A Walk Through Revelation

[Nick M]

Revelation reveals the restoration of all of all of creation through their faith in the God of creation.

11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. 14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

1Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.

It doesn't seem so. This follows Jacob's trouble, aka Great Tribulation.

 

[Tambora]

It's the revelation of the Lord, not the revelation of Israel.

 

[Right Divider]

It's the revelation of the Lord, not the revelation of Israel.

Are you unaware of the Lord's relationship with Israel?

 

[JudgeRightly]

It's the revelation of the Lord, not the revelation of Israel.

It's the revelation of a prophecy of the Tribulation of Jacob (aka Israel) from the Lord.

Get it right.

 

[fzappa13]

Before leaving chapter one I'd like to review it's last three verses:

18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
19 Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;

"liveth, was dead, alive for evermore" ... "has been, are, shall be". We see here, and in other places in the Bible, time being treated as a single thing. This is one of many passages that leads me to believe that time is an aspect of earthly existence that is not applicable in the heavenly realm. This might shed some light on what Jesus meant when He said, "Before Abraham was, I am." I would also point out that here we are told that Jesus has the keys of hell and death. We will encounter this thought again later and in much more detail.

20 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

Those who are familiar with their Old Testament should already be familiar with these stars and candlesticks.

Amos 5:8 Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name:

Ex 25:31 And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same. ... 37And thou shalt make the seven lamps thereof: and they shall light the lamps thereof, that they may give light over against it.

 

[Right Divider]

Ex 25:31 And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same. ... 37And thou shalt make the seven lamps thereof: and they shall light the lamps thereof, that they may give light over against it.

Who was to make these candlesticks and lamps?

Exod 25:1-2 (AKJV/PCE)​

(25:1) And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, (25:2) Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering.​

​

Exod 27:20-21 (AKJV/PCE)​

(27:20) ¶ And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always. (27:21) In the tabernacle of the congregation without the vail, which [is] before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the LORD: [it shall be] a statute for ever unto their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel.​

 

[Right Divider]

Please forgive me for intruding upon the sanctity of your perfection. I won't do it again.

BTW, this is exactly the type of childish response that I've come to expect from most of the people here on TOL.

 

[Tambora]

Before leaving chapter one I'd like to review it's last three verses:

18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
19 Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;

"liveth, was dead, alive for evermore" ... "has been, are, shall be". We see here, and in other places in the Bible, time being treated as a single thing. This is one of many passages that leads me to believe that time is an aspect of earthly existence that is not applicable in the heavenly realm. This might shed some light on what Jesus meant when He said, "Before Abraham was, I am." I would also point out that here we are told that Jesus has the keys of hell and death. We will encounter this thought again later and in much more detail.

20 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

Those who are familiar with their Old Testament should already be familiar with these stars and candlesticks.

Amos 5:8 Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name:

Ex 25:31 And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same. ... 37And thou shalt make the seven lamps thereof: and they shall light the lamps thereof, that they may give light over against it.

Good stuff.

Stars, spirits, and eyes; oh my!

Revelation 1​

(4) John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne,​

​

Revelation 1​

(16) In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.​

​

Revelation 1​

(20) As for the mystery of the seven stars that 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.​

​

Revelation 3​

(1) “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. “‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.​

​

Revelation 5​

(6) And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.​

We can also consider the following OT scripture:

Zechariah 4​

(10) For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. “These seven are the eyes of the LORD, which range through the whole earth.”​

We know from OT scriptures that "stars" are often representative of spirit beings (angels) and that angels are sent to survey what's going on in all the earth.
In other words, the stars/angels are representing that the LORD knows all that is going on which is expressed with the "I know" statements to the 7 churches:

Ephesus Rev 2:2 "I know"​

Smyrna Rev 2:9 "I know"​

Pergamum Rev 2:13 "I know"​

Thyatira Rev 2:19 "I know"​

Sardis Rev 3:1 "I know"​

Philadelphia Rev 3:8 "I know"​

Laodicea Rev 3:15 "I know"​

 

[fzappa13]

We know from OT scriptures that "stars" are often representative of spirit beings (angels) and that angels are sent to survey what's going on in all the earth.
In other words, the stars/angels are representing that the LORD knows all that is going on which is expressed with the "I know" statements to the 7 churches:

Ephesus Rev 2:2 "I know"​

Smyrna Rev 2:9 "I know"​

Pergamum Rev 2:13 "I know"​

Thyatira Rev 2:19 "I know"​

Sardis Rev 3:1 "I know"​

Philadelphia Rev 3:8 "I know"​

Laodicea Rev 3:15 "I know"​

It would appear that ALL that is in the earthly plane is a mere shadow of a thing that has it's true nature and form, expressed in it's fullness, in the heavenly realm. Take baptism as an example; getting dunked in water is not what saves you ... it is an earthly symbol of that that process that does and that has it's essence in the spiritual realm. Probably because of our prospective, we tend to fixate on the physical and wind up with the tail wagging the dog much if not most of the time. Put more succinctly, we are being lead to spiritual truth thru physical symbols.

 

[Right Divider]

 

[Nick M]

We can also consider the following OT scripture:

Revelation certainly goes with the OT scripture.

 

[Right Divider]

Revelation certainly goes with the OT scripture.

As do Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

 

[fzappa13]

Rev 2:1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;

2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:

3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.


One important point that often gets over looked here is that, in chapters two and three, John is directed to write to the angels of the seven churches, not the churches themselves, though the observations and admonishments concern the churches themselves. It's as though the angels of the churches have some influence in the affairs of these churches and bare some responsibility for them in a sort of spiritual chain of command.

In each of these 7 offerings Jesus first begins by identifying himself by offering the different aspects of Himself and His purpose. Here He begins by reiterating what had just been offered earlier concerning the seven stars and candlesticks. Then Jesus offers an assertion that He knows the works of their respective churches. For those who think that works don't matter, I suggest you should reconsider that notion. Works are His primary concern here. Having said that, it should also be pointed out that the nature of these works concern the physical manifestation of spiritual matters.

In all save the last of these seven letters Jesus begins by listing those deeds of which He approves. He begins with the church of Ephesus. Ephesus is the only post Acts church to receive both an epistle from an apostle and a mention in Rev 2 and 3. Here they are twice ackowledged for their patience and labor. In this they are not alone amongst the churches. However, each church lauded has a specific trait that makes them unique.

Here Jesus notes that they have discerned false apostles and rejected them. This is one of several of the responsibilities of those that would be approved of Jesus. It is difficult, if not impossible, to accomplish this task without a firm grasp of what The Word has actually said. We must have that knowledge by which to try what is said by others in His stead. This may well be the most important of the admonitions offered by Jesus and may well be why it is first in order in the two chapters that regard His "churches."

 

[Right Divider]

Rev 2:1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;

2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:

3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.

One important point that often gets over looked here is that, in chapters two and three, John is directed to write to the angels of the seven churches, not the churches themselves, though the observations and admonishments concern the churches themselves. It's as though the angels of the churches have some influence in the affairs of these churches and bare some responsibility for them in a sort of spiritual chain of command.

Israel had a angelic ministry overseeing their operation.

Acts 7:53 (AKJV/PCE)​

(7:53) Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept [it].​

Whereas Paul tells us, the body of Christ, that we shall judge angels.

1Cor 6:3 (AKJV/PCE)​

(6:3) Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?​

 

[Tambora]

Rev 2:1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;

2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:

3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.


One important point that often gets over looked here is that, in chapters two and three, John is directed to write to the angels of the seven churches, not the churches themselves, though the observations and admonishments concern the churches themselves. It's as though the angels of the churches have some influence in the affairs of these churches and bare some responsibility for them in a sort of spiritual chain of command.

In each of these 7 offerings Jesus first begins by identifying himself by offering the different aspects of Himself and His purpose. Here He begins by reiterating what had just been offered earlier concerning the seven stars and candlesticks. Then Jesus offers an assertion that He knows the works of their respective churches. For those who think that works don't matter, I suggest you should reconsider that notion. Works are His primary concern here. Having said that, it should also be pointed out that the nature of these works concern the physical manifestation of spiritual matters.

In all save the last of these seven letters Jesus begins by listing those deeds of which He approves. He begins with the church of Ephesus. Ephesus is the only post Acts church to receive both an epistle from an apostle and a mention in Rev 2 and 3. Here they are twice ackowledged for their patience and labor. In this they are not alone amongst the churches. However, each church lauded has a specific trait that makes them unique.

Here Jesus notes that they have discerned false apostles and rejected them. This is one of several of the responsibilities of those that would be approved of Jesus. It is difficult, if not impossible, to accomplish this task without a firm grasp of what The Word has actually said. We must have that knowledge by which to try what is said by others in His stead. This may well be the most important of the admonitions offered by Jesus and may well be why it is first in order in the two chapters that regard His "churches."

Absolutely!
All the new testament writers use old testament examples of things to be avoided in our walk with the Lord because those things can cause one to fall away.

1 Corinthians 10
(6) Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did.
(7) Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.”
(8) We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day.
(9) We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents,
(10) nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer.
(11) Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.
(12) Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.

 

[fzappa13]

4Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

5Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

6But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

Here we see the eventual admonishment offered by Jesus to all churches mentioned in these two chapters and, in the instance of Ephesus, it was to do their first works. What were their first works? The only one mentioned by name here is trying false apostles. Paul warned us of the "grievous wolves" that would come in and divide the flock after his departure and we should not be surprised that it happened nor Jesus's admonishment to us as it concerns this matter after Paul's warning.

 

[Right Divider]

Absolutely!
All the new testament writers use old testament examples of things to be avoided in our walk with the Lord because those things can cause one to fall away.

1 Corinthians 10
(6) Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did.
(7) Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.”
(8) We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day.
(9) We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents,
(10) nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer.
(11) Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.
(12) Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.

Who is the US and the OUR? Read the entire passage:

1Cor 10:1-6 (AKJV/PCE)​

(10:1) Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; (10:2) And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; (10:3) And did all eat the same spiritual meat; (10:4) And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. (10:5) But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. (10:6) Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.​

Paul is talking specifically to Israelite's here. He does that sometimes.

P.S. I not saying that WE cannot learn from it.

 

[fzappa13]

Absolutely!
All the new testament writers use old testament examples of things to be avoided in our walk with the Lord because those things can cause one to fall away.

1 Corinthians 10
(6) Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did.
(7) Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.”
(8) We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day.
(9) We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents,
(10) nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer.
(11) Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.
(12) Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.

Indeed, one would hope all might see the 7 candles on the menorah offered in the O.T. and the one mentioned In Revelation to all that had ears to hear were one and the same. I fear that's not always the case though. Not everyone has ears to hear it would appear.

 

[Tambora]

Revelation 2

Balaam, a prophet of divination and his teaching that was a stumbling block.

Revelation 2​

(14) But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality.​

From OT:

Numbers 31​

(16) Behold, these, on Balaam's advice, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the LORD in the incident of Peor, and so the plague came among the congregation of the LORD.​

​

Numbers 25​

(1) While Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab.​

(2) These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods.​

(3) So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel.​

The teaching of Balaam has the connotation of a sexual whoredom (harlotry) which is a motif scripture often uses to denote being unfaithful by turning to other gods and/or combining the worship of other gods along with YHWH as a pantheon of gods to be worshipped, and altars could be made for all of those gods, and partaking (eating) sacrifices to them.
Solomon fell prey to the same harlotry.
Israel fell prey to the same harlotry a lot of times.
It certainly wasn't uncommon for mankind of the world to fall prey of worshipping a pantheon of gods without denying that YHWH was also a legitimate god.
Neither Balak (a king of Moab) or Balaam (a prophet of divination) denied that YHWH was a legitimate god.

But YHWH says "no no no". In order to be people of YHWH, in order to bear His Name you must be faithful to YHWH alone by worshipping YHWH alone or else you will be cut off.

We are going to see this harlotry motif that was used in OT often in Revelation including Mystery Babylon the mother of harlots which will attempt to seduce the whole world into harlotry.
We see in the OT that when Israel is called a harlot it is because they were guilty of worshipping and setting up altars for other gods.
And this reference in Rev 14 could very well have the same motif in mind when it says "these who have not defiled themselves with women", meaning they have not committed themselves to harlotry and have remained chaste and faithful to YHWH alone.

Revelation 14​

(4) It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb,​

 

[fzappa13]

Revelation 2

Balaam, a prophet of divination and his teaching that was a stumbling block.

Revelation 2​

(14) But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality.​

From OT:

Numbers 31​

(16) Behold, these, on Balaam's advice, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the LORD in the incident of Peor, and so the plague came among the congregation of the LORD.​

​

Numbers 25​

(1) While Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab.​

(2) These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods.​

(3) So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel.​

The teaching of Balaam has the connotation of a sexual whoredom (harlotry) which is a motif scripture often uses to denote being unfaithful by turning to other gods and/or combining the worship of other gods along with YHWH as a pantheon of gods to be worshipped, and altars could be made for all of those gods, and partaking (eating) sacrifices to them.
Solomon fell prey to the same harlotry.
Israel fell prey to the same harlotry a lot of times.
It certainly wasn't uncommon for mankind of the world to fall prey of worshipping a pantheon of gods without denying that YHWH was also a legitimate god.
Neither Balak (a king of Moab) or Balaam (a prophet of divination) denied that YHWH was a legitimate god.

But YHWH says "no no no". In order to be people of YHWH, in order to bear His Name you must be faithful to YHWH alone by worshipping YHWH alone or else you will be cut off.

We are going to see this harlotry motif that was used in OT often in Revelation including Mystery Babylon the mother of harlots which will attempt to seduce the whole world into harlotry.
We see in the OT that when Israel is called a harlot it is because they were guilty of worshipping and setting up altars for other gods.
And this reference in Rev 14 could very well have the same motif in mind when it says "these who have not defiled themselves with women", meaning they have not committed themselves to harlotry and have remained chaste and faithful to YHWH alone.

Revelation 14​

(4) It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb,​

A study of the terms "whore" and "harlot" as they occur in the Bible is very enlightening and will be useful as we move forward in this book.