Thank you, thank you, thank you for praying for me in such a heartfelt way, it touches my heart and lifting my spirit.
I pray the LORD will bless you mightily back for all you are giving me and people at this site. God sees Your faithful service and ministry for Him. It honours Him.
Who is an antichrist? Christ is a translation of the Greek word Christos which means anointed one. The Hebrew word is Mashiach translated Messiah which means the anointed one, the chosen one. One who God fixed for a specific purpose set apart to fulfill God's plan.
Jesus said many times that He/Him sent me, Matt. 10:40Mark 9:37Luke 10:16John 5:30 and many more times. Also, Jesus said He came down from heaven not to do His will but to do the will of Him who sent Him in John 6:38, and Jesus said this in John 6:35-40.
We see when Jesus was baptized, He was anointed not with oil but with the Holy Spirit/Ghost, Matt 3:16Mark 1:10Luke 3:22John 1:32, and John 3:34-36 Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit without measure. Peter confesses and puts clear the Messiah/Christ, and the miracles, wonders, and signs God did by Him Acts 2:22, also read 23-39.
"God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit", manifest Greek word phanero; revealed, made known, 1 Timothy 3:16John 17:1-8. God gave His only begotten Son, God sent His Son who was come in the flesh, tempted as you or me, and the spirit of antichrist is denying that is true, John 3:161 John 4:32 John 1:7. Christ is not part of Jesus name it is a title, Jesus is the Messiah, Jesus is the Christ.
A liar is he who denies or says Jesus is not the Christ/Messiah, and he is an antichrist, that denies the Father and the Son. If we deny the Son, we have not the Father but if we acknowledge the Son we have the Father also, 1 John 2:18-24. You must come to your own understanding not mine, with open mind, prayer, and the Holy Spirit guiding you, you will.
These verses about the antichrist paint a picture of a deceptive seducing spirit and the people that have been deceived, just like Eve 2 Cor. 11:3. My understanding of these verses does not refer to the beast that will ascend out of the bottomless pit that has come to be called the antichrist.
Dear Sara, I will pray for you. I am so sorry this year has been such a tough one for you.
Dear Heavenly Father, we come to You in the name of Your Son, Jesus, and ask that You help Sara today and each day this day forward. Uplift her in her spirit and create in her a giant hope in You and Your ways. Help her to trust You more completely than ever as she faces these trials and painful circumstances. Bring to her healing in the relationships that are broken. Help her to love and forgive and move past what is now truly past tense in regards to her life. You have a hope and a future for her, so we ask that You make this hope and future come to pass in a glorious way. Bless Sara today and every day with spiritual, material, emotional, and relational blessings and mighty works that tell of Your great kindness and mercy for those who love You. Help Sara rise up to meet each day in gladness and face it with You on her mind and close each day with the comfort of knowing You walked beside her every step of the way of her day. May Your Spirit teach Sara to thank you for the small things that You bring to her each day, maybe a conversation, a good meal, a quiet break, a text from a friend. Anything that will cheer her heart, bring her to thank you for it. May Your Spirit help Sara to praise You for so many of the things you have provided for her, the beauty of our world, the air we breathe, the ability to accomplish our daily tasks, the glory of Your Word. Father, I know that You will do these things for Sara because the answer to my prayers and her need are solely reliant upon your goodness and your promises to give good gifts to those who ask. ( Lk. 11:13; Jn. 16:23-24) Thank you for Your faithful promises and all that You have provided to us in the person and work of Your Son Jesus. We gladly hold our our hearts and hands to You to receive Your good and timely answer to Sara's needs. Amen.
I do agree with your analysis on this text. I believe it is pretty clear, as you stated that these words of Jesus are to the churches that existed at that time in history in Asia and specifically so. I do not believe that this texts speaks to the church eras through the centuries, either. But, as you also stated, we can learn from these words to these churches for our congregations in our own times. Thank you for a very good and measured response on this subject. Appreciated.
Yes, the rain is truly a blessing at this time. The air quality gets pretty bad from the wildfires and rain brings those smoke particles down to the ground so that they are not circulating in the air as much. Praise be to God Who is merciful and cares for us.
When we read the first verse of 'Revelation' we see Jesus being given the Revelation which he is to shew unto His servants concerning the "things which must shortly come to pass."
So, we see the timing being set for what is to be written to the seven churches, after which John identifies the recipients of this revelation when he says
4 "John to the seven churches which are in Asia: "
This will be the first revelation given to John and which Jesus Christ signified by his angel unto his servant John:
It is specific to the SEVEN CHURCHES WHICH ARE IN ASIA
There is no reason or cause to believe that each church represents an era of time in the future. The text says no such thing. It is a false supposition to say that the letters lay out the history of the Church. ( In order.) This supposition is not even remotely supported by the text.
When the text says "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.", it is obviously referring to the churches who are being addressed.
Of course, the churches could learn from each other's messages in a general sense but in a specific sense, each of the seven messages has a very deliberate message for each individual church and their own individual circumstances at the time of writing.
We can learn from Revelation as we consider future events, but we should be careful not to add any suppositions which could distort what the text is saying.
'Revelation' uses much symbolism so I would advise anybody who is studying Revelation that they should do so in the light of the scriptures where the teaching of Christ and his apostles is clear and easier to understand, so that they don't erroneously depart from God's truth.
And when the scribes and Pharisees saw (Jesus) eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?
If you're a Holy Joe, and a self righteous hip, this bothers you ! to be around common people, or someone who is not converted whereby the purpose of a Christian is to plant seeds to a person who Is a sinner, seeds of truth to a Child of God, those believers who may be on the wrong track whereby they Can see that truth, and Gain that knowledge, and Be touched by The Almighty, it's what Christianity is all about, it's spreading the good word, the gospel, the good news, we musn't send them away or cast them out, who else is going to help them?
This chapter shows how David had to run from Absalom; years after he had to run away from David and everyone else after he killed his brother in revenge for raping his sister. When studying that passage we see that David should have made an attempt to communicate with his son as the act of incest would have been worthy at that time of the death penalty; albeit not in the way craftily planned out as personal revenge for two years.
Since these Psalms for whatever reason are not in chronological order; we see a time much later in David's life when his long struggles with Saul were over. Now; he faced a similar situation with his own offspring where he had to run and hide. He knew from experience that despite what men may have said (verse 2); he could rest in contentment (v. 5). He also knew that having God on his side was superior to numbers (v. 6). We see either the result from the past or in this case of imprecatory prayer; or at the least trusting God to destroy his enemies (v. 7). The last verse sort of hammers home that for His people salvation comes (knowing the true God) and blessings. This is based of course; not only on God's covenant promises but the faithfulness of the individual. Some of David's stuggles were based on his past misdeeds and God's chastisements as warned by Nathan the prophet and by God Himself (in the case of the punishment for taking the census to find out man's strength rather than trusting God). Ultimately; the Messiah would be born through David's lineage so that all things would be fulfilled. It was His Name's sake that allowed many things to be as good as done; which included forgiving constant rebellion among kings and with the population at large.
A Hinderer , Satan enjoys hindering the gospel, The Good News, he also likes to hinder those that spread the good news, that's U planting seeds; Hinder in the Strong's Greek 2967. klu I prevent, debar, hinder; with infin: from doing so and so (detain, cast out)
It also has another important meaning: Tedious, nit pick , Tedious unto , Tedious in their Holy Walk , Satan works in many way's and the person may not know that they are doing it.
Hindering verce 15,18 in 1 Thessalonians 2:11 - 19
Can you hear the turning wheels of the holy spirit? His voice that comes from a heart that will speak unto those who are outside?. The spirits that are waiting once again too hear the truth, that will come and prove itself once again. Can you hear them as they say how can these things be! Even so the revelation is undeniable unto those who see!
This spirit of Holiness that has reigned from the beginning, His spirit that is given unto those who love Him! He will continue to reign and live, if not in you , then certainly in someone He has chosen!
This Holy One they wish to exclude, this one they know nothing about, this one they have rejected.
Do you see Him sitting at the well, as He waits to fill your cup unto ever flowing life! A life that will become an everlasting life, a life filled with all the wisdom and knowledge that can only come from above! Or do you despise Him, even as before?
Once you know the power, once you know the love, you will run. If not away, you will run unto Him!
Are Named and Identified one in the same bcause Many of us see how The anti-christ Is named Identified in the Bible
Ezekiel 25:18 God has named, judged and sentenced to death when He say's He will bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.
Start @ Ezekiel 28:12 The King of Tyrus is the example, he is also the dragon, the beast who ascends out of the bottomless pit, and goes into perdition in Revelation 17:8
John 17:12 identifies him as the one who is lost, the son of perdition.
perdition:Loss of the soul; eternal damnation.Hell.Utter ruin
Hello Chris, I believe that the hour of temptation/trial was experienced by the generation who were alive at that time in terms of the persecution of the Christian church which was ongoing.
If we read the message in Revelation 2, to the church in Smyrna we see that they were to undergo terrible persecution where many of them would be imprisoned and were told to be faithful unto death.
Revelation 2:10
"Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life."
I believe that persecution of the church is a catalyst for trial and temptation when Christians are subjected to much suffering. The temptation for some Christians might be to depart from the Christian faith in order to escape persecution.
I believe that this testing is what is being referred to in Rev. 3:10 with the promise of escaping the temptation, i.e., that they would not yield or succumb to it.
The majority of the world's population would have been compliant to the Roman Empire and its edicts and in doing so would have yielded to the trial and would have succumbed to the temptation of being at peace with the Romans to the exclusion of practising the Christian faith.
So, in this context the whole world was under trial, l but I believe that the promise to the Philadelphian church ensured that they would not succumb to the temptation of being compliant to the Romans for the sake of escaping persecution.
The author of the martyrdom of Polycarp mentions a would-be martyr who instead chose to make a sacrifice to the Roman gods in order to save his own life.
Here we see a person succumbing to the pressure of compliance to a Roman edict.
The world has experienced many trials including two world wars, but I believe that Revelation 3:10 is concerned with the specific church which existed at that time and the trials of that time.
Hi. You may care to look at these Scriptures: 2 John 1:7 (denial of the divinity of Christ; see also 1 John 2:22 & 1 John 4:2,3). These Scriptures speak about the spirit of anti-christ in those who reject Jesus in both His Person and Office, but THE coming anti-christ is not named in the Bible.
I just wanted to share my view on the seven Churches in Revelation ch 2 and 3.
1st. They all were local Churches.
The Revelation (Unveiling) of Jesus Christ. These letters also is to and applies to the complete Church Era.
In ch 1 vs19 we have "Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;
I believe that is what John did.
That is what he wrote in
Revelation 1:12-17.
In Revelation 2 and 3 he wrote about the things which are.
(What's existing) "Church Era, throughout history "
( And the things which shall be hereafter; )
Starts with Revelation 4:1 "After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter."
( And it carries on throughout the rest of the book. )
I also believe the phrase "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." suggest this is also written to us.
( He that hath an ear! )
Also "let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the CHURCHES." ( Plural ) suggest that all seven letters apply to all seven Churches, It's admonitory. All seven apply to all of us. And the letters lay out the history of the Church. ( In order.)
For it was said that an angel went down from time to time into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made well of whatsoever disease held him fast.
In the Hebrew tongue: What's the name of this pool ?
Thank you, thank you, thank you for praying for me in such a heartfelt way, it touches my heart and lifting my spirit.
I pray the LORD will bless you mightily back for all you are giving me and people at this site. God sees Your faithful service and ministry for Him. It honours Him.
Love in Christ Jesus to you,
Sara
Who is an antichrist? Christ is a translation of the Greek word Christos which means anointed one. The Hebrew word is Mashiach translated Messiah which means the anointed one, the chosen one. One who God fixed for a specific purpose set apart to fulfill God's plan.
Jesus said many times that He/Him sent me, Matt. 10:40 Mark 9:37 Luke 10:16 John 5:30 and many more times. Also, Jesus said He came down from heaven not to do His will but to do the will of Him who sent Him in John 6:38, and Jesus said this in John 6:35-40.
We see when Jesus was baptized, He was anointed not with oil but with the Holy Spirit/Ghost, Matt 3:16 Mark 1:10 Luke 3:22 John 1:32, and John 3:34-36 Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit without measure. Peter confesses and puts clear the Messiah/Christ, and the miracles, wonders, and signs God did by Him Acts 2:22, also read 23-39.
"God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit", manifest Greek word phanero; revealed, made known, 1 Timothy 3:16 John 17:1-8. God gave His only begotten Son, God sent His Son who was come in the flesh, tempted as you or me, and the spirit of antichrist is denying that is true, John 3:16 1 John 4:3 2 John 1:7. Christ is not part of Jesus name it is a title, Jesus is the Messiah, Jesus is the Christ.
A liar is he who denies or says Jesus is not the Christ/Messiah, and he is an antichrist, that denies the Father and the Son. If we deny the Son, we have not the Father but if we acknowledge the Son we have the Father also, 1 John 2:18-24. You must come to your own understanding not mine, with open mind, prayer, and the Holy Spirit guiding you, you will.
These verses about the antichrist paint a picture of a deceptive seducing spirit and the people that have been deceived, just like Eve 2 Cor. 11:3. My understanding of these verses does not refer to the beast that will ascend out of the bottomless pit that has come to be called the antichrist.
God bless,
RLW
Dear Heavenly Father, we come to You in the name of Your Son, Jesus, and ask that You help Sara today and each day this day forward. Uplift her in her spirit and create in her a giant hope in You and Your ways. Help her to trust You more completely than ever as she faces these trials and painful circumstances. Bring to her healing in the relationships that are broken. Help her to love and forgive and move past what is now truly past tense in regards to her life. You have a hope and a future for her, so we ask that You make this hope and future come to pass in a glorious way. Bless Sara today and every day with spiritual, material, emotional, and relational blessings and mighty works that tell of Your great kindness and mercy for those who love You. Help Sara rise up to meet each day in gladness and face it with You on her mind and close each day with the comfort of knowing You walked beside her every step of the way of her day. May Your Spirit teach Sara to thank you for the small things that You bring to her each day, maybe a conversation, a good meal, a quiet break, a text from a friend. Anything that will cheer her heart, bring her to thank you for it. May Your Spirit help Sara to praise You for so many of the things you have provided for her, the beauty of our world, the air we breathe, the ability to accomplish our daily tasks, the glory of Your Word. Father, I know that You will do these things for Sara because the answer to my prayers and her need are solely reliant upon your goodness and your promises to give good gifts to those who ask. ( Lk. 11:13; Jn. 16:23-24) Thank you for Your faithful promises and all that You have provided to us in the person and work of Your Son Jesus. We gladly hold our our hearts and hands to You to receive Your good and timely answer to Sara's needs. Amen.
I do agree with your analysis on this text. I believe it is pretty clear, as you stated that these words of Jesus are to the churches that existed at that time in history in Asia and specifically so. I do not believe that this texts speaks to the church eras through the centuries, either. But, as you also stated, we can learn from these words to these churches for our congregations in our own times. Thank you for a very good and measured response on this subject. Appreciated.
Yes, the rain is truly a blessing at this time. The air quality gets pretty bad from the wildfires and rain brings those smoke particles down to the ground so that they are not circulating in the air as much. Praise be to God Who is merciful and cares for us.
When we read the first verse of 'Revelation' we see Jesus being given the Revelation which he is to shew unto His servants concerning the "things which must shortly come to pass."
So, we see the timing being set for what is to be written to the seven churches, after which John identifies the recipients of this revelation when he says
4 "John to the seven churches which are in Asia: "
This will be the first revelation given to John and which Jesus Christ signified by his angel unto his servant John:
It is specific to the SEVEN CHURCHES WHICH ARE IN ASIA
There is no reason or cause to believe that each church represents an era of time in the future. The text says no such thing. It is a false supposition to say that the letters lay out the history of the Church. ( In order.) This supposition is not even remotely supported by the text.
When the text says "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.", it is obviously referring to the churches who are being addressed.
Of course, the churches could learn from each other's messages in a general sense but in a specific sense, each of the seven messages has a very deliberate message for each individual church and their own individual circumstances at the time of writing.
We can learn from Revelation as we consider future events, but we should be careful not to add any suppositions which could distort what the text is saying.
'Revelation' uses much symbolism so I would advise anybody who is studying Revelation that they should do so in the light of the scriptures where the teaching of Christ and his apostles is clear and easier to understand, so that they don't erroneously depart from God's truth.
I hope that you find this comment helpful.
Holiness is not an option.
James 1.27
We are talking about the church not evangelism .
Know you not that a little leaven leaven's the whole lump ?
Cast out the evil and it shall be made whole .
What fellowship has you with devils ?
And when the scribes and Pharisees saw (Jesus) eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?
If you're a Holy Joe, and a self righteous hip, this bothers you ! to be around common people, or someone who is not converted whereby the purpose of a Christian is to plant seeds to a person who Is a sinner, seeds of truth to a Child of God, those believers who may be on the wrong track whereby they Can see that truth, and Gain that knowledge, and Be touched by The Almighty, it's what Christianity is all about, it's spreading the good word, the gospel, the good news, we musn't send them away or cast them out, who else is going to help them?
This chapter shows how David had to run from Absalom; years after he had to run away from David and everyone else after he killed his brother in revenge for raping his sister. When studying that passage we see that David should have made an attempt to communicate with his son as the act of incest would have been worthy at that time of the death penalty; albeit not in the way craftily planned out as personal revenge for two years.
Since these Psalms for whatever reason are not in chronological order; we see a time much later in David's life when his long struggles with Saul were over. Now; he faced a similar situation with his own offspring where he had to run and hide. He knew from experience that despite what men may have said (verse 2); he could rest in contentment (v. 5). He also knew that having God on his side was superior to numbers (v. 6). We see either the result from the past or in this case of imprecatory prayer; or at the least trusting God to destroy his enemies (v. 7). The last verse sort of hammers home that for His people salvation comes (knowing the true God) and blessings. This is based of course; not only on God's covenant promises but the faithfulness of the individual. Some of David's stuggles were based on his past misdeeds and God's chastisements as warned by Nathan the prophet and by God Himself (in the case of the punishment for taking the census to find out man's strength rather than trusting God). Ultimately; the Messiah would be born through David's lineage so that all things would be fulfilled. It was His Name's sake that allowed many things to be as good as done; which included forgiving constant rebellion among kings and with the population at large.
"Sinners shall not stand in the congregation of the righteous "
We know they will not stand in the judgment.
So here is the though , is your congregation able to keep the sinners out ? Or do they feel at home ?
Yes repentance is welcome but not sinning , not even in Old Testament times .
If your congregation is not working get out and be separate. Why go down with a sinking ship ?
It also has another important meaning: Tedious, nit pick , Tedious unto , Tedious in their Holy Walk , Satan works in many way's and the person may not know that they are doing it.
Hindering verce 15,18 in 1 Thessalonians 2:11 - 19
This spirit of Holiness that has reigned from the beginning, His spirit that is given unto those who love Him! He will continue to reign and live, if not in you , then certainly in someone He has chosen!
This Holy One they wish to exclude, this one they know nothing about, this one they have rejected.
Do you see Him sitting at the well, as He waits to fill your cup unto ever flowing life! A life that will become an everlasting life, a life filled with all the wisdom and knowledge that can only come from above! Or do you despise Him, even as before?
Once you know the power, once you know the love, you will run. If not away, you will run unto Him!
Repent and be Baptized
Ezekiel 25:18 God has named, judged and sentenced to death when He say's He will bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.
Start @ Ezekiel 28:12 The King of Tyrus is the example, he is also the dragon, the beast who ascends out of the bottomless pit, and goes into perdition in Revelation 17:8
John 17:12 identifies him as the one who is lost, the son of perdition.
perdition:Loss of the soul; eternal damnation.Hell.Utter ruin
2 Thessalonians 2:3 The Son of Perdition
Speaks of the humanity of Christ , seems you have it wrong , deity is not here .
If we read the message in Revelation 2, to the church in Smyrna we see that they were to undergo terrible persecution where many of them would be imprisoned and were told to be faithful unto death.
Revelation 2:10
"Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life."
I believe that persecution of the church is a catalyst for trial and temptation when Christians are subjected to much suffering. The temptation for some Christians might be to depart from the Christian faith in order to escape persecution.
I believe that this testing is what is being referred to in Rev. 3:10 with the promise of escaping the temptation, i.e., that they would not yield or succumb to it.
The majority of the world's population would have been compliant to the Roman Empire and its edicts and in doing so would have yielded to the trial and would have succumbed to the temptation of being at peace with the Romans to the exclusion of practising the Christian faith.
So, in this context the whole world was under trial, l but I believe that the promise to the Philadelphian church ensured that they would not succumb to the temptation of being compliant to the Romans for the sake of escaping persecution.
The author of the martyrdom of Polycarp mentions a would-be martyr who instead chose to make a sacrifice to the Roman gods in order to save his own life.
Here we see a person succumbing to the pressure of compliance to a Roman edict.
The world has experienced many trials including two world wars, but I believe that Revelation 3:10 is concerned with the specific church which existed at that time and the trials of that time.
A good place to start
I just wanted to share my view on the seven Churches in Revelation ch 2 and 3.
1st. They all were local Churches.
The Revelation (Unveiling) of Jesus Christ. These letters also is to and applies to the complete Church Era.
In ch 1 vs19 we have "Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;
I believe that is what John did.
That is what he wrote in
Revelation 1:12-17.
In Revelation 2 and 3 he wrote about the things which are.
(What's existing) "Church Era, throughout history "
( And the things which shall be hereafter; )
Starts with Revelation 4:1 "After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter."
( And it carries on throughout the rest of the book. )
I also believe the phrase "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." suggest this is also written to us.
( He that hath an ear! )
Also "let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the CHURCHES." ( Plural ) suggest that all seven letters apply to all seven Churches, It's admonitory. All seven apply to all of us. And the letters lay out the history of the Church. ( In order.)
God bless.
In the Hebrew tongue: What's the name of this pool ?