I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Revelation 4-8.

    It struck me as I read this part of John’s vision that part of what makes this hard to understand is that John’s vision consists of three elements: things which will happen and appear just as John describes them (although we will not necessarily see them the same way), things which appeared in his vision symbolically and as metaphors, and things which are a result of John being in a dream state. I do believe that these last are also metaphors and similes, they just are not based on anything we can find reference to in any other literature of the time or before. They are unique to this vision experienced by John.

    John describes the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse here. I find it interesting that in John’s vision we have no mention of the four riding together. Part of the reason we view them as riding together is because their are a similar group of four horsemen in a vision seen by Ezekiel. I am quite confident that the similarity to Ezekiel’s four horsemen is not a coincidence, but I, also, do not believe that they refer to the same four horsemen. This is the first place where you can see that the writer believed that his vision applied to the Roman Empire (there are elements in the description of the horsemen, especially the first, which connect to the Roman Emperors of his time). For me, reading the descriptions of each horseman suggests that they follow after each other. The first horseman rides fourth victorious, ushering in a golden age. The second horseman rides fourth bringing disorder and war, riots, civil war, and, perhaps, invaders. The third horseman brings the economic devastation, and famine, which often follows such events. Finally, the fourth horseman brings pestilence and death, which, again, usually follows the preceding two. Thinking about it, if we study history we see that these four appear again and again in this very pattern. A conqueror rises up in one nation, conquering the surrounding nations. He is followed by social disorder, civil war, and, sometimes, reverse invasion, as his successors battle each other for the power he had gathered to himself. The social disorder, the civil war, and the invasions cause economic disruption which will include famine (with or without invasions). Finally the land is devastated by disease and death.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Revelation 1-3.

    The introduction the Book of Revelation contains some things which help us understand God. John writes that God is the beginning and the end of all things, the Alpha and the Omega. If we were writing that for the first time today we would write the A and the Z, but really that does not carry the same weight that Alpha and Omega had for John’s readers. Words, especially written words, had much more meaning for the people to whom John wrote. When John wrote that God was the Alpha and Omega his readers would have understood this to mean that He encompassed all knowledge and all wisdom. They would have been familiar with Plato’s Cave and so that phrase would have implied that God encompassed all that was real, of which the world we experience is but a shadow. To John’s readers, words contained a truth which stood above that which could be experienced, by writing what he did John was saying that that truth was contained within God. There is a lot more to this than I have time to write today. When I started writing that I intended to give just a bit of context to the what it meant that John wrote that God was the beginning and the end and that Jesus was the First and the Last. When John wrote that Jesus was the First and the Last he was writing that Jesus was God, but still somehow different from God the Father. The Alpha and Omega conjures the image of something too vast for us to understand. The First and the Last is the same thing, yet in terms we humans can comprehend. Those two phrases represent how God the Father and Jesus the Son relate to each other and to us. God the Father is that aspect of God which is beyond our ability to comprehend. Jesus is that aspect which exists to allow us to comprehend God.

    John’s messages to each of the seven Churches contains all of the struggles which a group of believers can face.

• Ephesus, there the Church would not tolerate evil people, those who taught doctrine contrary to the Gospel. They were praised for their knowledge of good doctrine and theology, for being able to suss out those teaching lies. But they had lost their love for God and each other. Knowing the truth is not enough, we must also act with the love which that truth proclaims.
• Smyrna, there the Church suffered persecution and poverty. Yet, despite all of their troubles they remained faithful so God declared them rich. Let us pray to for the riches which they possessed.
• Pergamum, they refused to deny their faith in the face of the threat of death. Yet, Jesus finds fault with them for tolerating those who taught that grace meant that it was OK to be immoral and take part in the worship of other gods. When directly challenged on their faith they stood strong, but when more subtle assaults against the faith presented themselves they fell prey.
• Thyatira, they were praised for their deeds showing their love for God and man. They worked to make the world a better place. Yet, they permitted a woman who taught and practiced sexual licentiousness a place in their community. And by community I do not mean living in their neighborhood. John meant that they allowed this woman to be a part of their meetings and to use her association with them to recruit disciples.
• Sardis, they had a reputation for being strong believers, but the reality was that it was all a front. They were just going through the motions. There were still a few faithful there, but most of the congregation no longer truly believed.
• Philadelphia, they were weak and struggled to remain faithful. Nevertheless, God had provided them an opportunity and the strength with which to take advantage of it. The Church in Philadelphia knew they did not have the strength to accomplish God’s purpose, but they did His work anyway. John’s message to them was that that was enough. Our weakness is God’s strength.
• Laodicea, they were neither enthusiastic and charismatic, nor deep students of God’s word. There are those who are enthusiastic and excited about the Gospel. Their understanding of the intricacies of doctrine and meanings of faith are often limited, but they get people excited to learn more. Then there are those who study the Word in depth. They are not exciting, sometimes they are even boring, but they stand ready to help their brothers and sisters understand and see God’s Spirit when Satan strikes through depression or other suffering. The Church in Laodicea was neither. They were neither excited by the Gospel, nor willing to study it in depth. God wants our deep enthusiasm.

Let us examine ourselves and the Body of believers with which we fellowship to address where we fall on this list.