.
The 3rd vision is when John goes on to say,
And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying,
" To Him Who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing
and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever"
Then the 4 creatures kept sayig , "Amen" (so be it) And the elders fell down and worshiped.
These 3 visions can be summed up in what the apostle Paul wrote about in his letter to the Philippians Chapter 2, verses 5 - 11,
" Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who,
although He existed in the form of God, did not reguard equality with God
a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond -servant,
and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance of man,
He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even
death on a cross. Therefore God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him
the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow,
of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that
every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
Isaiah wrote this in his 45th Chapter, verses 21 -23,
"Is it not I the Lord? And there is no other God before Me, A righteous God
and a Savior; There is none except Me. Turn to Me, and be saved, all the
ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other. I have sworn by Myself,
The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness and will not turn back,
That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance."
The name Jesus(Yeshua) means the Lord our Salvation. So Jesus is the Savior, and God is the only Savior, then Jesus is God. If A = B and B = C, then A = C.
.
"Behold the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David,
has overcome as to open the book and the seven seals."
Then John saw in the middle of the throne and the 4 living creatures, and in the middle of the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain, having 7 horns and 7 eyes, which are 7 Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth. I am always intrigued by the 7 Spirits of God and with Spirits being capitalized means that they are actually a part of the existence of the Living God, that are out into all the earth. These 7 Spirits are a part of the Lamb of God. You cannot seperate Jesus from the Living God. Isaiah wrote in his 44th Chapter, verse 6, that God said, "Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of host: I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God besides Me." Jesus is the first and the last, as we have learned already in the earlier chapters of Revelation. With God being One, it is obvious that there are many attributes and exstensions of this One God. It is much more than any of us can even begin to comprehend. If we can understand that all the fullness of God dwells in the existance of Jesus then we can see who God is, by knowing Jesus.
John then saw the Lamb take the book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. When the lamb took the book, the 4 living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the Lamb, having each a harp, and golden bowls of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. Notice how God refers to the prayers of the saints. He looks at the prayers as incense, a pleasent aroma. The prayers of the saints are precious to God.
The 4 and 24 sang a new song, saying'
"Worthy art Thou to take the book and to break its seals; for Thou wast slain, and dist purchase for God with Thy blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. And Thou hast made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth."
Anyone, from anywhere on this earth, who receives what Jesus did for them on the cross, will receive the things that are promised in this song. The saints will reign with Jesus over the earth during Jesus' mellinial reign. Their dwelling will be in the heavenly Jerusalem, that Jesus is preparing at this very moment, and they will rule from there. In the gospel of John Capter 14, verses 1 - 6, Jesus told His disciples this,
"Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.
In my fathers house are many dwelling places; if it were not so,
I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again,
and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
And you know the way where I am going."
Thomas said to Him," Lord, we do not know where you are going, how do we know the way?"
Jesus said to him," I am the way, and the truth, and the life;
No one can come to the father, but through Me."
Then John looked and heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads and myriads, and thousands and thousands, saying with a loud voice,
"Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches
and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing."
The least shall be the greatest in the kingdom of God. The biggest servant shall shall be the greater in the kingdom of God. John tells us in the 1st Chapter of his gospel, that 'God Himself became flesh', taking on the form of a man, became the sacrificial Lamb Himself. He became the least, taking on Himself the sins of the world. Jesus was the greatest servant of all,
serving up Himself to death, burying both sin and death in the grave. When he rose again, He was raised in glory. Therefore, He is worthy of the honor, of being the greatest in heaven. No greater love than this, that a man lay down his life for a friend.
What John has seen here are three seperate progressions of time before the throne of God;
1st - John sees before the throne when Jesus is declared the One worthy to open the book.
2nd - John sees the saints before thone after the ressurection of the saints.
3rd - John sees before the throne, the white throne judgement after the 1000 year reign of Jesus.
The 3rd vision is when John goes on to say,
And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying,
" To Him Who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing
and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever"
Then the 4 creatures kept sayig , "Amen" (so be it) And the elders fell down and worshiped.
These 3 visions can be summed up in what the apostle Paul wrote about in his letter to the Philippians Chapter 2, verses 5 - 11,
" Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who,
although He existed in the form of God, did not reguard equality with God
a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond -servant,
and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance of man,
He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even
death on a cross. Therefore God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him
the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow,
of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that
every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
Isaiah wrote this in his 45th Chapter, verses 21 -23,
"Is it not I the Lord? And there is no other God before Me, A righteous God
and a Savior; There is none except Me. Turn to Me, and be saved, all the
ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other. I have sworn by Myself,
The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness and will not turn back,
That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance."
The name Jesus(Yeshua) means the Lord our Salvation. So Jesus is the Savior, and God is the only Savior, then Jesus is God. If A = B and B = C, then A = C.
.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Revelation Chapter 4
In Revelation Chapter 4, John is taken up to stand before the throne of God. What he saw was very interesting, and I will not be much help in explaining what he saw. So I will list what John saw and we can just keep that picture in mind. John sees an open door in heaven. That door was opened when Jesus died on the cross. He broke the vail that serperated God from man. John wrote in his gospel in Chapter 10, verse 7 -9, that Jesus said,
"Truly Truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before
Me are theives and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door;
if anyone enters through Me, he shall be , and go in and out, and find pasture."
John would not have been able to enter through that door, if Jesus had not opened it. John hears a sound like a trumpet speaking to him, saying,
" Come up hear, and I will show you what must take place after these things."
The Bible , in different places, talks about trumpet sounds. In Revelations, we will see the trumpet sounding many different events. Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians, in Chapter 15, verses 50 -53, wrote,\
" Now I say this, brethern, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom
of God: nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold, I tell you
a mistery; we shal not all sleep, but we shall be changed, in a moment, in the
twinkling of an eye, at the LAST TRUMPET; for the trumpet will sound, and
the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this
perishable must put on imperishable, and the mortal must put on immortality."
Paul talks about the same event in his first letter to the Thesssalonians, Chapter 4, verses 15 -18,
" For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, and
remain until the coming of the Lord, shall not procede those who have fallen
asleep(died). For the Lord Himself will decend from heaven with a shout,
with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God: and the dead in
Christ shall rise first. Then those who are alive and remain shall be caught up
together with themin the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall
always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words."
These two passages will take on more life in the things we will discover reading through Revelations.
Immediately after John was told that he would be shown what must shortly take place, he was in the Spirit and saw a throne standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne. It was interesting to me that Spirit was capitalized. This could mean that, before the throne, John was inside the Spirit of God. If he had just been in a spiritual state, spirit would not have been capitalized. Something for thought.
This is what John saw:
1) He who was sitting
2) Was like a jasper stone ( an opaque reddish quartz )
Isaiah wrote in his 1st Chapter, verse 18, Says the Lord, "Though your sins are as scarlet (red ), They will be as white as snow, Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool." If you ever look through a glass darkly (red glass) at something red, it looks white. Maybe this is where the wonderful power of the blood of the lamb ( Jesus ) comes in. Jesus looks at our red sin through His red blood and sees white. Jesus washed our sin with His blood. Our sins our clensed.
3) Sardius in appearance ( a red stone )
4) Rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance ( transparent green beryl )
5) 24 thrones around the throne
6) 24 elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads
7) From the throne, flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder
8) 7 lamps of fire burning, which are the 7 Spirits of God
9) Before the throne, a sea of glass like crystal
10) In the middle of the throne and around the throne, 4 living creatures full of eyes in front and behind;
1st creature) Was like a lion. In the old testament, God was the Lion of Judah, Israel's preserver.
2nd creature) was like a calf Jesus was the Son ( Lamb of God ).
3rd creature) had the face of man Jesus is the risen Lord.
4th creature) was like a flying eagle Jesus is coming to meet believers in the air.
11) These 4 living creatures each have 6 wings and are full of eyes around and within and day and night do not cease to say:
" Holy, Holy Holy, is the Lord God , The Almighty,
who was and who is and who is to come."
12) As the living creatures give glory honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever
13) The 24 elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying:.
"Worthy art thou, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power;
for thou didst create all things, and because of thy will they existed, and were created."
Jesus' peace be with you.
"Truly Truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before
Me are theives and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door;
if anyone enters through Me, he shall be , and go in and out, and find pasture."
John would not have been able to enter through that door, if Jesus had not opened it. John hears a sound like a trumpet speaking to him, saying,
" Come up hear, and I will show you what must take place after these things."
The Bible , in different places, talks about trumpet sounds. In Revelations, we will see the trumpet sounding many different events. Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians, in Chapter 15, verses 50 -53, wrote,\
" Now I say this, brethern, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom
of God: nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold, I tell you
a mistery; we shal not all sleep, but we shall be changed, in a moment, in the
twinkling of an eye, at the LAST TRUMPET; for the trumpet will sound, and
the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this
perishable must put on imperishable, and the mortal must put on immortality."
Paul talks about the same event in his first letter to the Thesssalonians, Chapter 4, verses 15 -18,
" For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, and
remain until the coming of the Lord, shall not procede those who have fallen
asleep(died). For the Lord Himself will decend from heaven with a shout,
with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God: and the dead in
Christ shall rise first. Then those who are alive and remain shall be caught up
together with themin the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall
always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words."
These two passages will take on more life in the things we will discover reading through Revelations.
Immediately after John was told that he would be shown what must shortly take place, he was in the Spirit and saw a throne standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne. It was interesting to me that Spirit was capitalized. This could mean that, before the throne, John was inside the Spirit of God. If he had just been in a spiritual state, spirit would not have been capitalized. Something for thought.
This is what John saw:
1) He who was sitting
2) Was like a jasper stone ( an opaque reddish quartz )
Isaiah wrote in his 1st Chapter, verse 18, Says the Lord, "Though your sins are as scarlet (red ), They will be as white as snow, Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool." If you ever look through a glass darkly (red glass) at something red, it looks white. Maybe this is where the wonderful power of the blood of the lamb ( Jesus ) comes in. Jesus looks at our red sin through His red blood and sees white. Jesus washed our sin with His blood. Our sins our clensed.
3) Sardius in appearance ( a red stone )
4) Rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance ( transparent green beryl )
5) 24 thrones around the throne
6) 24 elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads
7) From the throne, flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder
8) 7 lamps of fire burning, which are the 7 Spirits of God
9) Before the throne, a sea of glass like crystal
10) In the middle of the throne and around the throne, 4 living creatures full of eyes in front and behind;
1st creature) Was like a lion. In the old testament, God was the Lion of Judah, Israel's preserver.
2nd creature) was like a calf Jesus was the Son ( Lamb of God ).
3rd creature) had the face of man Jesus is the risen Lord.
4th creature) was like a flying eagle Jesus is coming to meet believers in the air.
11) These 4 living creatures each have 6 wings and are full of eyes around and within and day and night do not cease to say:
" Holy, Holy Holy, is the Lord God , The Almighty,
who was and who is and who is to come."
12) As the living creatures give glory honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever
13) The 24 elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying:.
"Worthy art thou, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power;
for thou didst create all things, and because of thy will they existed, and were created."
Jesus' peace be with you.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Revelation Chapter 3 ( Laodicea )
Laodicea is the perfect picture of a church that is just going through the religious motions and deceiving themselves as to the reality of the new birth in Jesus.
Jesus is:
The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God.
The interesting thing here is that Jesus refers to Himself as "the Beginning of the creation of God". Notice that Beginning is capitalized, so it is a title. We know that Jesus is the, the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. In Revelation Chapter 21, verse 6, when it refers to Jesus as the beginning and the end, beginning is not capitalized. So here Jesus is revealing something different about Himself, that is revealing what His issue is with the church in Laodicea.
Warning:
Jesus knows their deeds, that they are neither cold nor hot; and He would rather that they were cold or hot. So because they are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, Jesus is going to spit the out of His mouth.
Why is lukewam bad, and either hot or cold still alright. Jesus has a problem with the lukewarm, because they are pretending to have something that they don't possess. The hot do possess it. The cold don't, but they are not pretending to possess it. So if the truth is introduced to cold, they will hear it and still have the opportunity, until the day they die, to either receive it or refuse it. The problem is, the lukewarm think they pocess it, but they don't. They are a dead church devoid of the Spirit of God in their own lives. They have not been born of above, which is the requirement Jesus set forth to be able to enter the Kingdom of God. In the gospel of John, Chapter 3, verses 3,5,6 and 7, Jesus says,
" Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot enter the kingdom of God..........Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel when I say to you, 'You must be born again'."
Note that in these verses that Jesus says Truly, Truly, twice. When Jesus does this, He is emphesising the importants of what He is about to say.
The whole purpose for Jesus coming to earth, was to create a New Creation, that has been born again by the Holy Spirit of God. To enter the kingdom of God, you first have to be born on this earth. This is what is meant by born of water and flesh. Then we were all created to be born again, after that, by the Spirit of God. This is where each of us are personally accountable to choose for ourselves, whether or not we want to allow Jesus to do that in us , by receiving Him our not. Just joining a religion does not do it.
Now, what Jesus is saying, when He refers to Himself as, "the Beginning of the creation of God", is that He Himself is the first one who has been born of this new Creation. In Jesus case, He has now allowed the invisible Creator to now be made visible, having a new eternal body, that has been glorified through the resurrection. All New Creations come into existence through the death and resurrection or Jesus. In Paul's letter to Romans, in the 6th Chapter, verse 4, Paul wrote,
" Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life."
Paul wrote in his letter to the Colossians in the 1st Chapter, verses 12 - 20,
" giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. For He delivered us from the domain of darkness and tranferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. And He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things have been created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the first born of the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness of deity to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross..."
Jesus goes on to tell Laodicea:
"So because you say,"I am rich and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing," and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked."
Jesus advise to them:
" I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich, and white garments, that you may clothe yourselves, and that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed: and eyes salve to annoint you eyes that you may see."
All of what Jesus had just advised them, is all that occurs to a person when they actually ask Jesus into their hearts and allows Him to create in them a New Creation. They then become an eternal being who grows by being refined through trials and tribulations, having value like gold, because this determines what they will be forever. All believers receive white garments in heaven when they die and wait for their glorified body at the resurrection. For all believers, we were blinded in untruths and when we come to the Truth and the Light, we can now see.
This is why Jesus goes on to tell them:
"Behold, I stand at the door(to your heart) and knock; and if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into Him, and will dine with him, and he with Me".
Overcomers reward;
Jesus will grant you to sit with Him on His throne, as He also overcame and sat down with His Father on His throne.
Jesus ended all of these letters with this:
"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the Churches".
This is a statement for everyone who reads and hears these letters, that it important to have an ear that hears, not just listens.
Jesus is:
The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God.
The interesting thing here is that Jesus refers to Himself as "the Beginning of the creation of God". Notice that Beginning is capitalized, so it is a title. We know that Jesus is the, the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. In Revelation Chapter 21, verse 6, when it refers to Jesus as the beginning and the end, beginning is not capitalized. So here Jesus is revealing something different about Himself, that is revealing what His issue is with the church in Laodicea.
Warning:
Jesus knows their deeds, that they are neither cold nor hot; and He would rather that they were cold or hot. So because they are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, Jesus is going to spit the out of His mouth.
Why is lukewam bad, and either hot or cold still alright. Jesus has a problem with the lukewarm, because they are pretending to have something that they don't possess. The hot do possess it. The cold don't, but they are not pretending to possess it. So if the truth is introduced to cold, they will hear it and still have the opportunity, until the day they die, to either receive it or refuse it. The problem is, the lukewarm think they pocess it, but they don't. They are a dead church devoid of the Spirit of God in their own lives. They have not been born of above, which is the requirement Jesus set forth to be able to enter the Kingdom of God. In the gospel of John, Chapter 3, verses 3,5,6 and 7, Jesus says,
" Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot enter the kingdom of God..........Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel when I say to you, 'You must be born again'."
Note that in these verses that Jesus says Truly, Truly, twice. When Jesus does this, He is emphesising the importants of what He is about to say.
The whole purpose for Jesus coming to earth, was to create a New Creation, that has been born again by the Holy Spirit of God. To enter the kingdom of God, you first have to be born on this earth. This is what is meant by born of water and flesh. Then we were all created to be born again, after that, by the Spirit of God. This is where each of us are personally accountable to choose for ourselves, whether or not we want to allow Jesus to do that in us , by receiving Him our not. Just joining a religion does not do it.
Now, what Jesus is saying, when He refers to Himself as, "the Beginning of the creation of God", is that He Himself is the first one who has been born of this new Creation. In Jesus case, He has now allowed the invisible Creator to now be made visible, having a new eternal body, that has been glorified through the resurrection. All New Creations come into existence through the death and resurrection or Jesus. In Paul's letter to Romans, in the 6th Chapter, verse 4, Paul wrote,
" Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life."
Paul wrote in his letter to the Colossians in the 1st Chapter, verses 12 - 20,
" giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. For He delivered us from the domain of darkness and tranferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. And He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things have been created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the first born of the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness of deity to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross..."
Jesus goes on to tell Laodicea:
"So because you say,"I am rich and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing," and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked."
Jesus advise to them:
" I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich, and white garments, that you may clothe yourselves, and that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed: and eyes salve to annoint you eyes that you may see."
All of what Jesus had just advised them, is all that occurs to a person when they actually ask Jesus into their hearts and allows Him to create in them a New Creation. They then become an eternal being who grows by being refined through trials and tribulations, having value like gold, because this determines what they will be forever. All believers receive white garments in heaven when they die and wait for their glorified body at the resurrection. For all believers, we were blinded in untruths and when we come to the Truth and the Light, we can now see.
This is why Jesus goes on to tell them:
"Behold, I stand at the door(to your heart) and knock; and if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into Him, and will dine with him, and he with Me".
Overcomers reward;
Jesus will grant you to sit with Him on His throne, as He also overcame and sat down with His Father on His throne.
Jesus ended all of these letters with this:
"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the Churches".
This is a statement for everyone who reads and hears these letters, that it important to have an ear that hears, not just listens.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Revelation Chapter 3 ( Philadelphia )
The church at Philadelphia is the only church that did not get a warning to repent from any errors like the other churches. So it is important to notice what they were doing that pleased Jesus.
Jesus is:
He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one shuts, and who shuts and no one opens.
Praise:
Jesus knows their deeds and he has put before them an opened door that no one can shut, because they have a little power, and have kept Jesus' word, and have not denied His name.
All this is worthy to note and you might understand it this way. There is power in the name of Jesus and they have not denied Jesus name. Jesus' word is the sword of the spirit and they have kept His word. These two things are what gives them Divine intervention from heaven and that is why they have this open door into the hevenly realm. This is a faithfull church that really puts their trust in Jesus.
There is an interjection in this letter that tells the church at Philadelphia that there is a synagogue of Satan who are claiming to be Jews but are no really and lie. Jesus will make these imposters to bow down at their feet and know that He has loved them. These were probably the type of Jewish leadership that Jesus had to deal with when he was here. When here, Jesus referred to them as white washed tombs. If they had really been Jewish, then they they would have understood that Jesus was the Messiah that was foretold by the prophets. Now, because of what they will see Jesus do in the mist of his believers, that will show that Jesus loves them, they will come and bow at their feet knowing that Jesus is the promised Messiah. In Paul's letter to the Romans, Chapter 11, verse 11, "I say then, they did not stumple as to fall did they? May it never be! But by their transgression salvation came to the Gentles, to make them jealeous." Satan had them blinded, but now they see.
Promise:
Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell upon the earth.
The believers are kept from this hour and they will be with Jesus when He returns. In Paul's letter to the Romans, in Chapter 5, verse 9, he writes, "Much more then having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him." also, in Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians, Chapter 1, verse 10, Paul writes," and to wait for His Son from the heavens, whom he raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come." I always like to interject the reason for the wrath of God, because people percieve it as being unkind. In Chapter 11 of Revelations, verses 17 and 18, it says, " We give thee thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who art and who wast, because Thou hast taken Thy great power and hast begun to reign. And the nations were enraged, and Thy wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to give their reward to Thy bond-servants the prophets and to the saints and to those who fear Thy name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who are destroying the earth." So the reason why Jesus' wrath will come is to destroy those who were destroying the earth. The believers will be with Jesus when He returns. In Revelation Chapter 19, verses 11 and 14, it says this, "And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called Fathfull and True; and in righteousness He Judges and wages war....... And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses."
Jesus tells Philadelphia, I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, in order that no one take your crown."
Overcomers reward:
"He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and He will not go out from it anymore; and I will write upon him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God and My new name."
The new Jeruselem is the heavenly kingdom that Jesus said that He was going away to prepare and that he would come again to take the believers to where he was. Jesus said this in the Gospel of John, Chapter 14, verse 3. The new Jerusalem is described in Revelation Chapter 21, verses 10 - 27.
Jesus is:
He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one shuts, and who shuts and no one opens.
Praise:
Jesus knows their deeds and he has put before them an opened door that no one can shut, because they have a little power, and have kept Jesus' word, and have not denied His name.
All this is worthy to note and you might understand it this way. There is power in the name of Jesus and they have not denied Jesus name. Jesus' word is the sword of the spirit and they have kept His word. These two things are what gives them Divine intervention from heaven and that is why they have this open door into the hevenly realm. This is a faithfull church that really puts their trust in Jesus.
There is an interjection in this letter that tells the church at Philadelphia that there is a synagogue of Satan who are claiming to be Jews but are no really and lie. Jesus will make these imposters to bow down at their feet and know that He has loved them. These were probably the type of Jewish leadership that Jesus had to deal with when he was here. When here, Jesus referred to them as white washed tombs. If they had really been Jewish, then they they would have understood that Jesus was the Messiah that was foretold by the prophets. Now, because of what they will see Jesus do in the mist of his believers, that will show that Jesus loves them, they will come and bow at their feet knowing that Jesus is the promised Messiah. In Paul's letter to the Romans, Chapter 11, verse 11, "I say then, they did not stumple as to fall did they? May it never be! But by their transgression salvation came to the Gentles, to make them jealeous." Satan had them blinded, but now they see.
Promise:
Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell upon the earth.
The believers are kept from this hour and they will be with Jesus when He returns. In Paul's letter to the Romans, in Chapter 5, verse 9, he writes, "Much more then having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him." also, in Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians, Chapter 1, verse 10, Paul writes," and to wait for His Son from the heavens, whom he raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come." I always like to interject the reason for the wrath of God, because people percieve it as being unkind. In Chapter 11 of Revelations, verses 17 and 18, it says, " We give thee thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who art and who wast, because Thou hast taken Thy great power and hast begun to reign. And the nations were enraged, and Thy wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to give their reward to Thy bond-servants the prophets and to the saints and to those who fear Thy name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who are destroying the earth." So the reason why Jesus' wrath will come is to destroy those who were destroying the earth. The believers will be with Jesus when He returns. In Revelation Chapter 19, verses 11 and 14, it says this, "And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called Fathfull and True; and in righteousness He Judges and wages war....... And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses."
Jesus tells Philadelphia, I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, in order that no one take your crown."
Overcomers reward:
"He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and He will not go out from it anymore; and I will write upon him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God and My new name."
The new Jeruselem is the heavenly kingdom that Jesus said that He was going away to prepare and that he would come again to take the believers to where he was. Jesus said this in the Gospel of John, Chapter 14, verse 3. The new Jerusalem is described in Revelation Chapter 21, verses 10 - 27.
Song 10 -- In Jesus' Time
One of the most common sins is worrying. I say that worrying is a sin because it is the opposite of faith. I define faith as, trusting Jesus. As an example, in Ephsians Chapter 2, verses 8 and 9, Paul wrote, "For by grace we are saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast. Faith means that you are trusting that what Jesus says is true. In Paul's letter to the Romans in Chapter 14, verse 23, he wrote ".....and whatever is not from faith is sin. Therefore, in are lives, if we are not trusting that Jesus has full control of our lives and needs, then we are not acting in faith and are sinning. Jesus said in Matthew Chapter 6, verses 24, "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and riches. For this reason I say to you, do not be worry for your life, as to what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor for your body as to what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor do they gather into barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And which of you by worrying can add a single cubit to his life's span? And why are you anxious about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the feild grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory did not clothe himself like one of these. But if God arrays the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more do so for you, O men of little faith? Do not worry then, saying , 'What shall we eat?' or 'With what shall we clothe ourselves?' For all these things the Gentles eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of it's own." In Chapter 7,verses 7 and 8, Jesus goes on to say, " Ask, and you shall be given to you, seek, and you shall find, knock, and it shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks recieves, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened. Perter wrote in his first letter, Chapter 5, verse 6 and 7, "Humble yourselves, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your worries upon Him, because He cares for you." We may say that we give Jesus our cares, but in most cases we hand them to Him, but we really don't let go of our worries. He says to cast them to Him. That means you actually have to let go of them. Then He can take care of them and the glory is His. To hear the song on this, google search youtube and key in Yeshuasfriend1. Peace to you.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Revelation Chapter 3 (Sardis)
The church at Sardis is an interesting church to look at. The letter to them did not describe any particular mistake that they were making. No imorallity mentioned. No idolitry mentioned. No tolerating of deception was mentioned either. So why did Jesus accuse them of being dead, when they were viewed as being alive.
Jesus is:
He who has the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars(the seven angels to the churches).
In the 1st Chapter of Revelation, verse 4, these seven Spirits are before Jesus' throne. In Chapter 4, verse 5, they are seven lamps of fire burning before the throne. In Chapter 5, verse 6, they are seven Spirits that are sent out into all the earth. If they are sent out into all the earth, it has to be for the purpose of making sure that the churches fullfill their mission, which is to proclaim the Truth of the Gospel to all the nations. Jesus said in Matthew Chapter 24, verse 14, " And the gospel of the kingdom shall be preached into the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come." So Jesus will not return until the whole world has a chance to hear the Truth that leads to eternal life. The only people who will not recieve eternal life, are those who refuse the Truth to be saved.
Warning:
1) Jesus knows their deeds, that they have a name that they are alive, but they are dead. Jesus tells them to wake up, and stenghthen the things that remain, which were about to die. He has found their deeds to be incomplete in the sight of His God.
The thing that has made them dead can very well be that they have become complacent. This is very common in many churches today. They have become comfortable within their own walls. They participate in weekly services of good verbal worship of God, but not using what should be preparation to take what they have learned to those who have not heard. Scripture has stated that their are those who worship God with their words, but by their actions they deny Him. The church of God should be a moving train, but in many cases, it is stuck in the station.
2) Jesus procedes to tell them that they must remember what they have recieved and heard and keep it and repent (turn) from what the are currently doing.
Sometimes what you are doing, is what you are not doing. I think what the believers in Sardis were doing, was having great collective worship, but in their lives outside the church were not reflecting to those around them, the love and character of God.
3) Jesus tells them that if they do not wake up, that He will come like a thief, and that they would not know at what hour He would come upon them.
Praise:
Jesus said that there were a few in Sardis who had not soiled their garments and they will walk with Him in white, for they are worthy.
The only thing that makes a person worthy, is if Jesus becomes their righteousness, and that is by choosing to make Him your Savior. I wrote about this in earlier bloggs. So, I wonder if there were many in the church in Sardis, who were Christians in name only and had not actually been born of above. Paul wrote in his 2nd letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 13, verse 5, " Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you - unless indeed you fail the test?" There are many people, even in the world today, who belong to many different factions of Christianity, who being born into a family that attends that church, may just go through certain religeous motions, but never really surrendering their lives into Jesus' hands. Now 2000 years later, has it become for many, just religious practices and not an actual tranformation. Do we even hear anymore, as Jesus taught, that we must be born of above.
Overcomers reward:
They will be clothed in white garments and Jesus will not erase their names from the book of life. He will confess their name before His father and His angels.
The part of this statement that always intrigued me, was that Jesus would not erase their name from the book of life. Remember, the overcomers are all who stay faithfull until the end. One way to explain this is to say that anyone ever born had their name written in the book of life. Anyone whose name is not found recorded in the book of life, at the white throne judgement at the end of Jesus millenial reign, will be cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:15). No human was ever intended to end up there. The lake of fire was originally intended for Satan and the fallen angels. Peter wrote in his second letter, chapter 3, verse 9, " The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient towards you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance." So when a person dies, having rejected Jesus' offer to have eternal life and live in His kingdom, then their name is erased from the book of life.
Jesus is:
He who has the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars(the seven angels to the churches).
In the 1st Chapter of Revelation, verse 4, these seven Spirits are before Jesus' throne. In Chapter 4, verse 5, they are seven lamps of fire burning before the throne. In Chapter 5, verse 6, they are seven Spirits that are sent out into all the earth. If they are sent out into all the earth, it has to be for the purpose of making sure that the churches fullfill their mission, which is to proclaim the Truth of the Gospel to all the nations. Jesus said in Matthew Chapter 24, verse 14, " And the gospel of the kingdom shall be preached into the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come." So Jesus will not return until the whole world has a chance to hear the Truth that leads to eternal life. The only people who will not recieve eternal life, are those who refuse the Truth to be saved.
Warning:
1) Jesus knows their deeds, that they have a name that they are alive, but they are dead. Jesus tells them to wake up, and stenghthen the things that remain, which were about to die. He has found their deeds to be incomplete in the sight of His God.
The thing that has made them dead can very well be that they have become complacent. This is very common in many churches today. They have become comfortable within their own walls. They participate in weekly services of good verbal worship of God, but not using what should be preparation to take what they have learned to those who have not heard. Scripture has stated that their are those who worship God with their words, but by their actions they deny Him. The church of God should be a moving train, but in many cases, it is stuck in the station.
2) Jesus procedes to tell them that they must remember what they have recieved and heard and keep it and repent (turn) from what the are currently doing.
Sometimes what you are doing, is what you are not doing. I think what the believers in Sardis were doing, was having great collective worship, but in their lives outside the church were not reflecting to those around them, the love and character of God.
3) Jesus tells them that if they do not wake up, that He will come like a thief, and that they would not know at what hour He would come upon them.
Praise:
Jesus said that there were a few in Sardis who had not soiled their garments and they will walk with Him in white, for they are worthy.
The only thing that makes a person worthy, is if Jesus becomes their righteousness, and that is by choosing to make Him your Savior. I wrote about this in earlier bloggs. So, I wonder if there were many in the church in Sardis, who were Christians in name only and had not actually been born of above. Paul wrote in his 2nd letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 13, verse 5, " Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you - unless indeed you fail the test?" There are many people, even in the world today, who belong to many different factions of Christianity, who being born into a family that attends that church, may just go through certain religeous motions, but never really surrendering their lives into Jesus' hands. Now 2000 years later, has it become for many, just religious practices and not an actual tranformation. Do we even hear anymore, as Jesus taught, that we must be born of above.
Overcomers reward:
They will be clothed in white garments and Jesus will not erase their names from the book of life. He will confess their name before His father and His angels.
The part of this statement that always intrigued me, was that Jesus would not erase their name from the book of life. Remember, the overcomers are all who stay faithfull until the end. One way to explain this is to say that anyone ever born had their name written in the book of life. Anyone whose name is not found recorded in the book of life, at the white throne judgement at the end of Jesus millenial reign, will be cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:15). No human was ever intended to end up there. The lake of fire was originally intended for Satan and the fallen angels. Peter wrote in his second letter, chapter 3, verse 9, " The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient towards you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance." So when a person dies, having rejected Jesus' offer to have eternal life and live in His kingdom, then their name is erased from the book of life.
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