Prophecy - 67 - I know thy works...

I know thy works...

Rev 2:12 And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;

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Who has a sharp sword with two edges?
What is the two edged sword all about?


Psa 149:1 Praise ye the LORD. Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints.
Psa 149:2 Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.
Psa 149:3 Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.
Psa 149:4 For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.
Psa 149:5 Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.
Psa 149:6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a twoedged sword in their hand;
Psa 149:7 To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people;
Psa 149:8 To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron;
Psa 149:9 To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the LORD.


Hebrews
{4:12} For the word of God [is] quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and [is] a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart


Revelation
{1:13} And in the midst of the seven candlesticks [one] like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
{1:14} His head and [his] hairs [were] white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes [were] as a flame of fire;
{1:15} And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.
{1:16} And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance [was] as the sun shineth in his strength.


He who has the two-edged sword is Jesus.
And from just noting a bit more about the two-edged sword it's easy to see that it's symbolic of God's quick and decisive manner. There is no deception, no guile, no toying when it comes to God, and all He does is precise. His word is more powerful and sharper than a two-edged sword. And the power and sharpness of such a sword is tremendous. Jesus speaks with such exacting vengeance in such a way that there leaves no doubt to the truth of his actions- none.


Jesus speaks to us holding nothing back.


Rev 2:13 I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.


He knows our works! He knew them back in the days of John, He knew them in the early years of God's people- His church historically, and He knows us even now. It's safe to say Jesus has known us through all time and there was never a time He didn't know His people. Even when His people have caused Him grief He has known and has tried to guide them down the right path of His righteousness.


He knows thy works, where thou dwellest- where we live. He knows. And He has known where Satan's seat is and make no mistake about it- Satan has his foothold in this world he was cast out upon at the birth of salvation realized in Jesus' entrance into our world as He took on the flesh of humanity. Satan cast to this earth was never more to call heaven (God's seat) his home. Yes, Satan has his powers and his influence and he's used them to form his own plans that include a place where he would dwell and rule from. Satan's seat. Living among the very place where the evil one, the one who opposes, the deceiver was in power and holding fast to the true faith of Christ- what wonder! Holding fast to Christ! Not denying Christ's faith!


People say that there are no more martyrs, I say they're wrong. There are many, many martyrs today. In fact just writing what I'm writing would be cause for my death in some countries. We don't want to believe it, but it's true.


Wherever we are living, in whatever situation we find ourselves even if it's the worst place imaginable- if we hold fast to Christ and remain faithful then we will have His blessing. I'm not just talking a life or death situation with a true sword ready to slice our head from our shoulders. I'm talking living in the world that Satan claims as His and holding fast. It's all too easy for us to give in and go along with the crowd. To laugh and smile, and seemingly agree with the goings on even when they bold-facedly ridicule all that is Godly. Inwardly we might condemn the actions going on about us and we cling to that inward man, but outwardly we seem to agree with the ungodliness and what does that mean? We're ashamed of our beliefs.


If we won't hold fast to Christ and our faith in Him now in the little things, how will we do so later on when our very lives may depend on seemingly agreeing with the ungodly? Will we align ourselves with the ungodly so that we can live? Or be martyrs to hold fast to Christ?


The historical message, the message for all time, we need to learn, to listen, to take to heart what is being said.


Rev 2:14 But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.
Rev 2:15 So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.


Hold the doctrine of Balaam... idol worship in all its ugly forms. The Nicolaitans are mentioned once more and we know these are all that about things, people and their actions, that Jesus hates.


Again, just because you don't live in a town where they have festivals to worship the sun god Baal, does not mean there is no idol worship today. Among God's people there are those who hold fast to the belief that worshipping the world rather than God means the most. We can't worship any other than God! Search our hearts and our lives and examine what lies within- is it worship to anything other than God? Is there a self-worship? The worship of any thing that would take us from God?


Rev 2:16 Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
Rev 2:17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

Repent.


We need to repent and not face the righteous wrath of Christ.


Listen! We are told to LISTEN!


If we overcome through Christ we will be given hidden manna- heavenly food so precious. We will be given a white stone- a stone of purity and innocence in Christ. In that stone we'll receive our new name, a new name only we know. God made a point to give Abram and Sari new names and He also gave Jacob a new name. We who overcome as they overcame by faith in God and His righteousness we too will receive a new name.


By His mercy, by His grace, by His love and by His righteousness alone may we cling to Him and be found in Him to be overcomers through Him and Him alone. Forgive us oh Lord, forgive us our many, many tresspasses, our many failings and set us on Your path to Your righteousness- now and forever!


Amen


Note- here is an excerpt from a prophecy booklet called- 'These Times - The amazing prophecies of Daniel and Revelation. A Special Issue.' pg. 24-25


'Verses 12-17. The city of Pergamos (or Pergamum) was the capital of the Roman province of Asia. A rich, important city, it served as a center of emperor worship and various pagan religions. Jesus perceptively described Pergamum as a city in bondage to the dictatorship of Satan, the leader of all evil forces (see Revelation 12:9;13:1,2). The great failure of the church at Pergamum was that it allowed pagan, unchristian influences into its midst, accepting the teaching of "Balaam" -- a reference to a man who influenced the Israelites shortly after they left Egypt to unite with pagans and become involved in idolatry and immorality (Numbers 22-25; 31:13-16).

The experience of the whole church following AD 313, when Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity, resembled that of Pergamum. Following this time the church increasingly accepted pagan ideas and practices into its midst and advanced steadily down the path of apostasy foretold by Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:3. The church's only hope lay in its willingness to let the sharp "two-edged sword" of truth wielded by Jesus cut away their selfishness and pride (cf Hebrews 4:12). '

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The reason I wanted to insert this note is because we need to touch on the specific historically applied aspect to the prophecy as well as the time of John the prophet, and we most certainly can tell already how it's applied to us now and to all of God's people through history in a broad meaningful way.


The historical time period this covers- Constantine, or perhaps, rather, from his professed conversion to Christianity in A.D. 313 to the establishment of the papacy in A.D. 538.


In 313, Constantine proclaimed the Edict of Milan which legalized Christian worship. Go to Wikipedia, look up Constantine and this is in there. We've already gone over these dates when we studied the prophecy of Daniel. Daniel and Revelation both deal with prophecy in a huge way and go hand in hand in so much. This all fits together and the placing of the puzzle pieces will mean we need to go back and forth between these two books and truly throughout the entire Bible.


By God's grace, through His will, now and forever!


Amen.