Deeper Waters

Hello everyone and welcome back to Deeper Waters. I just had a good friend message me about my financial situation which is about the same, but it sure is nice to know that people are praying for you. My prayer requests are the same. My continued Christlikeness, my financial situation, and the other area in my life. There is progress going on however and I am pleased. I mainly know this from my friends as well. They’re usually much more objective about our personal growth than we are. For now, let’s go to our Trinitarian Commentary where tonight we’ll be looking at Revelation 2:18.

¹⁸“To the angel of the church in Thyatira write:
These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze.

If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll notice that the way Jesus presents himself is like the way that he presented himself to John. We are getting bits and pieces each time as each part is somehow relevant to the churches that he is writing to.

For Thyatira, Jesus describes himself as the Son of God first off, meaning that he is one to be taken seriously. How often might we gloss over the idea of Jesus being the Son of God? Yet imagine this early church here and getting a message in a letter and being told “These are the words of the Son of God.” He doesn’t say Jesus. He points to his ontological position. The church paid attention. Let’s hope we do as well.

His feet are as bronze. The church would have been reminded of the appearances of God in the OT where his feet are like metal and realized that this one who was addressing them was that same one. They were about to be addressed by deity. Note then that the idea of Son of God does not go against deity. In fact, understood in the proper context, it proclaims deity.

He also has eyes as a blazing fire. This would have reminded the people of Daniel 10:6 with the eyes as flaming torches. It is a problem that we are biblically illiterate today and do not recognize the allusions. The church did not live in an age of Bibles like we do today, and yet, I think most gentiles even knew the Old Testament better than we do today.

Both of these symbols would have also reminded the church of judgment, and there is a lot of that. Christ gives a quick praise, but then he goes immediately into judgment and there is a lot to judge for. The church would have known they needed to shape up, especially considering they had a Jezebel in their midst, a lady so wicked that no one else in the OT bears that name.

Today, we in the church can also realize that Christ is examining us with scrutiny and he has authority to judge as he is Lord and God. Once again, we are reminded that the identity of Christ is relevant to the work of the church at all points in time.

Tomorrow, we shall see what is said to the church in Sardis.

Hello and welcome everyone to Deeper Waters where we dive into the ocean of truth. I wish to thank everyone for their prayers as I have been seeing real progress being made in my life. I’m quite pleased with it and am reminded of the blessing of friends and family. I do ask that you pray for my continued Christlikeness and that I will be the man that I need to be. I also ask that you pray for me in the area of my finances as there are going to be some expenses for me this year. Finally, I ask for prayer in a specific related area in my life. God knows what it is. Tonight, we will continue our Trinitarian commentary in the book of Revelation looking at Revelation 2:12.

¹²“To the angel of the church in Pergamum write:
These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword.

Pergamum was an interesting church. They are said to be where satan has his throne, but they are true to his name. This church was in the midst of the darkness and yet they were doing what they could to hold to the light. How many churches are like this today?

However, the church was still tolerating false teaching. We’re not told if these people are in leadership or not. Does it really matter? They are in the church and a little bit of false teaching in the church can be a deadly cancer that easily spreads throughout the body. Christ’s command is for them to remove that. Church discipline was something he took seriously and we should as well.

What does Christ have to say in all of this? He is the one who has the double-edged sword. We saw it in chapter one, but in case we forgot it, John repeats what Christ says in that the sword is coming out of his mouth. The voice of Christ is the voice of judgment. Let us not think that this is Jesus meek and mild. Oh he has kind words for repentant sinners, but he’s tough as nails on those who don’t repent.

Jesus as judge is a concept that has been lost. Now we can think of him judging those outside of the church maybe, but do we really stop to consider that he judges those that are within as well? Each of us is in a position where we could be judged and that should be taken seriously by us. As I write this, I have to pause and realize that too often, and maybe even now, I don’t take that seriously. James gave a strong warning especially to those of us who teach. Our judgment will be more severe.

Keep in mind that in the OT, judgment of the people of God was done by YHWH. In the NT, we see that it belongs to Christ. This is what speaks to us of his position in relation to his people. It is not a concept that would have been lost on the new church.

Tomorrow we look at the letter to the church in Thyatira.

Hello everyone and I welcome you back once again to Deeper Waters where we dive into the ocean of truth. I ask for your prayers again at the start for my continued Christlikeness. I have made some progress I believe and today has been a pretty good day overall. Second I ask for prayers for my financial situation. Third, I ask for prayers in a specific area in my life related to both of those. I do appreciate it all in advance as recent developments have made me see more the importance of prayer. For now, let’s go to our Trinitarian Commentary. We’re going through the book of Revelation to understand the doctrine of the Trinity. Tonight, our passage is the description Jesus gives of himself to the church in Smyrna in Revelation 2:8.

⁸“To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:
These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again.

Smyrna is one of two unique churches in the letters in the book. Every other church, Christ finds a fault with. He finds no such fault in Smyrna but instead gives them a simple encouragement. Apparently, there was a lot of persecution going on and we must remember that Revelation was written to churches undergoing hard times, so those of us suffering in the church at the hands of the world can find comfort regardless of the time period. This is especially relevant in countries where one’s life is in peril for being a Christian.

To begin with, Jesus identifies himself as the First and the Last. We saw this in Revelation 1 and we noted that this was a way that YHWH described himself to the prophet Isaiah. The idea is that there is not a point of time when YHWH is not. He is eternal.

This would have been a comfort to the church in Smyrna which was of course  a new church. Regardless of if you even take a common conservative stance and date the letter to the 90’s in the first century, the Christian church had not even been around a century. What would their future be?

Christ’s assurance that he is the First and the Last would tell the church that he is Lord over all time and they need not fear being the new kids on the block as it were. In the end, Christ would conquer over those who were persecuting them. This is also why he can tell them what will happen in the future and how long it will last.

Also, he is the one who died and came to life again. This will tie in to his having power over the second death. What a comfort this would be to those churches who were facing death. Just as Jesus died and came to life again, so will some of the church die, but they will come to life again and not be held captive by the second death. They can face with faith the greatest onslaughts of the enemy then.

The conclusion is that who Jesus is is entirely relevant to the church at Smyrna. We may not be Smyrna, but let us remember that who he is is entirely relevant to the church today and that we can take the message given to them and find encouragement in our time today.

We shall continue tomorrow with the church at Pergamum.

Greetings everyone from Deeper Waters. Tonight, we’re going to begin looking at the seven churches in the book of Revelation and see what we can learn about the person of Jesus in our Trinitarian Commentary. I ask for your prayers before that however. First, as usual, for my continued Christlikeness. (Which could be a good blog topic seeing as someone asked me what I plan to do after I’m done with the Trinitarian Commentary.) Second, for my finances. Third, for success in another area in my life. For now, we go to Revelation 2:1 where we hear how Jesus describes himself to the church in Ephesus.

“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:
These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands:

When I was reading through Revelation last, I was struck by all the ways Christ described himself to the churches. Each description reveals something about who he is. As I have said earlier in this blog, there is plenty of eschatology in Revelation, but let us not forget that eschatology is secondary to Christology. Our eschatology should reveal to us something about Christ. That is what Revelation does as well. It glorifies Christ.

Christ here writes to this church and he states he is the one who holds the seven stars. This would refer to angels as there are seven churches who are getting this letter. The idea of holding indicates a strong grip that Christ has on them. The church is to hold on to Christ, but he has a stronger hold on the church than the church can have on him.

This should be a warning to those of us who are in some capacity of ministry. I find great comfort in the thought that God does not need me. If I was to vanish from the face of the Earth, his ministry would do just fine. I am in the place I am in by his grace only. That does not mean that I am infallible of course, but it does mean that I should watch myself and not think of myself more highly than I ought.

He walks among the seven lampstands also, which are the seven churches. We should take our churches seriously. Christ is the Lord of the church and as he is walking, he is capable of judging, which is indeed one of the threats given to the church at Ephesus. If they do not repent, they will lose their position. He will judge them.

What can be learned? Christ is Lord simply. The church is to do what they do for his name, as the Ephesian church endured hardships for his name. While this is not an outright claim of deity, it does lend itself to that as it refers to his likely omniscience in being in charge of the placing of leaders and to his omnipresence as being able to be present fully with each church for judgment.

Tomorrow, we shall see what is said to the church in Smyrna about Christ.

Hello everyone and welcome back to Deeper Waters. We’re going to be finishing chapter 1 of Revelation today in our Trinitarian Commentary. Before that, I of course ask for your prayers. The first is my continuing goal of Christlikeness. It’s been a real struggle in many ways today to try to change old ways of thinking and replace them with new and better ones that are more akin with the way of Christ. The second is for my finances which will be awfully tight this year and seem to be starting out that way already. Finally, I ask for prayers in a specific area of my life where I’m hoping to see requests one and two play out. For now, let’s go to Revelation 1:17-18.

¹⁷When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. ¹⁸I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

Christ addresses John for the first time and describes himself. The terminology of being the first and the last would remind the Jewish reader immediately of Isaiah 48:12, where YHWH himself uses this description to speak of his own nature. It is what we have in mind when we refer to the alpha and the omega.

Christ also describes himself as the living one, apropos for speaking to the one who said of him in the prologue of John “In him was life.” Jesus is the living one by nature. He is not brought into existence but rather he has always existed.

To be sure that this is Jesus, he speaks of himself as having been dead. How does this work? Jesus never ceased to exist, but his body did cease at one point to have life in it. It is because his nature is life itself however that he could not be conquered by death.

This would be a comfort to the churches as it should be a comfort to all in the church today. Jesus conquered the grave. The early church was looking at an early grave simply for being Christian. There are numerous churches today that face the same situation in many parts of the world. Some people reading this blog right now might be in such parts of the world facing death. You are to be honored for your commitment and let us all hope we would do the same.

However, Jesus not only conquered death but he is alive for ever and ever. His resurrection was not like that of others where they rose only to die again. Jesus rose from the dead and because of his resurrection, will never have to taste death again.

Now, he holds the keys in his hands to death and hades. That which tried to conquer him is now that which he is the master of. Once again, what a message of hope this should be for us in who Jesus is. He is the one who is in charge of the worst enemy. For Christians facing death, they can realize they are facing a conquered foe because the God-man has already conquered death.

Tomorrow, we shall look at the first letter to a church in the book of Revelation to see what we can learn about Jesus.

Welcome back everyone to Deeper Waters. I hope you all are ready to dive into the Trinitarian Commentary again. Before looking at our passage tonight, I do ask for the prayers of you, my dear readers. First, for my continued Christlikeness. I am learning more about being the man that I need to be. Second, for my financial situation, which I do thank a friend of mine for asking me about this tonight. Lastly, for an area in my life related to both of these that shall remain unnamed for the time being. For now, let’s go to Revelation 1:12-16.

¹²I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, ¹³and among the lampstands was someone “like a son of man,” dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. ¹⁴His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. ¹⁵His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.¹⁶In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.

Revelation is a book rich in imagery and it assumes that the reader has a thorough knowledge of the Old Testament. This passage is no exception. John is seeing Jesus for the first time in the book. What does his description tell us about how he saw Jesus?

The lampstands refer to light and worship as they were essential to the Old Testament system. Seven is a number of completion as well, which will be seen often in Revelation. Perfect light and worship reveals the one who is like a Son of Man, a reference to the figure that shows up in Daniel 7:13-14.

Why does it mention the dress Jesus has? Probably to refer to the garments that the high priest would wear. The uniqueness of this outfit shows Jesus to be the truly unique high priest, especially considering that the sash is golden.

The whiteness of his head and hair is not meant to tell us the race of Jesus, but to tell us about the purity of Jesus. White is often a symbol of purity and Jesus having a white head and white hair is pure in his authority and in his thought. (As well as everything else.)

His eyes were like blazing fire. The eyes of the Lord go to and fro throughout the Earth. Fire is a symbol of both purity and judgment. The eyes look with judgment on those who are opposed and they look with purity on those who are in good favor.

The feet of bronze could remind one of the heavenly beings that showed up in Ezekiel 1. Often times when there was a theophany, which I think was really a Christophany, in the OT, only the feet and waist would be seen. The face was not normally seen.

The reference to a voice of rushing waters would bring to mind Ezekiel 43:2, which was also quite apocalyptic. The text reads as follows:

² and I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the roar of rushing waters, and the land was radiant with his glory.

The glory of God is depicted as a person. In Revelation, this makes sense as Jesus is the glory of God.

The seven stars again give an indication of completion. Stars can refer to the heavenly bodies or as they sometimes do in Revelation, to angels. Whichever one it means, the passage indicates a lordship over the group that is being referred to.

The double-edged sword is a sword of judgment and it comes from his mouth. This means that his voice is the voice of judgment. Whichever way his word goes, there judgment will be met. We do not have Jesus meek and mild here, but Jesus the judge.

Finally, his face shone like the sun in all its brilliance. Jesus is the greatest light of all. The reader could think back on how Moses’s face shone when he had been in the presence of God. Jesus’s face shines greater as he is in fact the presence of God on Earth.

Altogether, we have a glorified view of Jesus as fully God. We shall look further at who he is tomorrow.

Hello everyone and welcome back to Deeper Waters where we are continuing our Trinitarian Commentary through the book of Revelation. We’re still on the first chapter as there’s much in here about who Jesus is. However, I ask for your prayers first in my continued path of Christlikeness and becoming the man that I need to be. I also ask that you pray for my financial situation. Finally, I ask for prayers in another important area of my life. For now, let’s get to the commentary. We’re going to be looking at Revelation 1:6-7.

⁶and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
⁷Look, he is coming with the clouds,
and every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him;
and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen.

John (And for the record, I am going to be assuming that John the apostle wrote the book of Revelation) is continuing his description of Jesus. As has been said, this blog in going through Revelation is not going to focus on eschatology but is instead going to focus on the doctrine of the Trinity and it is everywhere in this book.

John has just described the role of Jesus and what he will do. He has come to build a kingdom of priests. The service will be to God and the glory is his. Jesus is the main agent in the world in bringing the glory to God.

He goes on to speak of coming on the clouds. Clouds were often a symbol of deity. YHWH would ride on the clouds when he defeated his enemies. In the same way, Jesus’s coming on the clouds is the language of deity when it is used.

For instance, in the trial of Jesus, he tells Caiaphas about how Caiaphas will see him coming on clouds. At this, Caiaphas tears his robes knowing full well the ramifications of what Jesus has said. He has claimed deity for himself in referring to coming on the clouds.

This was definitely an allusion to Daniel 7:13-14, which is a passage that we looked at earlier. Jesus is saying in that passage that he is the Son of Man that is coming. There can be no doubt that John had the same passage in mind when he wrote this letter.

Jesus is the centerpiece in this grand drama. At his coming, whichever time you put that in, we are told that every eye will see him and that all the world will mourn. The reference to being pierced refers to the crucifixion of course, but also refers likely to Zechariah 12 where it says “They will look upon me, the one they had pierced.” Note that when that was being said, it was YHWH speaking.

John is thus starting off his epistle right in telling his readers who Jesus is. If we do not grasp that, then we will not understand the judgments in this book. Whatever timeframe you put the judgments in, they are judgments because they are based on the rejection of Jesus Christ and who he is. John wants to make clear we haven’t made that mistake when we start reading.

We shall continue tomorrow.

Hello everyone and welcome back to Deeper Waters. I wish to send my thanks first off to Jason for his kind compliments and his promotion of this blog on his site. I plan to soon be promoting his blog on this site as well in exchange. We’re continuing our Trinitarian Commentary going through the book of Revelation. Before that however, I ask for prayer as I continue the path to become a more Christlike man. There is much I’m having to learn and much I’m having to unlearn, but I want to do this right. I also ask for prayers for my financial situation. Finally, I ask for your prayers in another area in my life related to both of these that all will work out. For now, let’s go to the text. We’re looking at Revelation 1:4-5.

⁴John,
To the seven churches in the province of Asia:Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, ⁵and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

We’re focusing on verse 5 and wanting to see what it says about who Jesus is. First off, Jesus is referred to as the faithful witness. This is in contrast to all others who have failed in the past. Many did not reveal God, but Jesus revealed him as he is. He was faithful, as the writer of Hebrews says in Hebrews 3.

Jesus was the faithful witness because he himself has the nature of the one who he came to reveal. Jesus is the exact representation of deity. To see him is to see the Father. If you want to see what God is like, you are to look at Jesus.

He is also referred to as the firstborn from the dead. This would refer to his coming back from the dead as the firstfruits of the new resurrection. For the readers of Revelation, this would remind them that Jesus was the one who conquered death, which was always a threat to a Christian population back then who lived in terror from an evil Roman empire and today that lives in terror from other evil empires that seek to destroy the Christian faith.

Finally, he’s the ruler of the kings of the Earth. Now I’ve stated that I don’t intend to go into eschatology and I don’t. This is something that I think could apply to any time however. If you live in the Roman empire, it is a comfort to know that Caesar is not the one in charge. Jesus is.

Today, we can take comfort in knowing who is sovereign over the world. Who Jesus is is a message for all time regardless of what timeframe you think Revelation applies to. This also tells us about Jesus’s identity. In Psalm 2, the one enthroned sits and laughs and tells the rulers of the Earth to kiss the Son. Jesus is that Son. By being deity and the perfect witness of the Father as shown by his being the firstborn from the dead, he rightly rules the world.

We shall continue tomorrow.