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Revelation 2.1-7 part V
January 29th 2017
Meat
Okay, we left off covering the eleventh promise Jesus makes to the believers at the Seven Churches in Asia minor which was to Sardis and said
“and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life.”
Let’s move on to numbers 12 – 17 – Lord willing.
So in addition to promising that he would “not blot out his name out of the book of life,” He also promises to the believers at Sardis that He will (Number Twelve and thirteen)
“confess his name before my Father,”(12) and (then also) to His angels (13)
This is a reiteration of Matthew 10:32 where Jesus said to His disciples,
“Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.”
From this I think we can connect “overcoming, ears to hear, and keeping His word till the end” with people who also would “confess Him before men,” since they are all now linked together.
Interestingly, in Matthew 10 after saying
“Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.” Jesus adds –
“But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.”
Confess in the Greek means the same as profess. Deny in the Greek means to refuse but it can also mean to contradict.
From these definitions (and in context with the rest of scripture) I have a hard time accepting that in either the confessing or in the denying that we are talking about a singular case.
In other words those who step forward and profess Jesus name in their lives but never seek Him or His ways are not secure and those, in a fit of rage or depression or error who deny Him are not unsecured.
We’re talking about a life of denials AND a life of confessions. Paul touches on this principle when he writes in 1st Timothy 6:12
“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.”
This profession, I believe based on the use in other parts of scripture, means to acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ, our dependence on him for salvation, our attachment to him, our allegiance on Him and it appears that it can be made in our religious affiliations, at or in communion, in our secular lives and of course in and through any other interaction we may have in the mortal world.
I resent the name it and claim it of Jesus name as evidence of genuine faith – but wouldn’t reject it as God judges.
But I think the evidence will be laid bare, perhaps without even an exchange of words, in the afterlife and we will automatically know our state when presented to the Father.
We also cannot ignore the importance of Jesus in our stance before God, in our salvation as He makes the introduction being the Way, truth and life.
What is interesting is the introduction will not only be made to His Father but also to God’s angels.
This added caveat is mentioned in the Gospel of Luke where we read Jesus saying:
Luke 12:8 Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God:
9 But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God.
I’m going to go out on a limb here but in my limited view I believe that this acknowledgement of believers before God and His angels is somehow tied to our afterlife duties as joint heirs with Christ.
To romanticize it we might liken the whole scene to a King in a palace who sends His only Son to war partly so the King’s Son can find, prove and vet others to govern His developing military.
And so the Son goes to war and right there in the thick of it witnesses who are faithful to the King and His Kingdom and who are not.
Once the war is over all who stood up for the name of the King and the King’s Son are invited to the Palace where the Son introduces all who stood up for Him in battle to His Father – and also to all the servants and staff of the Kingdom (who we might liken to the angels of heaven) – WHY?
Because they are going to become joint heirs with the Kings own Son in the Governance of future affairs of the Kingdom.
Just my view. But admitting this we are about to see what we might call an increase (or a heating up of the promises) that Jesus gives to the remaining believers in the last two churches) beginning with number fourteen (to the Church of Philadelphia) which says
Sardis
Number Fourteen
“will I make a pillar in the temple of my God,”
Now, the temple of Jesus God is spiritual, not made with hands, and so to be a pillar in this spiritual edifice is extremely symbolic and important.
Going back to the Old Testament building of Solomon’s temple we read the following in 1st Kings 7:13
And king Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre.
14 He was a widow’s son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass: and he was filled with wisdom, and understanding, and cunning to work all works in brass. And he came to king Solomon, and wrought all his work.
From there we read about him creating pillars for the temple, with all of their dimensions and ornamentation.
Then at verse 21 we read
21 And he set up the pillars in the porch of the temple: and he set up the right pillar, and called the name thereof Jachin: and he set up the left pillar, and called the name thereof Boaz.
These names were symbolic and referred to God’s ability to do all He says and His strength to accomplish it.
I mention this to show an Old Testament precedent for naming pillars in the actual material temple.
We know from Jeremiah that this brass pillars were ultimately taken down and into the possession of the Chaldeans and taken into Babylon.
Here in Revelation though, Jesus says that in the new temple, the Spiritual temple, not made with hands but of believers, he will make those who overcome, who hear, who do His works till the end will be made a pillar in the temple of His (Jesus) God.
In other words, “He or She will be made as if pillar in the very house of God.”
2nd Corinthians 5:1 reminds us that the real temple is spiritual, as it says:
“For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”
The writer of Hebrews says:
Hebrews 9:11 “But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building,” and then later we read –
Hebrews 9:24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.
Of course we read in 1st Peter 2:4-5, and speaking of Christ, where Peter says:
“To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,” but then adds
“Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.”
In ancient temples pillars were sometimes there for support and at other times for decoration and again at times for both.
After assigning the title of Pillar in the temple of my God, Jesus continues His promise to the Church at Philadelphia and adds our fifteenth promise, saying:
“And he shall go no more out.”
Jesus has promised the believers at Philadephia that they would be pillars in the temple of His God (very interesting phraseology) and as such they are affirmed that they “shall go no more out.”
That only makes sense – how would or could a pillar go in and out of the temple of God?
That does not fit the description of a pillar – especially one used to support a structure.
Spiritually speaking this all seems to mean that the “pillars” will be permanent fixtures in the temple of God, which, since it is a spiritual edifice, may not be confined by space or time but exists everywhere. Perhaps in this light it is an assurance of never losing ones status before God the way human kind and even the angels before us have done.
Maybe this is where the passages in John 10:28-29 have application, as Jesus said:
“And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.”
Or perhaps it means something more, something associated with reigning and ruling as Joint-Heirs with Christ.
Continuing in His promises to the saints at Philadelphia Jesus provides promise number fifteen saying:
“And I will write upon him the name of my God.”
Again, there is an appeal to the ancient world with an application that must be entirely spiritual.
Anciently we know that nobility had their names etched in almost everything they could to show their hand in the creation of it.
To write the name of Jesus God on a person serving as a pillar in the House of His God seems to mean that such an individual would forever bear the image and nature (and therefore the name of God in their person).
That’s a fantastic promise – amidst the others – and perhaps you have noticed that these promises are escalating in nature.
What the exact name of His God is we don’t know – except by what is called the Tetragrammaton – or the YHWY.
This appears to be the name to which Jesus is referring.
At this point Jesus adds more to the promise to those of the church of Philidelphia, providing us with promises
16 saying
“And, (I will add) “the name of the city of my God” (16- “which is New Jerusalem,”)
Which appears to mean that no matter where a person goes they would be recognized as citizens of that city, “the New Jerusalem.”
Of course we know the material template was given us in the Old and New Testaments where Jerusalem was home to the material temple.
This was the one place where sacrifice was made to God and He was worshipped.
When Jesus was alive and having a conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well, we read the following exchange:
John 4:19 The woman saith unto him . . .
20 “Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. (and then listen to this)
23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.”
These words describe the end of the material religion founded in material Jerusalem and its material temple made with hands and the beginning of a Spiritually founded faith, where people would worship God in spirit and truth from anywhere in the universe rather than from a specific brick and mortar locale.
To the believers in the Churches mentioned in revelation the time of a material temple was about to wind up, it’s end was at hand, and not only that, but Jerusalem itself would become new (and spiritual) right along with the temple.
So, instead of being built here it’s origin in heaven. But it is as if it had been constructed there spiritually, and then sent down to earth ready formed.
The type, the form, the whole structure is heavenly – from the city to the temple in the city – of heavenly origin.
It is a failure of sound interpretation to liken this city or temple to anything literal or material or to believe it is the future actual residence of believers.
It’s merely a comparison of the spiritually established church of believers with a beautiful city which has its origin in heaven.
We will speak in-depth of the New Jerusalem in chapters to come so let me continue on with the last two promises.
“And I will write upon him my new name.”
In Chapter two Jesus promised to give a white stone to all who overcome and in it a new name written.
But here we are promised by Christ that he will write upon us “His new name.”
Now there is some discrepancy on this passage between the King James and other translations because the line, “and I will write upon Him my new name” other translations omit the line, “will write upon him.”
It does appear that he will inscribe this upon us, but the new name is added as an inscription to the name of God.
In other words the Greek seems to support that an inscription is going to be made of the name of God and Jesus new name.
We’ll read more about the His name being in the foreheads of the Saints in the verse four of Revelation 22 which says:
“And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.”
Whether this is speaking of the same thing and this is His new name we’ll have to see if that unfolds in further study down the road.
This brings us to our last promise which seems to trump them all. Ready?
Philadelphia
“I will give to eat of the tree of life, (which is in the midst of the paradise of God).”1 (Ephesus)
They “shall not be hurt of the second death.” 2 (Smyrna)
“I will give to eat of the hidden manna,”3 (Pergamos)
“and I will give him a white stone,” “and in the stone a new name written,”“which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.”4-6
(Pergamos)
“to him will I give power over the nations” 7
“and he shall rule them with a rod of iron; (as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers): even as I received of my Father. 8
“And I will give him the morning star.” 9
“the same shall be clothed in white raiment;” 10
“and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life,” 11
“but I will confess his name before my Father,” 12
‘and before his angels.” 13
“will I make a pillar in the temple of my God,” 14
“and he shall go no more out” 15
“and I will write upon him the name of my God,” 16
“and the name of the city of my God,” 17 (“which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God:”)
“and I will write upon him my new name.” 18 and
“will I grant to sit with me in my throne, 19 (“even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.”)
Here is the order then of the promises to them who Overcome, hear, and keep His word until the end . . .
Begins with EATING from Tree of Life
Then Protection from Lake of Fire
Then EATING (again) Hidden Manna
Then receiving special stone, name and insight
Then Authority
Then power of Reigning
Then the Morning star
White clothing
Certainty in Book of Life
Introduction By Christ to God His Father
And to Angels
Then the position of a pillar
Then a permanent home with God
The receiving the Name of God
And the name of the City of God, the New Jerusalem
And His (Jesus new name)
And finally he/she will be granted to sit with Jesus in His Throne (because we overcame EVEN as Jesus is set down with His father in His Father’s throne
So let’s talk about this last promise, number Nineteen, to the church at Laodicea.
“will I grant to sit with me in my throne, (“even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.”)
To share the throne with a King (or as Jesus says it, I will grant to sit with me in my throne) is as good or high as it gets.
Reaching this coveted place paradoxically comes by death to self, by humility not pride, through self-abasement not self-agrandizement.
But it is a PROMISE given By Jesus to all who choose this path and walk it.
Let’s first look at the verse itself and its relation to other passages in scripture.
The prhase, “He that overcometh” (ho neekôn) is in the absolute nominative again (as it is in Revelation 3:12) which means it is a phrase that stands alone and has any grammatical connection to the rest of the sentence.
The word translated “to grant” by the KJV is also translated “to give” “bestow,” or “commit” and seems, in connection with the words “to sit” which are in the “first aorist active infinitive of kathizô,” to be something that once given is never, ever changed.
So its not just a visit to His throne, like we make as kids to Santa’s lap, but an actual bestowal of His throne to those overcome.
Now, as we said last week, this promise grows out of the prophecy that the saints will share in the Messiah’s rule, made to the twelve (in Matthew 19:28 and Luke 22:29), and is repeated by Paul (in 1st Corinthians 6:2), and was enlarged in Revelation 22:1-5 and then 2nd Timothy 2:11 says:
“It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: if we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us.”
Here in Revelation Jesus, in saying He will grant us to sit in His Throne adds “
(“even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.”)
These words are spoken in the perfect active which emphasizes the abiding effect of the victory He had and the words, “Sat down” (ekathisa) are probably better read.
“I took my seat,” consistent with Hebrews 1:3 which says, speaking of Christ:
“Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.”
Now, Colossians then takes the liberty to tie those who are His and follow Him in that day to their (and I believe our) future glory. For them at his coming, to us, at our coming to Him. It says:
1 “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.”
In His promises here Jesus has summarized Paul’s admonition to “set our affections on things above, and not on the things of this earth” by describing it as those who have “overcome,” had “ears to hear,” and have “followed His word to the end.”
Now, one things we have not done in our study of these nineteen promises spread out in His words to the Seven Churches of Asia Minor is we have not tried to tie the promises Jesus has given to the specific descriptions of the church relative to its strengths and weaknesses – as a means to see if there is any relation or connection.
In other words, does what He says in terms of His promises to each church have anything to do with the condition OF that specific church?
They may. But since the advice given by Jesus to each church is for all the churches to receive (as we proved in our reading in chapter two) we have been happy to believe that all the promises are to all the saints in all seven actual churches AND to all believers ever since.
However, the Church at Laodicea is a church where Jesus has nothing really good to say to them at all. Let’s quickly read what message Jesus has for them:
Revelation 3:14-22 “And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
My friends, the historic view applies so well to this description I have to admit an affinity to it as I read.
This is not to say it didn’t have immediate application to the Church at Laodicea anciently – it did.
But these words echo in my soul to the point of seismic reverberation. And I wonder if they have what might be an eternal (idealist) application to the world of organized religion ever since the end of the age in 70 AD.
Jesus promise to those who overcome the lukewarmedness of Laodicea are promised by Jesus to sit in His throne (now listen – ready? Jesus says:
(“even as I also overcame, . . . (beat) and am set down with my Father in his throne.”)
Jesus “sat down at the throne of His father BECAUSE He overcame” – this is what He says right here.
And He promises that we too will be granted to sit at His throne if we too overcome.
Overcome what? Specifically He tells us through the instruction to the Church at Laodicea.
Lukewarmedness
An opinion that they are “rich,”
(because they have increased with goods and believe that they need of nothing;
And to realize that they are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
And then He gives them advice, saying:
I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire,
that thou mayest be (truly) rich;
(and buy of Him) white raiment,
that they mayest be clothed so that “the shame of their nakedness does not appear;
and to “anoint their eyes with eyesalve, (which we’ll discuss later when we get to it)
that thou mayest see.
Then He reminds them that, “as many as I love, I rebuke and chasten,” and to therefore
be zealous and repent.
And then a reiteration, a promise, saying:
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock
(and) if any one hear His voice, and open the door, He will come in to him, and will eat with him, and he with me.
And then the promise . . .
21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
For me there is a direct connection to the status of this church of Laodicea, the promise Jesus gives them, and the status of the Nation of Israel when He actually walked the earth.
He was the antithesis to being Lukewarm. He was the most on fire being for God to ever walk the earth! But the attitude of the Jews around Him were all about riding the line, doing according to the Law but lacking the love of God and Man from the heart.
Additionally, those around Him in Judaism thought that they “were rich and believed they had need of nothing.”
And they were completely oblivious to the fact that they were “wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked.”
Jesus overcame all of this and was then SEATED on the throne of His Father. He tells those of the church of Laodicea that they too must overcome these things, AS HE OVERCAME THEM, and if they do they too will sit with Him on His throne.
Got all of that? Pretty remarkable. Pretty powerful. And it seems to work and fit with Him and them.
So let’s wrap it up by applying it to us.
Because Laodicea is the last church addressed, I tend to see it as not only representational today in an idealist sense, but also in a historicist sense.
In other words I think that since the beginning of the popularization of brick and mortars (which are a very good description of churches that think they are rich) we have had churches and believers who fulfill the Laodicean description.
Jesus is very clear – graphically clear – what He thinks of them – he will spit them out of his mouth.
What’s the problem? Isn’t going to church and supporting the church and belonging to a church and building a church up good in the eyes of the King?
No.
Look at Him and His LIFE!
Look at the Lives of the Apostles He chose who followed Him!
Do you observe lukewarmedness? Riches? Would you ever describe any of them as spiritually, or in the eyes of the Living God as “wretched, miserable, poor blind and naked?”
Never.
You would see them spiritually as holy, joyful, rich in light and faith and love, having eyes to see and clothed in the white robes of His righteousness.
But the Nation of Israel in Jesus day, the church of Laodicea in Jesus name, and I would suggest the vast majority of the major brick and mortars on earth for the past 2000 years perfectly measure up to this incisive description.
This leads me to a concluding point in our study today. And remember, Jesus said it, I didn’t.
What did He say?
He said in Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
So while I am convinced that all will be reconciled to God through the victory of His Son over sin and death, I affirm the words of the Lord that “few be there that find life without loss, few be there that are His, few be there that will be granted to sit on His throne because few have overcome as He has overcome.
Remember II Timothy
“It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: if we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us.”
We will open next week up with an on board analysis of how He overcame the Laodicean ways of the Nation of Israel in His day in an attempt to learn how to do the same today, before continuing on with our verse by verse in Revelation chapter 2 beginning at verse 8.
Insights
Q and A
Laodicea
