Reading through the Bible in a Year:  Mark 1-2

Hello Brothers and Sisters,

This morning we will start the first of the seven churches, beginning with Ephesus.  Remember as Paul had worked with the Ephesians that it was located in an area where extremes were present.  It was an area where extreme sin and extreme holiness went hand in hand.  The battle between the Greek philosophies and the Christian doctrines were mirror opposites of each other.  Consider for a moment the leadership that the Ephesian church had, Paul was the founder of the church, and they were mentored by some great teachers.  How often do people even in churches today sing praises to their pastors, and fail to see Jesus, who is the real reason for following Him? 

One thing that I find interesting is that the churches are not centered in the Holy Land as you would suspect, they were located in the part that was considered to be Asia, which was just to the east of modern day Italy, and south of the Black Sea.  On with the study.

Rev. 2:1-3

"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 endure 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.

The introduction comes directly from the last few verses of Chapter 1 where Jesus identifies Himself as the one behind the churches.  He is the one who has inspired and ordained the angels to look over the churches as is indicated also in chapter 1. 

Due to the training that the Ephesians had, they were able to discern the false prophets, and false apostles, calling them on the carpet and kicking them out.  They put into practice the word of God, and stood for nothing less from their leaders.  They are commended for their perseverance, which could also be translated as "steadfastness" according to the NASB notes.  In short, this church was good at holding fast to the doctrines that they had learned from their great teachers.  They were determined and would not be led astray.  Yet, they were not perfect, they had flaws.

Rev. 2:4-5

'But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5'Remember therefore 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.

Back to the basics.  They had lost their first love.  Remember when you came to know the Lord, the Word of God consumed your life.  The only book that you desired to read was the Bible, the thought of turning from God was foreign to you as you learned to pray and fellowship with the Lord.  The same was true of the Ephesians.  They had abandoned the ways of philosophy, and the ways of the world for a much better way.

Rev. 2:6-7

'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.'

The Nicolaitans were a sect that had set themselves against Paul.  They promoted eating meat sacrificed to idols, idolatry and immorality.  The essence of name Nicolaitans means "conqueror of the people", the religion was humanistic and appealed to the human side of man, drawing people away from God.  It is equated to the teachings of Balaam from the Old Testament, and also considered to be similar to the teachings of Jezebel, in short, the conquering of the people was for the glory of Satan, devoting themselves to the teaching and promotion of his lies.  It is thought that perhaps the beast of Ephesus that Paul spoke of was the Nicolaitans in his battle against them during his stay there.  If we were to compare it to today, it would be secular humanism that would be battled.  They stood against God in that day, today the world stands against God and promotes the teachings which are clearly opposite to the teachings of God.  If you read through Ephesians, it is very clear that the battle that they faced is very similar to the battle that we face every day.  It was a permissive society, it was very similar to society today.

The crux of their teaching was a separation of clergy and laity, does this sound familiar?  In many of our churches, the idea of the pastor being a brother has been abandoned, he is exalted to a position of importance placed upon a pedestal, and forced to live his life in a glass house.  For an overview of the danger of this teaching refer to 2 Peter 2.

The promise that is set for this church is that if they return to the Lord, returning to their first love, then God would restore their place in eternity.  Their special where they will eat from the tree of life.  Think on that for a moment, in Genesis, Adam and Eve were told that they could not eat from the tree of good and evil.  There is also a tree which is opposite of the tree of good and evil, it is the tree of life.

Considering the problem of the Ephesian church abandoning their first love, this is especially enlightening.  They had abandoned their first love, they had abandoned the life that was supposed to empower them for the religious side of Christianity.  Now God was telling them to return to the tree of life, return to their first love and then their lampstand will stand firm.  It will not be removed. 

Some consider Ephesus to be a "backsliding church", I feel that this is a little harsh.  If they were backsliding, wouldn't they have departed the faith entirely, going after philosophies rather than after God?  It is clear from verse 6 that they hated the philosophers of their age, so backsliding does not come into the picture.  Rather they had allowed their Christianity to develop into a religion.  They had allowed their faith to develop into a series of do's and don’ts. 

As a matter of reference, the dispensationalists consider the church at Ephesus to be a typical first century church.  In their thinking, this church was an example of the early churches.  The reference to the Nicolaitans was indicative of the early church fathers, “The name “Nicolaitans,” according to early church fathers (Ignatius, Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Hippolytus), refers to those who, while professing themselves to be Christians, lived licentiously.  What in Ephesus was “deeds” (v.6) became in Pergamum a “doctrine” (v. 15).” The New Schofield Reference Bible. This is a matter of reference only, I can see some similarities with this view, but it can very easily be applied to local churches today as well.

Father, as we consider Your word today, open our eyes to understand and apply the scriptures to our lives.  Enable us to learn from Your word so that we can sharpen Your word in our lives.

In Him,

Joe Turner.

Revelation 2:8-17

Reading through the Bible in a Year:  Genesis 40-43

Hello Brothers and Sisters,

Rev. 2:8-11

"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, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation 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 shall not be hurt by the second death.'

The church at Smyrna was faced with trouble.  The synagogue of Satan had infiltrated the church and was causing lots of trouble. Remember the time that John was writing Revelation, it was right in the middle of the Roman persecution of Christians.  One quick thing I want to point out here, the Lord does not have anything against them, only a warning to hold fast and be faithful.  The promise is that they will have eternal life, and the second death will not have a sting. 

If you were to receive this promise, would you be willing to stand persecution, death and imprisonment for the sake of Jesus?  Makes you think.  God did not promise them anything but spiritual riches, God assured them that they would suffer tremendously, all for the purpose of following Him.  I think that we have treated Christianity so lightly that we forget where our roots are based at.  We have forgotten that we stand upon the blood of Jesus, which was rooted in trouble and pain, persecution and death.  We have forgotten that our roots were based in churches such as Smyrna who were willing to suffer and die for the cause of Jesus.  If we were to be faced with the same situation, whether we were to have to choose between Jesus and life, what would we choose? 

Suffering is important in the Christian life according to the scriptures, 1 Cor 11:30-32;  2 Cor 12:7; Heb 5:8; Romans 5:3-5; Acts 9:16; Rev 2:10; 1 Pet 5:4; To save space I would encourage you to look these verses up. 

Hebrews 12:3-13 (NASB95)
³ For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. ⁴ You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; ⁵ and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, Nor faint when you are reproved by Him; ⁶ For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, And He scourges every son whom He receives.” ⁷ It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? ⁸ But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. ⁹ Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? ¹⁰ For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. ¹¹ All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. ¹² Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, ¹³ and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed. ^[i]

Note from the text, "poverty" means "abject poverty, possessing absolutely nothing", Bible Exposition Commentary.  They were forced to live in total poverty simply because they called upon the name of Jesus.  I'll bet it was hard to get converts, to accept Jesus meant that you had to give up your entire life, including your riches.  Today we would not accept that message very well.

In regard to the ten days, there are several theories on them, The Bible Knowledge Commentary gives several different views on them, one is that it is "a symbolic representation entire persecution of the church".  Another is that it is focused specifically upon the Roman persecution of the believers.  The other, cited by Walter Scott and Alford is a list of references that are extremely interesting, Genesis 24:55; Nehemiah 5:18; Jeremiah 42:7; Daniel 1:12; Acts 25:6; Numbers 11:19; 14:2; 1 Samuel 1:8; Job 19:3.  What is clear from these verses is that the number ten is focused on trouble.  In almost all of these verses, some sort of tribulation was associated with the number 10.

I read an interesting excerpt from Pink this morning, thought you might enjoy it:

“That Satan will have a son ought not to surprise us. The Devil is a consummate imitator and much of his success in deceiving men is due to his marvelous skill in counterfeiting the things of God. Below we give a list of some of his imitations: —

Do we read of Christ going forth to sow the “good seed” (Matt. 13:24), then we also read of the enemy going forth to sow his “tares” — an imitation wheat (Matt. 13:25). Do we read of “the children of God,” then we also read of “the children of the wicked one” (Matt. 13:38). Do we read of God working in His children “both to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13), then we are also told that the Prince of the power of the air is “the spirit that now woreth in the children of disobedience” (Eph. 2:2). Do we read of the Gospel of God, then we also read that Satan has a gospel — “Another gospel, which is not another” (Gal. 1:6, 7). Did Christ appoint “apostles,” then Satan has his apostles too (2 Cor. 11:13). Are we told that “the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God” (1 Cor. 2:10), then Satan also provides his “deep things” (see Greek of Rev. 2:24). Are we told that God, by His angel, will “seal” His servants in their foreheads (Rev. 7:3), so also we read that Satan, by his angels, will set a mark in the foreheads of his devotees (Re. 13:16). Does the Father seek “worshippers” (John 4:23), so also does Satan (Rev. 13:4). Did Christ quote scripture, so also did Satan (Matt. 4:6). Is Christ the Light of the world, then Satan also is transformed as an “angel of light” (2 Cor. 11:14). Is Christ denominated “the Lion of the tribe of Judah” (Rev. 5:5), then the Devil is also referred to as “a roaring lion” (1 Peter 5:6). Do we read of Christ and “His angels” (Matt. 24:31), then we also read of the Devil and “his angels” (Matt. 25:41). Did Christ work miracles, so also will Satan (2 Thess. 2:9). Is Christ seated upon a “Throne,” so also will Satan be (Rev. 2:13, Gk.). Has Christ a Church, then Satan has his “synagogue” (Rev. 2:9). Has Christ a “bride,” then Satan has his “whore” (Rev. 17:16). Has God His “Vine,” so has Satan (Rev. 14:19). Does God have a city, the new Jerusalem, then Satan has a city, Babylon (Rev. 17:5; 18:2). Is there a “mystery of godliness” (1 Tim 3:16), so also there is a “mystery of iniquity” (2 Thess. 2:7). Does God have an only-begotten Son, so we read of “the Son of Perdition” (2 Thess. 2:3). Is Christ called “the Seed of the woman,” then the Antichrist will be “the seed of the serpent” (Gen. 3:15). Is the Son of God also the Son of Man, then the son of Satan will also be the “Man of Sin” (2 Thess. 2:3).”^[ii]

Lastly, the Dispensationalist will tell you that the church at "Smyrna characterizes the church under persecution, e.g. from A.D. c. 100-316", The New Schofield Reference Bible. 

Rev. 2:12-17

"And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write:

The One who has the sharp two-edged sword says this: 13'I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is; and you hold fast My name, and did not deny My faith, even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 14'But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit acts of immorality. 15'Thus you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16'Repent therefore; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth. 17'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.'

The church at Pergamum is the mirror opposite of Smyrna.  They were living in compromise, the city was wealthy, and had worship centers built for the greek gods, along with a univesity devoted to teaching about them. 

Hebrews 4:12

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

The symbolic use of the sword reminds me of this verse as they must discern between the truth and the lie of the world.  The dispensationalist will tell you that this church represents the middle ages.  I can see where they get their idea on that, but I feel that it applies all generations. Paul battled with compromise through all of his epistles.  Today, we have great universities just like they did at Pergamum who teach worldly doctrines, and encourage people to rationalize away the Bible in order to hold to the teachings of men.  Things have not changed through the ages, the battle remains the same, the world system is turned against God and the great universities are focused upon the teachings and wisdom of men. 

Satan's throne was said to be there, isn't it interesting that the great university and worship centers were located there as well?  The thing that Jesus had against them was that they were buying into the way of the world.  They had become intimately involved in eating things sacrificed to idols, and in acts of immorality.  They were already involved in compromise.  The main thing that can be used to battle compromise is the word of God. 

Look at the promise at the end of the verses, to the one who overcomes, he will receive manna which the world does not know about, and a new name, only known by God.  The manna represents food from the Word of God.  In other words, by overcoming, the promise is that God will bless them tremendously from His word, and He will assure them eternal life.  That life will be special beyond all calculations; God will personally rename us with a special name which He has given.  When we are born into the Kingdom of God, He will name us just as we name our children, that name will be special and significant.  It is a personal mark of acceptance by God.

As we study these verses today, I cannot help but compare them to our lives.  As we study the seven different churches, we are faced with different situations that are taking place in all of our lives.  Just as there is diversity among Christians, there is also diversity in the world.  The spiritual battle that one Christian goes through is much different than that of another.  Take for instance the United States, our country would probably be typified by Pergamum, while believers in China would probably feel that they are in the Church of Smyrna since they are severely persecuted for their faith.   Balance is the key, as we read through these scriptures, there is not a "right" interpretation, what is important is that the Word of God is studied and applied to our lives.

Father, as we have studied Your Word today, open our eyes so that we understand and are able to apply them to our lives.

In Him,

Joe Turner.

Reading through the Bible in a Year:  1 Samuel 1-5

Hello Brothers and Sisters,

I am running a day late on this study, this is Saturday's study, I apologize for that.  One thing that concerns me is the tremendous amount of marital trouble that is going around lately.  On our prayer list there is three request regarding marriage trouble, I would encourage all of you to keep the Lord first in your marriages, and pray that He will work in the lives of those having trouble. 

Rev. 2:18-24

"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. 20'But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray, so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. 21'And I gave her time to repent; and she does not want to repent of her immorality. 22'Behold, I will cast her upon a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds. 23'And I will kill her children with pestilence; and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds. 24'But I say to you, the rest who are in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan, as they call them-- I place no other burden on you.

This small church was located in a city where a special temple was erected toward the sun god of the Greeks, Apollo. Notice how John describes Jesus to these people, His eyes are "like a flame of fire"; the false god has met the true God.  Jesus sends His message to this small church.  Notice that they are commended for their faithfulness and their growth in their Christian lives.  They have demonstrated that they are willing to do what it takes to persevere, to establish love and faith, and to follow the Lord. 

This city is mentioned in conjunction with Lydia in Acts 16:14.  She was a seller of purple, and Thyatira was famous for its purple dye.  It could be that she was responsible for the conversion of this city.

The problem with the church is not clear as to whether there is actually a woman named Jezebel, or whether the prophetess is compared to Jezebel of the Old Testament.  Either way, the similarities are notable, Jezebel of the Old Testament wanted to lessen the Jewish religion and kill off the Jewish prophets, while promoting the religion of Baal worship.  1 Kings 16:31; 1 Kings 18-21; 2 Kings 9. 

2 Kings 9:22

And it came about, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, "Is it peace, Jehu?" And he answered, "What peace, so long as the harlotries of your mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many?"

Look at the similarities between Jezebel and the church in Thyatira.  God had given ample opportunity for her to repent, and her time had run out.  Once again, this could be speaking to a specific person, or to a group of people following false doctrine.  Due to the specific nature of the prophecy, I think that it was directed to a specific person.  Who ever it was that was responsible for leading the church astray was in serious trouble.

One thing that we need to learn from this church is that the church tolerated the false prophetess.  God was not happy with that situation.  Since the church was not willing to judge her, God was going to judge her and everyone who was associated with her.  This is a lesson that we should take to heart in our own churches.  We are responsible for making sure that the Gospel is preached to the entire world, and along with that responsibility we also have the responsibility to live the life in our churches.  Those who are riding the fence, entertaining both worlds should be rebuked by the church.  By the way, this was not talking about a new believer who didn't know better, it was talking about a prophetess, a woman who had enough spiritual clout to be leading others. 

The other question is regarding the phrase "the deep things of Satan."  This could be that they were dealing with witchcraft, as in the days of Jezebel.  This could also be sarcasm in reference to the ineffectiveness of the church.  They may as well be a synagogue of Satan, following the deep things of Satan since they were certainly not following the deep things of God.  This is in direct contrast to the way that God wants us to follow Him:

1 Cor. 2:10

For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.

Rev. 2:25-29

'Nevertheless what you have, hold fast until I come. 26'And 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; 28and I will give him the morning star. 29'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'

We are not called to a relationship with God that is ineffective and weak.  We are called to a relationship that is tremendous and powerful.  The slow progress that is noted in verse 19 was great, but it was far below their potential.  Those who cling to the teaching of the Lord and put it into their lives are promised that they will have a part of the Morning star.  This is a direct reference to Jesus from the Old Testament, which is also another direct reference to Jesus being greater than their sun god:

2 Samuel 23:4-5

Is as the light of the morning when the sun rises,

A morning without clouds,

When the tender grass springs out of the earth,

Through sunshine after rain.'

5"Truly is not my house so with God?

For He has made an everlasting covenant with me,

Ordered in all things, and secured;

For all my salvation and all my desire,

Will He not indeed make it grow?

Look also at the promise of the Lord as compared to the judgment of the Lord as it is listed in these verses.  God will bring judgment upon those who are riding both sides of the fence.  He encourages everyone to hold fast to His teachings, or He will break them with a rod of iron, He will break them as a cheap clay pot.  Verse 26 is extremely interesting because the Lord will use the faithful believer to deliver His will, It is a little scary the way that the NASB translates it, the word for "rule" could also be translated "shepherd".  The Lord does not want believers who will be ineffective and wishy-washy, He wants to build strong believers who have been forged into iron, knowing what they believe and holding to the truth.  These are the ones that He will use to lead the ones whose minds and hearts are not serious about the Lord.  It is time to get off the fence, and to believe and follow what God has set in our lives.

The more that I read these letters to the churches, the more it is like reading a newspaper today.  In our churches, we may not be blatantly holding to the teachings of Satan.  However, we may be tickling ears and preaching a social gospel that is not causing anyone to want to commit to the deep things of God.  In that respect, we are doing exactly what God rebuked this church for.  We are to hold to the truth, hold to the word of God, and keep our hearts and minds pure before Him.  Today many Christians are dabbling with pornography on the internet, and some are even dealing with Satanism directly through Wicca and similar teachings.  Many Christians are dabbling with the dark side, and are unwilling to repent of their sin.  They love the sin so much that they are not willing to turn from the sin and return to God.  

The sin may not be as blatant as pornography or Satanism, it could be a simple thing, holding to their sports, cars, boats, atv's, and giving them more attention than they are giving to God.  It may be the lust for a bigger house, better job, or higher standard of living.  Each one of us has our own weaknesses that Satan uses to draw us away from God, and each one of us have the ability to repent of them, and to turn to God.  You may say that this does not apply in this chapter, I beg to differ, what I have just described is modern day idol worship.  The sin of Jezebel was consumed with idol worship in the Old Testament; anything that has a higher position in our lives than God does is an idol.  Think about it.

One last thought on the passage, works.  That word is scary to us today as we are so bent on not becoming "legalistic".  We have thrown out everything because of a negative attachment to that word, works is not bad.  Works includes living out the Christian life.  It is a matter of putting the word into action in our lives.  That is what "your deeds" is speaking about.  If we study the Bible, and it has no effect in our lives, then what is the point?  Our study of the Bible and our walk with God should result in a life change in our lives; it should also result in a life change in regard to the way that we approach the world.  It is a matter of releasing our finances to help others, releasing our time to help others, and being available to reach out to others in order to encourage them to follow the Lord.  Works is not bad; it is a natural outgrowth of our maturity in Christ.  If the Christian's life does not have any deeds that are a result of his study, then perhaps he isn't serious about his study.

I wonder how we will stand as God judges our society.  Will He judge us as we are so unresponsive to Him that we may as well be involved in a synagogue of Satan, or will He judge us as if we are walking with Him and being an example to the world of those who seek out the deep things of God?  The note that I made on the rampant divorces and marital trouble that is going on today should be a warning to all of us.  Our society is a mess, and we are refusing to repent from our sins, refusing to even acknowledge that there is a problem.  This is exactly the same thing that was going on in this Church. 

I don't have Schofield with me, I'll add his views later, as it is a very interesting view on the churches.

Father, as we consider Your word today, I pray that You will open our minds and our hearts for the reception of Your word.  That it will be a warning to us, and an encouragement for us to get off the fence and to get serious about our walk with You.

In Him,

Joe Turner.