Revelation Chapter 3 VERSE 8 “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept my word, and have not denied my name.” The “deeds” (or works) of this church are not mentioned. The simple statement, “I know your deeds,” implies that they were viewed with favor. The Lord then sets the door open for those deeds to continue without interruption. The statement…
Revelation Chapter 3 VERSE 7 continued “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, ‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens” “This portion of Verse 7 asserts the sanctity and authority of Christ himself as the one and only true head of the Church. In marked contrast to Jesus—“the way, the truth, and the…
Revelation Chapter 3 VERSE 7 continued “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, ‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens” “Philadelphia means brotherly love. Luther’s doctrine of Justification by Faith was so powerful a teaching as to change nearly everything. Among other things it changed the relationship among individual Christians. Because each man…
Revelation Chapter 3 VERSE 7 continued “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write…” “Luther possessed extraordinary talents, uncommon genius, a copious memory, astonishing industry and perseverance, superior eloquence, a greatness of soul that rose above all his human weaknesses, and consummate erudition for the age in which he lived. Under this great reformer—who was ably seconded by other leaders and men of learning, such as Melanchthon, Carlstadt, and Zwingli—the course of history changed. An exemplary, very religious…
Revelation Chapter 3 VERSE 7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, ‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens” HOW THE SIXTH CHURCH ANTICIPATES THE SEVENTH “The relationship between the sixth and seventh stages of the Church seems unique. In all of the chapters dealing with the sixth Church, the sixth Seal, and…
Revelation Chapter 8 The First Trumpet VERSE 7 (NAU) “The first sounded, and there came hail and fire, mixed with blood, and they were thrown to the earth; and a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.” The one symbol that we have not considered yet was that all of the green grass was burned up. This is also mentioned in the above…
Revelation Chapter 8 One Third of the Trees Burned Up So how do we apply what we have learned to the symbols of the first trumpet? We find that one of the results of the truth being cast into the earth, or being misused to gain power over others resulted in the burning up of a third of the trees. As we explained before the four angels had been commanded not to harm the trees so we know this is…
Revelation Chapter 8 The First Trumpet As we had briefly outlined in our previous posts the early church had the beginnings of the wrong attitude which eventually led to the oppressive false church state system, composed of the beast and the image. So for that reason we think that the very beginnings of the problems with the earth (society, earthly institutions both religious and secular) that led to the beast and the image already existed in the first church. This…
Revelation Chapter 8 The First Trumpet VERSE 7 (NAU) “The first sounded, and there came hail and fire, mixed with blood, and they were thrown to the earth; and a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.” The mingling of blood with the hail or truth and throwing it into the earth would seem to indicate the misuse of doctrine in the churches…
Revelation Chapter 8 The First Trumpet One Third Taken Away = .666 etc. Another reason for the conclusion that this trumpet is showing us something bad, was an interesting observation that was made in regard to the adjective “one third”, that this and the next three trumpets have as a part of their vision. Others have explained the symbol one third in a number of different ways, but the most promising way that we know of is actually quite simple….