The seven church assemblies that Yeshua addresses at the beginning of the Book of Revelation are historical assemblies that existed at the close of the first century when John was documenting his vision. However, they are also prophecies of seven church ages from Messiah’s first coming until His second. In addition to that, they are also seven distinct groups of church denominations.
Each church has an angel to whom the message is given. The word “angel” is Strong’s g32 ἄγγελος, angelos: a messenger; especially an “angel”; by implication, a pastor:—angel, messenger. The message was given to the messenger to deliver to the assembly. This is important in that it is a hint that Yeshua isn’t just addressing these physical churches in existence in AD 96, otherwise He could address the church directly as Paul did with his epistles. Rather, Yeshua addresses the messenger who will take the messages to the assemblies each in their time.
The Book of Revelation opens with the verse that tells us the timing of the events about to be described:
Revelation 1:1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,
Revelation 1:3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.
The events prophesied would begin happening shortly, and indeed some had even begun previously, in AD 33, with the ascension of Yeshua Messiah.
Revelation 1:9-11 I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”
We believe that the seven churches listed here and the seven seals we read about later in chapter 6, are both descriptions of the church from Yeshua’s ascension until His return. The seven churches were in the physical realm and the messages give a description of the spiritual state of the body of believers during each time period.
Revelation 1:12-20 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
Yeshua is holding the seven angels in His right hand, and the following two chapters are the messages that are given to those angels. They are a description of the trials the church will endure during each of the seven church ages along with corrections and warnings to each age.
The Seven Church Ages
These are the “ages” of the assembly of Messiah as we see them. They are not separate churches or assemblies, they are periods of time. Some of the dates are arbitrary, as many of the ages faded from one to the next.
- The Apostolic Age began at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit entered the apostles and they began their ministry, and ended shortly after the death of the last apostle, John. During this time period, the leadership of the church was the apostles themselves.
- The Roman Age covered the almost two centuries of intense persecution of Christians that ended when Emperor Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire to Byzantium and Christianized it. During this time period, the church was living under the tyrannical power of the pagan Roman Emperors.
- The Byzantine Age began when the persecution from Rome ended and continued under the leadership of the Emperor of Rome in Constantinople, until the Papacy took control in the eighth century.
- The Papal Age encompasses the years from the Donation of Pepin until the official start point of the Protestant Reformation. During this time period the church was controlled by the Catholic Pope.
- The Reform Age saw a shift away from a central ruling authority over Christianity to an ever increasing number of divisions based on differing doctrines.
- The Revival Age will be the years of the seven trumpets, when those who obey the commandments of YHWH and have the faith of Yeshua Messiah will be protected.
- The Tepid Age is the year of the Refiner’s Fire, after those who obey the commandments of YHWH and have the faith of Yeshua Messiah are taken to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
The Apostolic Age
Ephesus
Revelation 2:1-7 To the angel of the Ephesian church, write: These things says the One holding the seven stars in His right hand, He walking in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: I know your works, and your labor, and your patience, and that you cannot bear evil ones; and you tried those pretending to be apostles, and are not, and found them to be liars. And I know you bore up and on account of My name you have labored and have not wearied. But I have against you that you left your first love. Then remember from where you have fallen, and repent, and do the first works. And if not, I am coming to you quickly, and will remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. But you have this, that you hate the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. The one having an ear, hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one overcoming, I will give to him to eat of the Tree of Life which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.
Name
Ephesus means ‘permitted’. The definition of ‘permit’ is: to give authorization or consent to someone to do something. The apostles lead the assembly during this time period, and they were acting under Yeshua’s authorization.
Salutation
There is purpose to every word of scripture, regardless how benign they may seem. The messages to each church begin with a different description of Yeshua and end with a different promise, and these are significant to the challenges that will be faced by the assembly during its period of history.
To the angel of Ephesus, Yeshua describes Himself as the One holding the seven stars in His right hand and walking in the midst of the seven golden lampstands.
These things says the One holding the seven stars in His right hand, He walking in the midst of the seven golden lampstands:
This is a reference to Revelation chapter 1, verses 13 and 16:
Revelation 1:13 And turning, I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of man…
Revelation 1:16 and having in His right hand seven stars…
In Revelation 1:20 we learn what the stars and the lampstands are:
Revelation 1:20 The mystery of the seven stars which you saw on My right, and the seven golden lampstands. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands you saw are seven churches.
Yeshua introduced Himself this way because the assembly of Ephesus represents the whole Apostolic Church from AD 33-100. This means that Yeshua is addressing the whole body of believers in his message, and he is reminding us that for the entire history of the church He will walk among us and see our works.
Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Commendation
The apostle Paul wrote three letters regarding the Ephesians: two to Timothy and one directly to the Ephesians. At that time, they were struggling with false prophets spreading false doctrines in the early church. His letter to the Corinthians indicated that they also were struggling with this problem. Paul admonished them to follow what he had taught them and not listen to those teaching false doctrines. The book of Revelation was written at least thirty years later, and we see that they had successfully silenced the false apostles.
you tried those pretending to be apostles, and are not, and found them to be liars
Who are the Nicolaitans that Yeshua hates? Early church fathers had consensus on their false teachings, but not necessarily on their origin. Irenaeus, a student of Polycarp (a student of the Apostle John), said this about the Nicolaitans:
The Nicolaitanes are the followers of that Nicolas who was one of the seven first ordained to the diaconate by the apostles. They lead lives of unrestrained indulgence. The character of these men is very plainly pointed out in the Apocalypse of John, [when they are represented] as teaching that it is a matter of indifference to practise adultery, and to eat things sacrificed to idols. Wherefore the Word has also spoken of them thus: “But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate.” And also: John, the disciple of the Lord, preaches this faith, and seeks, by the proclamation of the Gospel, to remove that error which by Cerinthus had been disseminated among men, and a long time previously by those termed Nicolaitans, who are an offset of that “knowledge” falsely so called… as they allege, that the Creator was one, but the Father of the Lord another; and that the Son of the Creator was, forsooth, one, but the Christ from above another, who also continued impassible, descending upon Jesus, the Son of the Creator, and flew back again into His Pleroma; and that Monogenes was the beginning, but Logos was the true son of Monogenes; and that this creation to which we belong was not made by the primary God, but by some power lying far below Him, and shut off from communion with the things invisible and ineffable.
Ignatius of Antioch, a student of the Apostle John, disagreed on their origin. In his epistle to the Trallians, he wrote:
Flee also the impure Nicolaitans, falsely so called, who are lovers of pleasure, and given to calumnious speeches. (Calumnious means false accusations or misrepresentations intended to harm someone’s reputation.)
Ignatius did not believe that Nicolas was the founder of this school of heretics. In his letter to the Philadelphians, he says:
If any one confesses these things, that God the Word did dwell in a human body, being within it as the Word, even as the soul also is in the body, because it was God who inhabited it, and not a human soul, but affirms that unlawful unions are a good thing, and places the highest happiness in pleasure, as does the man who is falsely called the Nicolaitan, this person can neither be a lover of God, nor a lover of Christ, but is a corrupter of his own flesh, and therefore void of the Holy Spirit, and a stranger to Christ.
To summarize the doctrine of the Nicolaitans:
- They deny the truth of the creation as given to us in YHWH’s Word,
- They teach against the institution of marriage as described by YHWH in His Word,
- They believe pleasure and happiness are of paramount importance,
- They make false accusations to ruin others’ reputations,
- They participate in the worship of false gods.
The name is made up of three Greek words: Nikos-Laos-tan. Nikos means victory, laos means people, and tan is the plural form of the definite article “the”; therefore, the word means: the people of victory. Perhaps they named themselves this to indicate they are victorious over their own lives to do as they please rather than follow YHWH’s commandments. We will see these same attitudes and doctrines resurface in the Church of Laodicea.
Correction
The church of the first century had already forgotten their first love.
But I have against you that you left your first love.
What was their ‘first love’? When a scribe asked Yeshua, What is the first commandment of all? Yeshua answered by quoting from Deuteronomy. The scripture that He quoted from was Deuteronomy 6:5.
Matthew 22:36-38 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 Hear, O Israel, YHWH our God is one YHWH. And you shall love YHWH your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words which I am commanding you today shall be on your heart. And you shall point them out to your sons [children], and shall speak of them as you sit in your house, and as you walk in the way, and as you are lying down, and as you are rising up. And you shall bind them for a sign on your hand; and they shall be frontlets between your eyes. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house, and on your gates.
The first and greatest commandment in the Law of YHWH is to love YHWH. The first love, which Yeshua tells the Ephesians that they have forgotten, is their love for YHWH. Scripture tells us that the way for us to love YHWH is by obeying His commandments.
1 John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.
John 14:21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.
Some in the Apostolic Church had already started forgetting to follow all of YHWH’s commandments. To the Ephesians, Yeshua says:
Then remember from where you have fallen, and repent, and do the first works
The first love is the first works which is obedience to YHWH’s commandments.
The early church had begun replacing the commandments of YHWH with the traditions of men.
Warning
We are repeatedly warned against lawlessness throughout the whole Word of YHWH. In Yeshua’s letter to the Ephesians, He says that their lampstand will be removed if they do not repent and obey.
And if not, I am coming to you quickly, and will remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.
Closing
Yeshua closes His letter to the Ephesians with the promise to give eternal life to the one who overcomes the challenges of this age.
The one having an ear, hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one overcoming, I will give to him to eat of the Tree of Life which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.
The Roman Age
Smyrna
Revelation 2:8-11 And to the angel of the church of Smyrna, write: These things says the First and the Last, who became dead, and lived: I know your works, and the affliction, and the poverty; but you are rich. And I know the evil speaking of those saying themselves to be Jews, and they are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not at all fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the Devil is about to throw you into prison, so that you may be tried; and you will have affliction ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. The one who has an ear, hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one overcoming will not at all be hurt by the second death.
Name
Smyrna means ‘myrrh’. We learn the following about myrrh from Wikipedia:
Myrrh is a gum-resin extracted from a few small, thorny tree species of the Commiphora genus, belonging to the Burseraceae family. Myrrh resin has been used throughout history in medicine, perfumery, and incenses.
When a wound on a tree penetrates through the bark and into the sapwood, the tree secretes a resin. Myrrh gum, like frankincense, is such a resin. Myrrh is harvested by repeatedly wounding the trees to bleed the gum, which is waxy and coagulates quickly.
Myrrh is mentioned as a rare perfume in several places in the Hebrew Bible. In Genesis 37:25, the traders to whom Jacob’s sons sold their brother Joseph had “camels … loaded with spices, balm, and myrrh,” and Exodus 30:23–25 specifies that Moses was to use 500 shekels of liquid myrrh as a core ingredient of the sacred anointing oil.
Myrrh was an ingredient of Ketoret: the consecrated incense used in the First and Second Temples at Jerusalem, as described in the Hebrew Bible and Talmud. An offering was made of the Ketoret on a special incense altar and was an important component of the temple service. Myrrh is also listed as an ingredient in the holy anointing oil used to anoint the tabernacle, high priests and kings.
Myrrh is a resin made by repeatedly wounding a tree that subsequently heals and then is wounded again. The assembly from the first to fourth centuries was the most severely persecuted since the crucifixion of Messiah Yeshua.
Myrrh was an ingredient in the incense and anointing oil used in the Levitical offerings and purification rituals commanded by YHWH.
Salutation
Yeshua introduces Himself to Smyrna in a way that reminds them that He also faced persecution and was killed. Smyrna will suffer and die for their faith, and just like Yeshua, they will not die the second death but will be resurrected to eternal life.
And to the angel of the church of Smyrna, write: These things says the First and the Last, who became dead, and lived:
Commendation
Persecution has a way of bringing the Body of the Messiah back to Him. He says that He knows what they have been doing, and that even though they are physically poor, they are spiritually rich.
I know your works, and the affliction, and the poverty; but you are rich.
Smyrna is the only church where persecution from the Jews is mentioned, and Yeshua says they are not truly Jews, but are from the synagogue of Satan. The Church was badly persecuted by the Rabbinic Jews and the Romans. The Roman Emperor, Nero, blamed them for the fire that destroyed Rome in AD 64 and began heavy persecution of the Christians that did not end until Emperor Constantine converted the empire to Christianity in the fourth century.
And I know the evil speaking of those saying themselves to be Jews, and they are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not at all fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the Devil is about to throw you into prison, so that you may be tried; and you will have affliction ten days.
The red dragon (Satan) gave the leopard-like beast its power, authority, and throne (Revelation 13:2). This beast represents Satan’s Empires (see our study, here). Yeshua says Satan will throw some of the Assembly of Smyrna into jail and persecute them for ten days. So what we see is Satan’s power, authority, and throne being utilized by the Roman Empire (Babylon) during this age in history.
Christians endured persecution from ten different Roman emperors. Sometimes they were given mock trials before being either thrown in prison or put to death. One possible fulfillment of the ten days mentioned could be the ten reigns of these emperors:
- Nero 64-68
- Domitian 89-96
- Trajan 98-117
- Marcus Aurelius 161-180
- Septimius Severus 193-211
- Maximus the Thracian 235-238
- Decius 249-253
- Valerius 253-260
- Diocletian 283-305
- Galerius 305-313
Another possibility is that the ten days could represent the most intense period of persecution in history, which was started by Diocletian in AD 303 and ended with Galerius in AD 313. This interpretation uses the day for a year principle.
Ezekiel 4:6 And when you have completed these, you shall lie down a second time, but on your right side, and bear the punishment of the house of Judah. Forty days I assign you, a day for each year.
Numbers 14:34 According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, a year for each day, you shall bear your iniquity forty years, and you shall know my displeasure.
Correction
Smyrna is one of only two churches that receives no correction from Yeshua.
Closing
Yeshua closes with the promise of eternal life for all those who overcome the adversity of this period of history by remaining faithful even through persecution and martyrdom.
Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. The one who has an ear, hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one overcoming will not at all be hurt by the second death
The Byzantine Age
Pergamos
Revelation 2:12-17 And to the angel of the church in Pergamos, write: These things says the One having the sharp, two-edged sword: I know your works, and where you dwell, where the throne of Satan is. And you hold My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful witness; who was killed alongside you, where Satan dwells. But I have a few things against you, that you have there those holding the teachings of Balaam, who taught Balak to throw a stumbling-block before the sons of Israel, to eat idol-sacrifices, and to commit fornication. So you also have those holding the teaching of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. Repent! But if not, I will come to you quickly, and I will make war with them by the sword of My mouth. The one who has an ear, hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one overcoming, I will give him to eat from the hidden manna. And I will give to him a white stone, and on the stone a new name having been written, which no one knows except the one receiving it.
Name
Pergamos means ‘height or elevation’. The fourth century saw the assembly elevated to the official religion of the Roman Empire by Emperor Constantine; and this is where it remained until the final destruction of the Empire in 1453 by the Islamic Ottoman Turks.
Salutation
Yeshua introduces Himself by pointing out that He is the one who will be exacting judgement on the nations when He returns. This is because the church leadership is guilty of blending pagan practices with the commandments of YHWH Elohim in an unforgivable compromise.
These things says the One having the sharp, two-edged sword:
Commendation
There are some who are still keeping the faith of Yeshua and doing good works. Yeshua mentions the martyr, Antipas who was killed at Pergamos, which is a reference to the historical assembly that existed in Pergamos.
I know your works, and where you dwell, where the throne of Satan is. And you hold My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful witness; who was killed alongside you, where Satan dwells.
Correction
We see again the mention of Satan being present, this time it’s the seat of his power on earth. This church age began with the Council of Nicaea in AD 325, convened by Emperor Constantine. However, Constantine compromised the church by taking over its leadership and introducing pagan practices.
Rome, which is called Babylon, was under the control of the Byzantine Empire for most of the time from the fourth to the seventh centuries. Satan’s power on earth (where his throne was) at this time was without a doubt the Byzantine Empire.
But I have a few things against you, that you have there those holding the teachings of Balaam, who taught Balak to throw a stumbling-block before the sons of Israel, to eat idol-sacrifices, and to commit fornication. So you also have those holding the teaching of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.
The account of Balaam and Balak is in Numbers 22-24. Balak wanted to defeat the Israelites and Balaam told him to have pagan women marry the Israelite men and the pagan practices would creep into the Israelite society and destroy them from within. We read about the success of the plan in Numbers 31:16.
Numbers 31:15-16 Moses said to them, “Have you let all the women live? Behold, these, on Balaam’s advice, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against YHWH in the incident of Peor, and so the plague came among the congregation of YHWH.
The phrase “eat meat sacrificed to idols” is used throughout scripture to mean participating in idol worship. It is at this time in history that Constantine declared himself a Christian convert and began blending the pagan Roman religion with Christianity. This is the same thing the ancient Israelites were guilty of doing with the pagan Canaanite religions, the thing that YHWH calls adultery and fornication and caused Him to divorce them, remove them from the Promised Land, and scatter them among the nations.
Warning
Yeshua tells them to repent. These are such serious offenses that Yeshua warns that without repentance, Pergamos will be with the army of Satan at “Armageddon” where they will be killed with the sword of His mouth.
Repent! But if not, I will come to you quickly, and I will make war with them by the sword of My mouth. The one who has an ear, hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Closing
In closing, Yeshua gives a promise to the one overcoming that alludes back to when the Israelites returned to the Promised Land after wandering in the wilderness forty years. They had only manna from YHWH to sustain them (not hidden) those years in the wilderness. Then when Joshua brought them across the Jordan River into Jericho, YHWH commanded them to take twelve large stones, one for each tribe, from the dry riverbed where the priests were standing with the Ark of the Covenant, and lay them down where they will camp that night to commemorate the crossing of the Jordan.
To the one overcoming, I will give him to eat from the hidden manna. And I will give to him a white stone, and on the stone a new name having been written, which no one knows except the one receiving it.
The reference to white stones with their names written on them could be a parallel to the twelve stones for the tribes of Israel, and the white colour is because they have been purified/refined through the tribulation. A point to also note here is that Yeshua and Joshua are the same name in Hebrew.
The parallel is that the church will wander the wilderness for forty jubilee periods (2000 years) with only the hidden manna of YHWH’s Word to sustain them, before Yeshua will return to bring them to the Promised Land in the Greater Exodus.
Luke 9:29-31 And in His praying the appearance of His face became different and His clothing was dazzling white. And, behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, Appearing in glory, they spoke of His exodus, which he was about to accomplish in Jerusalem.
Isaiah 11:11-12 In that day YHWH will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea. He will raise a signal for the nations and will assemble the banished of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
Jeremiah 23:3-4 Then I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply.. I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares YHWH.
Ezekiel 37:21-22 And say to them, so says the Lord YHWH: Behold, I will take the sons of Israel from among the nations, there where they have gone, and will gather them from all around and will bring them into their own land. And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be for a king to all of them. And they shall not be two nations still; and they will not be split into two kingdoms anymore.
See also: Jeremiah 31:31-34; Jeremiah 32:37-40; Jeremiah 33:6-9; Ezekiel 28:25-26; Ezekiel 34:11-12; Ezekiel 36:24-26; Ezekiel 39:28; Hosea 3:4-5; Amos 9:14-15; Micah 2:12; Micah 4:6-7; Zephaniah 3:19-20; Zechariah 13:8-9.
The Papal Age
Thyatira
Revelation 2:18-29 And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These things says the Son of God, the One having His eyes as a flame of fire, and His feet like burnished metal: I know your works, and the love, and the ministry, and the faith and your patience, and your works; and the last more that the first. But I have a few things against you, that you allow the woman Jezebel to teach, she saying herself to be a prophetess, and to cause My slaves to go astray, and to commit fornication, and to eat idol-sacrifices. And I gave time for her that she might repent of her fornication. And she did not repent. Behold, I am throwing her into a bed and those committing adultery with her into great affliction, unless they repent of their works. And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches will know that I am the One searching the inner parts and hearts. And I will give to each of you according to your works. But I say to you and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this teaching, and who did not know the deep things of Satan, as they say: I am not casting another burden on you; but what you have, hold until I shall come. And the one overcoming, and the one keeping My words until the end I will give to him authority over the nations and he will shepherd them with an iron staff—they are broken to pieces like clay vessels—as I also have received from My Father. And I will give to him the morning star. The one who has an ear, hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Name
Thyatira means ‘odour of affliction’. From the creation of the Papal States in the eighth century until the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century, the assembly was under the tyrannical dictatorship of the Papacy. There was a resurgence of martyrdom of saints as the Catholic Church persecuted anyone who defied their authority.
The Catholic crusade against the Albigenses in Southern France (from 1209-
1229), under Popes Innocent III., Honorius III. and Gregory IX., was one of the
bloodiest tragedies in human history. … The number of Albigenses that perished
in the twenty years‘ war is estimated at from one to two millions. —Cushing B. Hassell, History of the Church of God, Chapter XIV
In one word, the church of Rome has spent immense treasures and shed, in
murder, the blood of sixty eight millions and five hundred thousand of the human race, to establish before the astonished and disgusted world, her fixed
determination to annihilate every claim set up by the human family to liberty, and the right of unbounded freedom of conscience. — Popery an enemy to civil liberty, 1836, pp. 104-105
From the birth of Popery in 606 to the present time, it is estimated by careful and credible historians, that more than fifty millions of the human family, have been slaughtered for the crime of heresy by popish persecutors, an average of more than forty thousand religious murders for every year of the existence of popery. —“History of Romanism,” pp. 541, 542. New York: 1871.
Salutation
Yeshua again begins with a self-introduction.
These things says the Son of God, the One having His eyes as a flame of fire, and His feet like burnished metal.
We see this description of Him elsewhere in scripture. In Daniel 10:6, when Yeshua came to give Daniel the prophecy that covers over 2500 years of history culminating in His return and victory over Satan and the armies of the nations. You can see our study on that prophecy here. And also later in Revelation 19, when Yeshua is giving John the prophecy of His return and victory over Satan and the armies of the nations. Therefore, we can conclude that He uses this same description of Himself here to remind these believers that He will return and have victory over Satan and the armies of the nations. Why would they need this reminder, other than because their leadership will be part of the armies of the nations that will be lead by Satan?
Commendation
The messages to the churches are directed to the individual people, not the leadership. This is why they are addressed to the angel of the church, and why Yeshua uses phrases such as, “There are some of you there who…” and “the one overcoming…” Yeshua acknowledges that the laity are doing excellent works, acting in faith, love, and patience during this period of history.
I know your works, and the love, and the ministry, and the faith and your patience, and your works; and the last more that the first.
Correction
The laity, however, are tolerating the actions of the church leadership, whom Yeshua refers to as ‘Jezebel’ the false prophetess.
But I have a few things against you, that you allow the woman Jezebel to teach, she saying herself to be a prophetess, and to cause My slaves to go astray, and to commit fornication, and to eat idol-sacrifices. And I gave time for her that she might repent of her fornication. And she did not repent.
Let’s explore this character, Jezebel. We learn in 1 Kings that Ahab, king of Israel was more evil than any king that came before him. He married the daughter of the king of the Zidonians, Jezebel, a pagan princess. Together they worshipped Baal. Jezebel had the prophets of YHWH killed and replaced them with “prophets” of Baal and lead the people of Israel astray. (An interesting aside: Baal means “lord” and it was this church age that removed YHWH’s sacred name from His Word and replaced it with “the LORD”.)
The church leadership at this time were teaching the laity, claiming they were speaking for Elohim, and leading Yeshua’s people astray to worship idols and commit fornication with false gods. Yeshua says He gave the leadership time to repent, but they did not.
Let’s have a look at why we believe this is the Papal States:
- Just as Jezebel had YHWH’s prophets murdered, the Papacy had the following believers of YHWH killed:
- John Wycliffe: taught sola scriptura, denied the authority of the pope and bishops, wrote against penance and indulgences, translated the Bible into English, objected to monasticism; whereas, he died of a stroke in AD 1384, he was declared a heretic by the Council of Constance in 1415. They banned his writings, declared all of his works to be burned, exhumed and burned his body and scattered his ashes into the River Swift.
- John Huss: influenced strongly by John Wycliffe, he translated some of Wycliffe’s works into Czech and helped distribute them, denied papal authority, denounced the moral failings of clergy, bishops, and even the papacy from his pulpit, among many other things; Huss was burned at the stake for heresy against the doctrines of the Catholic Church, in AD1415.
- William Tyndale: translated the Bible into English using Jehovah as God’s name as preferred by English Protestant Reformers, wrote against the papacy being the head of a country’s church, which gave King Henry VIII rationalization for breaking away from the Catholic Church; Tyndale was convicted of Heresy in 1536 and executed by strangulation, after which his body was burned at the stake.
- Medieval Inquisitions: began in AD 1184, given papal absolution if they used instruments of torture to elicit confessions, sought out groups such as the Cathars and Waldensians, estimates are over 4000 people were executed and tens of thousands tortured.
- Knights Templar: a Catholic military order founded in AD1119; responsible for the protection of Christian Pilgrims to the Holy Land; developed an early form of banking through their innovative financial techniques; Pope Clement V, under pressure from King Philip who was deeply indebted to them, instructed all Christian monarchs to arrest all Templar’s and seize their assets; many were tortured into giving false confessions and then burned at the stake in 1307.
- Just as Jezebel taught the people of Israel to worship idols and false gods, the papacy taught the laity:
- that the pope has the authority to modify, declare, or interpret YHWH’s laws
- to worship the saints and Mary (called her the queen of heaven, the title for Ashteroth, companion goddess to Baal.)
- to pray to Mary and the saints
- that YHWH’s presence is in idols, such as images of Yeshua
- to kiss images of Yeshua on pictures, statues, crucifixes, and rings
- introduced Christmas and Easter, non-biblical holidays that are taken directly from pagan religions
- and countless more…
- Yeshua says that He gave the Papacy time to repent, but she did not repent
Warning
This Jezebel is the Harlot from Revelation 17. The Harlot is called the ‘mother of harlots’ and we read here that her and her offspring will face destruction.
Behold, I am throwing her into a bed and those committing adultery with her into great affliction, unless they repent of their works. And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches will know that I am the One searching the inner parts and hearts. And I will give to each of you according to your works.
Yeshua then warns that He searches the hearts and inner parts of believers and will give to each person according to their works. Therefore, using the excuse that YHWH knows what’s in your heart when you participate in these Jezebel fornications, will not hold up on Judgement Day! However, He assures us that anyone not participating in the Jezebel’s ways, which He refers to as “deep things of Satan”, will have no further burden placed on them. This makes sense given the intense persecution they have faced from the Jezebel!
But I say to you and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this teaching, and who did not know the deep things of Satan, as they say: I am not casting another burden on you; but what you have, hold until I shall come.
Closing
Yeshua closes with the assurance that the ones who overcome the trials of their time period, resisting the power of the Jezebel, will have their salvation.
And the one overcoming, and the one keeping My words until the end I will give to him authority over the nations and he will shepherd them with an iron staff—they are broken to pieces like clay vessels—as I also have received from My Father. And I will give to him the morning star.
Broken to pieces like clay vessels is a reference to the statue’s feet and toes made of iron and clay in Daniel 2. There are believers from this age who will face martyrdom for defying the Pope’s authority, and will be part of the first resurrection and will rule with Yeshua for a thousand years.
The Reform Age
Sardis
Revelation 3:1-6 And to the angel of the church in Sardis, write: These things says the One having the seven spirits of God, and the seven stars: I know your works, that you have the name that you live, and are dead. Be watching, and establish the things left, which are about to die. For I have not found your works being fulfilled before God. Then remember how you received and heard, and keep, and repent. If, then, you do not watch, I will come upon you like a thief, and you will not at all know what hour I come upon you. You also have a few names in Sardis which did not defile their robes, and they shall walk with Me in white because they are worthy. The one overcoming, this one shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not at all blot his name out of the Book of Life; and I will acknowledge his name before My Father and before His angels. The one who has an ear, hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Name
According to The Outline of Biblical Usage, created by Larry Pierce, and found at Blue Letter Bible.org, Sardis means ‘red ones’.
Strong’s g4561 sarx, has the same root as Sardis and means ‘flesh’. Flesh in the sense of our human nature, with its frailties and passions, which is opposite to our spirit. The Hebrew word adam means both ‘man’ and ‘red’, but the red is in the sense of being flushed in the face, which is a description of the skin or flesh of man. Therefore, ‘red ones’ could indicate men who are led by the interests and desires of their flesh.
Salutation
Yeshua introduces Himself as the One who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. The seven stars are the angels (messengers) of the churches and the seven spirits of God are the Holy Spirit during the seven church ages.
These things says the One having the seven spirits of God, and the seven stars:
The word “spirit” is Strong’s g4151πνεῦμα, pneuma: a current of air, i.e. breath (blast) or a breeze; by analogy or figuratively, a spirit, i.e. (human) the rational soul, (by implication) vital principle, mental disposition, etc., or (superhuman) an angel, demon, or (divine) God, Christ’s spirit, the Holy Spirit:—ghost, life, spirit(-ual, -ually), mind.
In His salutation to Sardis, Yeshua is reminding the assembly that He holds the seven messenger angels in His hands, and that the Holy Spirit at work in them is also from Him.
Commendation
There are some people withing the body of believers during the time of the Protestant Reformation that had sufficiently separated their works from the traditions of the Papal Age.
You also have a few names in Sardis which did not defile their robes, and they shall walk with Me in white because they are worthy.
Correction
The assembly during this time period had the reputation of following YHWH because they had broken away from the Catholic Church. They believed that they had left behind the fornications and workings of Satan that ruled the previous time period. However, Yeshua says that their works are dead.
I know your works, that you have the name that you live, and are dead. Be watching, and establish the things left, which are about to die. For I have not found your works being fulfilled before God.
Yeshua is present with them and He sees their works and is not impressed. The churches formed out of the Protestant Reformation were not doing deeds that impressed Yeshua. Yeshua says they are dead.
James 2:17 So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead by itself.
James 2:20 But are you willing to know, oh vain man, that faith apart from works is dead?
To discover what could be missing in the works of the protestant churches of this age we need to look back at His message to Ephesus where He also gave an admonishment regarding their works. Ephesus had forgotten to obey YHWH’s commandments, these He called the first works as a sign of their first love: their love for YHWH Elohim. Coming out of the Papal-lead church of the middle ages, the early protestant churches had not turned back to obedience to YHWH, but rather continued in most of the same pagan traditions of men.
Warning
The assembly of Sardis is warned to repent of their disobedience to YHWH’s commandments and return to the Word of YHWH—the Law and the Prophets.
Then remember how you received and heard, and keep, and repent. If, then, you do not watch, I will come upon you like a thief, and you will not at all know what hour I come upon you.
This reference to a thief coming is from the gospel of Matthew. If they do not return to the Word of YHWH, then when Yeshua returns to collect His bride, they will be left behind and miss out on the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
Matthew 24:42-44 Watch, then, for you do not know in what hour your Lord comes. But know this, that if the house-master had known in what watch the thief comes, he would have watched, and not have allowed his house to be dug through. Because of this, you also be ready, for in that hour you think not, the Son of Man comes.
Yeshua is directly referencing this parable in His message to Sardis. This would indicate that many of the denominations that came out of the Protestant Reformation will still be around when Yeshua returns, but unless they repent of their disobedience and return to YHWH’s commandments, they will be left behind to endure the Refiner’s fire of the Great Tribulation.
1 Thessalonians 5:1-6 But as to the times and the season, brothers, you have no need for you to be written to for you yourselves know accurately the day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, Peace and safety! Then suddenly destruction comes upon them, like travail to the pregnant woman, and they shall not at all escape. But you brothers, are not in darkness, that the Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of the light and sons of the day; we are not of night, nor of darkness. So then we should not sleep as the rest also do but we should watch and be calm.
Yeshua is admonishing them to repent of their lawlessness, return to following Him and obeying YHWH’s commandments.
Revelation 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints; here are the ones keeping the commands of God, and the faith of Jesus.
Closing
The one overcoming, this one shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not at all blot his name out of the Book of Life; and I will acknowledge his name before My Father and before His angels. The one who has an ear, hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Yeshua Messiah closes with the assurance that all those who overcome the traditions of men that are hanging on from the previous age, and begin obeying YHWH instead will have eternal life.
Revelation 16:15 Behold, I am coming as a thief, Blessed is the one watching and keeping his garments, that he does not walk naked, and they may see his shame. And He assembled them in the place having been called in Hebrew, Armageddon.
The Revival Age
Philadelphia
Revelation 3:7-13 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia, write: These things says the Holy One, the True One, the One having the key of David, the One opening and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens; I know your works. Behold, I have given a door being opened before you, and no one is able to shut it, for you have a little power and have kept My Word and have not denied My Name. Behold, I give out of the synagogue of Satan those saying themselves to be Jews, and they are not, but they lie. Behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they shall know that I loved you. Because you kept the Word of my patience, I also will keep you out of the hour of trial which is going to come on all the habitable world in order to try those dwelling on the earth. Behold, I am coming quickly. Hold what you have that no one take your crown. The one overcoming, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall not go out any more. And I will write the Name of My God on him, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem which comes down out of Heaven from My God, and My New Name. The one who has an ear, hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Name
Philadelphia means ‘brotherly love’. Love is the key that unlocks all the mysteries of scripture. The two greatest commandments in Torah are to love YHWH and love one another.
Salutation
Yeshua introduces Himself as:
…the Holy One, the True One, the One having the key of David, the One opening and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens;
The only other place we find the key of David mentioned is in Isaiah 22.
Isaiah 22:20-22 And in that day it shall be, even I will call to My servant Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah. And I will clothe him with your robe, and will fasten your sash on him. And I will give your authority into his hand. And he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. And the key of the house of David I will lay on his shoulder, so that he opens and no one shuts; and he shuts and no one opens.
In this verse, YHWH is telling Jerusalem that Yeshua will come and reign as their king. The Key of David indicates the power and authority of the house of David. We believe that Yeshua will bring a literal city from Heaven and place it on Mt. Sinai, where He will bring the redeemed of the earth and the resurrected dead, for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. The key of David is what opens the door to allow entrance to the city (New Jerusalem) and once Yeshua closes the door, no one else will be allowed in.
Commendation
The works, meaning obedience to the Law, of the faithful is why they will be raptured away before the bowls of wrath are poured out on the earth.
I know your works. Behold, I have given a door being opened before you, and no one is able to shut it, for you have a little power and have kept My Word and have not denied My Name.
Much of this message to the angel of the church at Philadelphia comes from the Parable of the Ten Virgins.
Matthew 25:1-13 Then the kingdom of Heaven shall be compared to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to a meeting of the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five foolish. Those being foolish, taking their lamps did not take oil with them. But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But the bridegroom delaying, all nodded and slept. And at midnight a cry occurred: Behold the bridegroom comes! Go out to meet him. Then all those virgins rose up and prepared their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out. But the wise answered, saying, No, lest there not be enough for us and you. But rather go to those who sell, and buy for yourselves. But they going away to buy, the bridegroom came. And those ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. And afterwards the rest of the virgins also came, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But answering he said. Truly I say to you, I do not know you. Therefore, watch, for you do not know the day nor the hour in which the Son of man comes.
Compare the faithful during this age to the wise virgins:
Philadelphia’s obedience = the oil in the wise virgins’ lamps
the door that the key of David opens = the door to the wedding feast that is shut
The five wise virgins, who were prepared with their lamps full of oil, are the church of Philadelphia who will be redeemed from the earth and taken to the marriage supper of the lamb. The five foolish virgins are the Christians who do not obey the Law of YHWH, and they will be locked out of the marriage supper and will be refined and purified through the Great Tribulation.
Zechariah 4 gives us an illustration on how all things are accomplished by the Holy Spirit and how the Holy Spirit is manifested by believers through the church. In a nutshell: the olive tree is Israel, all believers are branches on this tree (whether natural or grafted in); the olives are the believers’ obedience to Torah; the oil moving through the pipes is love; the lampstands are the seven churches; the flame produced by the burning oil is the Holy Spirit; the menorah is Yeshua Messiah, the righteous Branch. Please see our study on The Olive Tree: Israel.
Oil used for anointing is a symbol of the Holy Spirit, but the oil we find here is oil for burning, like the oil YHWH instructed the Levites to burn in the tabernacle. Anointing oil is mixed with spices and other types of oil; oil for burning is pure golden olive oil, which is the pure love manifested through obedience to YHWH. Observe the following verses that equate love with obedience to Torah:
1 John 2:3-6 And by this we know that we have known Him, if we keep His commands. The one saying, I have known Him, and not keeping His commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that one. But whoever keeps His Word, truly in this one the love of God has been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him. The one saying to rest in Him ought so to walk himself as that One walked.
1 John 5:2-3 By this we know that we love the children of God: when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not heavy.
Deuteronomy 5:10 And doing kindness to thousands of those who love Me and keep My commandments.
Deuteronomy 7:9 Because of this, know that YHWH your God, He is God, the faithful God, keeping the covenant, and mercy to those who love Him, and to those who keep His commands, to a thousand generations;
John 14:21-24 He that has My commandments and keeps them, it is that one who loves Me; and the one that loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I shall love him and will reveal Myself to him. Judas, not the Iscariot, said to Him, Lord, what has happened that You are about to reveal Yourself to us and not at all to the world? And Jesus answered and said to him, if anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him. And We will come to him and will make a dwelling-place with him. The one who does not love Me does not keep My words–and the word which you hear is not Mine, but of the Father who sent Me!
We see that love is what comes from the fruit in the following analogy of a grapevine.
John 15:1-10 I am the True Vine, and My Father is the Vinedresser. Every branch in Me not bearing fruit, He takes away; and each one bearing fruit, He prunes so that it may bear more fruit. You are already pruned because of the word which I have spoken to you. Remain in Me, and I in you. As the branch is not able to bear fruit of itself, unless it remain in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in Me. I am the Vine, you are the branches. He that remains in Me, and I in him, this one bears much fruit. For apart from Me you are not able to do anything. Unless one remains in Me, he is cast out as the branch, and is dried up; and they gather and throw them into a fire, and they are burned. If you remain in Me, and My words remain in you, whatever you desire you will ask, and it shall happen to you. In this My Father is glorified, that you should bear much fruit; and you will be My disciples. As the Father loved Me, I also love you; continue in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will continue in My love; as I have kept My Father’s commandments and continue in His love.
The Word is synonymous with The Law (Torah). Therefore, when Yeshua says in His message:
- for you have a little power and have kept My Word and have not denied My Name.
- Because you kept the Word of my patience
He is saying that these are the people who have obeyed Torah (the Law).
Psalm 119:55-57 Oh, YHWH, I have remembered Your Name in the night and have kept Your law. This was done to me, because I kept Your commandments. YHWH is my portion; I have said to keep Your words.
Returning to the Parable of the Ten Virgins, we see five virgins who are obeying the Torah and five virgins who are not. The Church of Philadelphia are the obedient wise virgins and the foolish virgins are the people who profess faith in Yeshua Messiah but are not living in obedience to Him.
So why is Yeshua referencing the parable of the ten virgins in his message to the church of Philadelphia? Because this church is the one redeemed from men and taken to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb while the rest of the world endures the Refiner’s fire!
2 Peter 1:3-11 As His divine power has given to us all things pertaining to life and godliness through the full knowledge of the One calling us through glory and virtue, by which means He has given to us the very great and precious promise, so that through these you might be partakers of the divine nature, escaping from the corruption in the world by lust. But also in this very thing, bringing in all diligence, filling out your faith with virtue; and virtue with knowledge; and knowledge with self-control; and self-control with patience; and patience with godliness; and godliness with brotherly love; and brotherly love with love. For these things being in you, and bounding, makes you not barren, not unfruitful in the full knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the one in whom these things are not present is blind, being short-sighted, taking on forgetfulness of the cleansing of his sins in time past. On account of this, brothers, rather be diligent to make sure of your calling and election; for doing these things, you will not ever fall. For so will be richly furnished to you the entrance into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Correction
Like the age of Smyrna, this church age is given no correction.
Promise
Philadelphia is the only church that receives no warning of persecution or punishment; instead, they receive only a promise.
Yeshua references the synagogue of Satan in this message to Philadelphia, as He did to Smyrna, yet this synagogue was not mentioned to any of the other churches. During the time of the Roman Age, the Jews were persecuting Christians, yet for almost two thousand years after that, the Jews were the ones being persecuted. This verse tells us that during this age, the Jews will realize that they were wrong about Yeshua Messiah.
Behold, I give out of the synagogue of Satan those saying themselves to be Jews, and they are not, but they lie. Behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they shall know that I loved you.
Yeshua promises to keep those who obey YHWH’s commandments and believe in Yeshua from enduring the refiner’s fire (tribulation).
Because you kept the Word of my patience, I also will keep you out of the hour of trial which is going to come on all the habitable world in order to try those dwelling on the earth. Behold, I am coming quickly.
Closing
These believers are encouraged to keep YHWH’s commandments and their faith in Yeshua so that no one will be able to take the crown of life away from them. This shows that the “once saved always saved” doctrine is false.
Hold what you have that no one take your crown. The one overcoming, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall not go out any more. And I will write the Name of My God on him, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem which comes down out of Heaven from My God, and My New Name. The one who has an ear, hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Yeshua keeps His promise. We see these believers later, at the end of this church age, standing with Messiah Yeshua.
Revelation 14:1-5 Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb, and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless.
The Tepid Age
Laodicea
Revelation 3:14-22 And to the angel of the church of Laodicea, write: These things says the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Head of the creation of God: I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I would that you were cold, or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, I am rich, and I am made rich, and I have need of nothing, and do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. I advise you to buy from Me gold having been fired by fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, and your shame and nakedness may not be revealed. And anoint your eyes with eye-salve, that you may see. I, as many as I love, I rebuke and I chasten. Be zealous then, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock: If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will go in to him, and I will dine with him and he with Me. The one overcoming, I will give to him to sit with Me in My throne, as I also overcame and sat with My Father in His throne. The one who has an ear, hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Name
Laodicea means ‘justice of the people’. During this period of time, the year of YHWH’s vengeance, the martyrs finally get their justice.
Revelation 6:9-11 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.
Revelation 15:1-4 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.
And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,
“Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty!
Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations!
Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come and worship you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.”
Salutation
Yeshua introduces Himself in a way that clarifies that He was there in the beginning and is the Head of all creation.
These things says the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Head of the creation of God:
In Proverbs, we find Yeshua reminding us of the same fact right before stressing that we need to follow His ways and be waiting and watching for Him, at His doors, because it is through Him alone that we will find eternal life! The church of Laodicea has forgotten that the ONLY way to the Father is through the Son.
Proverbs 8:22-36 YHWH possessed me in the beginning of His way; from then before His words. I was set up from everlasting: from the beginning, before the earth ever was. When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no springs heavy with water. Before the mountains were settled; before the hills, I was brought forth; before He had made the earth, and the fields, or the highest part of the dust of the world. When He prepared the heavens, I was there; when He set a circle on the face of the deep; when He set the clouds above; when He made the strong fountains of the deep; when He gave to the sea its limit, that the waters should not go beyond His commands; when He decreed the foundations of the earth; then I was at His side, like a master workman; and I was His delights day by day, rejoicing before Him at every time; rejoicing in the world, His earth; and My delights were with the sons of men. And now listen to Me, O sons; for blessed are those who keep My ways. Hear instruction, and be wise, and do not refuse it. Blessed is the man listening to Me, watching daily at My gates, waiting at the posts of My doors. For whoever finds Me finds life; and he shall obtain favor from YHWH. But he who sins against Me does violence to his own soul; all who hate Me love death.
Commendation
This is the only church age that receives no commendation.
Correction
The idea that Yeshua would rather Laodicea be hot or cold than lukewarm tells us that both hot and cold are GOOD. Therefore, hot doesn’t mean on-fire for Yeshua and cold the opposite. This analogy stems from the water supplies in Laodicea and its two neighboring cities in the first century.
I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I would that you were cold, or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to vomit you out of My mouth.
Hierapolis was a city to the north which had mineral hot springs. The water there was soothing and healing. Colossae was a city to the south which had cold springs. The water there was clear and refreshing. Laodicea, by contrast, had water that was neither cold and refreshing nor hot and soothing. The water there was lukewarm (tepid) and made you sick. This church age will be tepid water that Yeshua will vomit out of His mouth!
So, what does it mean to be tepid? Let’s compare another verse that speaks of the consequence of being vomiting out.
Leviticus 20:22 And you shall keep all My statutes, and all My judgments, and shall do them, and the land where I am bringing you to live in it shall not vomit you out.
Huh, look at that, being vomited out is a direct consequence of disobedience to YHWH’s Torah. Considering that Yeshua says: I know your works immediately before saying they are tepid, is another definitive clue that this church is not obeying Torah.
Warning
There are other church ages that are not being obedient to YHWH, yet Yeshua is not as hard on them as He is on Laodicea. So what more are they doing that has Him so angry? This church does not believe that they need Yeshua. They believe that they are good, rich, and wise on their own, aside from YHWH and that anyone who is a “good” person, even without belief in Yeshua, can have eternal life.
Because you say, I am rich, and I am made rich, and I have need of nothing, and do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.
Yeshua reminds them that it is only through Him that they will receive the gift of eternal life.
I advise you to buy from Me gold having been fired by fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, and your shame and nakedness may not be revealed. And anoint your eyes with eye-salve, that you may see.
What is ‘white garments’ referring to? White garments indicates belief in Yeshua Messiah and His atonement for the sins of the world.
Revelation 7:14 …and they washed their robes and whitened them in the blood of the Lamb.
What is the gold having been refined by fire?
1 Peter 1:3-9 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, He according to His great mercy having regenerated us to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and unfading, having been kept in Heaven for you by the power of God, having been guarded through faith to a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time; in which you exult yet a little while, if need be, grieving in manifold trials, so that the proving of your faith, much more precious than perishing gold, but having been proved through fire, may be found to praise and honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ; whom you love, not having seen Him; in whom you exult with unspeakable joy, and having glorified; believing in Him, yet not seeing, obtaining the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
The gold referred to by Yeshua is the faith of the disobedient believers, who are enduring the Refiner’s Fire during this church age. These are the five foolish virgins from the Parable of the Ten Virgins.
Zechariah 13:9 And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined. And I will try them as gold is tried. They shall call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, It is My people, and they shall say, YHWH is my God.
YHWH will refine those left out of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb as gold is refined by fire.
Closing
Yeshua closes his letter by encouraging the believers enduring the Great Tribulation to repent of their disobedience. He reminds them that He disciplines those that He loves. They are being put through the Refiner’s Fire because He loves them and wants them to spend eternity with Him.
I, as many as I love, I rebuke and I chasten. Be zealous then, and repent.
Yeshua is at the door, knocking, waiting for you to open the door and allow Him in:
Behold, I stand at the door and knock: If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will go in to him, and I will dine with him and he with Me. The one overcoming, I will give to him to sit with Me in My throne, as I also overcame and sat with My Father in His throne. The one who has an ear, hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Yeshua is pleading with the people of the assembly of Laodicea to repent of their disobedience and accept the Blood of the Lamb as atonement for their sins, so that they will have eternal life.
The Seven Churches
The third manifestation of the seven churches of Revelation are groups of church denominations that share specific doctrines. By looking at the descriptions given in Revelation and comparing them to churches today, we can determine what changes we need to make to ensure our place at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
Ephesus
This assembly obeys some of YHWH’s commandments, but not all of them. They have worked diligently to expose the false teachings of the Catholic church for many decades.
Revelation 2:2-3 I know your works, and your labor, and your patience, and that you cannot bear evil ones; and you tried those pretending to be apostles, and are not, and found them to be liars. And I know you bore up and on account of My name you have labored and have not wearied.
They also hate the false doctrines of the Church of Laodicea.
Revelation 2:6 But you have this, that you hate the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
The Ephesus church are the Sabbath-keeping denominations who profess to obey YHWH’s ten commandments, but ignore the detailed instructions that He has given on how He wants them obeyed. They are not fully obedient to the Torah.
Revelation 2:4-5 But I have against you that you left your first love. Then remember from where you have fallen, and repent, and do the first works…
Some examples of these denominations are: Seventh-Day Adventist, Seventh-Day Baptist, Seventh-Day Evangelist, Church of God (Seventh-Day), True Jesus Church, and Soldiers of the Cross Church.
There will be those from this church who realize their error and begin living in obedience to the whole Word of YHWH and they will become part of the Church of Philadelphia. The remainder of this church, however, will have to endure the Refiner’s Fire.
Revelation 2:7 The one having an ear, hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one overcoming, I will give to him to eat of the Tree of Life which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.
The lampstand for this church will be removed.
Revelation 2:5 …And if not, I am coming to you quickly, and will remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.
Smyrna
The Assembly of Smyrna are the Messianic Jews who live in the State of Israel. These believers have faith in Yeshua Messiah and live in obedience to the Law of YHWH.
Revelation 2:9 I know your works, and the affliction, and the poverty; but you are rich…
The Rabbinic Jews living in the State of Israel are hostile towards the Messianic Jews and this will get increasingly worse until Yeshua’s return. The Rabbinic Jews do not believe in Yeshua and they primarily follow the Babylonian Talmud instead of the Law and the Prophets. During the end-times, the Messianic Jews will face martyrdom at the hands of the beast powers.
Revelation 2:9-11 …And I know the evil speaking of those saying themselves to be Jews, and they are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not at all fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the Devil is about to throw you into prison, so that you may be tried; and you will have affliction ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. The one who has an ear, hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one overcoming will not at all be hurt by the second death.
Pergamos
The Church of Pergamos are the Orthodox churches. They have held to Yeshua’s character by not accepting the authority of the Bishop of Rome who claims the title ‘Vicar of Christ’; which rightfully only belongs to the Holy Spirit, as it means ‘substitute’ or ‘replacement’ for Christ.
Revelation 2:13 …And you hold My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful witness; who was killed alongside you, where Satan dwells.
However, the Orthodox churches do follow many of the idolatries of the Catholic Church, and many of their traditions that contradict YHWH’s Laws.
Revelation 2:14 But I have a few things against you, that you have there those holding the teachings of Balaam, who taught Balak to throw a stumbling-block before the sons of Israel, to eat idol-sacrifices, and to commit fornication.
In the end-times the Orthodox churches will increasingly be following in the direction of the Church of Laodicea.
Revelation 2:15 So you also have those holding the teaching of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.
Yeshua says to repent of their sins and join the Church of Philadelphia, or they will face the Refiner’s Fire.
Revelation 2:16-17 Repent! But if not, I will come to you quickly, and I will make war with them by the sword of My mouth. The one who has an ear, hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one overcoming, I will give him to eat from the hidden manna. And I will give to him a white stone, and on the stone a new name having been written, which no one knows except the one receiving it.
Thyatira
The Catholic Church, presided over by the Bishop of Rome, is the Church of Thyatira. The individual members of this church do good works in love, spread the gospel, minister to the poor, etc.
Revelation 2:19 I know your works, and the love, and the ministry, and the faith and your patience, and your works; and the last more that the first.
However, they are allowing The Harlot, the institution in Rome, to teach idolatrous practices.
Revelation 2:20 But I have a few things against you, that you allow the woman Jezebel to teach, she saying herself to be a prophetess, and to cause My slaves to go astray, and to commit fornication, and to eat idol-sacrifices.
Yeshua says that He gave the Harlot time to repent and turn to obedience, but she would not, therefore, she will be utterly destroyed.
Revelation 2:21-23 And I gave time for her that she might repent of her fornication. And she did not repent. Behold, I am throwing her into a bed and those committing adultery with her into great affliction, unless they repent of their works. And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches will know that I am the One searching the inner parts and hearts. And I will give to each of you according to your works.
Yeshua wants believers to leave this doomed church and beginning living in obedience to the Word of YHWH.
Revelation 2:24-27 But I say to you and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this teaching, and who did not know the deep things of Satan, as they say: I am not casting another burden on you; but what you have, hold until I shall come. And the one overcoming, and the one keeping My words until the end I will give to him authority over the nations and he will shepherd them with an iron staff...
Revelation 18:4-8 Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. Pay her back as she herself has paid back others, and repay her double for her deeds; mix a double portion for her in the cup she mixed. As she glorified herself and lived in luxury, so give her a like measure of torment and mourning, since in her heart she says, ‘I sit as a queen, I am no widow, and mourning I shall never see.’ For this reason her plagues will come in a single day, death and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for mighty is the Lord God who has judged her.”
Sardis
The Assembly of Sardis is the Protestant denominations. These churches have the reputation of being obedient to YHWH, but in reality they are not. A few examples are: Lutheran, Methodist, Anglican, Baptist, Pentecostal, Reformed, Presbyterian, Hutterite, and Mennonite.
Revelation 3:1 …I know your works, that you have the name that you live, and are dead. Be watching, and establish the things left, which are about to die. For I have not found your works being fulfilled before God. Then remember how you received and heard, and keep, and repent.
The apostle James, in his epistle, explains to us what it means to have faith that is alive. Your obedience to YHWH’s commandments makes your faith alive. For more on this, see our study What is Faith.
James 2:17 So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead by itself.
James 2:20 But are you willing to know, oh vain man, that faith apart from works is dead?
Most of the people in this assembly are part of the five foolish virgins in the Parable of the Ten Virgins. They believe in Yeshua Messiah, but are unaware that they need to live in obedience to YHWH’s commandments to enter the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. Yeshua warns them that He will return when they are not expecting Him and they will be left behind.
Revelation 3:3 Then remember how you received and heard, and keep, and repent. If, then, you do not watch, I will come upon you like a thief, and you will not at all know what hour I come upon you.
There are some people in this assembly who have been obedient despite what the leadership of the assembly teaches.
Revelation 3:4-5 You also have a few names in Sardis which did not defile their robes, and they shall walk with Me in white because they are worthy. The one overcoming, this one shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not at all blot his name out of the Book of Life; and I will acknowledge his name before My Father and before His angels.
Philadelphia
The church of brotherly love, Philadelphia, is the five wise virgins from the Parable of the Ten Virgins. This is the assembly that obeys YHWH’s commandments and has the faith of Yeshua Messiah. Some examples are: Church of God (International), Intercontinental Church of God, United Church of God, House of Yahweh, and the many independent Torah-keeping Christians.
Revelation 3:8 I know your works. Behold, I have given a door being opened before you, and no one is able to shut it, for you have a little power and have kept My Word and have not denied My Name.
Yeshua says that this assembly will rule over the Rabbinic Jews in His millennial kingdom.
Revelation 3:9 Behold, I give out of the synagogue of Satan those saying themselves to be Jews, and they are not, but they lie. Behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they shall know that I loved you.
These believers will be kept from the Refiner’s Fire because they lived their lives in obedience to the Torah. They will be taken to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb before the seventh seal is opened and the bowls of wrath are dumped out on the earth.
Revelation 3:10-12 Because you kept the Word of my patience, I also will keep you out of the hour of trial which is going to come on all the habitable world in order to try those dwelling on the earth. Behold, I am coming quickly. Hold what you have that no one take your crown. The one overcoming, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall not go out any more. And I will write the Name of My God on him, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem which comes down out of Heaven from My God, and My New Name.
Laodicea
The church assembly that was given no commendation, the one wallowing in the abominations of the world without giving a single consideration for the Word of YHWH, the one likened to the Nicolaitans, is the Church of Laodicea. Two examples of this assembly are the United Church of Canada and the United Church of Christ.
Revelation 3:15-16 I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I would that you were cold, or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to vomit you out of My mouth.
These are the denominations that do not follow the Word of YHWH, instead they teach a liberal social doctrine. For example, the United Church of Canada, during a local man’s funeral, ended their prayer with the phrase: “in community we pray.” They teach that everyone will ‘go to heaven’ as long as they are ‘good people’ who follow their own hearts. Because everyone gets to go to heaven, they have no need for the Blood of the Lamb to make them righteous. This is what it means to deny Christ. They believe they deserve salvation on their own merit.
Revelation 3:17 Because you say, I am rich, and I am made rich, and I have need of nothing, and do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.
Isaiah 5:20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
From the United Church of Canada‘s website on what they believe, we see that they disregard YHWH’s commandments and call what is evil good and what is good evil (emphasis ours):
Bible
- The Bible is the shared standard for our faith, but members are not required to adhere to any particular creed or formulation of doctrine.
The ‘creed’ that we are to adhere to is YHWH’s Law and the doctrine is the Gospel of Yeshua Messiah.
- The stories and teachings in the Bible have a mysterious power to inform our lives. But some of what was experienced and written then doesn’t fit with today’s world. For example, there are passages in the Bible that may be read to condone slavery or condemn homosexuality. We do not accept those interpretations.
The Bible is not just a collection of ‘stories’, it is not intended as entertainment. The Bible is the account of YHWH’s love for His creation. This account includes societal practices that our current society deems unacceptable—such as slavery and polygamy; however, those practices are clearly not part of YHWH’s plan for us. People do evil things with the freewill YHWH bestowed on them and YHWH is not to blame for that!
The United Church does not accept the ‘interpretation’ of scripture that condemns homosexuality. Let’s pause a moment to read a few passages of scripture that condemn homosexuality and see if it is a matter of ‘interpretation’ or if the condemnation of the act is blatantly clear.
Leviticus 18:22 You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Or do you not know that unjust ones will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be led astray, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor abusers, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor covetous ones, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor plunderers shall inherit the kingdom of God.
This instruction is not more or less important than any other in the Torah. But, there is nothing that would make this instruction moot in our lives today, therefore homosexual sexual relations is sexual immorality. The United Church’s rejection of this commandment from YHWH is a rejection of YHWH’s authority over their lives and a clear statement that they will do as they please, rather than do what pleases YHWH.
Marriage
In the United Church, we see each person as a unique, loved creation of God and welcome all people to the full life of Christian community, including marriage. We believe God intends loving relationships to be faithful, responsible, just, healing, and sustaining of the couple and those around them, and that such relationships require preparation and nurture. The United Church celebrates the marriage of
- same-sex couples
- previously divorced people
- couples of different religions
- all people who believe in Jesus Christ and want to live faithful to his way
Scripture condemns ‘same-sex’ relationships, as we already discussed.
We have covered the commandments around divorce and remarriage in our studies on the Torah, so we won’t repeat them here, but suffice it to say that the Torah does not forbid divorce and remarriage.
Scripture encourages us to not be ‘unequally yoked’ in marriage to someone who does not believe in Yeshua Messiah and following YHWH’s Torah.
The final point is a contradiction, as ‘to live faithful to his way’ is the opposite to most of what they teach.
Multi-Faith Relations
The United Church views the religious practice of all people of goodwill with respect and gratitude. We believe the Spirit of God is at work in many different faith communities.
For Christians, Jesus is the way we know God. Our understanding is nonetheless limited by human imagination. God is greater still and works in our world by a mysterious Spirit that knows no distinction at the doorway of a Christian chapel; Buddhist, Hindu, or Sikh temple; Indigenous sweat lodge, Muslim mosque, or Jewish synagogue.
We work in partnership with other Christian churches whenever possible, and among people of other religions in Canada and throughout the world on matters of justice, peace, and human dignity. Today, difference is everywhere around us and, we believe, a great cause for celebration.
From the United Church of Christ‘s website on what they believe (emphasis ours):
Religion and ways of experiencing and expressing knowledge of the Divine must no longer divide us. Instead, the experience of God’s love ought to unite us beyond fear and religious bigotry. Religious differences have devised wars, divided families, and disrupted communities.
We are called for this time to live prophetically in our witness, our words, and deeds calling for love of neighbor, the acceptance of all religions and spiritualties, affirming the mystery of the Divine in a variety of expressions and the presence of religious multiplicity and religious fluidity in the church, in our communities and in the world. There are a variety of ways that Spirit is affirmed among us. While we are unable to name them all, we affirm the Mystery and mind of God is beyond understanding (Isaiah 55:8).
The Baar Statement: Theological Perspectives on Plurality issued by the World Council of Churches states: “We have seen and experienced the goodness, truth and holiness of God among followers of other paths and ways than that of Jesus Christ” (p.4). The Spirit moves beyond our definitions, descriptions, and limitations “as the wind blows where it wills” (John 3:8).
The World Council of Churches’ Baar Statement affirms that: God, the Holy Spirit has been at work in the life and traditions of peoples of living faiths. Can we affirm that the Holy Spirit will lead us into a fresh and unexpected discovery of new wisdom and insight as we learn more from our neighbors of other faiths? Authentic dialogue opens both partners to a deeper conversion to the God who speaks to each through other. Through the witness of others, we can truly discover facets of the divine mystery which we have not yet seen or responded to (Baar, 5).
We can no longer push aside those who hold different religious views and practices. They are members of our families, our communities, and these traditions have shaped us as well. The advancements of pluralism and the reactions against them now define our national life. Every day, our existence in a pluralistic world has the potential to strip away another layer of our provincialism, the complacent unawareness of other faiths, yielding other forms of emancipation. We hear the testimonies of those among us whose faith has been nurtured in and because of their relationships to others of other religious traditions and faith practices. We draw on the ancient tradition and call of God who invites us to meet God in the other and experience hospitality to the stranger who teaches us more about God and draws us deeper into knowing more of God and more of ourselves.
“Through encounters with people of other religions, we hope to find new understanding and to discover fuller and more meaningful ways to live in reconciled communities together.” We engage in interreligious relationships out of gratitude for the gifts we have received from a generous and loving God. Can we affirm that the Holy Spirit, which we understand to be the comforter promised by Jesus, will lead us into fresh and unexpected encounters? Can we affirm that it is morally, ethically, and spiritually wrong for any person, group, or religion to claim exclusive access to God, God’s love, grace, or salvation? (Disciples of Christ and Interreligious Engagement” #13). We testify that embracing and affirming all traditions of faith is God at work, working through us and in the world. “United in Christ’s love, a just world for all!”
There is only one way to YHWH Elohim and that is through Yeshua Messiah. Please see our studies in Path to Salvation for more on how to have eternal life. There is only one way to eternal life, and all others lead to the second death in the lake of fire. How evil it is to lie to people, thereby participating in their loss of salvation!
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 3:13-15 No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
1 John 5:11-13 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
Revelation 20:14-15 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
The Document on Human Fraternity signed by Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmed el-Tayeb, was primarily about living in peace with people of other religions and the recognition that everyone has the right to choose their own beliefs. These are points on which we whole-heartedly agree. However, there is one point within the document that is a concern to us and that is the idea that it is ‘God’s’ will that there are different religions and belief systems.
The pluralism and the diversity of religions, colour, sex, race and language are willed by God in His wisdom, through which He created human beings. (emphasis ours)
It was not YHWH Elohim who made the false religions and gods of the world, those are the work of Satan. There is not more than one Elohim, there is only YHWH, all other gods are false gods.
Psalm 83:17-18 Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever; let them perish in disgrace, that they may know that you alone, whose name is YHWH, are the Most High over all the earth.
Psalm 86:8-11 There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours. All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name. For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God. Teach me your way, O YHWH, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.
Isaiah 44:6 Thus says YHWH, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, YHWH of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.
Everyone has the Elohim-given right to freewill, hence the events in the Garden of Eden. However, along with the right to choose to disobey YHWH and deny His Son comes the consequences of that choice. It is one thing to accept the choices others have made and live in peace with them; it is another thing entirely for us to condone their choices.
Matthew 7:22-23 Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophecy in Your Name, and in Your Name cast out demons, and in Your Name do many works of power? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; depart from Me, those working lawlessness!
Matthew 7:13-14 Go in through the narrow gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to death. And many are the ones who go through it. For narrow is the gate, and constricted is the way that leads into life, and few are the ones who find it.
The closer we get to Yeshua’s return, the more Christian denominations are moving closer to the Church of Laodicea.
In every single one of the letters to the churches, Yeshua opens by saying that he knows their works. How then can anyone believe that our works do not matter to him?
Messiah Yeshua warns Ephesus that if they do not repent He will remove their lampstand from its place, and this will be the fate of five of the seven churches. By the time the sixth seal opens, there are only two lampstands remaining—Philadelphia and Smyrna—these are the two witnesses.
Revelation 2:5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.
Revelation 11:3-4 And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.
The believers from the assemblies of Philadelphia and Smyrna who are in Jerusalem will prophecy against the beast and its followers for 3 1/2 years, until the beast kills them. Then, after 3 1/2 days, the first resurrection of dead will occur and they will be taken up to meet Yeshua Messiah in the clouds.
Revelation 11:11-12 But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them.
The remnant of the assembly of Philadelphia, those who were not martyred, will be taken up shortly afterwards to join them for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
Revelation 19:6-9 Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,
“Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God
the Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and exult
and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and his Bride has made herself ready;
it was granted her to clothe herself
with fine linen, bright and pure”—
for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus toward you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things, hold fast to the good. Keep back from every form of evil. And may the God of peace Himself fully sanctify you, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will perform it.
May you be blessed by this study. Shalom.