Revelation 3:14-16 is a rich passage for any preacher who fears his congregation is lacking in zeal or dedication to Christ. In these verses, Jesus condemns the church at Laodicea memorably as being “neither hot nor cold,” and warns that because they are “lukewarm” he will “spit” them out of his mouth. Any preacher worth his salt could nail down the points this powerful passage lays out. Continue reading “Neither hot nor cold”
“I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending” (Revelation 1:8)
In the Revelation, Jesus speaks for the final time. Four times (Revelation 1:8,11; 21:6; 22:13), he refers to himself as “Alpha and Omega.” Why? What does this phrase mean, and why does he use it? Continue reading “Why did Jesus refer to himself as “Alpha and Omega?””
“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’” (Revelation 15:3-4 ESV).
Isn’t God amazing? Continue reading “The victory of the Lamb”
Jesus repeats himself, but he does it for a reason.
In Revelation chapter two, Jesus addresses four churches in Asia Minor. In chapter three, he speaks to three more. He repeats the same message in every one. The message is, “He who overcomes,” is used seven times (Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21). “He who has an ear,” is said seven times, too (Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22).
The Lord has said the same before. Mark recorded the Savior saying, “You will be hated by all because of My name, but the one who endures to the end, he will be saved” (Mark 13:13 NASB). The saved ones are those who realize that the race to eternity is one of endurance. Continue reading “It’s an endurance race”
Women often complain that the man they’re with does not communicate. “He must be the strong silent type,” they will say. “I wish he would talk. He talks all day at work, but he doesn’t talk with me.”
Of course, if a man (or a woman, for that matter), wants his partner to do something in a certain way, he might consider using actual words to communicate this. Continue reading “Can we understand the Bible?”
In any construction, special attention is given to the foundation, for if it is not well done, the entire structure will be compromised. The same is true in spiritual terms. The church of God is built upon a foundation that received special attention. Continue reading “Apostles and prophets: Foundational, instructional, spiritual”
In Revelation 12 we have what could be considered one of the easiest to understand of the word-pictures in John’s Revelation. Although possibly a simple picture to understand, it contains a message that all Christians would do well to remember.
“Then a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and with the moon under her feet, and on her head was a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and was screaming in labour pains, struggling to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: a huge red dragon that had seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadem crowns. Now the dragon’s tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth. Then the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born. So the woman gave birth to a son, a male child, who is going to rule over all the nations with an iron rod. Her child was suddenly caught up to God and to his throne, and she fled into the wilderness where a place had been prepared for her by God, so she could be taken care of for 1,260 day” (Revelation 12:1-6 NET). Continue reading “The war against Christians”
To the one who loves us and has set us free from our sins at the cost of his own blood and has appointed us as a kingdom, as priests serving his God and Father – to him be the glory and the power for ever and ever! Amen. (Revelation 1:5-6 NET)
As John’s great revelation begins to unfold in pictures made out of words, he wrote a few things at the beginning that we would to well to take note of. There are such things as the time frame of his revelation (“what must happen very soon” (1:1); “the time is near” (1:3) – repeated twice more in the final chapter) and that this prophecy was meant to be understood (“blessed are those who hear and obey the things written in it” (1:3)). Note that the “what must happen very soon” was in relation to the time it was written – it was not written about the 21st century! Continue reading “A Kingdom of Priests”
Because the very idea of life, our life, captivates us, it possesses marketing value and appears in aphorisms. Thus the soap opera title, “One Life to Live” or the maxim, “You only have one life.”
We do get only one shot it. How long can we keep hold of it? None of us knows for certain.
Life, however, does have one certainty. Our life will fall into one of three possibilities. While two of the three possibilities are horrific, the good news is we can choose! Neither fate nor random chance will determine which possibility will be ours. Continue reading “One life, three possibilities”
Heaven’s pull is too much for a resident of earth Continue reading Come, Lord Jesus!