The 7 Churches in Revelation

I am finding out a lot about the book of Revelation, maybe if I fully understand it, it will not intimidate me so much. It is also called the Revelation of St. John the Divine or the The Revelation to John.

Chapter 1
This is the revelation of Jesus Christ to His servants, telling them of what must soon take place. He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John. Vs 3 Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near. Vs 8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "Who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."

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

17 (describing Jesus' appearance) When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. 19 Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. 20 The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels/ messengers of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

Chapter 2 To the Church in Ephesus- To the angel of the Church in Ephesus write:
These are the words of Jesus:
2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.

4 (amplified) But 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). Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

6 But you have this in your favor: you hate the practices of the Nicolatians (what they are doing as corrupters of the people), which I Myself also hate.

7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the Churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

My own personal research determined that: The seven churches (Revelation chapters 2 and 3), located in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea, were listed in their geographical order along an ancient triangular highway route in what is today eastern Turkey, touching on The Aegean Sea. The island of Patmos was just off the coast.


To the Church in Smyrna
To the angel of the Church in Smyrna

These are the words of Him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. I know your afflictions and your poverty-yet you are rich! I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you and you will suffer perscution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.


To the Church in Pergamum
To the angel of the church in Pergamum write:

These are the words of him who has the sharp double-edged sword. I know where you live- where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith to me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city-where Satan lives.

14 Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality. 15 Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.

To the Church in Thyatira

18 To the angel of the church in Thyatira write:

These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. 19 I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.

20 Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. 21 I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. 22 So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. 23 I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches willl know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds. 24 Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan's so-called deep secrets (I will not impose any other burden on you): 25 Only hold on to what you have until I come. 26 To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations. 27 he will rule them with an iron scepter; he will dash them to pieces like pottery- just as I have received authority from my Father. 28 I will also give him the morning star. 29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

To the Church in Sardis

To the angel of the church in Sardis write:

These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead, Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.

yet you have a few people in Sardiswho have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. he who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

To the Church in Philadelphia

To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:

These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut and what he shuts no one can open. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though the are not, but are liars- I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.

I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

To the Church in Laodicea

To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So because you are lukewarm-neither hot nor cold- I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing. But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on you eyes, so you can see.

Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Amen.

FORGIVENESS

Matthew 5:22-26 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, Raca(vain fellow/ contempt) will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, Raca is answerable to the Sanhedrin (council). But anyone who says, "You fool!" will be in danger of the fire of hell. Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift. Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

You will have a hard time accepting the grace and forgiveness of the Lord if you haven't gotten down to forgiveness issues in your heart. You have to get out that first offense you stored up years ago, and sometimes, you will have to dig for a long time. But when you get down to that issue, the river of living water can spring back up out of you and refresh others. That is God's priority.

I personally know that there are certain issues in my life that I must deal with. Over the years I have thought that I have dealt with the issues however, they have taken a piece of me away. I need to fully give them over to Jesus and ask Him to run His living waters through all the areas in my life. In 2009 I need to work on the following so that I will not find it so hard to truly forgive people:

1) dealing with my childhood molestation
2) dealing with my teenage sexual assault during a robbery
3) the death of my father when he was only 43 years old
4) supporting and respecting my mother
5) trusting men

Lord this is my prayer tonight, these are some of the issues that have shaped my life. Please help me overcome them with You who strengthens me. For what man/ the devil meant for evil You will make good. What you have made clean O'Lord may no man call unclean. I believe O'God that You have made me clean Amen.

Being Diligent

DILIGENCE.
Fasting, praying, and feeding on the Word of God puts that sword in your hand and positions you to discern the difference between your thoughts and God's thoughts. There is no higher authority than to know the heart of God for a situation you are facing. HIS WORD IS FINAL NO MATTER WHAT!!!! excerpt from "Fasting" by Jentezen Franklin.

A good example of a diligent person is Cornelius and his story is found in Acts chp 10 to chp 11:1-18. At this point in the Bible only the Jews had received the Holy Spirit. Cornelius and his family were devout and God fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. One day Cornelius had a vision. He say an angel of God, who came to him and said, "Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter.

About noon the following day, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. Then a voice told him, "Get up, Peter. Kill and eat." "Surely not, Lord!" Peter replied. "I have never eaten anything impure or unclean." The voice spoke to him a second time, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean. This happened three times and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven. If God tells you something, do not go against it or try to put your own reasoning. If you do not understand ask Him for the interpretation. We have no right to call anyone unclean when God has made them clean. When we ask God to forgive us of our sins He does so. So when we are forgiven no one has the right to call us by our past sins.

When Peter got to Cornelius' house he found a large group of people waiting for him. He said to them, "you are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean. I need to emphasize this point for myself- I have no right to call any man impure or unclean (or evil or not worthy of God's blessings). Write down your dreams and wait for God to reveal the meaning to you. So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection.

vs 34...Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. vs 44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. God will use any vessel so never look at someone and think the Holy Spirit cannot be poured on them.

Chp 11 The apostles and the brothers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him and said, "You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them." Peter began and explained everything to them precisely as it had happened:... vs 15 As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as He had come on us at the beginning. Then I remembered what the Lord had said: "John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?" When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, "So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.

So continue seeking God's kingdom first and do not tarry for your good works are not being done in vain, God our Father sees our diligence Amen.

ThankYou God for Your Continued Mercies Each Morning!!!!!!!!!!!!

So often we forget God's goodness and Mercy. Lord today I come before You because I know you order my steps. I realize that even before I was conceived You knew me and had plans for me. Today I choose to walk in Your will so that I may see the plans You have for me come to pass today and forevermore Amen.



Psalm 78:34-43



Whenever God slewed (killed) them, they would seek him;

they eagerly turned to him again.

They remembered that God was their Rock,

that God Most High was their Redeemer.

But then they would flatter him with their mouths,

lying to him with their tongues;

their hearts were not loyal to him,

they were not faithful to his covenant.

Yet he was merciful;

he forgave their iniquities

and did not destroy them.

Time after time he restrained his anger

and did not stir up his full wrath.

He remembered that they were but flesh,

a passing breeze that does not return.

How often they rebelled against him in the desert

and grieved him in the wasteland!

Again and again they put God to the test;

they vexed the Holy One of Israel.

They did not remember his power-

the day he redeemed them from the opressor,

the day he displayed his miraculous signs in Egypt,

his wonders in the region of Zoan.