A Study of John 14

1DO NOT let your hearts be troubled (distressed, agitated). You believe in and adhere to and trust in and rely on God; believe in and adhere to and trust in and rely also on Me.

You may read this and think, OK, I have to keep my heart from being afraid. But here our peace that passes all understanding, Our Father is responsible for keeping our hearts from trouble.

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7

The Truth is that anywhere that we read in scripture that we have to do something, there are multiple other scriptures that teach us the Truth that it is God doing it for us. The reason the Bible is written in this way is because its Truths are only for those who are truly chosen and saved. It takes the Holy Spirit within us to plainly show us the full Truth. There are a ton of people who claim to know Jesus, but He does not know them. So they read this and preach that the burden of salvation is on man, we must do this or that to receive the blessings of our Father. They make God reactive to our direction, but the Truth is that we are the ones who are reactive to our Fathers direction, just as the hand is reactive to the heads direction. So it is the Truth that we must not have trouble hearts and that we must trust in Jesus. And false religion will preach that we have to do it. But the real Truth is that we must not have troubled hearts and trust in Jesus, and to insure that we do the peace of God that passes all understanding keeps our hearts from fearing and not trusting. The Truth is that our Father has given us His very own Spirit and since He has we do not fear, because we are one with our Fathers power and love!

And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. Matthew 13:10-11

2In My Father's house there are many dwelling places (homes). If it were not so, I would have told you; for I am going away to prepare a place for you.

Jesus came so that all of mankind could have a direct and unbroken relationship with God. Jesus came so that we could become one with God through Him. God has room for us all. God would that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the Truth, 1 Timothy 2:4. God has room for all men, He has room for the angels, and the 24 elders and created beings that we read of in Revelation. Our Father is all about hospitality.

There will people from every nation, every tribe, and every language saved, Revelation 5:9.

3And when (if) I go and make ready a place for you, I will come back again and will take you to Myself, that where I am you may be also.

Ask yourself this question, is this for our future when Jesus returns to set up His Millennial Reign , or is it for us right now because Jesus has been raised from the dead?

And He raised us up together with Him and made us sit down together [giving us joint seating with Him] in the heavenly sphere [by virtue of our being] in Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One). Ephesians 2:6

And you who were dead in trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh (your sensuality, your sinful carnal nature), [God] brought to life together with [Christ], having [freely] forgiven us all our transgressions, Colossians 2:13

IF THEN you have been raised with Christ [to a new life, thus sharing His resurrection from the dead], aim at and seek the [rich, eternal treasures] that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Colossians 3:1

It only took God 6 days to create the earth, man, and every living thing on it. I really don’t believe that it would take Jesus thousands of years to create our place in Heaven. God just speaks and things come into existence. So when you tie these verses into Jesus saying that He is coming back for us, so that we may be with Him where He is, it has to be for us right now. Jesus was crucified and He was raised from the dead by the Spirit of our Father, so that we could be one with Him. And we are one with Him today, as well as in Heaven.

Neither for these alone do I pray [it is not for their sake only that I make this request], but also for all those who will ever come to believe in (trust in, cling to, rely on) Me through their word and teaching, That they all may be one, [just] as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be one in Us, so that the world may believe and be convinced that You have sent Me. I have given to them the glory and honor which You have given Me, that they may be one [even] as We are one: I in them and You in Me, in order that they may become one and perfectly united, that the world may know and [definitely] recognize that You sent Me and that You have loved them [even] as You have loved Me. John 17:20-23

We are one with Jesus right now so that the world may believe! Our oneness with our Father through Jesus is our power to evangelize the world.

Father, I desire that they also whom You have entrusted to Me [as Your gift to Me] may be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory, which You have given Me [Your love gift to Me]; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. John 17:24

If we are only to see Jesus’ glory when we are in Heaven than our life here on this earth will be miserable. Every day we see Jesus’ glory. We see Him leading us in the paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake, Psalm 23:1. We see the power of His Blood cleansing us from all unrighteousness, 1 John 1:7. We see Him bearing our sins, sicknesses, and diseases and by His stripes we are healed, 1 Peter 2:24. We see the Holy Spirit causing us to remember all things and strengthening us in all things, John 14:26. Every day we the chosen of God see the glory of our Lord and Savior.

4And [to the place] where I am going, you know the way.
5Thomas said to Him, Lord, we do not know where You are going, so how can we know the way?
6Jesus said to him, I am the Way and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except by (through) Me.

The way for us to be where Jesus is, is not our physical death and then we go to Heaven. The way to Jesus is being empowered by the Holy Spirit to make Him the Lord of our lives. It is the truth that sets us free, John 8:32. We are one with Jesus right now. Just as Jesus was one with God when He was here on earth as a man, we are one with Him. God is bigger than our physical bodies and He is not confined by flesh and time and space.

7If you had known Me [had learned to recognize Me], you would also have known My Father. From now on, you know Him and have seen Him.

Look at this, from know on we know the Father. Jesus never teaches us that our Father is mysterious and private. Jesus never says that we have to go through others to speak to our Father. God desires a one on one relationship with Him and through Jesus’ sacrifice He has it.

8Philip said to Him, Lord, show us the Father [cause us to see the Father--that is all we ask]; then we shall be satisfied.
9Jesus replied, Have I been with all of you for so long a time, and do you not recognize and know Me yet, Philip? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say then, Show us the Father?

10Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in Me? What I am telling you I do not say on My own authority and of My own accord; but the Father Who lives continually in Me does the ([a]His) works (His own miracles, deeds of power).

Right here Jesus tells them that even though He is on this earth, He is still in the Father and the Father is in Him. And when Jesus was raised from the dead, we became one with Him. So we are now where He is, just as Jesus was where His Father was. This is salvation, that we become one with our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We can read about Jesus and see what we now have, exactly what He had when He was here as a man. And we even have more, because Jesus has been raised from the dead and He has shed His Blood to bring in the power of the New Covenant. A covenant that allows God to graft us into Himself and actually make us one with Him. For we are members of His body, flesh f His flesh, and bone of His bone, Ephesians 5:30.

We were buried therefore with Him by the baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious [power] of the Father, so we too might [habitually] live and behave in newness of life. For if we have become one with Him by sharing a death like His, we shall also be [one with Him in sharing] His resurrection [by a new life lived for God]. Romans 6:4-5.

Also take clear notice of this Truth, it was God in Jesus doing His works and it is God within us doing His works. And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you shall heed My ordinances and do them. Ezekiel 36:27. Religion will try and tell us that we need to do this or that to have God work through us. They will tell us of steps or that we have no faith. But the Truth is this. God chose Jesus to work through. He chose when to work through Him, Jesus did no miracles until He was in His 30’s. And the same holds true for us. It is the power of our Father and the timing of our Father. If we need faith, we have Jesus to Author and Finish it, Hebrews 12:2. If we need to be cleansed from some problem, God is our Gardener that prunes us, John 15:2.

The Truth of salvation is that we are now one with God. We are actually part of Him. There is no longer any separation whatsoever. Our old man is dead. I have been crucified with Christ [in Him I have shared His crucifixion]; it is no longer I who live, but Christ (the Messiah) lives in me; and the life I now live in the body I live by faith in (by adherence to and reliance on and complete trust in) the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself up for me. Galatians 2:20.We cannot do anything alone anymore, it is Jesus within us doing it all. I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing. John 15:5.
So if you are thinking if I would just do this or that and then God will work through me; you’re wrong. There are absolutely things that need to happen in our lives, but we are never alone, we are always one with God and it is always our Father within us doing His works and on His time frame. Think of it like this, for us to eat our mouths must chew. Our tongues and teeth have their parts to play. But is their part separate from the body? And isn’t the head telling the tongue and teeth what to do? Jesus is our Head and we are His body. The head doesn’t tell the tongue it is my desire for you to swallow and if you do there will be a blessing and if you don’t there will be a curse. Tongue the choice is yours. The tongue has no choice but to do what the head directs it to. The tongue is not a robot, but one with a greater thing, the body. And that is how we are, through Christ we are now one with God and Jesus is our Head.

You may be asking, but what about our free will? You ever here a preacher tell you that God loves you so much that He will allow you to go from Him. Bull! Jesus tells us that to have any part of the Kingdom of Heaven we must be as little children, Matthew 18:3. Think of a father saying I loved my little child so much, a love that man cannot comprehend, so I let my little child decide to stay or go from my home. He would be arrested and charged with child abuse if he allowed the child to wonder off.

Think of a sheep. Does the shepherd say I love the sheep so much that I allow them to stay or go? If a sheep leaves and is killed the shepherd is to blame. And Jesus is our Shepherd.

Jesus is the Vine and we are the branches, John 15:5. Does the vine say to the branches I would like for you to produce this kind of grape and you will be blessed if you do, but it is your choice. The branch cannot help but bear the fruit of the vine that it is attached to, and we are attached to Jesus. The branch produces the fruit that the vine tells it to and when it tells it to. And the gardener keeps the bugs and diseases off it, so that it can produce abundant crops. And God is our Gardener, John 15:1.

We can only say yes to Jesus because we have been chosen and empowered to. For many are called, but few are chosen. Matthew 22:14. Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. 1 Corinthians 12:3. For us to be saved is a total sacrifice, just as Jesus had to die, so must we, it is the only way that we can live. So if your all about free will and your choice, the true revelation of what salvation is has not come to you.

11Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me; or else believe Me for the sake of the [very] works themselves. [If you cannot trust Me, at least let these works that I do in My Father's name convince you.]

We shall know each other by the fruit that Jesus produces through us, Matthew 7:20. And Jesus tells the apostles the exact same thing, that look at what you see God doing through Me, this is how you will know that He is in Me and I am in Him.

12I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, if anyone steadfastly believes in Me, he will himself be able to do the things that I do; and he will do even greater things than these, because I go to the Father.

God loves miracles. He used them all throughout the Old Testament. He used them through Jesus. He used them through the Apostles, through the believers in the Book of Acts, and we read that He will use them during the Great Tribulation in the Book of Revelation. God never changes, Malachi 3:6. People should see things that cannot be done by humans through us. It proves that God is alive. But so many preach that it is our power to believe that allows them to happen. Instead of the Truth that it is Jesus’ power to believe working through us that allows God to use us to do them. Faith comes from hearing and hearing from the Word of God and faith is the evidence of things hoped for. So we need to preach the Truth that will set the captives free to be used by God to do the works that He did through Jesus and even use us to do greater works. People are captives to themselves believing that there is separation between them and God and that they have to muster up this ability to believe on their own and then God will use them.

13And I will do [I Myself will grant] whatever you ask in My Name [as [b]presenting all that I AM], so that the Father may be glorified and extolled in (through) the Son.(A)

Jesus will answer whatever we ask in His Name, and He will answer our prayers, so that God receives the glory. Think of Jesus for a minute. He received everything that He asked for and we are now one with Him. Jesus can be so confident in our ability to ask for what is the will of God because He knows that He is our Head.

Religion tries to put limitations on us. I love quoting this verse to people and watch them scramble at trying to qualify it. But when we read what Jesus actually said, He never does. And think of what Jesus received from God, water turned to wine, because the party ran out of it. Storms stopped because His disciples got scared and the apostles caught so many fish that it broke their nets. These are not exactly needs for a person to survive. But yet they came to pass. Every bit as much as Lazarus being raised from the dead, thousands being fed in the wilderness, and thousands of people healed.

So when we read that whatever we ask in Jesus’ Name we will receive, we need to rejoice, because this is the Truth that Jesus spoke. And if Jesus wasn’t timid in saying it, why would we be in asking? This is a simple sermon, ask in the Name of our Lord, Jesus, and receive, and by doing so our Father receives the glory!

Now think of it, how will the world, the world mind you, give God the glory? If we pray for small things that only benefit us, or if we ask for big things that benefit the world, things that men cannot do? Think of Jesus and then you will see the kind of things that we can ask for! The water turned to wine was for others. The storm was stopped because the disciples were afraid. The masses were fed because they were hungry. Lazarus was the dead one, the masses were the sick ones, Jesus asked and received so that others would benefit. We don’t read that Jesus was asking for Himself, but for those around Him.

Jesus teaches us in Matthew 6:25 to take no thought for our own lives, and then we see how He lived. Jesus took on the servant’s towel. Jesus allowed Himself to be crucified so that we might live. And now Jesus ever lives to intercede for us, so that we might be saved to the uttermost. So ask for huge wonderful things: hurricanes to stop, whole nations to be saved, and the dead to be raised, even after they were embalmed.

14[Yes] I will grant [I Myself will do for you] whatever you shall ask in My Name [as [c]presenting all that I AM].
Jesus comes right back and says it again. He wants no doubt about our ability to ask Him for
everything. Big and small. Ask Him for a better golf game and for someone to be healed of HIV. Ask Him for a great parking space and for Hurricane whatever to be stopped. Ask and receive. We are now one with Jesus and as He is so are we in this world, and Jesus receives everything from the Father and so do we.

15If you [really] love Me, you will keep (obey) My commands.
Of course we will keep His commandments, we have the Holy Spirit within us causing us too!

We are one with Jesus, Who is the commandments. For both He Who sanctifies [making men holy] and those who are sanctified all have one [Father]. For this reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren; Hebrews 2:11.

16And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby), that He may remain with you forever—

Once again we see Jesus asking for others, remember 1 John 4:17, as He is, so are we in this world.

We have been given the very Spirit of God. The same Spirit that Jesus has, we have. The same Spirit that strengthens Jesus, strengthens us. The Spirit of God, strengthens us, helps us, counsels us, intercedes for us, and is always standing with us. He never leaves us or forsakes us, we are one with God forever as Jesus is one with God forever!

17The Spirit of Truth, Whom the world cannot receive (welcome, take to its heart), because it does not see Him or know and recognize Him. But you know and recognize Him, for He lives with you [constantly] and will be in you.
18I will not leave you as orphans [comfortless, desolate, bereaved, forlorn, helpless]; I will come [back] to you.
19Just a little while now, and the world will not see Me any more, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also.
20At that time [when that day comes] you will know [for yourselves] that I am in My Father, and you [are] in Me, and I [am] in you.

Because we have the Holy Spirit we know that we are saved. We know that we are one with God in the exact same way that Jesus is. Jesus died and was raised from the dead. Our Lords Blood has been shed, our place has been prepared and He has returned to be in us, the two (Jesus and His chosen ones) have become one flesh, Ephesians 5:31:32.

21The person who has My commands and keeps them is the one who [really] loves Me; and whoever [really] loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I [too] will love him and will show (reveal, manifest) Myself to him. [I will let Myself be clearly seen by him and make Myself real to him.]

Religion will try to put all of this burden on man. We must keep the commands as if there is separation between us and Jesus. But there is not, we are in Jesus and He is in us, and we are all one in our Father. We have the Holy Spirit in us, never leaving us or forsaking us, causing us to keep the commandments of our Father. We are now one flesh with Jesus, so the commands are kept, because we are one with Jesus Who is the commands. Our yoke is easy and our burden is light, Matthew 11:30. The Truth is that we cannot help but to keep the commandments of God, because we have Jesus keeping them for us. He is our Head, He is our Vine, He is our Shepherd!

22Judas, not Iscariot, asked Him, Lord, how is it that You will reveal Yourself [make Yourself real] to us and not to the world?
23Jesus answered, If a person [really] loves Me, he will keep My word [obey My teaching]; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home (abode, special dwelling place) with him.

Where Jesus is, so are we, and Jesus is at home within us! Not everyone will be saved, but God would that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the Truth, 1 Timothy 2:4. So we should be asking that all men are saved. In the last times I believe that many will be saved and here is why. Look at the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25. When Jesus calls them and the time is at hand, five of the virgins are ready. Jesus could have said only one was or two, but He said five, and that is 50%! So pray for all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the Truth.

24Anyone who does not [really] love Me does not observe and obey My teaching. And the teaching which you hear and heed is not Mine, but [comes] from the Father Who sent Me.
25I have told you these things while I am still with you.
26But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you.

There is only one thing that we cannot know and that is the exact hour that Jesus returns, Matthew 25:13. But other than that we have the Holy Spirit to teach us all things. Everything that Jesus has ever said, we have the Holy Spirit Who causes us to remember it. Think of Jesus, think of what He knows, and then rejoice in the Truth that we have the same Spirit causing us to know. Jesus is the Beginning and the End, and we are one with Him, so there is absolutely nothing that we cannot know.

Now here is a trap and a snare of the world. People will talk about what they don’t know. I have been in several churches that fall into this trap. They talk about they don’t know this, or they fail at that. The problem with this is that a major majority of the attention is on man. And if you come back 5 years from now, they will be saying basically the same things. But when the attention is directed towards the Truth, towards Jesus, then things change. The Truth that will set us free is that we have the Holy Spirit to teach us all things! The Truth is we have the mind of Christ, 1 Corinthians 2:16. Faith comes from hearing the Word of God, Romans 10:17. So things change by spending the majority of our time talking the Word of Truth and not talking about mans shortcomings, If Jesus is lifted up, He will draw all men unto Him, John 12:32.

27Peace I leave with you; My [own] peace I now give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. [Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled.]

You think Jesus is worried? We have His peace. He knows everything, and we have His peace. He is our Shepherd. Now think about that. If a shepherd knows there is no water, he will not lead the sheep there. If he knows there is a pack of wolves, he will not lead his sheep there. If he knows that there is a storm, he shelters the sheep. We have Jesus as our Shepherd and He knows the beginning and the end, and we now have His peace!

28You heard Me tell you, I am going away and I am coming [back] to you. If you [really] loved Me, you would have been glad, because I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater and mightier than I am.
29And now I have told you [this] before it occurs, so that when it does take place you may believe and have faith in and rely on Me.

Jesus was letting the disciples know what was going to happen. And now we have the Holy Spirit who teaches us all things. Jesus knew when He was going to die and how He was going to die. Jesus knew who would be His disciples and who wouldn’t. He knew who was going to betray Him and He knew who was going to deny Him. So many believe that we have to walk blindly in this world and we never see that taught. Jesus told Peter how he was going to die. Paul knew that he was going to be arrested in Jerusalem. We have the Holy Spirit to teach us all things. We can and should know everything as Jesus knows. Now that sounds pretty incredible doesn’t it? But that is what our Lord said, so it is the Truth!

30I will not talk with you much more, for the prince (evil genius, ruler) of the world is coming. And he has no claim on Me. [He has nothing in common with Me; there is nothing in Me that belongs to him, and he has no power over Me.]

We are one with Jesus and if satan has no claim on Jesus our Head, he has no claim on us, His body! Satan has no power over us.

31But [[d]Satan is coming and] I do as the Father has commanded Me, so that the world may know (be convinced) that I love the Father and that I do only what the Father has instructed Me to do. [I act in full agreement with His orders.] Rise, let us go away from here.

A Study of Revelation 4-5

Revelation 4
1AFTER THIS I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice which I had heard addressing me like [the calling of] a [a]war trumpet said, Come up here, and I will show you what must take place in the future.

Jesus always wants us to know what is going on. He wants us to know our Father, He wants us to know the Truth that will set us free. He wants us to know His will for our lives. Jesus knew what was going on and our Fathers will for Him when He was here as a man. He knew when He was going to die, how He was going to die, and who was going to do it. He knew our Fathers will and was empowered with the Holy Spirit to accomplish all that He came do. He knew the Truth that would set us free and He shared it. So if Jesus was allowed to know and empowered to carry out our Fathers will, why wouldn’t we be allowed? Through Jesus, God showed us plainly how man is supposed to be, fully one with Him and fully empowered by Him. John 17 clearly shows us this Truth. Jesus came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. He came so that we might have a life as He has life. And as He knows, so do we. We have become one with our Lord and Saviors mind, His Spirit, and His Body.

Revelation 4:1 has been used a great deal in my upbringing to say that there is a pre-tribulation rapture for the church. But as we will study in Revelation’s later chapters, the church has a great role to play during the Great Tribulation. And while I used to be a big believer in a pre-tribulation rapture for the church, the more the Holy Spirit has shared with me the Truths of the Revelation of our Lord, I no longer do. I really believe that Jesus has far too great of role for us, as His body, to play during the Great Tribulation, for Him not to have us here. Also, Paul was caught up to the 3rd Heaven, 2 Corinthians 12:2, as John is here and was that a show us of a pre-tribulation rapture? It just seems to me that God had things to show both John and Paul and He just brought them home to do it. To say that it proves that there is a pre-tribulation rapture is a reach.

2At once I came under the [Holy] Spirit's power, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with One seated on the throne!(A)

Notice here that only One is seated on the Throne. This verse really shows us our unity with our Father. Jesus is seated with God in Heaven and yet when John sees the Throne, there is only One. We have been raised up and made to sit together in Heavenly places in Christ Jesus. And He raised us up together with Him and made us sit down together [giving us joint seating with Him] in the heavenly sphere [by virtue of our being] in Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One). Ephesians 2:6 There is absolutely no separation between God and Jesus and when John sees the Throne, the place of ultimate authority He only sees One. And Jesus teaches us in John 17:21-24, we are now one with our Father as He is One with our Father. If you have seen Jesus, you have seen the Father, John 14:7, and we are one with Jesus. So if you have seen us, you have seen the Father!

3And He Who sat there appeared like [the crystalline brightness of] jasper and [the fiery] sardius, and encircling the throne there was a halo that looked like [a rainbow of] emerald.(B)
4Twenty-four other thrones surrounded the throne, and seated on these thrones were twenty-four elders ([b]the members of the heavenly Sanhedrin), arrayed in white clothing, with crowns of gold upon their heads.

There are 24 elders in Heaven. I have always heard that they represent 12 Old Testament Elders and 12 New Testament Elders. But the scriptures never tell us this, it is only assumed. So I believe that they are just elders, they may represent the two Testaments, but we just aren’t told. Here is what is important about the elders, it is that God has elders in Heaven, He has order, and it means that He doesn’t act alone; He is accountable. Because when our Father acts, the elders all agree, as we will study in later verses. Out of the mouth of two or three let everything be confirmed, Matthew 18:16, and God has 24 elders agreeing.

You might be thinking they have to be just yes men. But think of when God told Abraham that He was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham kept on reasoning with Him, what if there is 50 righteous people, 30 righteous people, or 10 righteous people? (Genesis 18:25-27) God didn’t just kill Abraham off for questioning Him. And think of when God told Moses that He was going to kill off all of the children of Israel. Moses came right back at Him and the Bible teaches us that God repented, Exodus 32:14. God didn’t just kill Moses off or punish him for his challenge. So these elders are there and no one can ever say that God acts alone and is unaccountable. In the Book of Revelation we see that God’s wrath is poured out on the children of disobedience and we see that our Father has accountability and agreement with the elders of Heaven.

5Out from the throne came flashes of lightning and rumblings and peals of thunder, and in front of the throne seven blazing torches burned, which are the seven Spirits of God [[c]the sevenfold Holy Spirit];

Power! Jesus is powerful because God is powerful and they are One. And through Christ we are one with our Father! God’s power is not just for Him, it is for those whom He has chosen as well! We are one with our Fathers power, just as Jesus is one with it! We have been given the Holy Spirit to teach us all things and strengthen us until the day that Jesus returns. Our power is right from God Himself.

6And in front of the throne there was also what looked like a transparent glassy sea, as if of crystal. And around the throne, in the center at each side of the throne, were four living creatures (beings) who were full of eyes in front and behind [with intelligence as to what is before and at the rear of them].(C)

God sees everything, past, present, and future. In prophesy the sea represents the people of the earth. And here we see that the sea is transparent, it’s all crystal clear to our Father. There is nothing that we do or think that is hid from God.

7The first living creature (being) was like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature had the face of a man, and the fourth living creature [was] like a flying eagle.(D)
8And the four living creatures, individually having six wings, were full of eyes all over and within [underneath their wings]; and day and night they never stop saying, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty (Omnipotent), Who was and Who is and Who is to come.(E)

These 4 creatures live to serve God; which means they live to serve the Kingdom of our Father, which we are part of! They see everything and all day long they acknowledge that God is right. They may be symbolic representing man, domesticated animals, wild animals, and the birds or real and that is just how God made them. Look at the world and the animals that God has created down here. But they important thing is that they see everything that is going on. God knows completely where we are, what is going on, and He is in total control. He will never allow anything to happen to us that He cannot handle, 2 Corinthians 12:9. God sees it coming before it ever was created. We have our Fathers complete attention and complete power, even in our weaknesses. There is nothing that surprises our Father. This is why I always get a kick out of those who teach that we can loose our salvation. Salvation is us being chosen by God and grafted into Him through Jesus. Salvation is becoming one with God. So if we could walk away, than it means that we would have had to fool God to start with. Which means He doesn’t see everything and all of this is wrong? No, if someone is truly saved, they are that way forever, we cannot fool God, and God isn’t allowing the unsaved to become one with Jesus!

9And whenever the living creatures offer glory and honor and thanksgiving to Him Who sits on the throne, Who lives forever and ever (through the eternities of the eternities),(F)
10The twenty-four elders ([d]the members of the heavenly Sanhedrin) fall prostrate before Him Who is sitting on the throne, and they worship Him Who lives forever and ever; and they throw down their crowns before the throne, crying out,

Whenever the 4 beasts see what God is doing they give Him the credit, they give Him the glory, and the 24 elders agree and all in Heaven pay homage to our Father for His goodness. They see His love, they see the results of His actions, they see how God takes care of His children, and they praise Him for it. The elders throw their crowns at our Fathers feet and show that God is the ultimate authority and that they agree with His actions. And our Father must keep given them back their crowns, because they keep on doing it.

11Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive the glory and the honor and dominion, for You created all things; by Your will they were [brought into being] and were created.

God sees all, past present and future. Our Father is in total control. He is accountable, the 24 elders are in total agreement with His actions. And our Father is good, He is love, He is gentle, kind, and He is a great provider! Our Fathers actions bring praise and thanksgiving. He isn’t selfish. Everything that He has, He has given to us through Jesus. Everything He is, He has given to us through the power of the Holy Spirit. We are one with Him, even while we are on this earth! The 4 creatures see it, the 24 elders agree with it, and Jesus was willing to die for it. That is how special we are to our Father. That is how much He loves us. And our Father is more than willing to show it!

When I see in the Word how Jesus personally dealt with other people. I know that these actions that John has seen of the creatures and elders have to be symbolic. Jesus told the disciples that if they had seen Him, than they had seen the Father, John 14:9. When Jesus was raised up from the dead and glorified and He came back to the disciples, how did He act? Did He command them to bow down before Him or did He prepare a meal for them after miraculously given them a bounty? John 21:7-9. So I don’t see our eternity as being an eternity of us bowing down before our Father, but one where we do worship Him, but as a loved child, not as a slave who cowers at the feet of their master. So I don’t believe that God created these beings just so they would bow to Him constantly. I don’t think God is that insecure, because we can plainly see our Father in Jesus? I think these visions show that God has a hierarchy in Heaven that loves Him, trust Him, honors Him, and agrees with Him. And no one and no angel and no created being can ever say that God did not act in complete love and Truth and fairness.

Revelation 5

1AND I saw lying on the [a]open hand of Him Who was seated on the throne a scroll (book) written within and on the back, closed and sealed with seven seals;(A)

The number 7, God’s perfect number, what is written in the scroll is perfect.

2And I saw a strong angel announcing in a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the scroll? And [who is entitled and deserves and is morally fit] to break its seals?

Who is worthy to let that which has been sealed up to be made known?

3And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth [in the realm of the dead, Hades] was able to open the scroll or to take a [single] look at its contents.
4And I wept audibly and bitterly because no one was found fit to open the scroll or to inspect it.
5Then one of the elders [[b]of the heavenly Sanhedrin] said to me, Stop weeping! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root (Source) of David, has won (has overcome and conquered)! He can open the scroll and break its seven seals!(B)

Notice that Jesus has won, not that He will win, but that He has! [God] disarmed the principalities and powers that were ranged against us and made a bold display and public example of them, in triumphing over them in Him and in it [the cross]. Colossians 2:15
And the Ever-living One [I am living in the eternity of the eternities]. I died, but see, I am alive forevermore; and I possess the keys of death and Hades (the realm of the dead). Revelation 1:18.

Jesus is strong enough to make the secrets of God known to us. That is why He came, not just so that we could spend eternity with our Father, but that everything that He is and everything that He has could be made known to us. The front and the back of the scroll was filled with God’s Truth, and Jesus makes it all known to us.

6And there between the throne and the four living creatures (beings) and among the elders [[c]of the heavenly Sanhedrin] I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God [[d]the sevenfold Holy Spirit] Who have been sent [on duty far and wide] into all the earth.(C)

The seven Spirits of God can be found in Isaiah 11:2. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him--the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the reverential and obedient fear of the Lord-- So God’s perfect Spirit, the number 7, is 1) Wisdom, 2) Understanding, 3) Counsel, 4) Might, 5) Knowledge, 6) Reverence, and &) obedience. These 7 attributes identify who and what the Holy Spirit is. This is who has been given to us to strengthen us, John 14:16. The Holy Spirit’s purpose is to cause us to be wise and understand our Father completely. He counsels us in the will of our Father. He causes us to be strong and know that it is our Father within us. He causes us to truly love our Father and He causes us to be obedient to our Father. Our true strength to worship is directly from the Holy Spirit; it is not us with human abilities deciding that this is our part to play. It is God within us causing us too.

And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you shall heed My ordinances and do them. Ezekiel 36:27

7He then went and took the scroll from the right hand of Him Who sat on the throne.
8And when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders [[e]of the heavenly Sanhedrin] prostrated themselves before the Lamb. Each was holding a harp (lute or guitar), and they had golden bowls full of incense (fragrant spices and gums for burning), which are the prayers of God's people (the saints).

The leadership of Heaven acknowledges and agrees that Jesus and God are One. They sing about it. This is a happy thing. God’s will is fulfilled and there is victory and glory in it! And all of Heaven acknowledges and knows it.

9And [now] they sing a new song, saying, You are worthy to take the scroll and to break the seals that are on it, for You were slain (sacrificed), and with Your blood You purchased men unto God from every tribe and language and people and nation.(D)

The elders testify as to why Jesus is worthy. Once again order and accountability. The elders acknowledge that Jesus is for the whole earth. Notice that Jesus purchased men from every nation, every tongue, and every tribe. God has chosen ones from everywhere in the earth. And also notice the term, Jesus purchased us. We are God’s possession. He is responsible for us. He created us. He is our Father, He is the Gardener, Jesus is our Shepherd, Jesus is our Head and we are His body. Jesus is the Vine and we are the branches that have been grafted into Him. Everywhere we look in the Bible we see that we are the possessions of God. We see that He is in total control and that His will is always accomplished. So many think that it is all man, we choose, we decide what we are going to do. So many believe that God can only act on our behalf if we allow Him to or if we have the faith. Let me tell you the Truth that will set you free, God is the One Who is leading and guiding us. And if anything needs done, He is the One doing it through us. Just as the Head tells the hand what to do and empowers it to do it. That is how we are, not robots, but part of the Body of the Living God! So if you are studying any 5 step programs or studies on what you need to do to be a better christian, look and see what the first thing that is taught is. If it is not that it is God within you doing it, than throw the study away, it is a complete waste of your time!

10And You have made them a kingdom (royal race) and priests to our God, and they shall reign [as kings] over the earth!(E)

The elders testify that those who will be chosen by God become one with Him. They proclaim that as Jesus is, so are we on the earth. In Revelation 1:6 Jesus tells John to tell us that through Him we are now Kings and Priests to God. And here John is hearing the 24 elders, and He knows them specifically as elders, proclaiming that we are Kings and Priests. John is hearing that we reign on the earth. How cool is this? Think of John being up there in the presence of all of these things and hearing Jesus, the elders, and the angels all saying you are a King and a Priest just like Jesus! Wow!

11Then I looked, and I heard the voices of many angels on every side of the throne and of the living creatures and the elders [[f]of the heavenly Sanhedrin], and they numbered ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands,(F)
12Saying in a loud voice, Deserving is the Lamb, Who was sacrificed, to receive all the power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and majesty (glory, splendor) and blessing!

Jesus is worthy, all of Heaven is in agreement. And here is the really powerful thing for us. Jesus gave all of His power and glory to us as well! And the glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are One; I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in One; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me. John 17:22-23. It is Jesus’ glory to be a King and a Priest and He gave all of it to us as well. And He did it as only God can, He did it by making us one with Him. We do not share these things as partners, we share them as one body. We share them just as a Head shares everything with its body: the arms, legs, hands, eyes, ears, whatever part.

The author of that bumper sticker that says that “Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven,” has no revelation of the Truth of our salvation!

13And I heard every created thing in heaven and on earth and under the earth [in Hades, the place of departed spirits] and on the sea and all that is in it, crying out together, To Him Who is seated on the throne and to the Lamb be ascribed the blessing and the honor and the majesty (glory, splendor) and the power (might and dominion) forever and ever (through the eternities of the eternities)!(G)

No one and nothing can deny the Truth that Jesus was and is victorious! Even those in Hell who denied Him.

14Then the four living creatures (beings) said, Amen (so be it)! And the elders [[g]of the heavenly Sanhedrin] prostrated themselves and worshiped Him Who lives forever and ever.

A Study of Revelation 1-3

Revelation 1
1[THIS IS] the revelation of Jesus Christ [His unveiling of the divine mysteries]. God gave it to Him to disclose and make known to His bond servants certain things which must shortly and speedily come to pass [a]in their entirety. And He sent and communicated it through His angel (messenger) to His bond servant John,

This revelation was given to Jesus to make known unto us, His chosen ones, the things that are coming to pass in their entirety. That is a great Truth, Jesus wants us to know everything in its entirety! We have been given the Holy Spirit to teach us all things, John 14:26. Jesus is not a Lord of doubt, confusion, secrets, or mysteries. Jesus wants things clear for us and to insure that His chosen ones, and not the world, know His Truths in their entirety, He has given us the Holy Spirit to teach us all things.

I do not call you servants (slaves) any longer, for the servant does not know what his master is doing (working out). But I have called you My friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from My Father. [I have revealed to you everything that I have learned from Him.] John 15:5. Jesus has given us the Holy Spirit to teach us all things and He calls us His friends. Jesus holds nothing back from His people. The head holds nothing back from the body and Jesus is our Head.

Also notice that Jesus calls us His bond servants as well as His friends. We are His possession. Jesus is our Shepherd, we are the sheep. Jesus is our Head and we are His body. Jesus has total control of us. We are the branches that have been grafted in to the Vine of Jesus, John 15:5. As we begin to study this revelation, and the things that will shortly take place, this is a very important Truth to remember. Jesus is responsible for getting us through this life, He is not going to let anything happen to His flesh on this earth that is not in perfect line and will of our Father. Not one of His true sheep will be lost, not one! We are Jesus’ friends and we are His responsibility, He is our High Priest. We have become one with Him, we are not robots, but actually one with Jesus.

2Who has testified to and vouched for all that he saw [[b]in his visions], the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
3Blessed (happy, [c]to be envied) is the man who reads aloud [in the assemblies] the word of this prophecy; and blessed (happy, [d]to be envied) are those who hear [it read] and who keep themselves true to the things which are written in it [heeding them and laying them to heart], for the time [for them to be fulfilled] is near.

There is a blessing in reading this revelation aloud with other believers. There is a blessing with reading and sowing all of God’s Word, for whatsoever thing a man soweth, that shall he reap, Galatians 6:7. But by sowing the Revelation of Jesus there comes a special blessing. So can you see why satan and the world have tried to make it seem so difficult to understand. But yet our Lord has empowered His chosen ones to read this prophesy aloud for centuries and the Revelation of our Lord is not hard to understand at all, because our yoke is easy and our burden is light, Matthew 11:30. Jesus has given us the very Holy Spirit of God to insure that there is not one little piece of our Fathers Truth that will ever be a mystery to us. The only thing of our Father that we are not permitted to know is the exact moment of Jesus’ return. But even in this we are empowered with the very knowledge of our Father to know the season, that is why we have been given this Revelation of our Lord and Savior! Jesus will come as a thief, but we are empowered by Him to ever be awake to our Fathers Truth. We are sealed until the day of our redemption. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God [do not offend or vex or sadden Him], by Whom you were sealed (marked, branded as God's own, secured) for the day of redemption (of final deliverance through Christ from evil and the consequences of sin). Ephesians 4:30.

4John to the seven assemblies (churches) that are in Asia: May grace (God's unmerited favor) be granted to you and spiritual peace ([e]the peace of Christ's kingdom) from Him Who is and Who was and Who is to come, and from the seven Spirits [[f]the sevenfold Holy Spirit] before His throne,(A)
5And from Jesus Christ the faithful and trustworthy Witness, the Firstborn of the dead [first to be brought back to life] and the Prince (Ruler) of the kings of the earth. To Him Who [g]ever loves us and has [h]once [for all] loosed and freed us from our sins by His own blood,(B)

Jesus has once and forevermore loosed and freed us from our sins! Now that is a revelation in and of itself, isn’t it? False religion wants us to be under constant condemnation of sin and the fear of sin. But the Truth that has set us free is that Jesus has once and forevermore loosed and freed us from sin, this is our salvation.

We know that our old (unrenewed) self was nailed to the cross with Him in order that [our] body [which is the instrument] of sin might be made ineffective and inactive for evil, that we might no longer be the slaves of sin. Romans 6:6

Even so consider yourselves also dead to sin and your relation to it broken, but alive to God [living in unbroken fellowship with Him] in Christ Jesus. Romans 6:11.

"Even David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin." Romans 4:6-8

“And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” Ephesians 4:23-24

And ye are complete in Him, which is the Head of all principality and power: In Whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with Him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God, Who hath raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He quickened together with Him, having forgiving you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to the cross; Having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it." Colossians 2:10-15

"But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you." Romans 8:9-11

6And formed us into a kingdom (a royal race), priests to His God and Father--to Him be the glory and the power and the majesty and the dominion throughout the ages and forever and ever. Amen (so be it).(C)

We have been given the glory of our Lord, John 17:22. And we are a kingdom of Priests. Just as Jesus is a King and a High Priest, so are we who have been made one with Him. You see we can be no other way, we are now our Lords physical body on the earth, Ephesians 5:30. And as 1 John 4:17 teaches us, as He is, so are we in this world. Jesus prayed in John 17 multiple times that we would be one with Him, and Jesus was crucified to insure that we would be and we are! A-men we are, and that is why this is such a great prophesy to read. Just wait and see how God is going to use the Body of Christ on this earth, it is spectacular!

7Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth shall gaze upon Him and beat their breasts and mourn and lament over Him. Even so [must it be]. Amen (so be it).(D)
8I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, says the Lord God, He Who is and Who was and Who is to come, the Almighty (the Ruler of all).(E)
9I, John, your brother and companion (sharer and participator) with you in the tribulation and kingdom and patient endurance [which are] in Jesus Christ, was on the isle called Patmos, [banished] on account of [my witnessing to] the Word of God and the testimony (the proof, the evidence) for Jesus Christ.
10I was in the Spirit [rapt in His power] on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a great voice like the calling of a [i]war trumpet,

There are times when the Holy Spirit just empowers us to another level.

11Saying, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last. Write promptly what you see (your vision) in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia--to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.
12Then I turned to see [whose was] the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands,
13And in the midst of the lampstands [One] like a Son of Man, clothed with a robe which reached to His feet and with a girdle of gold about His breast.(F)
14His head and His hair were white like white wool, [as white] as snow, and His eyes [flashed] like a flame of fire.(G)
15His feet glowed like burnished (bright) bronze as it is refined in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters.(H)
16In His right hand He held seven stars, and from His mouth there came forth a sharp two-edged sword, and His face was like the sun shining in full power at midday.(I)

Jesus doesn’t really look like any of the paintings that have been made of Him does He? He is powerful, glorious, and triumphant. He defeated satan at the Cross and He is in total charge. And we are His, and He never leaves us or forsakes us. Jesus is dominant, pure, and victorious. This is the appearance of the One Who Shepherds us and Who keeps us safe until the day of His return!

17When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as if dead. But He laid His right hand on me and said, Do not be afraid! I am the First and the Last,(J)
18And the Ever-living One [I am living in the eternity of the eternities]. I died, but see, I am alive forevermore; and I possess the keys of death and Hades (the realm of the dead).

Jesus totally controls death and hell, and that is to be constantly remembered while reading this Prophecy. Jesus is always in control.

19Write therefore the things you see, what they are [and signify] and what is to take place hereafter.
20As to the hidden meaning (the mystery) of the seven stars which you saw on My right hand and the seven lampstands of gold: the seven stars are the seven angels (messengers) of the seven assemblies (churches) and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

It is plain and simple what the meanings are of these 14 items, 7 Churches and 7 Angels. Now a lot of people say that these 7 churches represent seven church ages, or a history of the Church. They might be, but Jesus is always the same, He never changes. One thing is clear, Jesus does tell John to write to the 7 churches that are in Asia. As I read what John writes to these churches one thing pops out of the writings, the faults and experiences of all the churches in Asia are shared by churches today. I can look around and see that many churches have all of the traits and some have others, we have so many different churches today. Here is the way I see it, whether these 7 churches represent seven specific churches, or seven church ages, or seven styles of churches, doesn’t seem to really matter to us as readers as much as what Jesus is saying to these churches. Heaven and earth will pass away, but God’s Word will remain, and I am sure that the faults of these churches still apply to churches today!

Jesus gave specific direction to five of the churches as what was wrong with them, He told one church that He would place no greater burden on them, and one church, only one, did Jesus say that He would keep, the church of Philadelphia. There is one hope, one calling, one body, one mind, one accord! And as we study what Jesus tells six of the churches what to do, notice how He places all of the burden on them to change themselves. I will point out specifics as we study each of the seven churches. Only the one church of Philadelphia does Jesus say that He will keep. But as for the other 6 He never proclaims that God will prune them as we read that He will do in John 15, or that God will strengthen them as we read that He will do in Ezekiel 36, or that He will Shepherd them as we read that He will do in Hebrews 13:20, or that God will keep them from the evil as we read that He will do in John 17. Jesus never tells them that He is actively involved in their changing, which is the only way that they could ever succeed. Jesus told them to act, He never used these scriptural references, or the many others we can find in the Bible, and they all failed. I tried to find if any of these 7 still exist and I could not find them. So here I am assuming they are gone, if I am wrong and they do exist, it still does not change what Jesus is telling them. Which means to me that even though there were saved people within these churches, these six groups as a whole were never of Jesus. Jesus’ church never fails. Jesus always has a remnant of chosen ones.

The real lesson for me has always been this, whether 7 specific churches, 7 church ages, or seven styles of church, they all fail without Jesus being the force within them that causes success! And Jesus only tells one church that He is the power within them that will keep them. The others He tells you change this or you change that. But the beginning and the end knew that they wouldn’t because He was not the power within them allowing them too! This is why I personally believe that these are seven church styles, because there is only one true church, and that is the church that is one with Jesus, and the one that is being kept by Him. We may be spread out in the six, but we are one! If these were ages that would mean that Jesus only told one age that He would keep them. And that just can’t be true!

Revelation 2

1TO THE angel (messenger) of the assembly (church) in Ephesus write: These are the words of Him Who holds the seven stars [which are the messengers of the seven churches] in His right hand, Who goes about among the seven golden lampstands [which are the seven churches]:
2I know your industry and activities, laborious toil and trouble, and your patient endurance, and how you cannot tolerate wicked [men] and have tested and critically appraised those who call [themselves] apostles (special messengers of Christ) and yet are not, and have found them to be impostors and liars.
3I know you are enduring patiently and are bearing up for My name's sake, and you have not fainted or become exhausted or grown weary.
4But I have this [one charge to make] against you: that you have left (abandoned) the love that you had at first [you have deserted Me, your first love].

The Holy Spirit really had Paul write to the Ephesians about our oneness with Jesus. Ephesians 2:1, 2:6, 2:13, 2:15, 3:17, 4:6, 5:8, 5:30, and 5:32. I believe that many in the church of Ephesus were saved, yet the organized body was something else. Just like in so many churches today. Jesus cannot be fooled; He knows the beginning and the end. And the letter, the Book of Ephesians, that Jesus had Paul write was to true believers who knew what and who Jesus was and their relationship to Him. But as for the leadership they left Jesus, because they were never of Jesus. Jesus does not let His people leave. What kind of Shepherd would He be if His true sheep were allowed to wonder off? Can a branch decide to leave the Vine? Can an arm leave the body? Jesus tells us to have any part in the Kingdom of Heaven we have to be as little children, Matthew 18:3. Does a father allow his little children to leave his parenting? If God would allow His little children to wonder off, He would be guilty of child abuse! These leaders, who had forgotten their first love, obviously had not root, they appeared to be with Jesus but the Truth was they were not.

This is probably why the Holy Spirit had Paul writing about their oneness with Jesus. Faith comes from hearing and hearing from the Word of God.

5Remember then from what heights you have fallen. Repent (change the inner man to meet God's will) and do the works you did previously [when first you knew the Lord], or else I will visit you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you change your mind and repent.

Notice Jesus doesn’t encourage them with the Truth that the Holy Spirit would cause them to remember their first love. Or that He would Shepherd them back to green pastures, or that He was greater within them than whatever was in the world. The Truth for the true believer is that Jesus never leaves or forsakes us, even when we are wrong, He will correct us, 1 Corinthians 11:32. God prophesied through Ezekiel that He would place His Spirit within us and cause us to walk in His statutes and keep His judgments. But we really don’t read that Jesus spoke to the church at Ephesus in this way. He told them remember or they would loose their church and they did!

6Yet you have this [in your favor and to your credit]: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans [what they are doing as corrupters of the people], which I Myself also detest.
7He who is able to hear, let him listen to and give heed to what the Spirit says to the assemblies (churches). To him who overcomes (is victorious), I will grant to eat [of the fruit] of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.(A)

How does a believer overcome? We overcome because the Truth is that we are more than conquerors through Christ Who loves us, Romans 8:37. We are conquerors because God keeps us on this earth, John 17:15. Christ does not fail! God does not fail! Yet the Ephesians church failed, it is not around today. So clearly Christ was not part of this organized church and God was not part of it. They had a form of godliness, but they denied the power of it, 2 Timothy 3:5. Jesus knew this. He knew they would fail. The Book of Revelation speaks a great deal about the false prophet and the anti-christ, both will be experts at false religion. If the church of Ephesus would have truly been of God, He would have kept them from leaving their first love. I believe many in Ephesus were truly saved. History seems to show us that John actually was part of this church at one time. The things that the Holy Spirit showed this church through Paul were definitely for the chosen, as well as for us today. But the church, the organized church, with its leaders and boards could not have been, or it would still be around! God’s Truth never dies off. Jesus ever lives to declare God’s Name to us, John 17:26 and He ever lives to intercede for us so that we are saved to the uttermost, Hebrews 7:25.

There are so many who believe that Jesus is a stand by Savior. That He can only act if we first act. But the Truth is that He is the Head, He is the Shepherd, He is control and He is directing our paths. Jesus is not reactive, He is active! Many are called, yet few are chosen. And Jesus doesn’t choose in error! Think about the grafting a branch into a vine. Who picks the branch to be grafted? The gardener does, and our Gardener is God, John 15:1. Our Gardener knows the beginning and the end, do you think He will pick out a branch, graft it into Jesus and then realize that He had made a mistake. There were saved people here in Ephesus, yet as for the organized church, even though God had used it, it was never part of Him. What is part of God, what is chosen to be one with Him, cannot leave Him.

8And to the angel (messenger) of the assembly (church) in Smyrna write: These are the words of the First and the Last, Who died and came to life again:(B)
9I know your affliction and distress and pressing trouble and your poverty--but you are rich! and how you are abused and reviled and slandered by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
10Fear nothing that you are about to suffer. [Dismiss your dread and your fears!] Behold, the devil is indeed about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested and proved and critically appraised, and for ten days you will have affliction. Be loyally faithful unto death [even if you must die for it], and I will give you the crown of life.(C)
11He who is able to hear, let him listen to and heed what the Spirit says to the assemblies (churches). He who overcomes (is victorious) shall in no way be injured by the second death.

Even with the church of Smyrna Jesus never tells them that He has given them a spirit of faith and power not fear, 2 Timothy 1:7. I hope you see what I am writing here. There were several truly saved people in these churches. They had the Holy Spirit. Jesus was confirming to them what they probably already knew and He showed them what would happen. So when He wrote endure to the end, they rejoiced, because they knew that He would cause them to endure until the end. They had seen physical examples and heard personal testimonies of Jesus doing it. The physical church failed, but the true body of Christ endured and received their crowns of life!

God is no respecter of persons, Acts 10:34. I honestly believe that throughout every age, Jesus always shows His true chosen ones what is going on. And He will use whatever means needed to get through to us. Let’s face it we are all different, Jesus knows this, and He knows how to deal with each of us; just as our head knows how to deal with the heart or the hand. We are every bit as much Jesus’ friends as the Apostles were.

So here is what we have seen with these first two churches, one church has left its first love and the second church is poor and abused and their people are being killed. Sound like Churches today? So many churches in the world have left Jesus and those in the poorer countries are finding Him and being killed for it. To me if these 7 churches represent 7 church ages, they are all in action today. As I am sure they were all in action years ago.

When I hear that these churches that Jesus has John write to represent 7 distinct periods of our history it just doesn’t seem to make sense. What makes more sense is that these are 7 specific church types, and they have always existed. Like the parable of the 10 virgins, 5 were of Jesus 5 were not. Here we see 7 churches, 1 is of Him and 6 are not. You might say that two of the churches are, Philadelphia, as we will study, and Smyrna. But with Smyrna we don’t see Jesus as being the active force in them, as we will see in Philadelphia. Jesus tells Smyrna to endure, not that He will cause them to endure.

12Then to the angel (messenger) of the assembly (church) in Pergamum write: These are the words of Him Who has and wields the sharp two-edged sword:
13I know where you live--a place where Satan sits enthroned. [Yet] you are clinging to and holding fast My name, and you did not deny My faith, even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed (martyred) in your midst--where Satan dwells.
14Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: you have some people there who are clinging to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to set a trap and a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, [to entice them] to eat food that had been sacrificed to idols and to practice lewdness [giving themselves up to sexual vice].(D)

Once again chosen ones within the church would have read this letter of prophecy. Just as true believers throughout history have read the Book of Revelation. They have seen killings and persecutions and they still hold fast to Jesus; even though the church leadership is allowing false teachings in. The church was probably trying to grow, they wanted to be inclusive, and they allowed leaders in that were not called or chosen. It is fine to have everyone come to church, but read Timothy and Titus and see what the leadership should be. The true chosen ones are probably pointing these things out and this is Jesus telling them your right, even though the leadership is blinded and the church is in disarray, I have not left you or forsaken you!

15You also have some who in a similar way are clinging to the teaching of the Nicolaitans [those corrupters of the people] which thing I hate.
16Repent [then]! Or else I will come to you quickly and fight against them with the sword of My mouth.

The chosen ones knew what was going on, and I honestly believe that this was Jesus telling them through John, I know, I know. Jesus tells those truly chosen that He will succeed and He will cause them to as well! Then as history repeats itself, those who are part of churches that resemble this one, will have the Holy Spirit lead them to this prophesy and they see it clear. There is a blessing at reading this specific prophesy out loud to the assembles. And this is why to let each generation know the Truth that will set them free, regardless of what false leaders are proclaiming!

17He who is able to hear, let him listen to and heed what the Spirit says to the assemblies (churches). To him who overcomes (conquers), I will give to eat of the manna that is hidden, and I will give him a white stone with a new name engraved on the stone, which no one knows or understands except he who receives it.(E)

We have studied 3 churches now, one has left Jesus, one is being persecuted, and now one is letting multiple false teachings in. We can look at churches today and see the exact same things. And once again to the truly saved Jesus is letting us know that even with all of this, I will cause my chosen ones to be with me where I am.

18And to the angel (messenger) of the assembly (church) in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, Who has eyes that flash like a flame of fire, and Whose feet glow like bright and burnished and white-hot bronze:(F)
19I know your record and what you are doing, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your recent works are more numerous and greater than your first ones.

When Jesus was asked about His works, He said that it was the Father within Him doing the works, John 14:10. He doesn’t say here that I know the Father is using you more now than He did at your beginning? Many will do even miraculous works, but Jesus will proclaim that He never knew them.

20But I have this against you: that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess [claiming to be inspired], and who is teaching and leading astray my servants and beguiling them into practicing sexual vice and eating food sacrificed to idols. [I Kings 16:31; II Kings 9:22, 30.]
21I gave her time to repent, but she has no desire to repent of her immorality [symbolic of idolatry] and refuses to do so.

Jesus knew that Jezebel wouldn’t, but yet He gave her a chance! Jesus is the Shepherd of the True Church, the true chosen ones, and Jezebel was a wolf who tried to pass herself off as a chosen one. Jesus never lets the wolf overtake His sheep!

22Take note: I will throw her on a bed [[a]of anguish], and those who commit adultery with her [her paramours] I will bring down to [b]pressing distress and severe affliction, unless they turn away their minds from conduct [such as] hers and repent of [c]their doings.

Jesus is zealous over His church. When He came into the Temple, He personally overturned the money changers. And here we see that Jesus Himself will throw Jezebel down! People like to always say that such things come from satan, but Jesus holds the keys to death and hell, We will study on this in far greater detail during the study of the Great Tribulation later on in Revelation. But all things that happen bad for humans is not always satan doing it!

23And I will strike her children (her proper followers) dead [thoroughly exterminating them]. And all the assemblies (churches) shall recognize and understand that I am He Who searches minds (the thoughts, feelings, and purposes) and the [inmost] hearts, and I will give to each of you [the reward for what you have done] as your work deserves.(G)
24But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not explored and known the depths of Satan, as they say--I tell you that I do not lay upon you any other [fresh] burden:
25Only hold fast to what you have until I come.

Jesus once again confirming to His chosen ones in Thyatira, I know what is going on, your absolutely correct, it isn’t right and I will cause you to hold fast. Yet to the false leaders they will read this as they have to hold fast. They will teach on it, placing the burden on their congregation, telling them the works that they must do. But for the true chosen ones, the Holy Spirit will remind them of His Truth, that it is Him keeping them until the day of their redemption.

Consider the churches today, homosexuals allowed in leadership, Jesus not the focus, false teachings, and people abused. It just gets clearer and clearer, these 7 churches are not church ages, but church styles. These church styles are not the true body of Christ, true chosen believers. True believers are kept by God, sealed with the Holy Spirit, and Shepherded by Jesus. We cannot loose our first love, we have become one with Him. We cannot have false teachings overtake us, God prunes them out, Jesus refines them out, the Holy Spirit causes us to remember the Truth, because we have the mind of Christ!

26And he who overcomes (is victorious) and who obeys My commands to the [very] end [doing the works that please Me], I will give him authority and power over the nations;
27And he shall rule them with a sceptre (rod) of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, and [his power over them shall be] like that which I Myself have received from My Father;(H)

Look what our future is, we rule the nations with Jesus. Just a fore taste of what we will study later in this book as to what our future in Christ is! It is great. During the Great Tribulation we will study of how great the true church is used, during the millennial reign of Christ we are wonderfully used, and then for the rest of eternity, we are gloriously used! We are one with Jesus, the part He plays, we play it as one with Him. Our heritage and future are absolutely victorious!

28And I will give him the Morning Star.
29He who is able to hear, let him listen to and heed what the [Holy] Spirit says to the assemblies (churches).

Revelation 3
1AND TO the angel (messenger) of the assembly (church) in Sardis write: These are the words of Him Who has the seven Spirits of God [[a]the sevenfold Holy Spirit] and the seven stars: I know your record and what you are doing; you are supposed to be alive, but [in reality] you are dead.

We are crucified with Christ, and nevertheless we live, yet it is not us who lives, but it is Christ within us Who lives, Galatians 2:20. We are dead and our lives are hid in Christ in God, Colossians 3:3. Jesus starts off by telling this church that they are dead, He is not alive in them. Do you see how these churches are not part of Jesus; He is speaking to them, but not as one with them. He is pointing out their strengths and faults, but God is not getting the glory for their strengths and Jesus is not being given His glory as their Shepherd Who will lead them back to righteousness. They can’t be of Jesus, Jesus is not dead, He is alive! This is another reason that I believe these letters are to styles of churches, not church ages. I just can’t believe that there has been a time in our history that Jesus allowed His church to be dead!

2Rouse yourselves and keep awake, and strengthen and invigorate what remains and is on the point of dying; for I have not found a thing that you have done [any work of yours] meeting the requirements of My God or perfect in His sight.

Jesus tells us to be perfect, even as our Father in Heaven is perfect, Matthew 5:48. Jesus can say this because this is how He is and we are now one with Him. This is why our burden is light and our yoke easy. Because being perfect is easy for Jesus! But yet this church is dead because their works are human, so nothing they do can be perfect. Jesus plainly tells them that He knows their works, not that He knows the works of the Father within them.

3So call to mind the lessons you received and heard; continually lay them to heart and obey them, and repent. In case you will not rouse yourselves and keep awake and watch, I will come upon you like a thief, and you will not know or suspect at what hour I will come.

Jesus doesn’t even tell these people to call unto Him. He proclaims that they are to arouse themselves. Where do we ever hear in the Gospel that we are to call upon ourselves to walk in the ways of the Lord? But here all of a sudden that is how it is done? No! This is Jesus speaking to those whose hearts are not right and speaking in a parable, unless hearing He should have to heal them.

For this nation's heart has grown gross (fat and dull), and their ears heavy and difficult of hearing, and their eyes they have tightly closed, lest they see and perceive with their eyes, and hear and comprehend the sense with their ears, and grasp and understand with their heart, and turn and I should heal them. Matthew 13:15

4Yet you still have a few [persons'] names in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes, and they shall walk with Me in white, because they are worthy and deserving.

Once again Jesus telling His truly chosen ones, I have your back and I know what is going on! Think of the relief to these believers. They have to hear the bragging about what the church is doing, when they know it is dead. They see men being elevated and praised and they have to be thinking where is Jesus in all of these vain glory? And then Jesus has John write to them.

5Thus shall he who conquers (is victorious) be clad in white garments, and I will not erase or blot out his name from the Book of Life; I will acknowledge him [as Mine] and I will confess his name openly before My Father and before His angels.(A)

Of course their names won’t be erased, they were chosen before the foundation of the world. God cannot be fooled. He doesn’t let someone be one with Him whose heart is not right. That is what always cracks me up about people who believe that we can walk away from God. First of all He chose us and second of all did we fool Him? We suckered Him in to letting us become one with Jesus and then we just told Him to take a hike? Salvation is us becoming one with Jesus and there is absolutely no fellowship between Light and darkness!

We have studied about a church who left Jesus, a church that has allowed false teachings in, a church that is abused, a church that has no true works of God, and a church who has allowed false leadership in to lead the direction of the church. Still sounds like today’s churches if you ask me? It is easy to find all of these things going on. They are in no way unique to one certain age. And to say that all of these truly represent the real church of Jesus Christ is to say that Jesus has had a terrible track record of empowering His church! These are people playing church, the real church is always one with Jesus, empowered with His might and always being lead in the paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake.

6He who is able to hear, let him listen to and heed what the [Holy] Spirit says to the assemblies (churches).

Only the true chosen ones can hear, and that is why at the end of these letters Jesus always tells them that they will overcome. True believers have always had the Holy Spirit telling them that there future is securely in the hands of Jesus. While those who are playing church will read these letters and say, see what we have to do! It is not what we have to do, it is what Jesus has to do through us!

7And to the angel (messenger) of the assembly (church) in Philadelphia write: These are the words of the Holy One, the True One, He Who has the key of David, Who opens and no one shall shut, Who shuts and no one shall open:(B)

Once Jesus does something it is done! That is why He chooses us and empowers us to choose Him. We do not first choose Him, He first chooses us!

Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking under the power and influence of the [Holy] Spirit of God can [ever] say, Jesus be cursed! And no one can [really] say, Jesus is [my] Lord, except by and under the power and influence of the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:3.

The door is open and no one can shut it! This is the only church that Jesus proclaims that He will keep and look at how absolute He sounds. The door is open and no one will shut it. This is how Jesus always is. Who He has chosen, He has called, He has empowered, He has sealed, He will protect and keep.

8I know your [record of] works and what you are doing. See! I have set before you a door wide open which no one is able to shut; I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept My Word and guarded My message and have not renounced or denied My name.

Once again, Jesus has opened the door for us and no one can shut it, including ourselves!

For them to keep God’s Word and to guard the message, it has had to be Jesus within them. The Holy Spirit their strength and their seal! It seems they have just a little power, the world keeps on going, war, sin, false religion, but even with all of these things going on they cannot loose their Head, Jesus. They cannot leave the Vine. They cannot leave the fold.

9Take note! I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say they are Jews and are not, but lie--behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet and learn and acknowledge that I have loved you.(C)

One day these chosen ones will have those who have opposed them acknowledge that they were truly of God and that what He had spoken through them was right!

Every true Christian will have this happen. When I read these chapters I really see it as being every church in every age. I don’t see it as different periods of time. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever, so how could we be different? Satan isn’t recreating himself, he was a looser, still is a looser, and will be a looser tomorrow!

10Because you have guarded and kept My word of patient endurance [have held fast the [b]lesson of My patience with the [c]expectant endurance that I give you], I also will keep you [safe] from the hour of trial (testing) which is coming on the whole world to try those who dwell upon the earth.

Here is the first time we see that Jesus will keep them. But Jesus has always kept His children. This is another reason I have a problem with these being 7 different ages. There is a time of the Great Tribulation, we will study on this a great deal later in our study of Revelation, but true believers have always had trials. We have always needed Jesus to keep us and we will always need Him to keep us, and He did and He will!

When I read about Philadelphia and Laodicea I can see that they will be side by side during the time of the Great Tribulation; Philadelphia being the true believers empowered by Christ to preach to the world and the church of Laodicea being the one lead by the anti-christ and the false prophet. But to me Jesus is always Jesus, and He has always had a Philadelphia that He has empowered to hold fast to His Word, and there has always been these other false churches. During the last days a church that has left Jesus, a church that has as its leaders false leaders teaching false doctrines of men, proclaiming that they are working for God while all along their works are dead.

So as I wrote in the beginning of this study, if they are 7 different times, 7 different churches, or 7 different styles of churches, the important thing is that Jesus is with His chosen ones and the only way anyone can succeed is because Jesus is in them causing to succeed!

11I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one may rob you and deprive you of your crown.
12He who overcomes (is victorious), I will make him a pillar in the sanctuary of My God; he shall never be put out of it or 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 descends from My God out of heaven, and My own new name.(D)
13He who can hear, let him listen to and heed what the Spirit says to the assemblies (churches).
14And to the angel (messenger) of the assembly (church) in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the trusty and faithful and true Witness, the Origin and Beginning and Author of God's creation:(E)
15I know your [record of] works and what you are doing; you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot!
16So, because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of My mouth!

We are either truly chosen or we are not. There is no in between. And those who play church are always defeated and destroyed. The have no root and wither up. They are choked by the cares of this world. Instantly satan steals the Truth that they hear. Only the chosen ones, who are grafted into the Vine of Jesus, produce a crop of 30, 60, and 100 fold returns,

17For you say, I am rich; I have prospered and grown wealthy, and I am in need of nothing; and you do not realize and understand that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.(F)

Sounds like the mega churches of today, but there where mega churches hundreds of years ago. Look in Europe at all of the old buildings that housed them. But in these huge elaborate buildings we only see the works of men. The blind come in blind and leave blind. The dead are not raised. The deaf do not hear. And as in the times of old, they want money in the Name of God!

18Therefore I counsel you to purchase from Me gold refined and tested by fire, that you may be [truly] wealthy, and white clothes to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nudity from being seen, and salve to put on your eyes, that you may see.

Even in this retched church there is a call to salvation and I believe that many will be chosen out of it to become part of the church of Philadelphia that Jesus keeps!

19Those whom I [dearly and tenderly] love, I tell their faults and convict and convince and reprove and chasten [I discipline and instruct them]. So be enthusiastic and in earnest and burning with zeal and repent [changing your mind and attitude].(G)
20Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears and listens to and heeds My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will eat with him, and he [will eat] with Me.

Here we see that Jesus tells these people to open the door, but to the church that He keeps, He has opened the door. So look at what is preached in this type of church. You need to accept Jesus. No man is promised tomorrow, you better come up here and bow down at this alter in front of me and accept Jesus as Lord. Open the door to Him or be damned. I hear it preached all along. But the Truth that sets us free is this, Jesus opens the door, He chooses us, and He gives us the power of the Holy Spirit to become one with Him.

When Jesus was here as a man 2000 years ago He spoke in parables to all men. Then He would take His disciples aside and plainly tell them what He had just spoken. Well He doesn’t change. Jesus spoke in this prophesy to all men, and He has given His chosen ones the Holy Spirit to teach us all things. Same Words, same Truth, but we know that it is Jesus within us causing all of judgments to come to pass in our lives. While those playing church look to themselves!

21He who overcomes (is victorious), I will grant him to sit beside Me on My throne, as I Myself overcame (was victorious) and sat down beside My Father on His throne.
22He who is able to hear, let him listen to and heed what the [Holy] Spirit says to the assemblies (churches).

Jesus is always calling to those whom He has chosen. There is always a way and Jesus always causes us to overcome the world! We are able to hear because Jesus has given us the Holy Spirit and He allows us to hear!

If these churches represented 7 church ages wouldn’t the last church be the most mature one? That He might present the church to Himself in glorious splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such things [that she might be holy and faultless]. Ephesians 5:27 But as we read about the 7th church, the Laodiceans, the last age, we read that they are luke warm, they are blind, naked, anything but glorious. So if these represent the 7 church ages, and if we are in the last times, we don’t have much to look forward to. But Jesus always wins, so these have to represent organized religions that even though seem to be doing the works of the Lord they are never really known by Him, Matthew 7:23. For us to say that these are church ages would mean that 5 church ages failed miserably, one was only abused, and one did what they were suppose to do. And what that means is for 5 church ages Jesus failed miserably, one He was abused and poor, and only in one was He successful. This to me makes it clear that these are 7 styles of churches that will exist up until the last day.