Edition 14. October 18th 2009

In this edition:

●To judge or not to judge

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Principles of judgement

"Don't judge, don't you know the Bible says don't judge" How many times have you heard that?

The tragic issue here is that you can be very sure that those who say this don't know anything at all about the Bible and are in a very dangerous place of deception and rank ignorance. In fact they are preparing the way for the antichrist.

This really is a wonderful subject. It is clean and full of glory, holiness and righteousness.

Let's have a look now at what the Bible does say, what it doesn't say and the correct application. We'll also look at how the miss-application has ruined the world and will set the stage for coming cataclysmic judgements of God on this evil world.

If I've heard it once I've heard it a thousand times..."don't judge, just walk in love" The problem with this is that this is equated with tolerance, which is the last evil virtue of a collapsing society!

The verse that says "don't judge lest you be judged" uses the word judgement in the continuous present tense, which is only evident in the original Greek. In other words it is saying don't be a continuous nit-picker over every little thing.

I was sitting in a restaurant the other day and this group of women were sitting at a table next to mine. They were continuously judging. "Did you see what she was wearing, did hear what she said, how could she" and so they went on for an hour. This is what the verse is talking about.

The key for us in the area of judging can be found with our Messiah Himself. Jeshua / Jesus says in John 5:30 "I judge and My judgement is righteous because I seek not My own will." This is the key. If you are out there trying to prove others wrong and yourself right you are as guilty as the other. If you are putting others down all the time and exalting yourself you are wrong. But if you are standing for the truth of God, it's a different story. Judgement from a point of view of pride or self-elevation is wrong.

John 7:24 "Don't judge according to outward appearance, but judge with righteous judgement." In other words, don't worry about what she was wearing. righteous judgement involves standing up for God and his Word.

1 Corinthians 2:15 "He who is spiritual judges all things" This implies judging into many matters, but only by those who are spiritual. In other words a baby believer has no business getting involved in judgement.

The above two verses need no explanation, but it's worth saying that most of the modern church today has laid this aside. This is the reason the church is so divided and compromised today.

It is largely because there is no more judgement in the church that a lot of it has lost its calling. Much of the church now tolerates most worldly things that have in the past brought the judgement of God on the world and will again do so.

Romans 1:1,2 declares that God's judgement is "according to truth"

The principle of judgement is actually love in action. The children of Israel went through the Red Sea while the judgement of God closed in on Egyptian opposition. Judgement is punishment yes but it is love and grace in the sense that it creates purity and holiness. God uses judgement to save and bring victory to His own.

Judgement in the church:

The duty of the church is to keep itself lined up with truth and to set the truth-standard as a banner for all to see. A part of the church will keep the standard which is the Word of God and judge between right and wrong keeping itself pure.

As we move closer to the coming of our Lord and Saviour, the attacks on the church will intensify. "Truth will be cast down in the street" Isaiah 19:14.

1Corinthians 1:10 "Speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but be perfectly joined in the same mind and judgement"

1Peter 4:17 "Judgement is to begin in the house of God"

1 John 4:1 "Don't believe every spirit, but test the spirits"

A simple reading through the book of Acts shows clearly that much of the work of the early church leadership was to judge and keep error out.

It was the introduction of error that produced the dark ages.

Judgement and discernment are very closely associated and are desperately needed today. I encourage you to read edition no 11 which deals with Gods view, opinions and judgement on the church.

Judgement in line with truth destroys error and sin while bringing unity and maintaining the glory of God.

Error and sin is not corrected by discussion and argument, but by judgement according to truth.

Judgement on a individual level:

One of the most powerful and glorious factors of the believers life is that we have been judged. The cross has done its deadly work and created within us a pure clean new life in the spirit at the new birth. But our lives also have a soul realm which has to be renewed daily. Here judgement is our own responsibility. "Judge yourselves that you be not judged" This relates to our daily lives as we walk through this evil world. It relates to repentance of sin.

Today repentance from sin is not easy, simply because many believers don't even know what sin is. it has been so watered down and made so acceptable by spineless preachers. There is no standard or absolutes anymore. Everything is variable and relative in today's evil world.

I once got my 4x4 vehicle stuck in thick mud after a rain storm in a desert. We had to dig it out. I was covered in this thick stinking mud, which dried on my skin. There was no water around for 500kms. I felt dirty. In fact it affected my mood as well. Finally we made it to the camp site where a good shower cleaned everything off.

The feeling was incredible. I was clean, so I could now go on in peace! This simply illustrates what self judgement does. It cleans us spiritually, sets us right with God and lets us become a pure vessel of His glory.

Only people that live in darkness, live in the world peacefully. In the glory of God's light no one can live in sin. God brings beauty and joy and peace out of the ashes of judgement.

The cross brings a believer deliverance from the world the flesh and the demonic. Only an enormous fool goes into eternity trusting in himself

In fact the power of the cross enables you to break what you were unable to break or overcome. It brings deliverance and victory.

Judgement relating to the world:

Isaiah 26:9 "When His judgements are in the world, people will learn righteousness.

Hosea 4:1 "There is no truth, mercy or knowledge of God in the land" The rest of this portion of scripture lists the symptoms: "Swearing lying, killing, stealing, adultery, no restraint, bloodshed after bloodshed. The land mourns, authority is questioned...My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge"

God always judges sin. For believers this has already happened in the form of the cross and self judgement as we go on. For unbelievers there awaits the fearful Great White Throne judgement from which all unbelievers will be cast into hell. For the world at large, due its ever increasing sin, it is about to go into the most severe forms of judgements the world has ever seen. In the past God judged the world for its sin of homosexuality on a few occasions. He judged the world for its general wickedness on a few other occasions. He judged Israel for her rebellion on many occasions.

What is coming very soon will put all the above to shame.

One great purpose of judgement is to create an environment of holiness. So although judgement itself is a negative the outcome is positive and is in fact love in action.

Think of it like this. If we had no judicial system there would be anarchy. The sending of one bad criminal to jail purifies the environment a little. So the coming monumental judgements of God will purify the universe and fill it with the glory of God.

The presence of God is incompatible with sin and evil. You either go through the cross to purity, or into hell which, in the process purifies the world of all sin and evil.

The judgement of God on this world is about to begin. It will start with forerunners and intensify through the seven year tribulation period to the cataclysmic final conflict of the ages. Many in this time period will refuse to repent, blame God and continue in rebellion, resulting in ever increasing judgements, but an enormous number will repent and come to salvation in this time period.

It's worth bearing in mind that judgement produces great opportunities for the gospel. When God shakes everything that can be shaken, everything that people put their security in shakes and falls. This causes many to look to unshakable eternal security...The Kingdom of our Great God, Lord and Messiah.

For the believer, glory lies on the far side of the cross. The unbeliever is on this side of the cross and awaits a terrifying future judgement.

For additional study on the subject please read:

Eternal Judgement by Derek Prince

The Spirit of Judgement by Watchman Nee

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In closing here is a composite relating to the two comings of our Lord. He came the first time as the Lamb of God, to be judged condemned and slaughtered in our place. He is coming again soon as King of the universe, the Lion of Judah to judge, condemn and purify the world of all the unsaved and all sin.

Kind regards and many blessings...Shalom and hang in there!

Edition 13. October 6th 2009

In this edition:

●Hell

●Number in scripture

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Hell

The previous edition was all about the "glory that is to be revealed". There is another side of the story. The Bible reveals prophetically much about hell. In fact there are three times more portions of scripture dealing with hell than with heaven.

 Due to this fact we have no right to ignore it as most churches do today.

In fact there is an astounding side to this story, of which few are aware. You can't really know the depth of the love of God without knowing this side of things. People with an understanding of hell, will be a lot more urgent, passionate and real with their message of the love of God to a hell-bound world.

I am no fan of modern preachers. I cut my spiritual teeth on the old school preachers the likes of Charles Finney, Watchman Nee, AW Tozer, Derek Prince and a few others. These were preachers and teachers that didn't mince their words. They were frequently hell fire and brimstone preachers as well as teachers of the love and forgiveness of God. The majority of their disciples remained faithful to the Lord till death! Charles Finney for example was an incredibly fiery preacher of the 1800s. Yet no one has ever had as many converts remain faithful unto death without ever backsliding, as those converted under his ministry.

Today we have spineless, sickly sweet preachers of hollow love, never daring to preach against sin or what it means to take up your cross and die daily. Their messages are motivational, worldly and powerless. Today, with few exceptions, modern preachers never preach on hell and their converts are carbon copies of themselves, essentially no different from the unsaved! Their members are no different to those of the local sports club.

Hell is eternal, it is a place of imprisonment. It was never created for people, but for the fallen angels, demons and devil. But alas, this will be the destination of all the unsaved as well.

I have often taken a wrong turn and landed up lost. In my car, all I had to do was go back and make the correct turn. The enormous tragedy of life is that if you step into eternity without salvation, you can't go back and change it! It's too late!

You can say you don't believe in hell, as many do, that's like saying you don't believe in gravity! It's real and what anyone believes about it won't change anything.

There are many words used in the original scriptures dealing with hell, some in Hebrew and some in the original Greek. Each gives a slightly different insight. Some of these words include: 'Sheol', 'hades', 'infernus', 'gehenna', 'hinnom', 'tartarus', 'abyss' and a few others.

The meaning of these words, translated into the English Bible include: 'Place of torment', 'pool of fire', 'outer darkness', 'unquenchable fire', 'everlasting fire' 'eternal destruction' 'second death'

Just a quick reading through these words should be enough to give a clear understanding of some of the characteristics of hell.

The key words here are eternal and everlasting.

The single most important thing is the severity and gravity of all of this. The most amazing thing is the contrast of heaven and the glory of God (see previous edition)

Some argue that hell isn't consistent with a God of love. This depends on your interpretation of love. The final cleansing and purifying of the entire universe from all evil and sin is most certainly love in action.

The two eternal judgments to come:

There are two great judgements spoken of in the scriptures and they are vastly, different. 2 Corinthians 5:9 is the first one and is called the Judgement Seat of Christ. Only believers appear here to be eternally rewarded for their works done in response to Gods call and plan for each individual. There is no salvation offered here, obviously because only the saved appear here.

The second is The Great White Throne Judgment of Revelation 20:11. Only unbelievers appear here. It says "books (plural) are opened" These are the Lambs book of life and the book of that individuals works. Their names are not found in the book of life, indicating that they rejected the salvation of the cross and chose to be saved on their works!!!! How many people do you know who say things like "I'm okay, I've been basically good". "God would never send a good person to hell." and the like. That's the biggest and most tragic lie from the pits of hell that could ever pass through anyone's lips.

So now, these Christ-rejecting people chose to get saved based on their good works. Well, horror of horrors! Yes they could've been saved by their works but the mistake they made is not seeing that the passing grade is 100%! So, their book of works is opened and their works are stacked up next to the perfect 100% grade of Yeshua / Jesus and they fail miserably!

No salvation or reward is offered here, it's too late!

These, the "small and the great", are all cast out into eternal hell!

It's kind of enlightened self interest not to trust in yourself and to cast your life into the everlasting security of our wonderful Messiah who paid the price for all failure and who gives you His 100% passing grade as a wonderful free gift!

On top of the amazing grace of free salvation for believers, comes rewards that will be with us forever!

Number in scripture:

Psalm 18:31 "As for God His way is perfect"

Bible prophecy is a very powerful subject because it deals with the present and the future. Everyone has some sort of interest in the future. It really is a powerful tool of evangelism. But many claim that the Bible isn't true, or at least can't be trusted completely! Read on my friend!

There is an amazing fact relating to Bible prophecy. The prophecies of the Old Testament were fulfilled 100% literally and accurately. Some like the prophecies of the coming of the Messiah were very detailed even down to where He would be born. The prophecies of the New Testament have been literally fulfilled as well with not one miss. For example all those dealing with the restoration of Israel and Jerusalem were fulfilled exactly. Therefore the remaining unfulfilled prophecies of both Testaments will be fulfilled in the same manner and pattern. You are gambling against immeasurable odds if you reject or water down prophecy! It's fulfilment pattern has been 100%

But we have another powerful indicator of the veracity of the scripture. It's called Bible Numerics.

The term is Bible numerics not numerology. The latter being an occult practice. This is also not what has become termed Bible Codes. Bible numerics is also called Gematria.

There is a profoundly incredible and intricately complex pattern of numerics built into the Word of God. It makes it completely supernatural, as no human could ever have put this together. It is one of the very powerful pointers towards the fact that the Bible is true!

None of these patterns exist in any other book.

Firstly, this is only found in the original scriptures of which there are some 20,000 surviving copies. The languages of the original Bible are called alpha-numeric. This means that each letter of the alphabet has a numeric value to it. It's like the Roman letters that we see on some watches and clocks. For example the X is a Roman letter, but also has the value of ten.

So, in these alpha-numeric languages you can add up the numeric value of a word. This is the case in Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic, the original languages of the Bible.

Now, numbers in scripture also have meaning. For example One is the number of unity, two, the number of division, three the number of the trinity, four the number of the world, five the number of grace, six the number of man under sin, seven is the number of perfection, eight the number of resurrection, nine the number of finality, ten is the number of divine order while eleven is the number disorder, twelve is the number of completion or perfect government, thirteen is the number of sin, rebellion or apostasy to God, and many more which we won't get into now. These meanings are derived from the many verses of scripture themselves that deal with each.

For example Four is the number of the world. This comes from verses dealing with the "four corners of the world", The four seasons". Four rivers flowed out of Eden", the four lunar phases and so on.

What we can now do is simply add up the values of words and verses in the Bible and see what meanings they have. This is where the miracle starts!

The name Jesus in the Greek is Iesous. I=10; E=8; S=200; O=70; U=400; S=200 Now add them up and we come to 888. Eight is the number of resurrection. Contrast this with the name of the coming antichrist which will be 666. Six being the number of man under sin. The name Jesus Christ appears 888 times in the original New Testament.

Amazingly every single name attributed to our Messiah like "The Lamb of God" adds up to a multiple of eight except for one of them. This one that doesn't, adds up to a multiple of 13 which is the number of sin, rebellion or apostasy. Incredibly it is the gematria of the name hung above the head of our Lord on the cross saying "Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews" Isn't it interesting that on the cross our Lord was forsaken and became sin and rebellion in our place!! This title ads up to 2197 or 13x13x13. Coincidence? I think not!

Now here is a staggering fact: Every single name of every single enemy of God in the Bible adds up to a multiple of 13!

There are thousands of other incredible amazing similar situations with all the other numbers as well. The number seven has hundreds of miracle applications.

The mathematical odds behind all of these things being chance is too much to calculate or measure.

The Bible, including its prophecy, is the rock on which every pseudo intellectual and critic who mock and attack it has been smashed to zero in the past and will be in the future!

Today archaeology and all the sciences are catching up with and proving the Bible true. There is design, calculation and plan throughout the scriptures. Job quoting God says "Have you entered into the treasures of a snow flake"!

Yes salvation is by faith alone, but it's interesting to see and know that it's not blind faith and there is some amazing evidence that demands a verdict!

A famous Russian mathematician and atheist Ivor Panin discovered Bible numerics back in 1890 and became a believer as a result. He said "The Bible could not have been written except by the inspiration of God Himself."

Some books dealing with this subject include: The Seal of God by FC Payne, Number in nature and the Bible by Ambrose Fleming who was also the president of the Victoria Institute of Scientists. Ivor Panin's book has been out of print for many years.

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In closing this edition here is a rendition of the last judgement by William Blake

Kind regards and many blessings...Shalom and hang in there!

Edition 12. September 26th 2009

In this edition:

●The Glory which shall be revealed

●The Gory to be revealed in believers

●The Glory to be revealed in the creation itself

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The Glory which shall be revealed

In the late 1600s George Frederic Handel composed one of the most powerful pieces of music ever written and titled it "The Messiah" it contains an incredible track "And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed" He took the title from Isaiah 40:5

Romans 8:18-21 "For I consider that the sufferings of this present age are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us, for the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God...for the creation itself shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God"

Introduction:

In this edition I would like to discuss perhaps the most exciting prophetic subject of all. It is our being changed in a moment in a twinkling of an eye into people of eternal glory...and it's not far off.

These words should bring you hope, encouragement, purpose and reason for living, meaning to life and inspire you to move on, forward with our King of Great Glory!

The greatest regret of all time will be when many people one day find out about these things and how close they were and yet they rejected it all in favour of rebellion to God. The world today including many believers, has no peace, because they are rebels in the face of fast approaching GLORY.

The glory to come:

Firstly, I don't have much to say about the glory of God. It is simply indescribable. Language can't do it justice and the human mind is far too limited to imagine it.

All human beings will get a resurrection body, but only true believers will be able to share Gods glory with Him. All unbelievers will be eternally imprisoned in hell. The bottom line is...whose neighbourhood are you going to hang out in forever?

●The glory to be revealed in believers:

You may wonder why I've chosen those ugly guys in the image below to represent believers. Well, it's simply because salvation gets offered to all. The completion of our salvation transforms us physically into something glorious, wonderful, spectacular, beautiful and new.

2 Corinthians 4:17 "For our light affliction which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory."

It's often good to set your sights into the future, if only for a short while. It gives you perspective. A little while ago I was in one of the most amazing deserts on this earth...the Namib on the west coast of Africa. (There are some pictures of it in the "Gods Garden" section. One night I lay for many hours in the dunes just looking at the night sky and imagining the glory that is to come. It was an incredible experience!

1Corintians 15:40-44 "There is one glory of the sun and another of the moon and of the stars, all differ from one another, so also is the resurrection of the dead"

This verse (above) makes it very clear that we will all differ from each other in the resurrection. Some will scrape into a Godly eternity by the skin of their teeth, others will have a reward state that will be spectacular. Our rewards which will set us apart from each other for ever are described as wood, hay, stubble or gold, silver, precious stones, which are all hit by the fire of Gods judgement. The first three will leave a puff of smoke while the others are refined by fire and will live on.

Yes of course we will all be equal in terms of salvation, but what you and I do with our lives now in respect to Gods plan for us, will determine our eternal glory!!

One of the rewards, that never ceases to amaze me is the 'crown of righteousness' given only to those that "look for His coming"...Don't you dare ever tell me not to get into this end time stuff!! Actually, I have nothing but the utmost contempt for all those pastor / teachers out there who are in love with the ways of the world and anti -eschatology!

Philippians: 3:21 "He will transform our lowly body, that it may conformed to His glorious body..."

The above verse indicates that the sort of body we will be given will be similar to that of our Messiah after His resurrection. How exciting is that! He could travel at the speed of thought, walk through walls, appear here or there. You could touch Him, He could eat and on top of this we will have full, complete knowledge of all things just like Him. Ahhhhh the pain in my back, knee and neck will be gone forever!

We will be able to be and exist in the dimensions of the physical as well as the spiritual. We'll be able to transcend the dimensions of time and space.

The most outrageous, farfetched and stretched science fiction will have nothing on this, nothing at all. This puts that to shame in comparison.

Colossians 3:4 "When Christ who is our life appears, then we also will appear with Him in glory". Bring it on, bring it on!

●The glory to be revealed in Israel:

Isaiah 35:1-5 "The desert shall bloom as a rose...the eyes of the blind shall be opened"

It's interesting that the land of Israel is one of the most successful from an agricultural point of view and yet it is water-scarce and full of rocks! Many people (including myself) would say that something supernatural is on the go. It's just the start though.

Isaiah 62:2-4 "The Gentiles shall see your righteousness and kings your glory and you will be called by a new name... You will also be a crown of glory in the hand of our Lord. You shall no longer be termed forsaken"

Unfortunately the above verse will come about after much suffering, but it's coming. In fact we are now in the early stages of the new birth of Jews.

Isaiah 44:23 "Sing O heavens for the Lord has done it...break forth into singing you mountains, forest and every tree. For He has redeemed Jacob and glorified Himself in Israel."

The above verse is yet future in its complete fulfilment, but we are in the fore-runner period now...exciting times indeed!

●The glory to be revealed in nature:

Romans 8:21,22 "The creation itself will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God...The whole of the creation groans with birth pangs of labour together until now"

I am a mad bushman at heart and have spent much time in some of the most beautiful wild places on this earth. But there is always a sense in me that this was not the way it was supposed to be. I can only imagine what the natural world will be like after the curse on nature is lifted. It was lifted from a positional point of view on the cross, but nature's full salvation, like ours, still lies ahead.

Isaiah 51:3 "The wilderness shall be like Eden"

The earth will be restored to the way it was in Eden, before the fall of man. Adam's fall brought down all creation with it. The millennium period will see all of this completed.

Isaiah 11:6-9 "The wolf shall lie down with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the lion together and a young child shall lead them...for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea."

On many occasions I've watched a lion tear into its prey and devour the poor animal. It's quite a sight. This is normal now, but according to the verse above, a big change is coming!

Isaiah 32:15 "The wilderness becomes a fruitful field, then justice will dwell in the wilderness."

I have a passionate hatred for cruelty to animals or injustice on any level to the indefensible. Thank God for the above verse!

Job 39:8 "The range of the mountains is His pasture and He searches after every green thing"

God is green, declares the above verse! Yes I know the green movement is new age and filled with all sorts of evil, but there is a truth in the midst of 'green'!  Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater!

Revelation 22:3 "And there shall be no more curse..."

The cow dung choice:

If I were to slap you in the face with a hand full of hot steaming cow dung I don't think you'd be too happy! The verse below compares the things of the world with cow dung (original word). This is the desire of the world...pure cow dung in comparison to the coming glory!

Philippians 3:8 "I count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ...for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as dung, that I may gain Christ."

2 Corinthians 4:4 "...whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who did not believe , lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them."

What an incredible tragedy that the world at large is blinded, misguided and deceived by its god into a life of futility, while right before them, so very close is glory indescribable.

I always think of this when seeing a funeral of an unbeliever. There is so much dark, gloomy, hopeless despair, while a funeral of a true believer although sad for the moment has an air of victory to it!

Conclusion:

Revelation 21:4,5 "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying and there shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away...Behold I make all thing new"

Revelation 5:12 "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power riches and honour and glory and blessing"

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In closing this edition here is a beautiful woodcut print done by Paul Gustav Dore in 1870. It's part of the Paradiso series titled "The Heavenly Choir" (thanks to Adalaide University Library)

Kind regards and many blessings...Shalom and hang in there!

Edition 11. September 21st 2009

John 16:13 "When He the Spirit of truth has come, He will guide you into all truth...and show you things to come"

In this edition:

●Glory and Horror...the prophetic plot of the church age

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The Seven Churches of the Revelation

Introduction:

This is an extremely important and powerful subject, but before we get into it, I want to discuss what a church is and isn't.

A church is not a building. It consists of the 'ecclesia' or called out ones. As believers we are called out of the kingdom of this world into the Kingdom of God. Believers are those that have had a conversion experience or a regeneration within their hearts. They are further characterised by an indwelling love for our Messiah, His word, His people and His ways. True believers are those that have been born into a family and a Kingdom. Membership is by birth and not by works. God works in the believers life from the inside out. The professing church, have an outward form of Godliness but are counterfeits. They try to please God by works ,from the outside in!

The nature of the Revelation:

The book of Revelation is the 'unveiling' of Yeshua / Jesus our Messiah as King and Magisterial ruler of the universe. It reveals and unveils our wonderful risen Messiah as He is now and will be for all eternity. It is a book of prophecy outlining the course of the church age, the tribulation period, and well into the eternity of eternities!

Revelation 1:19 Instructs John to write the things which he has seen, which are and which will be. This indicates past present and future. So then, if this is a book a prophecy, what are these messages to the seven churches doing here? The messages were written to seven historic churches. But they also have a very present message within them to all believers at any time. Then they also have a most amazing prophetic significance as well. They plot the whole course of church history from its foundation to the rapture and tribulation.

It is this prophetic aspect of the seven churches which I will deal with in this edition.

The fact that these seven churches were in Asia Minor, which is present day Turkey is important. This implies that God is dealing primarily with gentiles and not Israel or the Jews at large at this stage. Turkey is also  the land from which the antichrist will most probably arise, but more about that another time.

The messages to all churches from God:

Being in journalism all my adult life, I know that second hand information is not as good as going directly to the source! I don't know how many times I've heard people trying to decide about a church by asking this person or that, and what they come up with a host of variable personal opinions.

The Bible says that you are a fool if you compare yourselves among yourselves. It says that you need to compare the spiritual with spiritual things. Obviously there is no better source than the author of the Bible Himself! So, we will now ignore what every human has to say about the church and go to the source of the messages to the seven churches and see what God thinks!

Please don't underestimate the importance of this edition and its content, it could have eternal consequences for you!

The course of the church age:

All churches can find an identity within the seven churches of Revelation.

The seven churches reveal and plot the course of the church age from its formation to the close of the age. This can be seen from the meanings of the names and various descriptive terms within the messages. This shows that the choice of just these seven churches among the hundreds that existed then, was truly a prophetic supernatural act of God.

Have a look at the graphic below and keep it in your mind as we go along.

●The first message is to the church at Ephesus. Revelation 2:1-7

The name means 'beloved' and this represents the early apostolic church period. The church was warned not to "leave its first love". One of the positive features of this church was that they "hated the deeds of the Nicolaitans" The word reveals what this was. The word is derived from "nikao" which means to conquer and "laos" which means people. This allowed for the domination of the people by leadership who thought that they were God sent! This church also has in its favour the fact that it "tested those that said they were apostles and were not" Acts20:29 ..."I know this that after my departure savage wolves will come in not sparing the flock". This is just what happened. For the first 100 years the church was unstoppable and triumphant and then it began to loose its first love. Read on!

●The second message is to the church at Smyrna. Revelation 2:8-11

The name comes from the word 'Myrrh' which is a bitter / sweet herb used amongst other things, for the anointing of bodies at burial. This represents the church period from around 100AD to 300AD. This period was characterized by terrible persecution. The church is told that they will suffer persecution for '"ten days" and that they should be "faithful unto death". In this period ten successive Roman emperors tried to stamp the church out with incredible persecution and murder of believers en-mass. Satan was unable to defeat the church by persecution so at around 300AD he changed his strategy! It's good to remember that persecution can't defeat you as a believer! Read on.

●The third message is to the church at Pergamos. Revelation 2:12-17

The word means 'thoroughly mixed' and represents the Constantine era where church and state came together. It runs from about 300AD to 600AD. This was Satan's ace or trump card - to introduce or mix the occult, error and deception into the church. The Roman emperor Constantine decided to stop the persecution of the church and in fact turned things around completely and made Christianity the official state religion. But to make it more palatable to the masses he mixed in his abominable occult practices that originated from his own worship of Babylonian gods. I won't go into all of these in this edition, but just to name a few of them, Easter (the Babylonian goddess of sex), Christmas (sun worship on the 25th December), infant sprinkling and a host of other occult practices. The monumental book by Alexander Hislop, The Two Babylon's written in the 1500s details all of these things. This book is an absolute shocker and shows just how much of Babylon is in the church!

This church is told that they have "put a stumbling block before the children of Israel" (vs14) This church holds to the "doctrine of Balaam", which essentially is to curse Israel! This church marks the start of replacement theology, and everything anti- Israel which years later resulted in the world's worst ever mass murder of the Jews in the name of Christianity! They also hold to the "doctrine of the Nicolaitans", which means to conquer the people. This is the church that started the separation of clergy above laity for the purpose of subjugating and dominating the laity!

This was Satan's ace...mix error with truth! This marked the start of the dark ages!

●The fourth message is to the church at Thyatira. Revelation 2:18-29

The word means 'a perpetual sacrifice' and represents the Catholic era from around 600AD right through into the tribulation! It is a church of compromise, evil and deception. Jezebel, who is tolerated in this church has many characteristics which can be seen in this church today. Jezebel is associated with Babylon. Jezebel killed the prophets of God. This church killed all who opposed her right up to the reformation. Because this church refused to 'repent' it is told it will be cast into 'great tribulation'. Verse 23 says "I will kill her children with death" The term 'children' refers to the offspring of the church, or those who cling to the mother church. vs24 goes on and says that "there are some who don't have this doctrine and haven't known the "depths of Satan" In other words many in this church have and do know the depth of Satan"! How amazing is this!

●The fifth message is to the church at Sardis. Revelation 3: 1-6

The word means 'to escape' and represents the reformation period from around 1500AD into the tribulation. The reformation was an incomplete work. It started the escape from the dark ages and the grip of Catholisism, which was good but this then gave birth to denominationalism. The church is told in vs2 "...you have a name that you are alive but you are dead" The church is commanded to repent and is told that if it won't "I will come upon you as a thief and you won't know what hour I will come upon you". There are "a few" in this church who are not defiled and will "walk with Me in white" This implies that the others will not! Verse 5 is a shocker "He who overcomes shall be clothed in white and I will not blot his name out of the Book of Life" Again this implies that those who don't will be blotted out!

●The sixth message is to the church at Philadelphia. Revelation 3: 7-13

The word means 'brotherly love' and represents the missionary period from about 1700 through to the rapture. This is the only church with not one word of condemnation levelled against it. It is highly commended and favoured by our Lord. "I have set before you an open door which no one can shut" - this refers to missionary work. Verse 7 identifies the church with  "The key of David." Isaiah 22:21,22 defines the "key of David"... It is to be a "Father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah" This implies a Messianic church with a Hebraic expression and heart for Israel, Jerusalem and its people. The church is told that it has "little strength", indicating that it trusts for it's power on our Lord. It is favoured because it has "kept My Word" (vs8).  It says that those of the "synagogue of Satan and who say that they are Jews but are not, will come bowing before you" This implies that this church is involved with true Jews and will even get the rabbinical Jews to come bowing! In other words, again, this is a Messianic group.

Verse 10 says "Because you have kept My Word, I will keep you from the hour of tribulation that will come upon the whole world"  This is one of the clearest verses of scripture indicating a pre-tribulation rapture. (See previous edition) This church is commended twice for keeping the Word!!

This is a church with an Abrahamic expression, which means having a heart for both Jew and Gentile in Him.

●The seventh message is to the church at Laodicia. Revelation 3: 14-22

The name means 'people ruled' and represents the modern church era from around 1900 to the tribulation. There is only condemnation and not one word of commendation for this church. This church is "lukewarm" and will be "spewed out" of God's mouth! This church believes that it is "rich and in need of nothing, but it is poor". This implies self sustainability and self preservation. The name Laodicia can also be interpreted as self opinionated. This church has no working revelation from God because it "doesn't know how wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked" it is. It is deceived. It is told to "anoint it's eyes with eye-salve so that it can see" This refers to revelation knowledge which it lacks. The great tragedy of this church is that it is hell bound except for those that repent. This church is all around us today!

This is the church of replacement theology, stealing what God has given to Israel for itself. It's the church that will lead the world to stand against God's work in this regard. It will become the tragic great world church, ecumenical in nature and will be associated with the Satanic false prophet of the last days. It will be lukewarm to God's Word and mixed with all sorts of false religion. This is the church of horror.

Interestingly the council of Laodecia meeting in the 4th century, decided to exclude the book of Revelation from the canon of scripture!

We are already well beyond the formation of the horror church.

Conclusion:

Pastors and church leadership take note. Many of you are largely responsible for the failure of Churchianity! The above discourse is God's view of the church. It's a shock! Let me add another portion of scripture, which no church I know of can accommodate. In the Bible this section is headed "Sectarianism (divisions or denominationalism) is sin"!

1Corinthians 1:10 "Now brethren I plead with you, by the name of our Lord, that you all speak the same thing and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and judgement"

What an incredible indictment on the present divided church, and there are many more verses. Amazingly, In all my years I have never heard one church teach on this subject.

There is one major all important overriding issue here. The leadership of the church have created a monstrous failure except for one glorious church which is empowered by God.

Perhaps this is why God's new thing is already and will be more and more a Messianic movement, in unity, with all the occult traditions of the church cast out.

Drama of all dramas, darkness, devastation and despair is the future for much of the church. On the other hand we see a spectacular, delightful, fantastic future of glory for other churches.

How does one know which is which?

Some things identifying the Laodicia church of today include: A lack of teaching across the full spectrum of the scripture. A lack of teaching of the cross and it's application to us.

The Philadelphian church would be characterised by the preaching and teaching of the full gospel including the cross and its application. To be right with God one needs to be right in heart and right in doctrine. Right in heart comes from the brokenness created by the cross and right in doctrine comes from correct teaching in fullness.

Personally, I have a very fertile and vivid imagination. But my Bible says that the eternal glory that is laid up for us, is greater than anything we can imagine!!! Bring it on!!!

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In closing this edition here are two art works by Michelangelo. The top one represents the fury of God while the bottom one represents the friendship of God

Kind regards and many blessings...Shalom and hang in there!