I would love to hear from you. Please support the program.
My new book, The American Jesus, is out now.https://a.co/d/85DqVlb https://a.co/d/3lL6QQD
My New book on Audible is out now!https://www.audible.com/pd/Comprehensive-Crisis-Guide-for-Ministry-Audiobook/B0F1ZJL88L?source_code=ASSGB149080119000H&share_location=pdp
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
Live from the Saints headquarters in Tallahassee,
Arizona.
Spreading the gospel, equippingthe Saints, standing for the
word of truth, proclaiming God'sgrace.
Now, on a podcast near you,welcome your host, Pastor Joshua
, on.
The Saints Will OvercomeMinistries.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.
This is Pastor Joshua.
I am back.
It's an honor and a pleasure tobe with you.
Ladies and gentlemen, last timewe talked about the
introduction to Revelations.
Ladies and gentlemen, last timewe talked about the
introduction to Revelations andI really want to talk about this
introduction a little bit moreand my particular stance on what
I believe about Revelations.
(01:14):
I believe that the majority ofRevelations was fulfilled in the
first century after the deathof Christ.
I don't believe that themajority of it takes place in
the future, and I ask that youbear with me, you stay with me,
you understand my position as wego along and journey through
(01:35):
this book of revelations, and Iwant to read a chapter to you so
you can get my position, andthen we'll carry on where we
left off.
This is Matthew 24.
In this particular chapter, alot of people talk about and
believe that this is whathappens at the end of the times,
(01:57):
at the end of the world.
So we're going to start onMatthew 24, verse 1.
So here we go, guys, here we go, ladies and gentlemen.
Jesus left the temple and waswalking away with his disciples
came up to him to call hisattention to its buildings.
Do you see?
All of these things, he askedTruly.
(02:20):
I tell you not one stone herewill be left upon another.
Every one will be thrown down.
As Jesus was sitting on theMount of Olives, the disciples
came to him privately.
Tell us.
They said when will thesethings happen and what will be
the sign of your coming at theend of the age?
Now, a lot of individualsinterpret this different.
(02:44):
Now, a lot of individualsinterpret this different.
And the New InternationalVersion says the end of the age.
Some dynamic equivalents orcontinuums will say at the end
of the world.
So I like this interpretationbecause I believe it's the end
of the age, and the end of theJewish age, in a sense, of this
(03:05):
particular time frame in history.
Now, what does the word comingmean?
Does it mean coming at the endof the world, as many futurists
believe when they interpretatethis verse?
Some commentators, there's manyindividual theologians that
(03:26):
believe coming means coming injudgment, and Matthew 24 has to
do with the genre of aapocalyptic judgment language
that this chapter is written in,which I'm basically sympathetic
, to which that's my belief.
(03:46):
Now let's look at Jesus'sresponse to his disciples.
Jesus answered watch out thatno one deceives you, for many
will come in my name, claiming Iam the Messiah, and will
deceive many.
There were those individuals inthe first century that were
(04:07):
claiming to be Messiah.
So this happened in the firstcentury and this was happening.
You will hear of wars andrumors of wars, but see to it
that you are not alarmed.
Such things must happen, butthe end is still to come.
Nation will rise against nationand kingdom against kingdom.
(04:29):
There will be famines andearthquakes in various places.
All of these things are thebeginning of birth pains and you
know what.
This is true, as it was backthen, as it is now.
There's wars and rumors of wars.
(04:50):
Look what's going on today withRussia, with Ukraine, with Gaza
, with Israel, with the UnitedStates getting involved.
So there's a far, in the senseof far outreaching prophetic
fulfillment of this, but there'sa historical fulfillment of
this which I believe Matthew 24is talking about.
(05:14):
We have to remember, ladies andgentlemen, that the Jews, they
were anti-Christ back then andI'm not anti-Semitic by any
means.
So please, please, nobodymisinterpret that we have
Judeo-Christian values, but theyactually believe that he is not
the Messiah.
They wanted a physical Messiah,they wanted a king like David,
(05:40):
and Christ is predicting ajudgment against the nation of
Israel and he's going to comeand judge them and that's what
he's going to do for theirapostasy, for their blasphemy.
And this takes place.
(06:01):
And this was fulfilledliterally in AD 70 under Titus.
Titus destroyed Jerusalem andthe temple buildings
Figuratively.
No stone was left upon oneanother.
There was an excavation done in1968 and it covered a large
(06:23):
amount of these stones.
False messiahs, wars, famines,earthquakes, all occurred in the
40 years between Christ'scrucifixion, around AD 30-33,
and the destruction of thetemple happened in AD 70.
Josephus, a first centuryJewish historian, mentions all
(06:47):
of these things, all of theseacts.
So we have to understand andput all of these things into
context.
The labor pains theydemonstrate a baby that the body
wants to deliver.
So all these things are goingto happen persecution, martyrdom
(07:10):
, apostasy, false prophets.
The wickedness of the nation,ladies and gentlemen, is what is
occurring.
Then you will be handed over.
Well, let's just back up alittle bit about the deception,
about the wars, the rumors ofwars.
And it says all these thingswill be the beginning of birth
(07:32):
pains, famines and earthquakes.
Then you will be handed over tobe persecuted and be put to
death and you will be hated byall nations because of me.
At that time, many will turnaway from the faith and will
betray and hate each other, andmany false prophets will appear
and deceive many people.
Because of the increase ofwickedness, the love of most
(07:55):
will grow cold, but the one whostands firm to the end will be
saved and this gospel of thekingdom will be preached in the
whole world as the testimony toall nations.
Then the end will come.
There's a disagreement on whatall nations mean, all the
nations within the Roman Empire,and the end will come.
(08:17):
The end of what will come, well, like I believe the end of the
actual Jewish system will come,well, like I believe the end of
the actual jewish system willcome and the end of the actual
world in the sense of the modernworld in that geographical
location.
And that's what I believe.
(08:39):
What is happening here is jesusis prophesying judgment on the
Jewish population for abandoninghim as the Messiah coming to
look over them, wanting to lovethem, wanting to care for them.
But that did not happen.
(09:00):
So let's continue reading,ladies and gentlemen.
So when you see, standing inthe holy place, the abomination
that causes desolation, spokenthrough by the prophet daniel,
let the reader understand, thenlet those who are in jude flee
(09:24):
to the mountains.
And this is very important.
What do we have going on here?
The abomination that causesdesolation, and this was
predicted in Daniel 9, 27, 11,31, and 12, 12.
And a lot of individualscommentators believe that this
has to do with Antiochus,epiphanes and the desecration of
(09:49):
the temple, which is the holyplace, and that was fulfilled in
167 BC.
But there's a future event yetto come, that when Rome
destroyed the temple in AD 70.
So what I believe the comingmeans in this scripture is the
(10:14):
coming of judgment, the end ofthe world, the Jewish system as
the Jews know it, for abandoningand betraying Christ.
Not all, because there was avery, very faithful remnant
144,000, that fled to Pala.
That we will see in Revelations.
But these are the jews, themajority that make up the nation
(10:39):
that abandoned the messiah, andchrist isn't having it.
He's going to judge.
It will be a dreadful judgment,and he talks about the
abomination that causesdesolation through the prophet
daniel and he says let those whoare in Judea flee to the
(11:00):
mountains.
Let no one on the housetop godown and take anything out of
the house.
We don't have housetops here inAmerica.
But every Jew's house had alittle porch on the top where
they could have a lookout andthen go sit up there, and it was
a common thing.
On the housetop built in thecompound Let no one go into the
(11:22):
field, go back to get his cloakBecause it was an agrarian
society.
How dreadful it would be inthose days for pregnant women
and nursing mothers.
Pray that your flight will nottake place in the winter or on
the Sabbath, for then there willbe great distress, unequaled
for the beginning of the worlduntil now, never to be equaled
(11:47):
again.
So we have to understand Christis trying to warn his people.
So as we move in to thisbeautiful book of Revelations
and we start from Revelationchapter 1 and we go from verse
12 to 16 that's what we'repicking up today, ladies and
(12:08):
gentlemen, we have to understandthat I'm addressing this book,
pastor Joshua, from thestandpoint, the vantage point of
the judgment taking place onthe Jewish system and nation for
abandoning Christ.
And God is going to use theRoman Empire to administer that
judgment, which is not a goodnation itself, which is a wicked
(12:33):
system and a wicked nationitself.
But this is what God chooses todo.
So not everything was fulfilledin the first century.
But a lot was fulfilled in thefirst century and you'll see as
we go down how I lay thattimeline out as I go down
(12:54):
through Revelations and thehistory of Revelations and I
will throw some idealist view inthere, a little bit of
historicist and futurist.
But my main teaching when we gothrough this book is a
methodology, a partial preteristmethodology, but a methodology
of going through it andunderstanding what it is and not
(13:15):
specifically staying adherent100 to the partial preterist
view, because I believe allthese views that are explained
by commentators and theologians,scholars, are very, very good
points in each and every one ofthem.
So let's pick up at Revelations1, 12-16.
(13:38):
This is what John is seeing.
Then I turned to see the voicethat spoke with me and, having
turned, I saw seven goldenlampstands.
In the midst of the sevenlampstands one was like the Son
of man, clothed with a garmentdown to his feet and girded
(14:00):
about the chest with a goldenband.
His head and hair were whitelike wool.
And I want to stop right there.
You have a lot of African people.
Black people.
They'll say he was blackbecause his hair was like wool.
People they'll say you know, hewas black because his hair was
(14:22):
like wool.
And this is not talking aboutwhat his hair was, and this
scripture on verse 14 is talkingabout that.
His head and hair were likewool, as white as snow.
So it's talking about a color,it's not talking about the
texture.
So I want you to understand onething, ladies and gentlemen I'm
(14:45):
married to a black woman, whichI love her very much.
But I want to tell you guyssomething this book is written
symbolically and so we can'ttake the majority of this book
literally.
The methodology approach inthis genre of writing is mostly
symbolic, but literalism isappropriate to its
(15:09):
interpretation of the book ofRevelations to some degree.
As white as snow and his eyeslike a flame of fire.
Basically it's piercing vision.
Christ sees all.
His hair is white as snow.
Eternal Christ is eternal.
(15:30):
The wisdom of Christ.
His feet were like fine brass,his judgment treading in the
winepress as this book isunfolding, as is refined in a
furnace, and his voice as thesound of many waters.
He had in his right hand sevenstars out of his mouth when a
(15:53):
sharp, two-edged sword.
His countenance was like thesun shining in its strength.
Sword.
His countenance was like thesun shining in its strength.
So he has in his right handseven stars, which is the seven
churches that John is writing toand out of his mouth.
What a two-edged sword, and wehave to remember this two-edged
(16:17):
sword.
Is the gospel going out, is thejudgment going out?
Happen to the nation of Israel?
And so that is what's going onover here right now, in the book
(16:49):
of Revelations.
And you have this golden bandworn across his chest, which is
a symbol of high rank in theancient world.
You have a long linen garmentwhich is priestly.
Christ is the high priest.
(17:09):
He has white hair, which ishonor and wisdom, like I was
saying, wisdom before flamingeyes conveying his vision,
seeing all, piercing all thejudgment.
And so that's what we have tounderstand about this verse.
We have to understand is Christis all powerful, christ is all
(17:37):
seeing, christ has all seeing,christ has all knowledge.
This is the one that is goingand that is worthy of breaking
every single seal, and we willsee that, as John is weeping and
(17:58):
sad and waiting, who is thisone that can open the seal?
It's this drama unfolding, thisbeautiful drama that's
unfolding, that we all need tosee and that we all need to take
in to our spirits and be in aweof what is actually happening
(18:22):
in this situation right now.
So if we go back to Daniel,chapter 10, and we read verses 1
through 4, we can startunlocking what Daniel's talking
about when he witnesses themajesty.
(18:43):
So let me read Daniel, chapter10, verse one through four.
In the third year of King Cyrusof Persia, a revelation was
given to Daniel, who was calledBelshazzar.
Its message was true and itconcerned a great war.
The understanding of themessage came to him in a vision.
(19:03):
At that time I, daniel, mournedfor three weeks.
I ate no choice food, no meator wine touched my lips and I
used no lotions at all until thethree weeks were over.
So Daniel, in a sense, is inthis time of cleansing,
spiritual cleansing, in thistime of mourning as his vision
(19:24):
starts unfolding.
For Daniel it's a time ofsoberness and a time of
seriousness, and I don't doubtDaniel was full of anxiety and
angst as his vision is beinguncovered and unveiled for him.
And as we pick up in verse 4, onthe 24th day of the first month
(19:46):
, I was standing on the bank ofthe great river, the Tigris.
I looked up and there before mewas a man dressed in linen,
with a belt of fine gold fromEupaz around his waist.
His body was like topaz, hisface like lightning, his eyes
(20:07):
like flaming torches, his armsand legs like the gleam of
burnished bronze and his voicesounded like a multitude.
So if we compare this to whatJohn is saying, we can
understand.
It's not saying what Christlooks like, in a sense, but what
(20:30):
Christ is like, and thisapocalyptic language is
extraordinary because John isconveying the majesty and the
glory of Christ.
So we talk about the sevenstars, which are the seven
(20:50):
churches right the two-edgedsword, and that verse is given
as we continue, of these sevenstars in verse 20.
So let's go from Revelations 1through 17 to 19 now.
And when I saw him, john that is, I fell at his feet as dead,
(21:12):
but he laid his right hand on me, saying to me do not be afraid,
I am alive forevermore.
Amen, and I have the keys toHades and of death.
(21:33):
Write these things which youhave seen and the things which
which are and the things thatwill take place after this.
So if we notice, john falls tohis feet like he was dead when
he sees the majesty of christ,because it was so awe-inspiring
(21:55):
and his presence was so powerfulhe could barely even handle it.
That's how majestic God is,christ is, and he held the keys
to Hades and death and he raisedhimself with his own power,
(22:17):
with the power of God.
John is seeing a miraculous,miraculous vision.
Hades will not prevail againstthe church.
That comes from Matthew 16, 18.
And Jesus is the one who holdsthem keys to Hades and death.
(22:38):
He can unlock and open thegates, he can shut the door and
he resurrects the saints on thelast day.
So, as John is told to writethese things down, which he has
seen, he's in awe of what he iswitnessing in front of him
through this vision.
So this is an amazing, amazingsituation that is happening as
(23:04):
John is writing all of this down, the apocalypse, and we have to
understand that.
I believe the majority thatthis is taking place in the
first century.
When we talk about the sevenstars in Revelations 1.20, we
(23:28):
have to understand what John istelling us, what he's describing
, the mystery of the seven starswhich you saw in my right hand,
the seven golden lampstands,the seven stars are the angels
of the seven churches and theseven lampstands which you saw
(23:50):
are the seven churches.
So I had that transversed alittle bit.
The seven stars are the sevenangels, but the lampstands are
the churches.
So we have to understand that.
There are theologians andcommentators that believe the
seven stars and the seven goldenlampstands are two different
(24:14):
things.
Some individuals believe thatangels mean angelic beings
guarding the seven churches,while others believe the seven
messengers or the sevenministers are the ones
delivering this message, asthey're reading the letter to
John.
Either way, they're overseersof the church and that's what we
(24:39):
have to understand.
They're working hand in hand bythe providence of God.
So John is revealing thesethings to the seven churches
through the messengers.
God is giving this vision.
Jesus Christ is giving thisvision through John.
(25:02):
So there's a lot happeningright here the seven spirits,
and so this goes on and on andon in the book of Revelations,
and this is a beautiful book.
This is a book that is verydifficult and hard for a lot of
(25:23):
people to understand.
This book by no means is easy,and that's why we're going
through this book right now, aswe speak, and that's why at the
beginning I was talking aboutMatthew 24 and the signs of the
time, because there's quite afew different interpretations
and I believe it's veryimportant that we go through
(25:46):
this book verse by versetogether so we can get more of a
general understanding of whatJohn is revealing through Jesus
Christ, the Alpha and Omega, thebeginning of the end, which
Christ is the vision of the Sonof man.
Writing to the churches, theseven churches.
(26:08):
The historicists believe thatthese are seven different ages,
which I disagree with.
I don't believe there are sevendifferent ages, disagree with,
I don't believe there's sevendifferent ages seeing the seven
golden lampstands, the Son ofman clothed in a robe, the stars
having the keys to death inHades, and so these are very
(26:33):
important things that are goingto lead up in a dramatic play,
in the sense, to sort of speak,that we need to pay really,
really close attention to.
And he talks about Revelations 2, 1 through 7, about a letter to
Ephesus.
So let's continue reading aboutthe letter to Ephesus.
(26:56):
So let's continue reading aboutthe letter to Ephesus.
To the angel of the church ofEphesus, write these things.
I say, he who holds the sevenstars in his right hand, who
walks in the midst of the sevengolden lampstands, I know your
works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those
(27:20):
who are evil, and you havetested those who say they are
apostles and are not, and havefound them liars.
I want to stop right there,ladies and gentlemen.
Christ is encouraging,complimenting is encouraging,
(27:41):
complimenting, exhorting thechurch in Ephesus and says you
guys do not tolerate falseteachers, you do not tolerate
wolves.
And I go through this in my book, the American Jesus America's
Quest to Redefine the Savior.
And I want you to answeryourself a question as we're
reading this how many churchesin America have you seen and
(28:03):
heard entertain false preachers,wolves, liars selling the
gospel, using it as a salesmanual, hurting the congregation
, using it as a sales manual,hurting the congregation?
Luke 6, give me a tithe, giveme the 10%.
(28:23):
I've never seen a situationwhere God hasn't given you back
more for giving.
Well, that's an anathematizedinterpretation of the book of
Luke.
Those people were extremelypoor.
We know about the widow's mightand we know God honors giving.
(28:44):
But for a false wolf to preachat the pulpit, which most do in
America, and promise a return oninvestment, like it's on the
New York Stock Exchange and theSMP, is totally anti-biblical.
And that's why one of mychapters is called Materialism
(29:06):
or Messiah, because a lot ofthese churches are selling
Jesus's name.
They're just doing it in aheretical way which is fooling
the masses.
10% is the training wheels togiving, and giving to God is a
very, very good thing, it's abiblical thing, it's a mandate
thing is how much you love him.
But then a lot of wolves at thepulpit are extorting their
(29:31):
community of believers throughguilt and that is the model in
America for a lot of preachers,and I will say it and I will not
back down from it.
But look at this letter toEphesus as Christ is relaying
this information.
He says you can't bear thoseevil people.
You've tested them sayingthey're apostles.
(29:52):
A lot of people now in thechurches are saying they're
apostles, you have found themliars.
They're Bereans, they'retesting the scripture, just like
Paul said, and you havepersevered and you have patience
and have labored for mynamesake and you have not grown
(30:14):
weary.
So they're getting complimentedin Ephesus on.
They are staying strong todoctrine, they love the doctrine
and we get a view of the churchin its totality, in its whole,
and what Christ wants from thechurch.
But he does have a situationhere, jesus, and he has a charge
(30:38):
to bring against Ephesus.
So their teaching is spot on,their non-tolerance is spot on.
But we have a problem here, inverse 4.
Christ says nevertheless, Ihave this against you, that you
have lost your first love.
(30:59):
What is the first love thatJesus is talking about?
What is Christ trying to tellthe church in Ephesus?
That they have lost their firstlove.
Remember, therefore, from whereyou have fallen.
Repent and do your first works,else I will come to you quickly
(31:22):
and remove your lampstand,which is your church, remember
from its place unless you repent.
But this you have, that youhate, the deeds of the
Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
He who has an ear, let him hearwhat the Spirit says to the
churches, and that's capitalSpirit right.
(31:44):
To him who overcomes, I willgive you from the tree of life
which is in the midst of theparadise of God.
So we have a lot going on here.
Their teaching is spot on, theirnon-tolerance for people that
(32:04):
are lying is spot on, and thiscity, ephesus, has a population
around 250,000.
So it's a big city, it's one ofthe most largest, important
cities in the Roman province ofAsia.
But they had a cult within thiscity and it was devoted to
Artemis Diana, and so you had alot of pagan worship going on in
(32:28):
this city.
The temple to the goddesses, tothe goddess, and this was
considered one of the sevenwonders of the world.
So the church of Ephesus wasestablished by Paul in a city
that was heretical, thatpracticed a lot of cultic
(32:49):
worship, and that was probablyvery difficult for the Ephesians
.
Can you imagine being surroundedby a city of pagan cult worship
?
And there had to be persecutiongoing on?
There just had to be a lottrying to survive an environment
of such, and so their love,their love, has grown cold.
(33:14):
They've forgotten their firstlove, and there's probably
elements of some peoplepracticing idolatry and not
staying true to the word.
And so that is a situation thatis going on.
This church is being tested.
Man, I could imagine if that wasgoing on in our day, how we
(33:35):
would hold up we can't even holdup in a lot of these churches,
in a system of nothing butmaterialism and luxuries that
are beyond anything we couldimagine.
To me, we haven't even beentested in America yet we have
not even dealt with a situationclose to this, and so that is
(34:00):
the situation that's going on,and Christ, the one that holds
the stars in his right hand inthe midst of the seven golden
lampstands, what that has to dowith is Jesus' sovereignty and
his majesty is he's controllingall of this.
He is God, he is Jesus, he isthe son of God, he is the high
(34:27):
priest and he affirms theknowledge of the positive things
that they're doing.
I mean, their labor is right on, their patience is right on,
it's what he loves about thechurch and they don't tolerate
evil.
And they were exercising a lotof discernment on keeping a lot
(34:47):
of these false actors out of thechurch and this was a beautiful
thing.
Can you imagine how much troubleour churches are in?
We are in a lot of trouble herein America.
I mean, we focus on coffeeshops and programs and all of
(35:12):
these things, and people leavethe church and a lot of them are
angry.
During the day, right when theyleave, they're almost ramming
people off the freeway and it'salmost like a lot of the love
ends where the door meets, thedoor jam and they walk out.
I'm not being judgmental, but Isee it and this is a problem in
(35:33):
our modern day churches.
You walk out, you go right backinto the world of
self-centeredness and idolatryof I am my own God, and I'm
encouraging all believers tostay strong, to reject the false
teaching, to reject the lies,to don't fall victim to the
(35:58):
devil's deeds, but stay true toteaching.
Don't forget your first love.
And Christ tells the churchrepent and do the things that
you need to do, that you did atfirst Meaning.
We all need to repent, I needto repent, we all need to repent
(36:19):
and always come back to ourfirst love every single morning.
And Jesus condemns theNicolaitans and their heretical
sect and their name literallymeans victory people.
And they promoted falseteaching, idolatry, immorality,
(36:41):
and they basically taught thedisgusting edicts of Balaam and
Jezebel, as you look at in verse14 and 20.
And the Ephesian church said wedetest Balaam, we detest
Jezebel, and Jezebel was a very,very, very evil, wicked woman,
(37:06):
ladies and gentlemen, and hername lives on in infamy to this
very day.
So Christ commends this church.
He says you've resisted evil,you have vanquished the false
apostles, the Nicolaitans.
You want nothing to do withtheir teacher or their
(37:30):
traditions and their teachers,because they were pure, pure
evil that were bringing down thechurch, like a lot of false
teachers are doing this today.
They're Nicolaitans and they'redoing the same thing and
they're just calling itsomething else.
And Nicholas was the main guythat was starting this cult.
(37:51):
That's why it started andthat's why it was called the
Nicolaitans.
And we can go back and we cango look at Acts 6, 5.
They became a heretical sect.
So John is writing as kind oflike an amanuensis, in a sense,
(38:11):
the vision that Christ isrevealing to him.
They have not become weary.
They forgot about their firstlove, and so that is the thing
that Christ has to bring againstthem.
But they're loyal when it comesto the word.
(38:32):
Christ says he gives a warningI can remove your lampstand.
This does not have to do withthe second coming.
I don't believe it has to dowith an admonishment of judgment
.
So Christ is saying hey, girdyourself up and get back to the
(38:57):
basics.
I need you to do these things.
I need you to come back to me.
I love you and I do not want tolose this church and I do not
want to remove the lampstand.
I want to keep the lampstandstrong and I want you to conquer
(39:21):
so you can eat from the tree oflife.
And these are what he's sayingto the seven churches, because
you've got to remember, theseven churches are the light of
the world.
The lampstands light up thedarkness the world.
The lampstands light up thedarkness and I really want to go
(39:44):
through.
And I want to talk about theletter to Smyrna and we're going
to stop after this letterbecause this is going to take a
long time to go through thisbook.
I mean, we're basically justhitting the introduction Letter
to Smyrna, revelations 2, 8through 11.
So remember the church inEphesus.
(40:05):
They don't tolerate no falseteaching but they're losing
their love and I believe part ofthat love was the love amongst
each other.
They were headstrong in theirtheology but they were
headstrong in their theology butthey were weak in their hearts
showing love to one another andto jesus christ himself.
So the love kind of grew cold.
(40:26):
It grew cold but the theologywas spot on.
And I've noticed when I went toa lot of protestant churches
around the valley not a lot, soI don't want to say that, but
went to a couple and that was asituation of one church I had to
leave.
The theology was just amazing,but the heart of the church, the
(40:47):
love was cold and so I left.
Revelations 2, 8 through 11.
And to the angel of the churchof Smyrna write these things say
the first and the last, he whowas dead and came to life.
I know your works, tribulationand poverty.
So this is a poor church.
(41:09):
They don't have a lot of money.
Christ is looking at theirworks, but you are rich works
but you are rich and I know theblasphemy of those who say they
were jews and are not but arethe synagogue of satan.
So there's an element of jewsthat are blaspheming the
christians and this and thechurch in smyrna and jesus is
(41:34):
saying that they are thesynagogue of Satan, that they
are anti-Christ, that they areworking against the church.
And he is witnessing this andhe's not going to tolerate it
much longer.
(41:54):
Tolerate it much longer that heis going to deal with this and
he's encouraging them andpraising them and he sees their
suffering.
And this was a big city.
It was a harbor city and it wasright around 35 miles north of
(42:15):
Ephesus, 35 miles north ofEphesus, and this church in
Smyrna, in this city.
It was a beautiful city, it hada civic pride and it was
supposedly the place to Homer'sbirthplace, where he was born.
It was an important center ofemperor worship and a home to
(42:39):
the goddess Roma.
So you have a big pagan element.
One of the greatestphilosophers was born there.
So there was a high degree ofidolatry going on there and
these Jews were being persecuted.
This Jewish church, thisGentile church I should say the
mixture of both it was beingpersecuted by Jews.
(43:02):
Jews were afflicting them,gentiles were afflicting this
church, calling those Jews thesynagogue of Satan.
We have to remember, smyrna hada population of Jews and they
were persecuting Christiansinstead of recognizing who these
(43:28):
Christians were and who theseChristians were worshiping.
But Jesus says this Do not fearany of those things which you
are about to suffer.
Indeed, the devil is about tothrow some of you in prison,
that you may be tested.
(43:48):
You will have tribulation forten days.
Be faithful unto death and Iwill give you the crown of life.
I want you to think about that.
They're going to throw you inprison.
You're going to face an intense, brief persecution and testing
(44:12):
and you can possibly die.
That's a big deal.
That's not something to takelightly.
I have not even sufferedanything close to that and I
pray to God, if you're listeningto this radio show and you're
in a time of tribulation andsuffering there are people that
listen to this show in Africaand Sudan and all over the world
(44:35):
that I encourage you to pray toChrist to give you that faith,
because that faith is a gift andI do not take it lightly and do
not say this lightheartedly,because I've never had to face a
persecution as such and Ibelieve the only way I could is
(44:56):
if God strengthened me.
I don't have it within myselfto do it, there's just no way.
I couldn't do it if and if Iwanted to, and and that's a
situation to where Christ has todo this that Christ has to come
through, and I'm praying forall of you that are going
(45:17):
through this persecution, and Ipray, in your time of testing,
which will probably come toUnited States one day, that we
can all get through this andthat I can be a faithful martyr
of that time ever called.
And that is not an easy task.
It's, I believe, those peoplein heaven have such rewards and
held to the highest degree byChrist, because it's not an easy
(45:41):
thing and an easy burden tobear.
He who has an ear, let him hearwhat the Spirit says to the
churches.
He who overcomes shall not behurt by the second death, so
that second death will notdestroy you.
The lake of fire, hades shallnot take your life from you.
(46:06):
Christ is saying even if theykill you, the second death,
which is the judgment, so tospeak, for the righteous and the
damned, that will have no powerover you, because Christ is the
arbitrator of everything, heholds the keys in his hand, he's
the one who grants eternal life.
(46:28):
During this time of persecutionand tribulation, as it's
escalating I mean a generationlater, polycarp suffered
martyrdom, polycarp waspersecuted, polycarp was
(46:48):
destroyed and he hung in thereto the very last moment.
Ladies and gentlemen, christ isthe first and the last he's
saying even in your poverty,you're rich.
I remember a story where Itraveled all the way to a small,
(47:09):
small, small city of buckeyetown and the elders gather
around me and they said thechurch was almost 100 years old
and the elders and the pastor gowhy won't our church grow?
All these other churches gotpeople, they got wealth, they
got riches and they were a veryfaithful church.
I just walked in.
(47:29):
It was like a wild west scene.
I walked in and sat in the backand just a new person me coming
in.
They were just amazed becausethey never had that in a long
time.
And I told them you guys are afaithful church, don't covet so
many expensive things in yourchurch and programs.
I understand why you're theposition you're in and money's a
(47:52):
good thing, but also it cancorrupt.
The money can corrupt I've seenit a lot in churches and money
becomes worship.
So just hold on to your firstlove, which is Jesus Christ, and
do not let that go to the very,very, very end.
(48:13):
And if you look at this church,this church was extremely poor
compared to even that smallchurch in Buckeye.
They really didn't haveanything.
They were poor and materialthings.
And Christ says you are stillrich.
You're still rich in love.
(48:33):
And that's what Jesus is sayingin love.
And that's what Jesus is sayingand that's what we have to
understand.
And that's not an easy thing todo in America.
It's a very difficult thing todo.
And so he's encouraging them.
(48:54):
He said the devil is going topersecute them and try to
destroy them.
He said the devil is going topersecute them and try to
destroy them.
So I want you to understandsomething, ladies and gentlemen
I want you to understand thatthere's two churches.
As John starts writing to theseseven, as this drama starts
(49:15):
unfolding, we've got Smyrna, avery poor church, and they're
going to be persecuted.
We got one that won't toleratefalse doctrine, but their love
has grown cold.
This is a warning to allchurches across the globe.
This is a warning to allchurches across the globe.
(49:37):
This is a warning to allchurches, especially in America,
to repent for the materialism,to show love, to not lose that
love.
Do not focus on the money, donot focus on the material
possessions, and don't tellcertain people that are serving
in ministry that I've heard ofsay you just don't fit in here.
(50:00):
We're not a business.
We carry on the business of theMessiah.
Our trademark is loving oneanother and forgiveness, and
there is a place for everysingle Christian in the church.
It should not be a good oldboys club and people should be
(50:22):
serving.
There should even be teachersthat have the ability to teach
without a PhD or a master'sdegree or a doctorate, and we
need to spend more timespreading them, tentacles of
love out and using people,spreading them, tentacles of
love out and using people, andstop adopting the mindset of the
(50:42):
qualifications have to be builton a formal education.
I have a formal education and Ican tell you this every day
there are people sitting in yourcongregation that are powerful,
filled, filled with the Spirit,that want to be used, that are
not being recognized.
Do not let love grow cold.
(51:03):
Hold on to the Word, especiallyif you start getting money in
your churches.
So this book of Revelations,before the end of the world
comes and before the persecutioncomes for the Jews, and the
seals start being broken and thetrumpets start being blown to
(51:25):
enact what is being described inthe seals being broken is a
description in an unfoldingdrama, but there is a warning to
all churches going out beforethis play goes forward.
Ladies and gentlemen, we aregoing to end here.
I love you, but I want to prayfor you before I exit this show.
(51:52):
Most glorious God, thank you forgiving us a warning and
admonition as we start andjourney through the book of
Revelations.
We love you, we recognize youas the glorious King you are as
the loving Christ.
Fill our hearts with joy andnever let us forget our first
(52:12):
love.
Let us not grow cold.
And when we do receive richesand blessing, please keep us
humble.
We beg that you keep us humble.
These material possessionscannot help us get closer to you
.
They can be a stumbling block.
(52:33):
And help us bless others withthose possessions.
And, lord, let us not getpuffed up with knowledge.
And when we do, bring us downto a state of humbleness through
a person or circumstance, andwe ask that you bless, more than
anyone anything, those that aresuffering martyrdom and
(52:55):
persecution for your name's sake.
Lord God, we love you, we honoryou and we bless you, and we
pray that this message goes outto the very end of the earth.
Amen, ladies and gentlemen,until next time.
This is Pastor Joshua.
God bless you all.
I love you and I will hear fromyou soon.
(53:17):
God bless you all.
I love you and I will hear fromyou soon.
God bless you.
Speaker 3 (53:37):
And he is jealous.
For me, loves like a hurricane.
I am a tree, bending beneaththe weight of his wind and mercy
.
When, all of a sudden, I amunaware of these afflictions,
eclipsed by glory, and I realizejust how beautiful you are and
(54:05):
how great your affections arefor me.
Oh, how he loves us, oh, oh,how he loves us all, how he
loves us, how he loves us all.
And he is jealous for me, loveslike a hurricane.
(54:46):
I am a tree, bending the knee,the weight of his wind and mercy
.
When, all of a sudden, I amunaware of these afflictions,
eclipsed by glory, and I realizejust how beautiful you are and
(55:13):
how great your affections arefor me.
Oh, how he loves, yeah, he lovesus.
Oh, how he loves us, oh, how heloves us, oh, how he loves, and
(55:39):
we are His portion and he isour prize, drawn to redemption
by the grace in His eyes.
If His grace is an ocean, we'reall sinking and heaven meets
(56:00):
earth like an unforeseen kissand my heart turns violently
inside of my chest.
I don't have time to maintainthese regrets when I think about
the way, oh, how he loves us,oh, oh, how he loves us, how he
(56:31):
loves us, oh, how he loves.
Yeah, he loves us.
Yeah, he loves us.
Oh how he loves us.
Oh how he loves us.
Oh how he loves.
Oh, what love.
(56:51):
Yeah, he loves us.
Yeah, he loves us, how he lovesus.
Oh how he loves us.
All Close that song.
Live from the Saints headquarters in Tallahassee,
Arizona.
Spreading the gospel, equippingthe Saints, standing for the
word of truth, proclaiming God'sgrace.
Now, on a podcast near you,welcome your host, Pastor Joshua
, on.
The Saints Will OvercomeMinistries.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.
This is Pastor Joshua.
I am back.
It's an honor and a pleasure tobe with you.
Ladies and gentlemen, last timewe talked about the
introduction to Revelations.
Ladies and gentlemen, last timewe talked about the
introduction to Revelations andI really want to talk about this
introduction a little bit moreand my particular stance on what
I believe about Revelations.
(01:14):
I believe that the majority ofRevelations was fulfilled in the
first century after the deathof Christ.
I don't believe that themajority of it takes place in
the future, and I ask that youbear with me, you stay with me,
you understand my position as wego along and journey through
(01:35):
this book of revelations, and Iwant to read a chapter to you so
you can get my position, andthen we'll carry on where we
left off.
This is Matthew 24.
In this particular chapter, alot of people talk about and
believe that this is whathappens at the end of the times,
(01:57):
at the end of the world.
So we're going to start onMatthew 24, verse 1.
So here we go, guys, here we go, ladies and gentlemen.
Jesus left the temple and waswalking away with his disciples
came up to him to call hisattention to its buildings.
Do you see?
All of these things, he askedTruly.
(02:20):
I tell you not one stone herewill be left upon another.
Every one will be thrown down.
As Jesus was sitting on theMount of Olives, the disciples
came to him privately.
Tell us.
They said when will thesethings happen and what will be
the sign of your coming at theend of the age?
Now, a lot of individualsinterpret this different.
(02:44):
Now, a lot of individualsinterpret this different.
And the New InternationalVersion says the end of the age.
Some dynamic equivalents orcontinuums will say at the end
of the world.
So I like this interpretationbecause I believe it's the end
of the age, and the end of theJewish age, in a sense, of this
(03:05):
particular time frame in history.
Now, what does the word comingmean?
Does it mean coming at the endof the world, as many futurists
believe when they interpretatethis verse?
Some commentators, there's manyindividual theologians that
(03:26):
believe coming means coming injudgment, and Matthew 24 has to
do with the genre of aapocalyptic judgment language
that this chapter is written in,which I'm basically sympathetic
, to which that's my belief.
(03:46):
Now let's look at Jesus'sresponse to his disciples.
Jesus answered watch out thatno one deceives you, for many
will come in my name, claiming Iam the Messiah, and will
deceive many.
There were those individuals inthe first century that were
(04:07):
claiming to be Messiah.
So this happened in the firstcentury and this was happening.
You will hear of wars andrumors of wars, but see to it
that you are not alarmed.
Such things must happen, butthe end is still to come.
Nation will rise against nationand kingdom against kingdom.
(04:29):
There will be famines andearthquakes in various places.
All of these things are thebeginning of birth pains and you
know what.
This is true, as it was backthen, as it is now.
There's wars and rumors of wars.
(04:50):
Look what's going on today withRussia, with Ukraine, with Gaza
, with Israel, with the UnitedStates getting involved.
So there's a far, in the senseof far outreaching prophetic
fulfillment of this, but there'sa historical fulfillment of
this which I believe Matthew 24is talking about.
(05:14):
We have to remember, ladies andgentlemen, that the Jews, they
were anti-Christ back then andI'm not anti-Semitic by any
means.
So please, please, nobodymisinterpret that we have
Judeo-Christian values, but theyactually believe that he is not
the Messiah.
They wanted a physical Messiah,they wanted a king like David,
(05:40):
and Christ is predicting ajudgment against the nation of
Israel and he's going to comeand judge them and that's what
he's going to do for theirapostasy, for their blasphemy.
And this takes place.
(06:01):
And this was fulfilledliterally in AD 70 under Titus.
Titus destroyed Jerusalem andthe temple buildings
Figuratively.
No stone was left upon oneanother.
There was an excavation done in1968 and it covered a large
(06:23):
amount of these stones.
False messiahs, wars, famines,earthquakes, all occurred in the
40 years between Christ'scrucifixion, around AD 30-33,
and the destruction of thetemple happened in AD 70.
Josephus, a first centuryJewish historian, mentions all
(06:47):
of these things, all of theseacts.
So we have to understand andput all of these things into
context.
The labor pains theydemonstrate a baby that the body
wants to deliver.
So all these things are goingto happen persecution, martyrdom
(07:10):
, apostasy, false prophets.
The wickedness of the nation,ladies and gentlemen, is what is
occurring.
Then you will be handed over.
Well, let's just back up alittle bit about the deception,
about the wars, the rumors ofwars.
And it says all these thingswill be the beginning of birth
(07:32):
pains, famines and earthquakes.
Then you will be handed over tobe persecuted and be put to
death and you will be hated byall nations because of me.
At that time, many will turnaway from the faith and will
betray and hate each other, andmany false prophets will appear
and deceive many people.
Because of the increase ofwickedness, the love of most
(07:55):
will grow cold, but the one whostands firm to the end will be
saved and this gospel of thekingdom will be preached in the
whole world as the testimony toall nations.
Then the end will come.
There's a disagreement on whatall nations mean, all the
nations within the Roman Empire,and the end will come.
(08:17):
The end of what will come, well, like I believe the end of the
actual Jewish system will come,well, like I believe the end of
the actual jewish system willcome and the end of the actual
world in the sense of the modernworld in that geographical
location.
And that's what I believe.
(08:39):
What is happening here is jesusis prophesying judgment on the
Jewish population for abandoninghim as the Messiah coming to
look over them, wanting to lovethem, wanting to care for them.
But that did not happen.
(09:00):
So let's continue reading,ladies and gentlemen.
So when you see, standing inthe holy place, the abomination
that causes desolation, spokenthrough by the prophet daniel,
let the reader understand, thenlet those who are in jude flee
(09:24):
to the mountains.
And this is very important.
What do we have going on here?
The abomination that causesdesolation, and this was
predicted in Daniel 9, 27, 11,31, and 12, 12.
And a lot of individualscommentators believe that this
has to do with Antiochus,epiphanes and the desecration of
(09:49):
the temple, which is the holyplace, and that was fulfilled in
167 BC.
But there's a future event yetto come, that when Rome
destroyed the temple in AD 70.
So what I believe the comingmeans in this scripture is the
(10:14):
coming of judgment, the end ofthe world, the Jewish system as
the Jews know it, for abandoningand betraying Christ.
Not all, because there was avery, very faithful remnant
144,000, that fled to Pala.
That we will see in Revelations.
But these are the jews, themajority that make up the nation
(10:39):
that abandoned the messiah, andchrist isn't having it.
He's going to judge.
It will be a dreadful judgment,and he talks about the
abomination that causesdesolation through the prophet
daniel and he says let those whoare in Judea flee to the
(11:00):
mountains.
Let no one on the housetop godown and take anything out of
the house.
We don't have housetops here inAmerica.
But every Jew's house had alittle porch on the top where
they could have a lookout andthen go sit up there, and it was
a common thing.
On the housetop built in thecompound Let no one go into the
(11:22):
field, go back to get his cloakBecause it was an agrarian
society.
How dreadful it would be inthose days for pregnant women
and nursing mothers.
Pray that your flight will nottake place in the winter or on
the Sabbath, for then there willbe great distress, unequaled
for the beginning of the worlduntil now, never to be equaled
(11:47):
again.
So we have to understand Christis trying to warn his people.
So as we move in to thisbeautiful book of Revelations
and we start from Revelationchapter 1 and we go from verse
12 to 16 that's what we'repicking up today, ladies and
(12:08):
gentlemen, we have to understandthat I'm addressing this book,
pastor Joshua, from thestandpoint, the vantage point of
the judgment taking place onthe Jewish system and nation for
abandoning Christ.
And God is going to use theRoman Empire to administer that
judgment, which is not a goodnation itself, which is a wicked
(12:33):
system and a wicked nationitself.
But this is what God chooses todo.
So not everything was fulfilledin the first century.
But a lot was fulfilled in thefirst century and you'll see as
we go down how I lay thattimeline out as I go down
(12:54):
through Revelations and thehistory of Revelations and I
will throw some idealist view inthere, a little bit of
historicist and futurist.
But my main teaching when we gothrough this book is a
methodology, a partial preteristmethodology, but a methodology
of going through it andunderstanding what it is and not
(13:15):
specifically staying adherent100 to the partial preterist
view, because I believe allthese views that are explained
by commentators and theologians,scholars, are very, very good
points in each and every one ofthem.
So let's pick up at Revelations1, 12-16.
(13:38):
This is what John is seeing.
Then I turned to see the voicethat spoke with me and, having
turned, I saw seven goldenlampstands.
In the midst of the sevenlampstands one was like the Son
of man, clothed with a garmentdown to his feet and girded
(14:00):
about the chest with a goldenband.
His head and hair were whitelike wool.
And I want to stop right there.
You have a lot of African people.
Black people.
They'll say he was blackbecause his hair was like wool.
People they'll say you know, hewas black because his hair was
(14:22):
like wool.
And this is not talking aboutwhat his hair was, and this
scripture on verse 14 is talkingabout that.
His head and hair were likewool, as white as snow.
So it's talking about a color,it's not talking about the
texture.
So I want you to understand onething, ladies and gentlemen I'm
(14:45):
married to a black woman, whichI love her very much.
But I want to tell you guyssomething this book is written
symbolically and so we can'ttake the majority of this book
literally.
The methodology approach inthis genre of writing is mostly
symbolic, but literalism isappropriate to its
(15:09):
interpretation of the book ofRevelations to some degree.
As white as snow and his eyeslike a flame of fire.
Basically it's piercing vision.
Christ sees all.
His hair is white as snow.
Eternal Christ is eternal.
(15:30):
The wisdom of Christ.
His feet were like fine brass,his judgment treading in the
winepress as this book isunfolding, as is refined in a
furnace, and his voice as thesound of many waters.
He had in his right hand sevenstars out of his mouth when a
(15:53):
sharp, two-edged sword.
His countenance was like thesun shining in its strength.
Sword.
His countenance was like thesun shining in its strength.
So he has in his right handseven stars, which is the seven
churches that John is writing toand out of his mouth.
What a two-edged sword, and wehave to remember this two-edged
(16:17):
sword.
Is the gospel going out, is thejudgment going out?
Happen to the nation of Israel?
And so that is what's going onover here right now, in the book
(16:49):
of Revelations.
And you have this golden bandworn across his chest, which is
a symbol of high rank in theancient world.
You have a long linen garmentwhich is priestly.
Christ is the high priest.
(17:09):
He has white hair, which ishonor and wisdom, like I was
saying, wisdom before flamingeyes conveying his vision,
seeing all, piercing all thejudgment.
And so that's what we have tounderstand about this verse.
We have to understand is Christis all powerful, christ is all
(17:37):
seeing, christ has all seeing,christ has all knowledge.
This is the one that is goingand that is worthy of breaking
every single seal, and we willsee that, as John is weeping and
(17:58):
sad and waiting, who is thisone that can open the seal?
It's this drama unfolding, thisbeautiful drama that's
unfolding, that we all need tosee and that we all need to take
in to our spirits and be in aweof what is actually happening
(18:22):
in this situation right now.
So if we go back to Daniel,chapter 10, and we read verses 1
through 4, we can startunlocking what Daniel's talking
about when he witnesses themajesty.
(18:43):
So let me read Daniel, chapter10, verse one through four.
In the third year of King Cyrusof Persia, a revelation was
given to Daniel, who was calledBelshazzar.
Its message was true and itconcerned a great war.
The understanding of themessage came to him in a vision.
(19:03):
At that time I, daniel, mournedfor three weeks.
I ate no choice food, no meator wine touched my lips and I
used no lotions at all until thethree weeks were over.
So Daniel, in a sense, is inthis time of cleansing,
spiritual cleansing, in thistime of mourning as his vision
(19:24):
starts unfolding.
For Daniel it's a time ofsoberness and a time of
seriousness, and I don't doubtDaniel was full of anxiety and
angst as his vision is beinguncovered and unveiled for him.
And as we pick up in verse 4, onthe 24th day of the first month
(19:46):
, I was standing on the bank ofthe great river, the Tigris.
I looked up and there before mewas a man dressed in linen,
with a belt of fine gold fromEupaz around his waist.
His body was like topaz, hisface like lightning, his eyes
(20:07):
like flaming torches, his armsand legs like the gleam of
burnished bronze and his voicesounded like a multitude.
So if we compare this to whatJohn is saying, we can
understand.
It's not saying what Christlooks like, in a sense, but what
(20:30):
Christ is like, and thisapocalyptic language is
extraordinary because John isconveying the majesty and the
glory of Christ.
So we talk about the sevenstars, which are the seven
(20:50):
churches right the two-edgedsword, and that verse is given
as we continue, of these sevenstars in verse 20.
So let's go from Revelations 1through 17 to 19 now.
And when I saw him, john that is, I fell at his feet as dead,
(21:12):
but he laid his right hand on me, saying to me do not be afraid,
I am alive forevermore.
Amen, and I have the keys toHades and of death.
(21:33):
Write these things which youhave seen and the things which
which are and the things thatwill take place after this.
So if we notice, john falls tohis feet like he was dead when
he sees the majesty of christ,because it was so awe-inspiring
(21:55):
and his presence was so powerfulhe could barely even handle it.
That's how majestic God is,christ is, and he held the keys
to Hades and death and he raisedhimself with his own power,
(22:17):
with the power of God.
John is seeing a miraculous,miraculous vision.
Hades will not prevail againstthe church.
That comes from Matthew 16, 18.
And Jesus is the one who holdsthem keys to Hades and death.
(22:38):
He can unlock and open thegates, he can shut the door and
he resurrects the saints on thelast day.
So, as John is told to writethese things down, which he has
seen, he's in awe of what he iswitnessing in front of him
through this vision.
So this is an amazing, amazingsituation that is happening as
(23:04):
John is writing all of this down, the apocalypse, and we have to
understand that.
I believe the majority thatthis is taking place in the
first century.
When we talk about the sevenstars in Revelations 1.20, we
(23:28):
have to understand what John istelling us, what he's describing
, the mystery of the seven starswhich you saw in my right hand,
the seven golden lampstands,the seven stars are the angels
of the seven churches and theseven lampstands which you saw
(23:50):
are the seven churches.
So I had that transversed alittle bit.
The seven stars are the sevenangels, but the lampstands are
the churches.
So we have to understand that.
There are theologians andcommentators that believe the
seven stars and the seven goldenlampstands are two different
(24:14):
things.
Some individuals believe thatangels mean angelic beings
guarding the seven churches,while others believe the seven
messengers or the sevenministers are the ones
delivering this message, asthey're reading the letter to
John.
Either way, they're overseersof the church and that's what we
(24:39):
have to understand.
They're working hand in hand bythe providence of God.
So John is revealing thesethings to the seven churches
through the messengers.
God is giving this vision.
Jesus Christ is giving thisvision through John.
(25:02):
So there's a lot happeningright here the seven spirits,
and so this goes on and on andon in the book of Revelations,
and this is a beautiful book.
This is a book that is verydifficult and hard for a lot of
(25:23):
people to understand.
This book by no means is easy,and that's why we're going
through this book right now, aswe speak, and that's why at the
beginning I was talking aboutMatthew 24 and the signs of the
time, because there's quite afew different interpretations
and I believe it's veryimportant that we go through
(25:46):
this book verse by versetogether so we can get more of a
general understanding of whatJohn is revealing through Jesus
Christ, the Alpha and Omega, thebeginning of the end, which
Christ is the vision of the Sonof man.
Writing to the churches, theseven churches.
(26:08):
The historicists believe thatthese are seven different ages,
which I disagree with.
I don't believe there are sevendifferent ages, disagree with,
I don't believe there's sevendifferent ages seeing the seven
golden lampstands, the Son ofman clothed in a robe, the stars
having the keys to death inHades, and so these are very
(26:33):
important things that are goingto lead up in a dramatic play,
in the sense, to sort of speak,that we need to pay really,
really close attention to.
And he talks about Revelations 2, 1 through 7, about a letter to
Ephesus.
So let's continue reading aboutthe letter to Ephesus.
(26:56):
So let's continue reading aboutthe letter to Ephesus.
To the angel of the church ofEphesus, write these things.
I say, he who holds the sevenstars in his right hand, who
walks in the midst of the sevengolden lampstands, I know your
works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those
(27:20):
who are evil, and you havetested those who say they are
apostles and are not, and havefound them liars.
I want to stop right there,ladies and gentlemen.
Christ is encouraging,complimenting is encouraging,
(27:41):
complimenting, exhorting thechurch in Ephesus and says you
guys do not tolerate falseteachers, you do not tolerate
wolves.
And I go through this in my book, the American Jesus America's
Quest to Redefine the Savior.
And I want you to answeryourself a question as we're
reading this how many churchesin America have you seen and
(28:03):
heard entertain false preachers,wolves, liars selling the
gospel, using it as a salesmanual, hurting the congregation
, using it as a sales manual,hurting the congregation?
Luke 6, give me a tithe, giveme the 10%.
(28:23):
I've never seen a situationwhere God hasn't given you back
more for giving.
Well, that's an anathematizedinterpretation of the book of
Luke.
Those people were extremelypoor.
We know about the widow's mightand we know God honors giving.
(28:44):
But for a false wolf to preachat the pulpit, which most do in
America, and promise a return oninvestment, like it's on the
New York Stock Exchange and theSMP, is totally anti-biblical.
And that's why one of mychapters is called Materialism
(29:06):
or Messiah, because a lot ofthese churches are selling
Jesus's name.
They're just doing it in aheretical way which is fooling
the masses.
10% is the training wheels togiving, and giving to God is a
very, very good thing, it's abiblical thing, it's a mandate
thing is how much you love him.
But then a lot of wolves at thepulpit are extorting their
(29:31):
community of believers throughguilt and that is the model in
America for a lot of preachers,and I will say it and I will not
back down from it.
But look at this letter toEphesus as Christ is relaying
this information.
He says you can't bear thoseevil people.
You've tested them sayingthey're apostles.
(29:52):
A lot of people now in thechurches are saying they're
apostles, you have found themliars.
They're Bereans, they'retesting the scripture, just like
Paul said, and you havepersevered and you have patience
and have labored for mynamesake and you have not grown
(30:14):
weary.
So they're getting complimentedin Ephesus on.
They are staying strong todoctrine, they love the doctrine
and we get a view of the churchin its totality, in its whole,
and what Christ wants from thechurch.
But he does have a situationhere, jesus, and he has a charge
(30:38):
to bring against Ephesus.
So their teaching is spot on,their non-tolerance is spot on.
But we have a problem here, inverse 4.
Christ says nevertheless, Ihave this against you, that you
have lost your first love.
(30:59):
What is the first love thatJesus is talking about?
What is Christ trying to tellthe church in Ephesus?
That they have lost their firstlove.
Remember, therefore, from whereyou have fallen.
Repent and do your first works,else I will come to you quickly
(31:22):
and remove your lampstand,which is your church, remember
from its place unless you repent.
But this you have, that youhate, the deeds of the
Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
He who has an ear, let him hearwhat the Spirit says to the
churches, and that's capitalSpirit right.
(31:44):
To him who overcomes, I willgive you from the tree of life
which is in the midst of theparadise of God.
So we have a lot going on here.
Their teaching is spot on, theirnon-tolerance for people that
(32:04):
are lying is spot on, and thiscity, ephesus, has a population
around 250,000.
So it's a big city, it's one ofthe most largest, important
cities in the Roman province ofAsia.
But they had a cult within thiscity and it was devoted to
Artemis Diana, and so you had alot of pagan worship going on in
(32:28):
this city.
The temple to the goddesses, tothe goddess, and this was
considered one of the sevenwonders of the world.
So the church of Ephesus wasestablished by Paul in a city
that was heretical, thatpracticed a lot of cultic
(32:49):
worship, and that was probablyvery difficult for the Ephesians
.
Can you imagine being surroundedby a city of pagan cult worship
?
And there had to be persecutiongoing on?
There just had to be a lottrying to survive an environment
of such, and so their love,their love, has grown cold.
(33:14):
They've forgotten their firstlove, and there's probably
elements of some peoplepracticing idolatry and not
staying true to the word.
And so that is a situation thatis going on.
This church is being tested.
Man, I could imagine if that wasgoing on in our day, how we
(33:35):
would hold up we can't even holdup in a lot of these churches,
in a system of nothing butmaterialism and luxuries that
are beyond anything we couldimagine.
To me, we haven't even beentested in America yet we have
not even dealt with a situationclose to this, and so that is
(34:00):
the situation that's going on,and Christ, the one that holds
the stars in his right hand inthe midst of the seven golden
lampstands, what that has to dowith is Jesus' sovereignty and
his majesty is he's controllingall of this.
He is God, he is Jesus, he isthe son of God, he is the high
(34:27):
priest and he affirms theknowledge of the positive things
that they're doing.
I mean, their labor is right on, their patience is right on,
it's what he loves about thechurch and they don't tolerate
evil.
And they were exercising a lotof discernment on keeping a lot
(34:47):
of these false actors out of thechurch and this was a beautiful
thing.
Can you imagine how much troubleour churches are in?
We are in a lot of trouble herein America.
I mean, we focus on coffeeshops and programs and all of
(35:12):
these things, and people leavethe church and a lot of them are
angry.
During the day, right when theyleave, they're almost ramming
people off the freeway and it'salmost like a lot of the love
ends where the door meets, thedoor jam and they walk out.
I'm not being judgmental, but Isee it and this is a problem in
(35:33):
our modern day churches.
You walk out, you go right backinto the world of
self-centeredness and idolatryof I am my own God, and I'm
encouraging all believers tostay strong, to reject the false
teaching, to reject the lies,to don't fall victim to the
(35:58):
devil's deeds, but stay true toteaching.
Don't forget your first love.
And Christ tells the churchrepent and do the things that
you need to do, that you did atfirst Meaning.
We all need to repent, I needto repent, we all need to repent
(36:19):
and always come back to ourfirst love every single morning.
And Jesus condemns theNicolaitans and their heretical
sect and their name literallymeans victory people.
And they promoted falseteaching, idolatry, immorality,
(36:41):
and they basically taught thedisgusting edicts of Balaam and
Jezebel, as you look at in verse14 and 20.
And the Ephesian church said wedetest Balaam, we detest
Jezebel, and Jezebel was a very,very, very evil, wicked woman,
(37:06):
ladies and gentlemen, and hername lives on in infamy to this
very day.
So Christ commends this church.
He says you've resisted evil,you have vanquished the false
apostles, the Nicolaitans.
You want nothing to do withtheir teacher or their
(37:30):
traditions and their teachers,because they were pure, pure
evil that were bringing down thechurch, like a lot of false
teachers are doing this today.
They're Nicolaitans and they'redoing the same thing and
they're just calling itsomething else.
And Nicholas was the main guythat was starting this cult.
(37:51):
That's why it started andthat's why it was called the
Nicolaitans.
And we can go back and we cango look at Acts 6, 5.
They became a heretical sect.
So John is writing as kind oflike an amanuensis, in a sense,
(38:11):
the vision that Christ isrevealing to him.
They have not become weary.
They forgot about their firstlove, and so that is the thing
that Christ has to bring againstthem.
But they're loyal when it comesto the word.
(38:32):
Christ says he gives a warningI can remove your lampstand.
This does not have to do withthe second coming.
I don't believe it has to dowith an admonishment of judgment
.
So Christ is saying hey, girdyourself up and get back to the
(38:57):
basics.
I need you to do these things.
I need you to come back to me.
I love you and I do not want tolose this church and I do not
want to remove the lampstand.
I want to keep the lampstandstrong and I want you to conquer
(39:21):
so you can eat from the tree oflife.
And these are what he's sayingto the seven churches, because
you've got to remember, theseven churches are the light of
the world.
The lampstands light up thedarkness the world.
The lampstands light up thedarkness and I really want to go
(39:44):
through.
And I want to talk about theletter to Smyrna and we're going
to stop after this letterbecause this is going to take a
long time to go through thisbook.
I mean, we're basically justhitting the introduction Letter
to Smyrna, revelations 2, 8through 11.
So remember the church inEphesus.
(40:05):
They don't tolerate no falseteaching but they're losing
their love and I believe part ofthat love was the love amongst
each other.
They were headstrong in theirtheology but they were
headstrong in their theology butthey were weak in their hearts
showing love to one another andto jesus christ himself.
So the love kind of grew cold.
(40:26):
It grew cold but the theologywas spot on.
And I've noticed when I went toa lot of protestant churches
around the valley not a lot, soI don't want to say that, but
went to a couple and that was asituation of one church I had to
leave.
The theology was just amazing,but the heart of the church, the
(40:47):
love was cold and so I left.
Revelations 2, 8 through 11.
And to the angel of the churchof Smyrna write these things say
the first and the last, he whowas dead and came to life.
I know your works, tribulationand poverty.
So this is a poor church.
(41:09):
They don't have a lot of money.
Christ is looking at theirworks, but you are rich works
but you are rich and I know theblasphemy of those who say they
were jews and are not but arethe synagogue of satan.
So there's an element of jewsthat are blaspheming the
christians and this and thechurch in smyrna and jesus is
(41:34):
saying that they are thesynagogue of Satan, that they
are anti-Christ, that they areworking against the church.
And he is witnessing this andhe's not going to tolerate it
much longer.
(41:54):
Tolerate it much longer that heis going to deal with this and
he's encouraging them andpraising them and he sees their
suffering.
And this was a big city.
It was a harbor city and it wasright around 35 miles north of
(42:15):
Ephesus, 35 miles north ofEphesus, and this church in
Smyrna, in this city.
It was a beautiful city, it hada civic pride and it was
supposedly the place to Homer'sbirthplace, where he was born.
It was an important center ofemperor worship and a home to
(42:39):
the goddess Roma.
So you have a big pagan element.
One of the greatestphilosophers was born there.
So there was a high degree ofidolatry going on there and
these Jews were being persecuted.
This Jewish church, thisGentile church I should say the
mixture of both it was beingpersecuted by Jews.
(43:02):
Jews were afflicting them,gentiles were afflicting this
church, calling those Jews thesynagogue of Satan.
We have to remember, smyrna hada population of Jews and they
were persecuting Christiansinstead of recognizing who these
(43:28):
Christians were and who theseChristians were worshiping.
But Jesus says this Do not fearany of those things which you
are about to suffer.
Indeed, the devil is about tothrow some of you in prison,
that you may be tested.
(43:48):
You will have tribulation forten days.
Be faithful unto death and Iwill give you the crown of life.
I want you to think about that.
They're going to throw you inprison.
You're going to face an intense, brief persecution and testing
(44:12):
and you can possibly die.
That's a big deal.
That's not something to takelightly.
I have not even sufferedanything close to that and I
pray to God, if you're listeningto this radio show and you're
in a time of tribulation andsuffering there are people that
listen to this show in Africaand Sudan and all over the world
(44:35):
that I encourage you to pray toChrist to give you that faith,
because that faith is a gift andI do not take it lightly and do
not say this lightheartedly,because I've never had to face a
persecution as such and Ibelieve the only way I could is
(44:56):
if God strengthened me.
I don't have it within myselfto do it, there's just no way.
I couldn't do it if and if Iwanted to, and and that's a
situation to where Christ has todo this that Christ has to come
through, and I'm praying forall of you that are going
(45:17):
through this persecution, and Ipray, in your time of testing,
which will probably come toUnited States one day, that we
can all get through this andthat I can be a faithful martyr
of that time ever called.
And that is not an easy task.
It's, I believe, those peoplein heaven have such rewards and
held to the highest degree byChrist, because it's not an easy
(45:41):
thing and an easy burden tobear.
He who has an ear, let him hearwhat the Spirit says to the
churches.
He who overcomes shall not behurt by the second death, so
that second death will notdestroy you.
The lake of fire, hades shallnot take your life from you.
(46:06):
Christ is saying even if theykill you, the second death,
which is the judgment, so tospeak, for the righteous and the
damned, that will have no powerover you, because Christ is the
arbitrator of everything, heholds the keys in his hand, he's
the one who grants eternal life.
(46:28):
During this time of persecutionand tribulation, as it's
escalating I mean a generationlater, polycarp suffered
martyrdom, polycarp waspersecuted, polycarp was
(46:48):
destroyed and he hung in thereto the very last moment.
Ladies and gentlemen, christ isthe first and the last he's
saying even in your poverty,you're rich.
I remember a story where Itraveled all the way to a small,
(47:09):
small, small city of buckeyetown and the elders gather
around me and they said thechurch was almost 100 years old
and the elders and the pastor gowhy won't our church grow?
All these other churches gotpeople, they got wealth, they
got riches and they were a veryfaithful church.
I just walked in.
(47:29):
It was like a wild west scene.
I walked in and sat in the backand just a new person me coming
in.
They were just amazed becausethey never had that in a long
time.
And I told them you guys are afaithful church, don't covet so
many expensive things in yourchurch and programs.
I understand why you're theposition you're in and money's a
(47:52):
good thing, but also it cancorrupt.
The money can corrupt I've seenit a lot in churches and money
becomes worship.
So just hold on to your firstlove, which is Jesus Christ, and
do not let that go to the very,very, very end.
(48:13):
And if you look at this church,this church was extremely poor
compared to even that smallchurch in Buckeye.
They really didn't haveanything.
They were poor and materialthings.
And Christ says you are stillrich.
You're still rich in love.
(48:33):
And that's what Jesus is sayingin love.
And that's what Jesus is sayingand that's what we have to
understand.
And that's not an easy thing todo in America.
It's a very difficult thing todo.
And so he's encouraging them.
(48:54):
He said the devil is going topersecute them and try to
destroy them.
He said the devil is going topersecute them and try to
destroy them.
So I want you to understandsomething, ladies and gentlemen
I want you to understand thatthere's two churches.
As John starts writing to theseseven, as this drama starts
(49:15):
unfolding, we've got Smyrna, avery poor church, and they're
going to be persecuted.
We got one that won't toleratefalse doctrine, but their love
has grown cold.
This is a warning to allchurches across the globe.
This is a warning to allchurches across the globe.
(49:37):
This is a warning to allchurches, especially in America,
to repent for the materialism,to show love, to not lose that
love.
Do not focus on the money, donot focus on the material
possessions, and don't tellcertain people that are serving
in ministry that I've heard ofsay you just don't fit in here.
(50:00):
We're not a business.
We carry on the business of theMessiah.
Our trademark is loving oneanother and forgiveness, and
there is a place for everysingle Christian in the church.
It should not be a good oldboys club and people should be
(50:22):
serving.
There should even be teachersthat have the ability to teach
without a PhD or a master'sdegree or a doctorate, and we
need to spend more timespreading them, tentacles of
love out and using people,spreading them, tentacles of
love out and using people, andstop adopting the mindset of the
(50:42):
qualifications have to be builton a formal education.
I have a formal education and Ican tell you this every day
there are people sitting in yourcongregation that are powerful,
filled, filled with the Spirit,that want to be used, that are
not being recognized.
Do not let love grow cold.
(51:03):
Hold on to the Word, especiallyif you start getting money in
your churches.
So this book of Revelations,before the end of the world
comes and before the persecutioncomes for the Jews, and the
seals start being broken and thetrumpets start being blown to
(51:25):
enact what is being described inthe seals being broken is a
description in an unfoldingdrama, but there is a warning to
all churches going out beforethis play goes forward.
Ladies and gentlemen, we aregoing to end here.
I love you, but I want to prayfor you before I exit this show.
(51:52):
Most glorious God, thank you forgiving us a warning and
admonition as we start andjourney through the book of
Revelations.
We love you, we recognize youas the glorious King you are as
the loving Christ.
Fill our hearts with joy andnever let us forget our first
(52:12):
love.
Let us not grow cold.
And when we do receive richesand blessing, please keep us
humble.
We beg that you keep us humble.
These material possessionscannot help us get closer to you
.
They can be a stumbling block.
(52:33):
And help us bless others withthose possessions.
And, lord, let us not getpuffed up with knowledge.
And when we do, bring us downto a state of humbleness through
a person or circumstance, andwe ask that you bless, more than
anyone anything, those that aresuffering martyrdom and
(52:55):
persecution for your name's sake.
Lord God, we love you, we honoryou and we bless you, and we
pray that this message goes outto the very end of the earth.
Amen, ladies and gentlemen,until next time.
This is Pastor Joshua.
God bless you all.
I love you and I will hear fromyou soon.
(53:17):
God bless you all.
I love you and I will hear fromyou soon.
God bless you.
Speaker 3 (53:37):
And he is jealous.
For me, loves like a hurricane.
I am a tree, bending beneaththe weight of his wind and mercy
.
When, all of a sudden, I amunaware of these afflictions,
eclipsed by glory, and I realizejust how beautiful you are and
(54:05):
how great your affections arefor me.
Oh, how he loves us, oh, oh,how he loves us all, how he
loves us, how he loves us all.
And he is jealous for me, loveslike a hurricane.
(54:46):
I am a tree, bending the knee,the weight of his wind and mercy
.
When, all of a sudden, I amunaware of these afflictions,
eclipsed by glory, and I realizejust how beautiful you are and
(55:13):
how great your affections arefor me.
Oh, how he loves, yeah, he lovesus.
Oh, how he loves us, oh, how heloves us, oh, how he loves, and
(55:39):
we are His portion and he isour prize, drawn to redemption
by the grace in His eyes.
If His grace is an ocean, we'reall sinking and heaven meets
(56:00):
earth like an unforeseen kissand my heart turns violently
inside of my chest.
I don't have time to maintainthese regrets when I think about
the way, oh, how he loves us,oh, oh, how he loves us, how he
(56:31):
loves us, oh, how he loves.
Yeah, he loves us.
Yeah, he loves us.
Oh how he loves us.
Oh how he loves us.
Oh how he loves.
Oh, what love.
(56:51):
Yeah, he loves us.
Yeah, he loves us, how he lovesus.
Oh how he loves us.
All Close that song.
Popular Podcasts
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
40s and Free Agents: NFL Draft Season
Daniel Jeremiah of Move the Sticks and Gregg Rosenthal of NFL Daily join forces to break down every team's needs this offseason.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.