The church in Sardis

Revelation 3:1-6(NASB) 1"To the angel of the church in Sardis write: He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars, says this: 'I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. 2'Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. 3'So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you. 4'But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. 5'He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. 6'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'

This revelation of the identity of Jesus is the same as to John when He came walking among the seven lampstands. It is the revelation of the resurrected, ascended, Victorious Jesus, Head of the Church and King of the whole realm. He speaks to the church that is regarding themselves as "being alive", but is regarded as dead by the One Who is alive! Jesus said, "I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive...." We need to go to school on these letters to the churches. A reputation of being alive is not good enough. Man is not the judge of a church, God is. What He considers dead is the dangerous truth.

The first and foremost action they were to take was to "wake up!" If they did not wake up, Jesus would come as a thief and they would not be aware of the time. In the parable of the five wise and five foolish virgins, Jesus said that all of them were asleep. This is a very dangerous element of our human nature. The world around us is so very "real" and we so labor to keep up with "our lives" that we become oblivious of the constant, omnipresent activity of the Spirit realm and His will that is to be carried out on earth as it is in heaven. Jesus walked with this awareness constantly as He ministered here. He did only those things He saw the Father doing and spoke only what He heard the Father speaking. It is the mixture of motivation that causes the separation from God. We have too many things "pressing in on us" to give the time to prayer that keeps that union a life-giving flow into our lives.

I have often voiced the warning of the contamination that opinions have on our spiritual state. We get an opinion of what is God and what is not and that can be the most dangerous opinion of all. The Pharisees are an example to us of what that strong opinion, stubbornly held, can cause us to do. Certainly, if we rely on our own human knowledge and judgment, we will have soiled garments. No matter what generation or culture a person has ever lived in or now lives in, the ever present circumstances of that culture will help shape your reaction to and your response to God. The people we see in the Bible are a parable to us of human reaction and response. Notice my use of those two words. A reaction can sponser unbelief and withdrawal but a response is given regardless of any circumstance and is evidence of deep faith in the Being of God. Church attendance, reading the Bible and praying can be learned reactions and not a response. We have to give ourselves a reality check and see what is in our spirit. Some circumstances are present in my life right now that are causing me to give myself that reality check. Am I reacting to what is happening or am I moving in the flow of the Father's will as Jesus did on earth. How can I follow Him if I do not know the path my feet are on? Do you see how easily our garments can be stained with this life? One circumstance, wrongly viewed and reacted to, can change the course of our life! That is why life is so full of regrets. Yes, the steps of a righteous man are ordered of the Lord, but are we always responding to His order? That does not mean we cannot get back on course, but it does mean we have to wake up, repent and follow through until we get in the flow of God's will. Jesus said to Sardis, "I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of My God." We can make a good start but have we followed through with the revelation of His Word that we have received? What you purpose to do while listening to your pastor or when reading your Bible, do you continue in the moment of stress or weariness? We know His Presence is always with us but how is your awareness of His Presence?

This message to Sardis is all about His Resurrected, victorious Life and how that is reflected by His church. Are we following in His Resurrected Life, clothed in the white garments of His victory, or are we revealing our weary reaction to this age we live in? What is more important to you? His Word revealing His plan and purpose or the circumstances of the life you are living? By importance I mean the measuring stick of your joy and sustaining element of your "self". What drives you? What gives you joy? What motivates you and gives you purpose? Is it your job? Is it your relationships? Is it your house or your car or your possessions? What do you plan for and dream? What fills your imagination? Are you alive to this realm but asleep to God's realm? There is still a little time, let us "wake up" to His desire!

Response and Consequence

In reading the letters of Jesus to the seven churches given to John, there is so much we can learn concerning the Ways of God. The identity He shows to each church has much to do with the way that church is responding to the Head of the church, Jesus. The reward to that church is in direct relationship to their overcoming those things that hinder them. The enemy seeks to disrupt and destroy the connection with the Head. This causes confusion and human reaction to the disruptive influence.

We have seen in the church in Thyatira that the disruptive influence was the Jezabel spirit that sought to manipulate the authority of the church. Those who accepted her ways or "committed adultery" with her misleading guidance into sexual and religious practices against the Truth, were committed to God's judgment. Any time authority is taken out of the hand of God and put into the natural reasoning of man, there is a removal of God's favor and Light. The enemy saw it work in the Garden of Eden and it has been an effective tool in his arsenal ever since.

To those who continue in their faith, love and perseverance in walking in the truth of following Jesus, overcoming the influence of the ways of the world around them, doing the will of their Savior and Lord, there is the reward of increased authority in the age to come. Revelation 2:26-27 (NASB) 26'He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, TO HIM I WILL GIVE AUTHORITY OVER THE NATIONS; 27AND HE SHALL RULE THEM WITH A ROD OF IRON, AS THE VESSELS OF THE POTTER ARE BROKEN TO PIECES, as I also have received authority from My Father;
Note that the authority is as Jesus received from the Father. His identity of One with feet of burnished bronze, who walked out in victory the will of the Father, is connected with the overcoming, obedient and faithful ones who follow Him. He will also give to them the morning star.

Living a Covenant Response

To the Church in Thyatira, Jesus revealed Himself in relation to their response to Him. He revealed His zeal and His faithfulness that this church was echoing. Revelation 2:18-19 (NASB)18"And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like burnished bronze, says this: 19'I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first.
It is important that we walk in the ways of God. Keeping our focus on Jesus, we are able to grow from glory to glory and keep pressing onward to the goal He has set for us. But again, we see Satan's effort to thwart and destroy by infiltrating and working within. We saw those who followed Balaam's teaching in the Church in Pergmum and now we see those who identify with Jezebel working in Thyatira as the church tolerates her presence.

I want to just point out the subtle difference in Satan's efforts to deceive and destroy these churches. Both churches were tolerating these influences, which though very subtle, were being effective. The "Balaam" sin was to get people to give way to temptation that appealed to their appetites and so get God to destroy them. The teaching of the Nicolaitans was that God would embrace and excuse whatever seemed to be "good" from other religions even if it was not in His Word. These appealed to the church in Pergamum enough to tolerate them.

The Jezebel spirit was so strong in the church in Thyatira that Jesus called the woman Jezebel. This spirit is manipulative while expressing the arrogance of the attraction and temptation of sex and using it to pervert authority. Combined with the fleshly appetite for forbidden foods and a stubborn refusal to repent, this became a deadly force that Jesus was going to punish those who agreed with her and followed her by yielding to her ways.

The attack of Satan on these two churches reveals a truth we need to see and understand for we face it today. Satan always attacks what God is doing. One of the most precious gifts God has given to mankind is to allow us to be a part of His creative work to "make man in Our image." The Psalmist said we are "wonderfully and fearfully made" for our bodies are created for covenant making and producing children. We are allowed to enjoy family life and watch the generations on earth reproduced over and over again with unique facets that delight and satisfy the soul. Satan hates this part of God's plan and has, from the beginning, sought to destroy mankind with that which God meant to be a great blessing. Every kind of beastial and perverted way of destroying the beauty of sexual relationship is inspired by Satan in the unredeemed. As we approach the fulfillment of God's purpose of The Church made ready as a Bride for her Beloved, Satan's anger and defilement are approaching the insane. Every kind of defilement is available to every age and in every environment. As God's chosen people, cleansed by His Blood, enriched by His Grace, led by His Spirit, we must not tolerate any form of the temptation Satan forces into our space. We must not let our human nature tolerate and condone the evil practices that Satan inspires.

Thyatira

Revelation 2:18-29(ESV) 18"And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: 'The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze. 19 "'I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. 20But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 21I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. 22Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, 23and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works. 24But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. 25Only hold fast what you have until I come. 26 The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, 27and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. 28And I will give him the morning star. 29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'

Let us first look at the identity of Jesus to this church. His eyes are as a flame of fire and his feet as polished bronze. The eyes are often called the window to the spirit within. His eyes reveal the fire of the Spirit of God. The feet are the vehicle of our being and reveal the path we walk. Jesus walked out the Law and the path human beings walk to reach God's purpose of being in His image, mature sons of God. He was faithful in all His ways to God's purpose and desire. He was faithful to the very nature of God as well as His will. He carried out God's plan with a complete faithfulness in His attitude and response. He became a Son of God in two ways. He is the only begotten Son, God in the likeness of man. As a man, He walked in faithfulness and submission to the Father in all things and in His obedience, even to the death of the punishment of sinful man, was proven to be the Son of God by His resurrection. He is not ashamed to look at His followers and call them His brothers.

In these letters to the churches, Jesus reveals His identity in covenant in a deeper way than in the first covenant. In the Old Testament, we see the revelation of God was in His Names of covenant. The worship of God was identified by the sacrifice and the Temple. It was "exterior" worship. Jesus came and walked among us and led us into a relationship with His Father. He opened the way for us to become a part of His Royal family, His "House". He paid the price for us to become as He IS. We are enabled to worship Him with an invasive worship, a life changing identification with Him that produces change into His likeness. I feel so sorry for all these people that have to keep changing God's Word to fit their own image of their "self". They have to keep a neutral God that is "she" and "mother" and keep every thing on this temporal plane. Jesus plainly said that in the spirit realm there is neither male nor female. God is a Spirit and our identification with Him is in the spirit. The covenant promise I embrace is that I shall be like Him and receive a body like unto His glorious body, an eternal dwelling.

Identity

One of the rich advantage of being a covenant friend is the identity of covenant. The exchange of names, the scars of cutting a covenant, the exchange of items that are strongly linked to the owner are all means of identifying a person "in covenant". A person's enemy knows immediately that he is taking on not only that person, but also the covenant friend, should he attack. Satan knows and can identify one walking in covenant with God. He knows the power and authority of a covenant.

To the Church in Pergamum, Jesus' identity is linked to the double-edged sword. All through this message there are references to teaching and eating. We know both of these are descriptions of our relation to The Word of God. Satan uses these same methods to link people to his "doctrines". I have been impressed many times as I read these messages to the churches, how very closely Satan stays to the methods of true worship of God to get people to worship him. Deception is very hard to identify by sight and hearing. To the observer there seems to be little difference. Only when you know and have paid the price for Truth do you hear the lack of Life in the words used. The religious rulers did not hear Truth even when they heard it from the mouth of Jesus. The discerning of Truth is not a human capability, but is a part of the grace of the Holy Spirit. We do not come to the Father except the Spirit draws us! This church in Pergamum had a mixture of those walking in Truth and those who clung to the Lie. Jesus told the church to repent!

The power of repentance is beyond human observance. We are told to humble ourselves and repent for sins we do not even commit so God can heal our land! We are identified by the covenant we are under. God has always seen that people are a part of the nation to which they belong, the church to which they belong, the family to which they belong and holds them responsible for that to which they are identified! It was not enough that some were holding fast to the faith in the midst of Satan's persecution if they could not expose the darkness within their own group! If they could not use the "sword of His mouth" and cut out the false, Jesus would come and do it (verse 16).

To those who would overcome, the fruit, or blessing, of covenant would be theirs. The blessing is linked to the identity of Jesus to that church. This message is concerning the Word of God. It is powerful to the bringing down of strongholds and is the bread of Life to those who eat it. Being faithful to the Truth, the very nature of God revealed in Jesus, is to overcome our human nature and let the Holy Spirit reveal in us and through us God's nature. This is walking in Light in the midst of darkness. This is abiding in Him even when we are walking in the "city" where Satan dwells! Being faithful to what we have in Him opens the door to receive more from Him. Responding to the Spirit's leading as we eat His Word, is the key to receiving the hidden manna kept from the casual and reserved for those who knock.

The exchange of names in covenant is complete when God gives to us the new name by which He knows us. It will only be complete as we give to Him the covenant response of being faithful to His Name!

Passive Attitudes

When the Israelites faced the battle God had been preparing them to fight, the enemy sought a prophet to be on his side to help fight God' people. This should tell us something of the enemy's fear of God's people! When Jesus said that just before His return, the Church would be asleep, He certainly saw our condition. The only way we can become "aware" of what is happening is to trim our lamps! Then we will be aware of our need for more oil! Only the Holy Spirit will lead us through these days of preparation to meet our Bridegroom!

The enemy has been infiltrating the church all over the world by influencing people's opinions so they will preach their opinion as did Balaam. Whoever thought homeosexuality would not only be practiced by "Christians" but would be defended from the pulpit? And even have them in the pulpit to lead people seeking to be Christians? I have no doubt the great deception that Jesus warned us is upon us. That deception has lulled the Christian world away from seeking God and have settled with the comfort of religion, the broad way that leads to destruction. Religion can have any range of "the lie" and still find those who will embrace it. Satan is the author of "the lie" and he uses it as his weapon to bring people over to his side. He declared he would make himself as God and exalt himself above the stars, the declaration of God of His purpose written in the stars. Isaiah 14:13-14 (NASB)13"But you said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven;I will raise my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north. 14'I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.' The key phrase of deception is "I will make myself". Paul warned Timothy of this when he charged him to hold to the Truth and to sound doctrine. II Timothy 4:12-17(NLT)12 Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. 13 But evil people and impostors will flourish. They will deceive others and will themselves be deceived. 14 But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you. 15 You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. Satan's attack against God's Word has always been to lead people away from those who hold to the Truth and lull them into passivity concerning the Word. Those who would read and "study" God's Word and then teach that God is not against homeosexuality and murder, do not know God. They have never crossed over into Life but continue in the way of the arch-deceiver, the author of the lie. Jesus' covenant word to us is that He will come and fight them with the sword of His mouth.

Living In Truth

Revelation 2:12-17(NLT) 12 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Pergamum. This is the message from the one with the sharp two-edged sword: 13 “I know that you live in the city where Satan has his throne, yet you have remained loyal to me. You refused to deny me even when Antipas, my faithful witness, was martyred among you there in Satan’s city. 14 “But I have a few complaints against you. You tolerate some among you whose teaching is like that of Balaam, who showed Balak how to trip up the people of Israel. He taught them to sin by eating food offered to idols and by committing sexual sin. 15 In a similar way, you have some Nicolaitans among you who follow the same teaching. 16 Repent of your sin, or I will come to you suddenly and fight against them with the sword of my mouth. 17 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give some of the manna that has been hidden away in heaven. And I will give to each one a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one understands except the one who receives it.
It became important to me this morning to explain that I am not trying to "explain" these messages to the churches. My goal in these times with you is to show you the covenant relationship that is expressed, not only in these letters by Jesus to the churches, but in all of His Word. The letter to the Church in Pergamum is rich in covenant reference but also contains much that must be revealed by the Spirit.

The identity of Jesus is One with the two-edged sword. Hebrews 4:12(NIV) 12For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. The entire Word of God is revealing Jesus. He told this to Israel's rulers. John 5:39-40(NLT)39 “You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! 40 Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life.

There are two strong facets of a covenant that this church held strongly. The Name of Jesus and the faith of covenant. Abraham believed that Eternal Jehovah could and would cut covenant with a mortal man and it was accounted to him as righteousness. This church in Pergamum also held true to His Name and did not deny their faith in Him. They had ample opportunity to do so because of the strong persecution directed against them. Antipas, evidently one who had taught and led this people, was martyred brutally before them, yet they held strong.

They lived in the midst of darkness. Their light was established in the heart of darkness. This city was called by Jesus the dwelling of Satan, yet here was one of the seven lampstands! But the human weakness that could destroy them faster than Satan's persecution was exposed to them by Jesus so they could overcome it. They were suffering from human tolerance. They were allowing those who were following the teaching of Balaam and the Nicolaitans to co-exist as part of the church. God was prepared to make war on these elements with His sword. This church had to overcome their tolerance to those who embraced this sin and face them with the Truth, or the Lord would come to the church and do it His way!

You have a treasure when you have a leader who is courageous to hold to the Truth of God's Word and line up with that and not with compromise. Courage to face persecution is praiseworthy, but the courage to stand only on God's Word is life eternal. Compromise with Satan's attitude toward sex and the feeding on the "food" of the idols of this age, will destroy your relationship to God. What the world seeks and plays with are not to be a part of our attitude and desires, nor are we to excuse those who do as a tolerated part of God's purpose. This has nothing to do with our love for sinners and desire to see them brought to God. We can go into the dens of iniquity and hold forth the light. This church was living in the city where Satan dwelt and was a light. Jesus went among sinners to reach them and did not judge where they were but led them away from it. This is not the same as being tolerant and co-existing with that which God hates. When we abide in Jesus, we have found our dwelling place and in Him, there is no darkness at all.

Rich Toward God

Revelation 2:8-11(NASB) 8"And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this: 9'I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10'Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. 11'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.'

Notice the connection the identity Jesus has with the overcoming victory of the church He addresses. When we follow Jesus, our victory echoes His! There are seven separate revelations of Jesus to the seven churches. Each of these churches reveals an expectation of God for His Church. These churches reveal the pitfall human nature creates in our effort to respond. It is so easy for us to wander off the path, lose our focus and lose the way completely. Religion is waiting to swallow the church that loses her focus on Jesus.

The church in Smyrna represented in this message is a wonderful example of victorious living. They already had proven they could keep their focus through hard times. So many times, when faced with the hardship of affliction and poverty, we, as humans, turn to human resources as the answer. To keep our focus on Him and our spirit tuned to worship Him as we follow Him makes us rich toward God with the true riches. This connection gives us the understanding to discern the true from the false. Keeping our eye on the Plumbline God has "dropped" into our realm, Jesus, allows us to discern the false.

This message gives us an insight into God's viewpoint of religious acceptance of His provision to us. In Genesis 15:1, God gave Abraham His covenant purpose toward him and his descendants. These have become ours in Jesus. It doesn't matter if we build a synagogue or a church, if we do not give a true covenant response, we are giving a false or religious one. This church in Smyrna had refused to follow that way. They were holding true to focusing on Jesus.

The only human response that Jesus warns them about is fear. Anxiety of what men can do in their hatred of Light, fear of our reaction to suffering and persecution, can distort our focus. In this message, Jesus assures them it is for but a limited period and being faithful to the end will have a rich, eternal reward.

The identity Jesus reveals to this church is His travail and victory as a man when He stood in for us and took our place. His promise to the overcomer is that the overcomer will share in His Victory and not face the eternal separation from God. The overcomer will have and wear the royal Crown of Life for all eternity.

Repentance

Let us look at the remedy Jesus gave to the Church in Ephesus and the consequences if they do not give that response. Revelation 2:4-5(NASB) 4'But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5'Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place--unless you repent.

One translation says, "remember the height from which you have fallen.." In covenant view, it is not about the person, the intention or lack thereof, but about the covenant. What were the covenant expectations that you committed yourself? God's covenant expectation is that we become as He is. Following in Jesus' footsteps will bring us into the fulfillment of that expectation for Jesus is the exact representation of the Father. But if we do lose sight of Who He is, how can we be like Him? God is love. The love He has poured out on us is not reasonable in our human sight. But the Holy Spirit reveals His love to us and our love response to Him is not reasonable to other humans. To let His love abide in us until we love as He loves is something the world cannot fathom. But when we get our eyes on our "working for God", rather than on His love, we lose that love connection. Rescuing the lost, feeding the poor, covering the wounds the enemy inflicts on the unsuspecting, pouring ourselves out as Jesus poured Himself out for us as an expression of the Love He has shown us causes the change in us that God expects to happen. We don't orchestrate the change, God does. We only respond to Who we see He is and He does the rest. But if our response is outside the covenant and is what we feel we "need" to do because we see someone else doing it or someone expects it of us or we are driven to do something religious to justify ourselves, we are not giving God that connection He must have to accomplish what He desires to do.

What must God do as His covenant response when we do not give to Him a covenant response? He must come and take our lampstand out of the place He has put it. We may continue doing what we have always done and feel we are really working for God, and never know our lampstand no longer stands where He put it and is really no longer a lampstand at all. But what happens if we repent and come back to responding to His great Love?

Because we respond to God's Word with our own understanding, we miss or distort what He says. Let the Word of God interpret the Word of God. Read carefully, seeking the Holy Spirit to reveal to you, the passages in John 5:19-30 and John 6:44-58. God so loved the world, not just those whom He had chosen to be a separate nation, but all who would respond to His call, that He sent to us Jesus, God in the flesh of man. Jesus revealed God to man. Jesus came showing that same love that is without measure. He came in our poverty so we could come into His riches. All He is is now available to us! Come and feast at His table! Jesus IS the tree of Life!

Keeping a Focus

In the first letter to the church at Ephesus, the revealing of what the Lord had against the church is the first step of opportunity for the church to get back on track. Their experience with foundation-laying apostolic ministry had given this church an understanding of faithfulness and a perception of the "imitation" that God despises. They were still moving in the direction the apostles had pointed them. They needed only to sincerely repent of losing sight of Who God is and that they were to BE as He is. We can so easily get our eyes on our actions and forget God is looking for the change in our basic being to be like Him!

So let us exam what they were "doing" right. First, they were faithful to persevere and endure hardships. This, I can imagine, would be greater than any hardships we face for they were constantly seeing friends and fellow believers and beloved leaders being martyred.
Second, they did not tolerate wicked men. Toleration of sin is a condition. It requires man's opinion of what is acceptable to God rather than relying on God's Word about what is not acceptable to Him. This church at Ephesus was grounded by an apostolic ministry to know and understand God's Word and Nature.
Third, they hated the practices of the Nicolaitans which God pronounced He also hated. Look back in Acts 6 when the Apostles chose seven men to serve tables and whom we have called deacons. Acts 6:5(NLT) Everyone liked this idea, and they chose the following: Stephen (a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit), Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas of Antioch (an earlier convert to the Jewish faith). Nicolas, once a worshipper of false gods in Antioch, converted to Judaism and now a resident in Jerusalem, converted to join the new church under the apostles' teaching. When the Christians were scattered from Jerusalem, they went separate ways to many countries, carrying and spreading the Good News. They began discipling converts. Those who followed Nicolas were evidently getting a mixture of "the best" of ideas Nicolas had embraced at one time and had not abandoned when he converted each time. Their adherence to Nicolas' teaching to follow "justified" practices became separate from the teaching of the apostles. These practices the church at Ephesus hated.

Revelation 2:7 (NASB)'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.' If you know the Voice of the Spirit and are of the heart to follow, you will understand that The Spirit of God is drawing you to hear the message Jesus is giving to each church and know it is for you to heed. To heed is to hear and act upon what you hear.

So, what did we hear? The Church at Ephesus would be considered today an exceptional church. Understanding what an apostle is and able to follow the apostolic teaching to persevere and endure would seem to be totally victorious. To turn away from man's opinions that would justify the satisfing of the fleshly desires would make a church look truly righteous. But it is exactly this human viewpoint that Jesus is NOT justifying. He is revealing to this church how God views it. That is a blessing I seek. I want to be forewarned of the way I am NOT pleasing God before I stand before Him in judgment!

To do the works God gives us to do is praiseworthy. But we must not lose our connection with the covenant purpose of God. All He has ever done and will yet do is to bring the human person into His image! This is not to be accomplished in heaven after you die. You are given a body to live in the realm that is the preparation ground for eternity. Here on this earth you are given an opportunity to give covenant response to God so He can accomplish His purpose in you. You are given covenant "expectations" from God and as you give response and steadfastly look to Him to reveal Himself to you, you are changed. Deep in your being, your spirit begins to take on the likeness of God. The Word, the sword of the Spirit, begins to separate the soul, with its human responses, from your spirit which is feeding on God's Word of Life. If His Word is your connection to His Life, you will begin to overcome your soul's response to this realm and other people.

The Identification in Covenant

We have seven letters to the seven angels that, to me, are some of the most vital passages in the Bible! These seven angels (stars) are held in the right hand of our ascended Lord! These letters reveal the carefulness with which God follows covenant in His relationship with us. All the elements of covenant are in each letter. I had read The Revelation hundreds of times before God showed me covenant language. Then I began to realize why the blessing is on the reading and hearing of this revelation but we are not told to understand. We have to expose our selves to this revelation and He will take care of the revealing it to us. I have heard many people say they do not read this book because it is too hard to understand. As humans with Adamic nature, we are the product of eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We want the control of gaining knowledge and deception is the result. No one knows they are deceived, for deception is so subtle. Crying out to our Lord to deliver us from the way of this realm so we can walk in His ways is the first step. The Holy Spirit will teach you the submission to His Lordship. The humble cry of the little child opens the way to the Tree of Life. We all stumble and falter on this way. God knows our dust and our weakness, but He has given us the Holy Spirit to be our Guide.

The first element of covenant I saw in these letters was the identification of covenant. Jesus first reveals His own identity. Then He reveals the identity of the church. First, He acclaims the way they probably see themselves and which He not only recognizes, but acknowledges. Haven't you heard prayers that start out listing all the ways in which the person has served the Lord and given up certain things for Him? In this first letter to Ephesus, He beats them to it and gives them "credit" for their labors. Revelation 2:1-7(NASB) 1"To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this: 2'I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; 3and you have perseverance and have endured for My name's sake, and have not grown weary. 4'But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5'Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place--unless you repent. 6'Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.'

How does our Lord identify Himself? He is the One Who holds you in His hand and walks among us! The key to the identity of our Lord is the need of that particular church! He reveals Himself as the One to meet the need! That is true all through the Scriptures. God reveals His Name to a person who has recognized a need. Each time God reveals Himself in a Name, it is to a person He wants to use to proclaim Him to meet that need. It took 40 years of wilderness living for Moses to be prepared to meet the I AM. Then he was prepared to lead God's people 40 years through their wilderness! The Church at Ephesus had been birthed in the miraculous revelation of the Love of God. They embraced the wondrous truth of God coming in the likeness of man to redeem them! They followed the teachings they received and labored well. They had been ministered to by Paul, John, Timothy and many of the apostles. They knew the reward of apostolic ministry and knew when that reward was lacking from those who tried to assume the title and position without the choosing and anointing by God. They had much for which to be praised.

But they had lost the connection with the identity of the One they served! God came to this realm because He LOVED. The One Who holds us and walks among us does so because He is LOVE. When we lose that connection, we lose the capacity to love. The purpose of all God does is to make us in His image. The very essence of God is love. When God created man, He gave everything He wants us to be as a human echo. Only in our response to Jesus, our covenant with God, are we able to be more than an echo. By steadfastly beholding Him, we are changed from glory to glory, or bit by bit! If we get our eyes on WHAT we are doing FOR Him, we lose sight of Him and Who He is. God is love. To walk in His love, we must keep Him in our focus.

The Mystery of the Lampstand

Revelation 1:20(NASB) "As for the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

Only as we understand the "deepening" of the progressive revelation to mankind of The Way to the completion of God's purpose to "make man in Our image," do we begin to comprehend the hidden truths in His Word. I was a Christian for many years before I began to see the hidden truths. Let me say this and pray you understand. These are not man's opinions of God's Word, neither do they depend on our experience or knowledge. They are not discerned from study but by the unveiling work of the Holy Spirit. Understanding may come when you are not even reading His Word. But this understanding does depend on a yielded walk, led by the Holy Spirit, following Jesus. God uses anointed people to help you to come to that place of yielding, circumstances and experiences help you come to that place of yielding, but man and experience are not what you follow. To know the Way and The Truth and The Life, you must follow Jesus. Jesus told us in John 14-17 the key to following Him is to be guided by the Holy Spirit.

There are so many things I do not know. It is not that I have not read many books and commentaries concerning these things, but I know in my spirit, I have not heard from the Holy Spirit the meaning hidden in some Scriptures. I do not know why these seven churches were chosen to reveal the truth of human response to God's covenanted Word. I only know of the church at Ephesus through the letter Paul wrote to them. Even if we knew them through historic means, we would not know them as Jesus was revealing them to John. I am sure John was acquainted with these churches but not as Jesus was revealing them to him. When I read these chapters, I echo the cry of David, "Search me, O God, and see if there be some destructive way in me!" We can get locked in to a mental acceptance of God's Word and follow blindly a way that is not The Way. Only as we pay the price for Truth, (and the cost is our total surrender!) do we find The Way. Our response to God is not limited to our church experience. We walk The Way 24/7 or we are not in The Way! Because we have a ritual and a knowledge of the Scriptures does not mean we know The Truth. Only the Holy Spirit can reveal Jesus to us for that is His ministry and the reason He comes to dwell in us. If we do not know His Voice, and do not know to follow very carefully the way He reveals to us, we cannot know the intimacy of knowing Jesus.

This verse shows us how God views the church. Our individual connection with a church makes us a lampstand. We understand "lampstand" from our study of the Old Testament tabernacle or temple that had a "room" without windows, lit by a lampstand with oil and a wick burning continually. What a message to us! Oh, that our church could be a "room" without windows! We built a church once without windows! We wanted no outside distraction to our worship! But the church is not the building. We are the church. We come together to bring our worship and join our worship with others who are bringing their worship. If we could live in this realm and not be of this realm, we could be a "room" without windows and the only Light would be the flame of the oil of the Holy Spirit! How else are we going to be the light of the world? How can we be the Light set in the earth to separate the light from the darkness? God depends on our covenant response to His Light to be witness to that Light. How can we be a witness unless that Light is the witness? How can we be witnesses to His Resurrection unless His Life is alive in us?

A lampstand has a tremendous responsibility. It is given the privilege of holding and revealing light.

A Covenant Fulfilled

Revelation 1:19(NIV) "Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later." This is the picture of God's covenant "system" with this realm. The covenants with this realm begin in Genesis 1 and we see their fulfillment in The Revelation. The "new heaven and new earth" are not ruled by the covenant made with this realm to produce the atmosphere for bringing man into God's image. They become the fulfilled covenant for the eternal dwelling place of God in His people. The "what shall take place" is not so much a prophetic picture of "natural happenings" in this realm, but a picture of the advancement of God's purpose and the fulfillment of every covenant provision made to accomplish this. What God declares and purposes WILL have fulfillment! Take, for instance, the first covenant we see in Genesis. "Let there be light!" Out of the darkness over the surface of the deep comes light and God separated the light from the darkness. On the fourth day, God brought forth the sun, moon and stars to govern the day and night and to separate light from darkness. This is a rich study but suffice it for now that the covenant of light did not first depend on the lights set forth for this realm! We see it continuing for the nation Israel in the lampstands in the tabernacle that were not to be allowed to go out. We see it continuing in Jesus Who is the Light and the church who become the lampstands. We see the fulfillment in the New City where there is no need for the sun for there is no darkness at all! We will be looking into the Revelation to see the expectation for the Church and the advancement of His kingdom to the final phase of God working in His people to perfection, a radiant Bride! It is indeed a revelation of Jesus Christ, past, present and future--yesterday, today and forever the same!