Month: August 2018

171. Pillar in Temple

 Revelation 3:12a Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out.

 The sixth promise to the overcomer: a pillar in the temple. A pillar is a symbol of strength and support. It must be solid and strong in order to hold up the building and to keep the roof from collapsing. A pillar in the temple of God is strong enough to hold up the building, which is the church of God, the body of Christ, the communion of saints, the community of believers. A “pillar of the church” is usually seen as a big contributor, a long time member, a faithful example of faith to the rest of the believers, a spiritually mature and experienced Christian, a leader with wisdom, and mostly he should be filled with love and all the fruit of the spirit.

A pillar is a father who has gone through the stages of “children” and “young men;” he knows his sins are forgiven and he has overcome the evil one, and now he knows him who is from the beginning [I John 2:12-14]. The pillar has experience with temptation and evil and has learned how to apply his faith to the problems around him. He knows how to distinguish Law and Gospel and he has learned how to apply the Faith to those problems. He is not only an example but also a teacher. Every Christian is a work in progress, progressing toward the goal of being a pillar in the church.

The Holy Spirit uses the Word of God appropriately applied and the experiences of life to mold, shape, and grow each believer into what God designed him to be. We are not all there yet, but we know where we are going and what we are becoming. We focus on the words, “I will make.” The Holy Spirit is still working. That’s a promise.

170. Keep from Temptation

 Revelation 3:10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

 A conditional promise: If you keep the word of Jesus’ patience, then He will keep you from the hour of temptation. The condition, keeping the word of His patience, is the same as remaining faithful unto death; that is, maintaining faith in Jesus Christ alone for forgiveness and salvation. Being patient means hanging on to the promises of the Gospel even while tempted by the World to give up. In every Christian’s life periods (“hours”) of temptation will come, just as they come upon all people in the world. God uses trials, temptations, crises, suffering and pain to try, test and tempt a person to throw away faith in God; all are tempted to be disappointed in God because things didn’t work out the way they wanted them to.

These hours of temptation may be strong temptations to sin, and consequently to disbelieve that I could be forgiven since the guilt is severe and the consequences painful; thus we ignore God. The temptation may be to just go along with the world and its ways of coping instead of turning to a gracious God. The temptation may be to live and act according to what I see and feel instead of believing God’s Word and Promises. The temptation may be to simply drift unknowingly and aimlessly into despair because we can’t see a way out; we don’t see or feel God’s Love. The temptation may be to trust in the wrong thing, like science, government, money, health, my own thoughts and opinions and feelings, philosophy, psychology, friends and family instead of trusting in the only One who can help.

All earth-dwellers will be tried in some way: passing the test is coming to a surer faith in a loving God; failing the test is letting the test win and casting away one’s confidence. Each trial will make one stronger or weaker, will draw one closer to or farther from God, or will instill more hope or more despair.

The believer who holds on to His Word has the promise that Jesus will keep him from the temptation, meaning that He will see him through it and he will come out on the other side. It does not mean he will not be tempted, since it comes to all, but He will with the temptation make a way of escape. This is why we pray daily: “Lead us not into temptation.” That is, “lead us out,” and overcome. He will keep you.

169. Confess his Name

 Revelation 3:5c [He that overcometh…] I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

 The third part of the fifth overcomer promise: Jesus will confess his name. The promise deals with the name of the believers once again. This name is probably the “new name” that Jesus gives. God identifies us personally and uniquely. Which name Jesus uses is not important, but that He confesses my name before the Father and the angels is what is important. That Jesus confesses my name means that He knows me intimately and loves me personally; it means that it is He who brings me personally before His Father in heaven; He introduces me to God (as if He needs to); and He causes me to be accepted by God into His eternal home. This promise is certainty, assurance and comfort for me: God receives me into His Kingdom because of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Jesus says in Luke 12:8: “Everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God.” The promise of confessing and acknowledging us in heaven is given us so that we may confidently and boldly confess our faith and witness to our Lord on the earth. The promise assures us that it is worth it if we experience teasing and taunting for boldly going to church or praying publicly or witnessing. We would never be ashamed of Jesus or deny Him for any reason on this earth. We know that Jesus takes note of our bold faith and rewards it accordingly.

This promise to believers is another one of many different ways of saying that God loves me and saves me. This kind of confident assurance cannot be undermined or softened; I know whom I have believed, and I know Jesus brings me to God.

168. Book of Life

Revelation3:5b [He that overcometh…] I will not blot out his name out of the book of life.

 The sixth promise to the overcomer: his name is in the book of life. The name given to the overcomer is in the book of life and it will not be blotted out. Faith in Christ puts one’s name into the Book of Life; and when this believer remains faithful throughout life and overcomes, by grace, unto the end of life he enters life eternal. The overcomer is the believer who is faithful until death: he can be assured that his name remains in the book of life and will upon death enter into life. He can confidently stand in the judgment when the book of life is opened [Revelation 20:12]. The promise: your name is still there; you will enter into the joy of the Lord.

Having one’s name securely written in the book of life means that when the books are opened at the great white throne judgment no sins will be recorded; all sins will have been erased and only the good works done in Christ will be seen. The entire life of each person who ever lived will pass before the eyes of all people. Everyone will openly see the sins of those people who are not written in the book of life, and all will see that the judgment of guilt is just. However, everyone will openly see only the good works of those people who are written in the book of life, and all will see that the judgment of innocence is just.

No one in heaven and earth and under the earth will ever again in all eternity be able to argue about the just judgment of God. The evidence is clear for all to see, and the eternal judgment can never be challenged or appealed. For the present time we can be absolutely certain that our name is written in the book of life and the book/movie of our life will be clean and beautiful. For the present time we can live with the comfort and the hope that this is true. Today we know the future.

167. White Raiment

 Revelation 3:5a He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment.

 The fifth promise to the overcomer: Clothed in White. When we believed in Jesus we were given a wedding robe and clothed in white. The obvious significance is that we, and our sins, are covered with righteousness and purity; we are covered with the robe of righteousness earned and given by Jesus Christ. We are clothed in such a way that no one, even the Father, can see our sins and filthy nakedness. The raiment is what God sees and on the basis of which He judges.

This garment is given to believers before the judgment and makes us ready for the marriage feast of the Lamb in His kingdom. The robe indeed covers our sins, but more than that the white robe replaces the sinfulness and guilt that was ours. This covering and replacing prepares us for the Judgment Day and allows us into the Feast of Heaven. This is the promise for the believer.

The white raiment is also inside us, invisible to everyone but the invisible world. God sees Jesus in me; He sees the whiteness and purity; He sees the righteousness and innocence. This is the accurate view of myself that I need to see and remember and relate to; I can look at myself as God sees me. I look inside by faith and see the white, thanks to Jesus. I take this promise and I believe it. One Day, after death, I will see with my resurrected eyes this promise as true and real forever. This view that God has is also valuable for me as I view other people, either as those clothed in white or potentially clothed in white when they come to faith in Christ. These “rose-colored” glasses can change our view of the world and how we treat others: “as if they had never sinned.”

166. Morning Star

 Revelation 2:28 And I will give him the morning star.

 A part of the fourth overcomer promise is that Jesus will give the believer the morning star. The morning star is usually considered one of the last bright stars still shining during early dawn, as the sun is about to rise. Jesus calls himself the bright morning star in Revelation 22:16. Peter [1 Peter 1:19] says we have a sure word to pay attention to until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

The morning star signals the end of night and the beginning of a new day; the sun is about to shine brightly. The morning star is the symbol of optimism and a bright future. The darkness is past; all the sins and mistakes are behind and about to be erased in the bright sunlight of a new day. Every day begins with fresh mercies and a new start. The power of the Gospel continually makes all things new, wipes out the past, and presents us with a bright future and the hope of better things.

When the morning star rises in our hearts we have hope and a future, and it is as bright as the sun. While we live in darkness and can see only through a glass darkly we do have the sure word to show the truth and the light until the day dawns. When the morning star arises in our hearts and we have that foreshadowing of a brighter day we know that all things will only get better until we awake in the brightness of the heavenly light where God Himself shines brighter than many suns. The “morning star” that we have been given gives us the hope and anticipation of the brighter things and the new day that will soon arrive.

Although we are not yet experiencing the New Day we do presently possess the morning star. The anticipation of heavenly glory keeps us going and lifts our spirits and stirs up unbounded joy. Sometimes the anticipation of the trip is as exciting as the trip itself. The “foretaste of the feast to come” is enough to keep us going with joy and hope. The morning star that we have is the anticipation of bright things to come. The night is come and the day is almost here. Rejoice!

165. Rule

 Revelation 2:27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

 The authority over the nations given to overcomers includes the ability to rule the nations with a rod of iron. The rod of iron and the breaking the vessels of a potter are pictures of the power of this authority. All authority in heaven and earth has been given to Jesus Christ. Now He is sharing that authority with His church, the believers in Christ. The ruling authority we have been given is more powerful than we can imagine.

The rod of iron used by the people of God to rule is the Word of God. The hammer of the Law convicts the world of sin in the face of social and cultural customs. The Law of God is an unbending rule, like a rod of iron, that does not break, but it breaks that which it speaks against. It is like the law of gravity: if you break that law you are the one that gets hurt. Even if the whole society thinks one thing and the Law says another, the authority of truth overcomes the authority of the majority. It may not appear as if the authority of Law is winning, but we have this promise that we can stick up for God’s Law and God’s Rule no matter how many oppose it. They are the ones who will be broken. “Let God be true, but every man a liar.”

The authority of the church that preaches the Gospel carries the authority of a rod of iron. Nothing can undermine or cast doubt on the word of grace and forgiveness that comes through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. All false claims and promises of life and light, hope and happiness are crushed by the simple word of Gospel. ‘One little word can fell him.”

164. Power

Revelation 2:26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations.

 The fourth promise to the overcomer: Power over the Nations. “Power” means authority or right to rule; it does not mean force or strength. “Nations” means all the peoples living on the inhabited earth. Jesus gives believers the right to rule over the people of earth. How can this be? Does he mean now temporally before the End or eternally after the End of the world? Probably He means both, now and later, but in a different way. Now the power or authority we exercise over the nations is the preaching of the Gospel, that is, the authority to forgive sins and deliver sinners. Later, the overcomer rules with Christ over the new heaven and new earth.

The authority over the nations of this temporal world of people is hidden; it is hidden in that it is spiritual and in the hearts of people. When the Gospel is proclaimed something momentous happens: the nations are converted to the kingdom of God, transferred by the Gospel from the kingdoms of the world into the kingdom of God. The invisible Church wields this invisible authority. This right to rule lives does not mean we can make them do what we want, but it does mean we have the ruling power to change lives for eternity. The authority to preach repentance and forgiveness of sins brings about invisible change, and this change is always for good and for God, not my will but His be done, through our authority to preach the Gospel.

The authority over the nations of the future, eternal kingdom of God will not be hidden. It will be seen and experienced by all the redeemed people who have authority over one another. The authority is the authority of love that is ever willing to serve and give to others. Each person in Paradise mutually gives and receives the authority of love to each other; everyone takes care of everyone else and everyone takes of me. Everyone gives and receives perfect love; love is the greatest power in the universe, given with authority to make happen what God wants. This would be paradise, and this is our promise. Ultimately, it says: God’s Love rules all. The amazing part is that the believers get to share in that beneficent rule.

163. New Name

 Revelation 2:17d …and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

 The third part of the third overcomer promise: a written new name. One’s name is one’s identity, character, personality and individuality. One’s good name is also his reputation and public perception. One’s name is precious to him and it is carefully guarded and protected. Don’t mess with my name; it’s who I am.

So why would I want a new name? Shouldn’t I be proud of my given name? God loves me and who I am, but I am tainted, corrupted and ruined by sin. So God gives me a new name, uncorrupted and pure with an unsullied reputation. I myself have ruined my own name, but since Jesus has transformed me and I am a new creation I need a new name and a new identity. God is my father and Jesus is my brother; I am placed in a new family; I need a new name.

I want a new name for there is now a new person. I am responsible for sullying my old name and I am no longer proud of my given name. Just as God in Christ makes me a new person so He has given me a new name. I am proud of the new name because God has given it to me. No one knows that name, but I know it. I know what God thinks of me and I know what He has made me. In baptism the old man has drowned and died and I walk in newness of life. The saint in me needs a new name and He has promised me a new name. The new name is uniquely mine, shared with no one else, for God has made me specially His. I don’t know how God can treat each of us uniquely and individually and yet consider all of us as one body, one church and one unity, but He does. Almighty God knows me and calls me by name; “I am my Beloved’s and He is mine.”

162. White Stone

Revelation 2:17c [To him that overcometh will I give him…] a white stone.

 A second part of the third promise to the overcomer is a white stone. There are 6 or more possibilities for the symbolic meaning of a white stone. Two possibilities are most likely: purity or acquittal. Purity is often symbolized by the color white. The promise is that purity is given or declared for the overcomer (believer). Purity is the same as innocence, holiness and righteousness. Purity is the result of the preaching of the Gospel; forgiveness of sins makes one pure. Thus we are in possession of a “white stone.”

The second possibility of acquittal is similar to the symbolism of purity. Not only is the overcomer declared pure he is also declared free of guilt; innocence is the key word that combines both concepts. In the Greco-Roman judicial system in some cases the verdict was pronounced with a white or black stone, obviously guilt or acquittal. The white stone therefore means we are acquitted, declared free of sin and guilt, and are legally considered innocent and free to go.

In a legal court of law the judgment or verdict of the judge or jury is final and the sentence must be followed. It can be appealed, but it cannot be denied. The court’s verdict is true whether the person is actually guilty or innocent or not; the court may have made a wrong decision but the verdict still stands. God declares us righteous for Jesus’ sake and that verdict stands forever sure: we are free. And there no question as to its validity, ever and forever.

Some people carry a white stone with them at all times to remind them of what God thinks of them and how He judges us. That white stone reminder is in reality the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and it is carried with us at all times.