Alive To God

The Church of Philadelphia, Rev. 3:7-13

Rev. 3:7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, ‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens” ’ ” The Scriptures tell us that the Lord is holy, so we should also be holy in all our conduct (1 Pet. 1:15). After all, we are to become more and more like Jesus. God formed us after His own image, so the more we learn of Jesus, the more we may give ourselves to that vision and be transformed. Jesus was holy, meaning set apart for God’s purpose. Jesus knew His purpose and gave Himself to it. He is so set on his purpose as our Savior, that even now He is interceding for us, washing us from sin, blessing us with gifts to build His church, and more. He is completely devoted to the purpose of saving us and preparing us for an abundant entrance into His kingdom. Blessed are those who discover their gifts and direction in life, and pursue it. They will have many blessed moments of illumination and empowering as they follow the Lord’s will with all their hearts.

The Church of Laodicea, Rev. 3:14-22

Rev. 3:14 “The Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God”

Jesus used “amen” often in His sayings, though they are usually translated as “verily, verily” or “truly” in our bibles. No-one else uses it this way. The New Bible Dictionary defines it as “to be firm, steady, trustworthy.” So when we say “amen” afterwards, we are asserting the truthfulness of what we heard. Jesus is the source of every trustworthy saying He ever uttered. He Himself is the Amen, and whatever He said will come about exactly as He said. We who are believers have a trustworthy source that pictures exactly what life is all about, right there in the Bible. The God who cannot lie has given us the truth of all things.

The Church of Sardis, Rev. 3:1-6

Rev. 3:1 “He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars” What an intriguing picture of Christ. He’s pointing us to what He has, something no one else has. Commentators say the seven Spirits represent the seven-fold traits of the Holy Spirit listed in Isaiah 11:2—Spirit, wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, fear of the Lord. He also has the seven stars, which is explained in Rev. 1:20, “The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches.” When something is in His hand, it’s in His protection, and the angels, or messengers of the churches, are in His protective care. Why should these be important to us?

The Church of Thyatira, Rev. 2:18-29

Rev. 2:18 “Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass” Looking up bronze and brass in the OT and NT (KJV and NKJV), many uses of bronze refer to joining together the tabernacle furnishings. Two verses mention crushing enemies with the feet, but not with bronze or brass feet (2 Sam. 22:39, Psa. 18:38). There is the bronze serpent of Moses in Num. 21:9. Two verses linking bronze and God’s judgment on Israel are found in Ezek. 22:30, Ezek. 24:11. These five latter verses, along with the Son of God’s eyes like a flame of fire, paint an ominous picture, perhaps not one we readily associate with the Son of God. Do you see Him as a judge of your church with this picture?

The Church of Pergamos, Rev. 2:12-17

Rev. 2:12 “He who has the sharp, two-edged sword” This church was compromising their faith. On the one hand, they believed in the sacrifice of Christ on their behalf; on the other hand, they sacrificed to idols. They knew God was holy and He merits all they have, yet they commit sexual immorality, giving their bodies to another, Rev. 2:14. Where Jesus is to be their shepherd and lead them, they have instead placed leaders who pointed them to these wrong practices and beliefs, Rev. 2:15, following the doctrine of Nicolaitans in their church structure. Their false leaders were taking the place of the Spirit’s leading in their lives.

The Church of Smyrna, Rev. 2:8-11

Rev. 2:8 “The First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life” The names[1] given in place of Christ fit the situation facing the church in which it is used. Smyrna is undergoing persecution, Rev. 2:9, and many are going to die, 2:10. This title of Jesus is to encourage them that He is the one who always existed in eternity past and eternity future, then in His human incarnation was alive, suffered death, and returned to life again. The suffering church, already holding to the ground of their faith—Christ—is encouraged to keep believing to the end, knowing that He who rose again will raise them to life as well. It’s OK to let my mortal life go, because it will continue in the next world forever.