The Revelation is a book that with every turn of the page we find a wonderful surprise to which we can look forward both for our Eternity Now and for our Eternity Then. In this episode we will address the letters to the churches and the prophetic way they are linked in terms of the promises which Jesus makes to those who are now overcoming.
To those who are now believing, He spoke only blessing and encouragement, but to those in Ephesus, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, and even Laodicea, He spoke terrifying words of judgment bringing up such ghastly things as the Second Death, Great Tribulation, falling away (apostasy), removing the Lampstand, waging war with the sword of His mouth, Killing with Death, and vomiting them out of His mouth. Yes, all these were spoken to those who identified as Christians, for all of them had been converted by God (they took Step 1) but had not chosen to take Step 2and become that little child dependent only upon God determined to live by grace through faith (and remember, faith is always a now thing).
What He does and says in His jealous love is never a reaction as we would understand it, but it is an interaction, and opportunity for His people to repent (or to agree with Him) and return to Him in active belief. As He said to those in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea, “I know your deeds.” Nothing we do catches Him off-guard or by surprise. He knows. And because He knows, His jealous nature interacts with those He pursues in His love to bring their choice to the surface—to their conscience level of comprehension. He simply asks us to accept Him for who He is, with no reservation.
