All Things New.

Revelation 21:1-8: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. (2) And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. (3) And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. (4) He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (5) And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” (6) And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. (7) The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. (8) But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

Today, we will be looking at the many things that Believers will receive once the old is replaced by the new. Please read the verses above so that you might an understanding of wonderful the new Heaven and Earth will be.

We see in verses 1-5 the new Heaven and Earth; the old has been destroyed, and the new has come. After judgment, the old; sin-fill universe, was destroyed, along with Heaven. God then made a new Heaven and Earth for all Believers in dwell in.

Then in verse 6-8, we see the things which we will spend most of our time on today. In verse 6, God declares Himself to be the beginning and the end. Which He is, He made and later destroyed all things. And after saying that, He tells us that: To all who are thirsty (spiritually speaking) He will freely give the water of life. All people are born spiritually thirsty, that is why we go to sin, we are trying to quench that thirst. Look at the woman at the well: She has been drinking from the “broken cistern” of relationships. She had five different husbands, and at the time she met Jesus, she was living with a man who was not her husband. But once Jesus came and told her of the living water that He had, she wanted it, and Jesus gave it to her (free of charge). After that, that woman was never the same; why? Because, she had drunk from the living waters and was never spiritually thirsty again. All those who come to Jesus, are giving the living water which quenches all spiritual thirst.

Now we come to verse 7, we see that all those who conquer will be given the New Heaven and New Earth as an heritage, and not only that, but they will be given the highest honor: They will become children of God. We see in Romans 8:37  (“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”) and John 3:16  (“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”) as well as passages like: 1st Thessalonians 1:4, 2nd Thessalonians 2:16, and 1st John 4:10 which tell us that; we are loved by Jesus, who showed His love for us by dying on the cross so that we might live. And so, all believers, those who trust in Jesus for their power and so overcome, and made children of God through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now that we have covered the believers, what about those who do not believe?

We see them in verse 8; we see that their sins have not been forgiven and forgotten by God. Why? Because they did not run to Jesus in order to have their sin removed. Once our sin is removed by trusting in Jesus, our sins are forgiven and forgotten. We see this in Hebrews 10:12-17: “But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, (13) waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. (14) For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. (15) And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, (16) “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,” (17) then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”

All those who trust in Jesus for forgiveness, are forgiven. They receive forgiveness, and because their sins are forgiveness in Christ, they are also forgotten by God. But if you have not received forgiveness in Christ, then your sins are still visible to God. And because you are not perfect in the eyes of God, you will be eternally separated from Him. However, if you will call out to Jesus, and ask Him for the living waters that He promises, you will receive them, free of charge. Call out to Jesus, receive forgiveness of sins, freedom from sin’s power over you, and receive living water from Him.

And if you are a Believer in the Lord reading this post, I encourage you to never forget the gospel, and to hold fast to the promises of God told to us in this passage.

Heavenly Father, I thank You, for making us Your Children, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, Your first Son. And Jesus, I thank You, for taking all of my sin and shame on Yourself on the cross, making me holy and pure in Your blood, which was shed for me on that cross. Holy Spirit, I ask You, to please remind us of the gospel every day, and please help us to preach the gospel boldly, and unashamed, as we should. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Judgement Day

Revelation 20:11-15: “Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. (12) And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. (13) And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. (14) Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. (15) And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

Before Jesus called me to Himself; I was not looking forward to this day — to put it lightly. I knew that on that day, all my sin would be brought into the light, I would be judged by God, and thrown to the lake of fire for the things I did. However, after Jesus called me, I do not fear this day anymore; why? Well, let’s look at this passage more closely.

In verse 12, we see that the book of life and other books were opened to judge the dead. The dead were judged by what was in the books. If their name was not in the book of life, then their acts would be sinful, and done in self-interest. But if they had been called by God (believers in the Lord), then their names would be in the book of life, and their acts would be from those who wanted to bring glory to God and not to themselves. “But how,” you may ask, “does this remove the fear of Judgment day?” In answer, please wait a little longer, we are almost to that point. But before we get there, please look back with me to Revelation 3:5:

“The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.”

For all those that conquer, which we can only do if we are trusting in Jesus (if we are believers), their names will not be blotted out of the Book of Life. In other words: Believers in Jesus will never have their name removed from the book of life, and so we do not fear judgment day the way unbelievers do. They are not saved; only those who take shelter in the blood of Jesus are safe. I no longer fear judgment day in way I once did because I am safe in the blood of my Lord, Jesus Christ. And if you want to be free from that fear as well, call out to Jesus, ask Him to save you, and He will.

Jesus removes fear, because, through His death and resurrection, our sin and guilt has been removed. And because of that fact, we no longer need to fear punishment, judgment, or condemnation. Jesus bore all of our punishment, judgment, or condemnation (and more) for us, while He was on the cross. Jesus is so great, isn’t He?

Heavenly Father, I thank You, for giving us a shelter in the time of storm in Your Son, Christ Jesus. And Jesus, I thank You, for removing all of my sin, and shame through Your own death and resurrection. And Holy Spirit, please remind us of the love that we have been shown in the gospel of Jesus Christ. In Jesus’ name, amen.

The Woman on The Beast.

Today, we will be looking at the ten horns of the beast and what they would do (verse 12-14).

In order to help you understand the ten horns of the beast, I have placed Revelation 17 for you to read. I should warn you, there is a lot of imagery in this passage, so please try not to get bogged down in all the details. Having said that, please read chapter 17 of Revelation.

Revelation 17:1-18: “Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters, (2) with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk.” (3) And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. (4) The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. (5) And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations.” (6) And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. When I saw her, I marveled greatly. (7) But the angel said to me, “Why do you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her. (8) The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come. (9) This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; (10) they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he does come he must remain only a little while. (11) As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to destruction. (12) And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast. (13) These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast. (14) They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.” (15) And the angel said to me, “The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages. (16) And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the prostitute. They will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire, (17) for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. (18) And the woman that you saw is the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth.”

We see a lot of this in this passage, but for the sake of time, we will mainly focus on verses 12-14. In verse 12, we see the ten horns of the beast, and who they represent: “(12) And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast. ” we also see that they will receive the power of kings for one hour along with the beast. Then, in verse 14, we see what they will do with this newly acquired power: “they will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.”

But is that a problem for “the Lamb”? No, it is not. In fact, we see (in verse 14) that the Lamb will conquer them, with all those that are with Him, those He has called.

So what do we see in these verses? We see that there is victory with Jesus; all those that were on the side of “the Lamb” won the war. We have seen before, that all believers have been chosen by God. Knowing this, we can say that it is all believers that are on the side of “the Lamb” that is “Jesus”. It is those that are in Christ that receive the victory:

1st Corinthians 15:57: “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

For all those in Christ, there is freedom, and victory; freedom from the power of sin, and victory over sin in our lives. In other words, because Jesus died, taking all of our sin on Himself on the cross, we have been freed from its power over us. And by trusting in His power, we are able to remove the sin in our lives.

What else do we see in this passage? Well, we see who Jesus is: He is the Lord on Lord, King of Kings, He is the Lamb that was slain, we that we might have freedom, and victory. He is the one who gives us the victory, and it is He who saves us from destruction. How great is our God.

Heavenly Father, I thank You, for giving us so much through the death and resurrection of Your Son, Jesus. And Jesus, I thank You, for giving us the victory, through Your own death and resurrection. And Holy Spirit, I ask You, to please keep us from forgetting the power of the cross, and please remind us of the many things we have been given through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In Jesus’ name, amen.

The Seven Bowls of Wrath.

Revelation 15:6-8: “and out of the sanctuary came the seven angels with the seven plagues, clothed in pure, bright linen, with golden sashes around their chests. (7) And one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever, (8) and the sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.”

Today, we will be looking at the seven golden bowls that were willed with the wrath of God.

In this passage of scripture, we see seven angels, which are given seven golden bowls filled the wrath of God. We also see that no one could enter the sanctuary until the bowl’s contents, the seven plagues, were poured out. This is important, because it points to the gospel of Jesus’ death and resurrection (more on that later). But before we get to that, let’s first take a look at these golden bowls.

These golden bowl contained the last of the plagues, we see this in the very first verse of chapter 15: Revelation 15:1: “Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished.”

Once these plagues were poured out on the Earth, the wrath of God would be finished, and people could once again enter into the sanctuary. So how does this point to the cross? Well, God’s wrath was on us before Jesus came and died on the cross. When Jesus died on the cross, He completely removed the wrath of God from us, having taken it all has He hung on the cross.  And what happened after all the wrath of God has been emptied onto Christ? The curtain was torn in two:

Matthew 27:50, 51: “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. (51) And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.”

The curtain’s tearing shows us that all those who believe on Jesus can enter into the presence of God. Now let’s take a look at the Revelation passage: In short, no one could enter into the presence of God until the wrath of God had been poured out. But for all those that trust in Jesus, the wrath of God has been poured out, and we can enter into the presence on God. How great is Jesus; that He would die, so that we, people who had been separated from God since the fall, might be able to come before Him, with confidence, again.

Heavenly Father, I thank You, for giving us a shelter, from Your wrath, in Your Son, Christ Jesus. And Jesus, I thank You, for bearing all of the wrath of Your Father, so that I might be able to come before God the Father, sinless, and confident through Your death and resurrection. Holy Spirit, I ask You, to please remind us of the gospel, and the many blessings that we have been given in the death and resurrection of Jesus, in Jesus’ name, amen.

The Dragon; our Enemy.

Revelation 12:17: “Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.”

Today, we will see who the enemy of believers is.

In the passage above, we see a dragon, and this dragon was furious with the woman, and He went off to make war on her offspring. And so the question is this: Who are her offspring? Answer: All those who keep the commandments of God (The New Law) and hold to the testimony of Jesus (that is His death and resurrection). We will take a short look at each one of these people to better understand the passage.

The Dragon: The dragon is identified as Satan, in the earlier passages of scripture. Combining that knowledge with the passage above we see that the Devil wages war on all of God’s people.

The Woman of the Apocalypse: The Woman’s name is not told, but she has been called: The Blessed Virgin Mary, the Church, Generic Man, the Nation of Israel, and the Woman Eve. I do not know the identity of this woman, nor do I think it is important information. But what I do know is this: It is her children, that is; all believers, and Christ that the Dragon, Satan, wages war against.

But why is the Dragon waging war against us? Well, it all started with Christ: Revelation 12:5: “She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne,”

Jesus was the firstborn; He is king of all the nations, and it was He who was caught up into Heaven. He was born, He lived a perfect life, died on a cross in order to save us, and then three days later, He rose from the grave. It was after His resurrection that He was caught up into Heaven. Jesus died, but He rose again, conquering over the Devil. The Devil was defeat by Jesus, and now wages war against all believers.

So, is there any hope for us? If it took God is Human form to defeat Satan, how will we, mere men and women, be able to defeat Satan? Well, on our own, we will never be able to overcome Satan. But by holding to the testimony of Jesus, that is His death and resurrection, we will be able to conquer. Or in other words; by trusting in His power we will be able to conquer.

When Jesus died on the cross, it looked like Satan, had won. But then Jesus rose from the grave, conquering over Satan, redeeming us from His house, forgiving us of our sin, and giving all believers a new and living hope in Him. For all whom trust in Jesus there is forgiveness, freedom, and power to overcome any sin in your life: 1st John 5:4: “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world–our faith.”

Our faith in Christ is how we are given power to overcome the world.

In this post I hope you have seen that believers are given many gifts, and many blessings. But have a very strong enemy; Satan Himself. But we should not fear, why? Because, we serve a much stronger God, He has overcome Satan, and gives all who trust in Him, strength to overcome as well. How great is our God!

Heavenly Father, I thank You, for giving all believers strength to overcome, in the death and resurrection of Your Son, Jesus. And Jesus, I thank You, for completely conquering over Satan through Your own death and resurrection, so that I might be freed, forgiven, and given power to overcome. And Holy Spirit, I ask You, to please keep us from forgetting what Jesus has done for us on the cross. And in Jesus’ name, amen.

Jesus, Our Shepherd.

Revelation 7:17: “For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” 

This verse (above) is spoken about all those who have been washed clean in the blood of the Lamb. Today, we will focus on the Lamb, our Shepherd.

Now, at first, the “Lamb” being our “Shepherd” might seem a bit backwards. I mean, who ever heard of a Lamb leading the Shepherds? But in this case, we know that the Lamb here is Christ Jesus. Jesus is our Shepherd, and it is He who will lead His flock (us) to living waters. But how can we know for certain that this is really Christ? Well, here are two passages that tell us of our Shepherd:

Psalms 23:1-6: A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. (2) He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. (3) He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. (4) Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. (5) You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. (6) Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

The Lord is our (the believer’s) Shepherd, and it is He who leads us by still water. Jesus is Lord, and the Lamb (which we know is Christ), our Shepherd, will lead us by living waters. It is pretty clear that Jesus is our Shepherd. But just in case you are not convinced, here is the clearest passage that shows us that Jesus is our Shepherd:

John 10:14-18: “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, (15) just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. (16) And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. (17) For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. (18) No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.””

Jesus tells us clearly, that His is our (all believer’s) good Shepherd. We also see something else in this passage, the gospel. Jesus lays down His life for His Sheep; and where do we see Him doing this? That’s right, at the cross. No one took His life; He gave it up so that we might be saved from the wrath of God, and from the punishment of our own sin. But He didn’t stay dead; He rose again three days after His death so that we might be given a new and living hope in Him. How great is Jesus!

If you want to have peace in your life and complete forgiveness of sin; then run to Jesus! Find shelter, and complete forgiveness in Him. Call out to Him, ask Him to save you, and He will.

Heavenly Father, I thank You, for giving us such a great Shepherd in Your Son, Jesus. And Jesus, I thank You, for laying down Your life, so that I might be forgiven, and freed from sin’s power in my life. And Holy Spirit, I ask You, to please remind us of the gospel every day. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Washed in The Blood II

Revelation 7:13, 14: “Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” (14) I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

John has just seen a great multitude wearing white clothes, and we see in the two verse above, just who these people are:

They are those who came out of the great tribulation; they have gone to the cross, and had all their sin and guilt washed away in the blood of Jesus. You may be thinking: “what does this passage mean when it says: “They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” How can you be washed in blood?”

That is a good question, and here is the answer: If we go to the cross (spiritually speaking), accepting that nothing else can take away our sin and guilt. Trusting in Jesus’ death and resurrection for our own forgiveness, and cleansing of sin, then we, like those spoken about in the passage above, will be “washed” (again, spiritually speaking) clean of all guilt and sin’s hold on us, in the blood of the Lamb, that is Christ. It is only through the death of the perfect sacrifice (Jesus), that our sin can be removed, and we can be cleansed. Consider:

Hebrews 10:11, 12: “And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. (12) But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,”

The Old Testament sacrifices could not take away sin, but when Jesus, the Lamb, the perfect sacrifice, came. He died in our place, and took away our sin, washing us in Him blood, and so cleansing us of our guilt, and sin’s hold on us. If you wish to be washed in the blood of Christ, and so be forgiven, freed from sin’s power, and given a new life in Christ, come to Jesus. Call out to Him, asking He to save you, and He will. And never forget the gospel, for it is the power of God, and it is a reminder of your own forgiveness and freedom. Lose it, and you will lose your certainty of forgiveness and freedom.

How great is Jesus, our Lamb that was slain for us so that we might be completely forgiven and freed of sin’s hold on our lives. He died, so that we might live. He rose, and by that we know that Jesus’ sacrifice was accepted by God the Father.

Heavenly Father, I thank You, for giving us Jesus, so that we might be saved and forgiven. And Jesus, I thank You, for washing us clean in Your blood. And Holy Spirit, I ask You, to please remind us of the gospel every day, and please keep us from forgetting the gospel. In Jesus’ name, amen.

The Lamb that was Slain

Revelation 5:1-10: “Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. (2) And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” (3) And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, (4) and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. (5) And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” (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. (7) And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. (8) And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. (9) And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, (10) and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”

There is quite a bit a imaginary here, but what I want you to focus on is the main point. Basically, there was a scroll with seven seals. No one could open this scroll, until “the Lion of Judah”, of the root of David, who had conquered, came. But was it a lion that came forward? No. It was a lamb, looking as if it had been slain. But I thought that it was the Lion of Judah that was the only one that could open this scroll; who is this lamb?  Answer; both the Lion and the slain Lamb, are the same person. And this person is Jesus. Consider this passage of scripture:

John 1:29: “The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

Jesus is called here, “the lamb of God” and what does He do? Answer: “who takes away the sins of the world”. Jesus took away all of our sin through His own death and resurrection, and so: He is the lamb that was slain. Notice in verse nine, the new song that is sung by those around the throne of the Lamb: “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation,”

This Lamb, through His own death, ransomed people for God. How could this not be Jesus? Jesus died, and through His own death He ransomed us from the house of Satan, and brought of into the house of God: 1st Corinthians 6:20: “for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” Believers have been bought at a price, and this price was the very life of Jesus Christ, because we have been bought, we are to glorify God in our bodies. It is clear that the Lamb, written here, represents Jesus, the Christ.

But what about the Lion of Judah, from the line of David, who is He? Well, the Lion is also Jesus. How can we know? Well, Jesus is of the line of David, you can see this if you read Matthew 1:1-17.  Both the Lion and the Lamb are like Jesus in different ways. The Lion is bold, strong, and king of his domain; while the Lamb is meek, and lowly. But it also represents purity, and innocents. These are all characteristics of Jesus.

What have we see in this passage? Well, Jesus, the Lion and the Lamb, is the only one who could open the scroll. He was slain in order to save and redeem people for God, but He did not stay dead, He rose again, overcoming the grave. And because of this, He is worthy to open the scroll. How great is the Lamb that was slain! The one who takes away the sins of the world.

Heavenly Father, I thank You, giving us Savior, in Your Son, Jesus. And Jesus, the Lion and the Lamb, I thank You, for redeeming me from the house of Satan, and for bringing me into You house. Holy Spirit, I ask You, to please remind us of the gospel every day, and please help us to glorify God in our bodies every day. In Jesus’ name, amen.

The Church in Laodicea

Revelation 3:14-22: “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation. (15) “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! (16) so, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. (17) For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. (18) I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. (19) Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. (20) Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. (21) The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. (22) He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'”

Today, we will look at what Jesus said to the Church in Laodicea.

Let’s begin with Jesus’ rebuke (15-16): Jesus tells the Laodicean church that they are lukewarm; but how bad is it to be lukewarm? Well, Jesus said He would rather have the church completely cold spiritually, instead of being lukewarm. Also, because they were lukewarm, He said that He would spit (some versions might say: Vomit) them out of His mouth if they did not change. And just so you know: The definition of Lukewarm (according to “The Free Online Dictionary”) means: to be:

1. Mildly warm; tepid.
2. Or Lacking conviction or enthusiasm; indifferent.

This is what the Laodicean church was: Lacking conviction or enthusiasm in their faith. Jesus hates anyone who is lukewarm in their faith.

Jesus’ instructions (17-18): This church claimed that they were rich in their faith, and that they needed nothing. But they were really: Wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked in their spiritual life. Jesus tells them to come to Him and if they did, they were given a promise: To be made rich, and clothed spiritually. This is a promise that all of us can claim. We all start life naked in our spiritual life, poor, blind, and pitiable. But if we come to Jesus, He will cloth us, He will give sight to our spiritually blind eyes. The instruction in this passage is this: Run to Jesus, and He will cloth us, and gives us the other things we saw in this passage.

Jesus’ Final Comments (19-22): Jesus tells us that He will reprove and discipline those He loves so that they will be zealous and repent. Basically, He is reproving this church because He loves them. He is disciplining them, so that they will repent and become spiritually on fire for Him. And if they are on fire for Him, He will not vomit them out of His mouth. Jesus is the same way today (Hebrews 13:8: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”), and so, all those He loves (Christians), He will reprove and discipline, them in love, so that they will grow in their faith, and become zealous for Him. It is for our own good, if we disciplined. Because, by being disciplined, we because zealous, and by being zealous, we are not at risk of being vomited out of the mouth of Jesus (See note.). But how do we know that Jesus loves us: Let us look at John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Jesus died in our place because both the He and the Father loved us and wanted to save us, how do we know that Jesus loves us too? Well, the Father and Jesus are two beings and yet are one. So if one loves us, then they all do (God the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit). Also, Jesus tells us that He disciplines those He loves, and so, we see that He does love us as well. He loves us so much that He died in our place. How great is Jesus, our Savior, and our Lover!

Heavenly Father, I thank You, for showing us Your great love for us, by sending You Son into this World in order to save us. And Jesus, I thank You, for clothing all those that come to You, and for disciplining us, showing us Your love for us every time You do so. And Holy Spirit, I ask You, to please remind us of the gospel every day. In Jesus’ name, amen.

NOTE: Jesus is our example, so if you are a father, you should discipline your children in love; it is for their own good if you discipline them, so do as Christ does with us, and discipline your children in love, and not in anger.

The Church in Sardis

Revelation 3:1-6: “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. (2) Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. (3) Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. (4) Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. (5) The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. 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.'”

Today, we will be looking at the words Jesus spoke to the church in Sardis.

Rebuke (1): The church in Sardis had a reputation for being, spiritually, alive. But, Jesus tells them that they are dead. This could be said of many churches today; they claim to be alive for Jesus, but they reject the gospel of Jesus’ death and resurrection, and/or they do not see the power of the gospel, and/or they have sin in the church that has not been removed. And because of these things they are, spiritually, dead. But what if you are spiritually dead, but want to be alive, what to you do? Well, you do the same thing Jesus told the church in Sardis to do.

Instruction (2-3): Repent of your sin, strengthen those areas that are weak, and remember the gospel of Jesus’ death and resurrection.

The Warning (3): If the church in Sardis did not do these things, then they Lord would come. And when he came, he would be against the church. To get a better understanding of what it means to have God against us, let’s first see what it is like to have Him as our friend. Consider Paul’s words in Romans 8:31: “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” The answer is this: If God is for us; then no one can stand against us. And God, though at one point we were against Him, He is now for us, because Jesus died on the cross. But what if God came against us? Answer: If God came against us, then nothing could help us. Consider what happened to the people who simple mocked God’s people of Him own words: 2^nd Chronicles 36:16, 17: “But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD rose against his people, until there was no remedy. (17) Therefore he brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or aged. He gave them all into his hand.” So repent, and be saved.

And then the Encouragement (4-5): Some of the church had not turned away, they were still “alive” in their faith, and because they had “clean clothes”, meaning that they had not fallen the same way the church had (remember, the book of Revelation is very spiritual in its writing.), they would walk with Jesus. Jesus also tells us that all those who conquer will be clothed with these same clothes, and not only will we get a new outfit, we also will have our names written into the Book of Life, and once there, our names will never be removed. And when we stand before the Father, Jesus will stand by our side; confessing our name before God almighty. As we have looked at before, it is only in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, that we can conquer. How great is Jesus!

Heavenly  Father, I thank You, for giving us such a great Savior in Your Son, Jesus. And Jesus, I thank You, for saving my life, for clothing me, through You death and resurrection, for giving me strength to conquer, and for writing my name in the Book of Life. And Holy Spirit, I ask You, to please, keep our eyes on Jesus. Remind us, everyday, of the love, grace, and mercy that we have been shown at the cross. In Jesus’ name, amen.