Tuesday, August 20, 2013, 7:00 a.m. – The Lord Jesus woke me this morning with the song “My Jesus, My Savior” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Revelation 2:12-17 (NIV):
Double-edged Sword
Pergamum was situated where the modern-day city of Bergama, in Turkey, is now situated. It was “the ancient capital of Asia,” and “its name means ‘Citadel’” (a fortress; strongly fortified - Encarta) - Source: NIV Study Bible. Domitian was the Emperor of Rome during this time. His government was totalitarian in character. Evidently he “sought to control public and private morals.” He had a reputation as being a tyrant. And, apparently he demanded to be referred to as a god (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domitian).
This letter was written to the church located in Pergamum, and it was Jesus Christ who gave these words to John to write to the church, so these are the very words of God. Jesus Christ, God the Son, is described here as the one who has the sharp, double-edged sword, a symbol of divine judgment, so he was letting them know up front that he was ready to bring divine judgment upon them if they did not repent.
Satan’s Throne
Satan’s throne is technically the whole earth, because he is the prince of this earth, and he roams the whole earth seeking whom he may devour. So, in one sense, we all live where Satan has his throne. It is called earth. Yet, politically speaking, Satan had a specific place from which he ruled through human leaders, such as Domitian, and I believe he still does so today. I believe with all my heart that the Lord Jesus has been showing me for some time that Satan rules out of Washington, D.C. and the U.N. The Lord Jesus reminded me of this again this morning. (Google D.C. and U.N. history coupled with Satan/New World Order).
Over the course of several years the Lord Jesus has been showing me the true evil of our government here in the U.S. and of the U.N., and how our government has been behind so many acts of terrorism throughout the world; behind wars; behind ‘natural’ disasters; and behind uprisings and coups; etc. They have been going throughout the world killing, looting, and taking over the governments of the world in order to bring the world under a global order of rule (alias the beast). They have even killed their own people in order to accomplish this goal, including they were behind the events of 9/11/01, the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and many of these current bombings, uprisings, and mass killings throughout the world. Their purpose is to bring us ultimately under the rule of the beast (Revelation).
Also part of what our government and military (international) is doing throughout the globe is they are involved directly in the persecution, imprisonment and murdering of Christians. I don’t have proof of this, because this is hidden from the public, but I believe with all my heart that this is going on right now, including in Egypt, and that our government covers it up via the government-controlled media. What we see in the news is not necessarily what is happening in reality, so we all need to pray for discernment, so that we are not deceived.
You Remain True
Even though Satan is roaming the earth, and he has an earthly throne, i.e. he is the one behind many of our leaders today, and he is presently building his temporary kingdom via “the beast, the false prophet and the dragon,” a personification of Satan, perhaps, still we don’t have to bow to him or to his “image.”
We, in America, have been raised from early childhood to put our hands over our hearts and to pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic (form of government; political system) for which it stands. Other words for “allegiance,” are loyalty; commitment; faithfulness; fidelity; vow; steadfastness; devotion; trustworthiness; etc. Do you know that these words are used over and over again in scripture, but not in relationship between us and human leaders and governments, but in relationship between us and God, and that these words are the same words used to describe worship? We have to obey those in authority over us, and give honor where honor is due, with Biblical exceptions, but we are not to worship our form of government. When we do that, it sets us up to be deceived, because we equate this type of devotion to country with our devotion to God. But, what if our government is of the beast? I believe it is. Please pray about this.
We need to not only have our eyes open to see what is truly going on with our government so we don’t fall prey to deception, and we need to not only be cognizant of the fact that such allegiance to government has the potential of putting them in the place of God in our hearts, in our worship and devotion of them, but we also need to be true to the name of Jesus Christ in all that we do. That means that we need to be in intimate relationship with him, sitting at his feet, listening to him speak, inquiring of him about what is going on in our world, being willing to let him show us the truth, and we need to be daily in his word and obeying what it teaches us.
We need to take the gospel to the ends of the earth, and not be ashamed of our testimony for our Lord. We need to live like we say we believe, and have our words match our actions and our actions match our words. We need to be making disciples of all nations, and loving our brothers and sisters, and we need to be faithful to our Lord, forsaking all other “lovers/gods.” And, we need to remain strong in our testimony, witness, and faith in the gospel despite all opposition, persecution, and rejection, and in spite of all threats against our lives or temptations to bow to the gods of man.
False Teachers Among You
This letter was to the church in this city. Although they were commended for their faithfulness, it appears that they lacked in the area of addressing false teachers and teaching among them, and this still goes on today. There are many committed followers of Jesus Christ throughout the world and inside our country and in our cities, yet there are also many false ministers of the gospel who are teaching a false grace absent of the true cross of Christ.
They are teaching that we do not have to repent of our sins, even though Jesus said we do, and they are teaching that we don’t have to obey Christ’s commands, though Christ himself said we do if we want to have a relationship with him and with the Father, and if we want to have eternal life. These false teachers dilute the gospel in order to make people feel good about themselves, even in their sin, to pacify sin, and to make “the gospel” more acceptable and appealing to the world, which means removing its offense. In this way, they give their followers a free license to continue in willful sin, thinking they’ll be ok, because they have their free ticket to heaven. The Bible says we can’t continue in sin (lifestyle) and have the promise and hope of eternal life.
Repent and Obey
So, how would a church go about “repenting” of such a thing? The church as a whole would need to get revived in heart, mind and purpose, and they would have to begin confronting and exposing these false teachers and their lies and deceptions so that people would come out from underneath the influence of their lies and would be led to the truth. Yet, so many will not even go there, because they don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, or have people hate them, or they don’t want to rock the boat or be accused of being disunifiers. The scripture deals with this subject in 2 Co. 11:4 where Paul chastises the church for putting up with false teachers (and teaching) who bring them a “Jesus” other than the one they were taught. We have to stop putting up with it easily enough, and we have to call it what it is, expose the falseness of it, and start preaching the true gospel of salvation so that people will find genuine salvation and not some fake version that will get them hearing, “Depart from me. I never knew you!”
I believe with all my heart that these warnings of divine judgment (discipline) still stand today. I believe where “the shoe fits,” we must wear these words of divine correction, rebuke, and we must take these warnings seriously and repent. If we do not repent, as a church, I believe judgment in some form or another is coming, and it will be for the purpose to get us to repent and to get us back into an obedient and intimate relationship with our Lord.
Yet, to those who are victorious and who overcome the enemy of our souls, and who have repented, and who have allowed the Spirit of God to transform them in heart and mind and to lead them into a walk of obedience to God in Christ’s righteousness and holiness, they will be given eternal life and the blessings of eternity with God in heaven.
My Jesus, My Savior / Michael W. Smith
My Jesus, My Saviour,
Lord there is no one like you,
All of my days, I want to praise
The wonders of Your mighty love.
My comfort, my shelter,
Tower of refuge and strength
Let every breath, all that I am
Never cease to worship You…
Double-edged Sword
Pergamum was situated where the modern-day city of Bergama, in Turkey, is now situated. It was “the ancient capital of Asia,” and “its name means ‘Citadel’” (a fortress; strongly fortified - Encarta) - Source: NIV Study Bible. Domitian was the Emperor of Rome during this time. His government was totalitarian in character. Evidently he “sought to control public and private morals.” He had a reputation as being a tyrant. And, apparently he demanded to be referred to as a god (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domitian).
This letter was written to the church located in Pergamum, and it was Jesus Christ who gave these words to John to write to the church, so these are the very words of God. Jesus Christ, God the Son, is described here as the one who has the sharp, double-edged sword, a symbol of divine judgment, so he was letting them know up front that he was ready to bring divine judgment upon them if they did not repent.
Satan’s Throne
Satan’s throne is technically the whole earth, because he is the prince of this earth, and he roams the whole earth seeking whom he may devour. So, in one sense, we all live where Satan has his throne. It is called earth. Yet, politically speaking, Satan had a specific place from which he ruled through human leaders, such as Domitian, and I believe he still does so today. I believe with all my heart that the Lord Jesus has been showing me for some time that Satan rules out of Washington, D.C. and the U.N. The Lord Jesus reminded me of this again this morning. (Google D.C. and U.N. history coupled with Satan/New World Order).
Over the course of several years the Lord Jesus has been showing me the true evil of our government here in the U.S. and of the U.N., and how our government has been behind so many acts of terrorism throughout the world; behind wars; behind ‘natural’ disasters; and behind uprisings and coups; etc. They have been going throughout the world killing, looting, and taking over the governments of the world in order to bring the world under a global order of rule (alias the beast). They have even killed their own people in order to accomplish this goal, including they were behind the events of 9/11/01, the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and many of these current bombings, uprisings, and mass killings throughout the world. Their purpose is to bring us ultimately under the rule of the beast (Revelation).
Also part of what our government and military (international) is doing throughout the globe is they are involved directly in the persecution, imprisonment and murdering of Christians. I don’t have proof of this, because this is hidden from the public, but I believe with all my heart that this is going on right now, including in Egypt, and that our government covers it up via the government-controlled media. What we see in the news is not necessarily what is happening in reality, so we all need to pray for discernment, so that we are not deceived.
You Remain True
Even though Satan is roaming the earth, and he has an earthly throne, i.e. he is the one behind many of our leaders today, and he is presently building his temporary kingdom via “the beast, the false prophet and the dragon,” a personification of Satan, perhaps, still we don’t have to bow to him or to his “image.”
We, in America, have been raised from early childhood to put our hands over our hearts and to pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic (form of government; political system) for which it stands. Other words for “allegiance,” are loyalty; commitment; faithfulness; fidelity; vow; steadfastness; devotion; trustworthiness; etc. Do you know that these words are used over and over again in scripture, but not in relationship between us and human leaders and governments, but in relationship between us and God, and that these words are the same words used to describe worship? We have to obey those in authority over us, and give honor where honor is due, with Biblical exceptions, but we are not to worship our form of government. When we do that, it sets us up to be deceived, because we equate this type of devotion to country with our devotion to God. But, what if our government is of the beast? I believe it is. Please pray about this.
We need to not only have our eyes open to see what is truly going on with our government so we don’t fall prey to deception, and we need to not only be cognizant of the fact that such allegiance to government has the potential of putting them in the place of God in our hearts, in our worship and devotion of them, but we also need to be true to the name of Jesus Christ in all that we do. That means that we need to be in intimate relationship with him, sitting at his feet, listening to him speak, inquiring of him about what is going on in our world, being willing to let him show us the truth, and we need to be daily in his word and obeying what it teaches us.
We need to take the gospel to the ends of the earth, and not be ashamed of our testimony for our Lord. We need to live like we say we believe, and have our words match our actions and our actions match our words. We need to be making disciples of all nations, and loving our brothers and sisters, and we need to be faithful to our Lord, forsaking all other “lovers/gods.” And, we need to remain strong in our testimony, witness, and faith in the gospel despite all opposition, persecution, and rejection, and in spite of all threats against our lives or temptations to bow to the gods of man.
False Teachers Among You
This letter was to the church in this city. Although they were commended for their faithfulness, it appears that they lacked in the area of addressing false teachers and teaching among them, and this still goes on today. There are many committed followers of Jesus Christ throughout the world and inside our country and in our cities, yet there are also many false ministers of the gospel who are teaching a false grace absent of the true cross of Christ.
They are teaching that we do not have to repent of our sins, even though Jesus said we do, and they are teaching that we don’t have to obey Christ’s commands, though Christ himself said we do if we want to have a relationship with him and with the Father, and if we want to have eternal life. These false teachers dilute the gospel in order to make people feel good about themselves, even in their sin, to pacify sin, and to make “the gospel” more acceptable and appealing to the world, which means removing its offense. In this way, they give their followers a free license to continue in willful sin, thinking they’ll be ok, because they have their free ticket to heaven. The Bible says we can’t continue in sin (lifestyle) and have the promise and hope of eternal life.
Repent and Obey
So, how would a church go about “repenting” of such a thing? The church as a whole would need to get revived in heart, mind and purpose, and they would have to begin confronting and exposing these false teachers and their lies and deceptions so that people would come out from underneath the influence of their lies and would be led to the truth. Yet, so many will not even go there, because they don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, or have people hate them, or they don’t want to rock the boat or be accused of being disunifiers. The scripture deals with this subject in 2 Co. 11:4 where Paul chastises the church for putting up with false teachers (and teaching) who bring them a “Jesus” other than the one they were taught. We have to stop putting up with it easily enough, and we have to call it what it is, expose the falseness of it, and start preaching the true gospel of salvation so that people will find genuine salvation and not some fake version that will get them hearing, “Depart from me. I never knew you!”
I believe with all my heart that these warnings of divine judgment (discipline) still stand today. I believe where “the shoe fits,” we must wear these words of divine correction, rebuke, and we must take these warnings seriously and repent. If we do not repent, as a church, I believe judgment in some form or another is coming, and it will be for the purpose to get us to repent and to get us back into an obedient and intimate relationship with our Lord.
Yet, to those who are victorious and who overcome the enemy of our souls, and who have repented, and who have allowed the Spirit of God to transform them in heart and mind and to lead them into a walk of obedience to God in Christ’s righteousness and holiness, they will be given eternal life and the blessings of eternity with God in heaven.
My Jesus, My Savior / Michael W. Smith
My Jesus, My Saviour,
Lord there is no one like you,
All of my days, I want to praise
The wonders of Your mighty love.
My comfort, my shelter,
Tower of refuge and strength
Let every breath, all that I am
Never cease to worship You…