Seven Lamps, Seven Spirits and Seven Churches

Revelation 4:5-6 KJV

And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.

And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.

John's initial description of the throne in heaven is similar to His first description of Jesus in chapter one verses 12-13. Chapter one ends by telling us the seven golden candlesticks are the seven churches; Jesus being in the midst of them. 

Now we have seven lamps before God's throne with two other descriptors;

• They are lamps of fire and
• They are burning

We are told these lamps of fire are the seven Spirits of God, also previously mentioned in chapter one. 

The two remind me that the tabernacle was made after a heavenly pattern. There is no reason to believe that the church is anything less than a pattern of what exists in heaven. The church serves as a pattern of the heavenly lamp.

• The Father sits before the churches as the Supreme Overseer
• The Lord is in the midst giving direction and leadership and it is
• The Spirit of God that gives it fuel and power for its work.[1]

The churches belong to Jesus Christ. He is her object of love and affection. But her

• Fire
• Passion and
• Anointing

comes from the Holy Spirit.

We must have our eyes fixed upon Jesus Christ and our hearts filled with the Holy Ghost. 

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[1] That it is the seven Spirits of God merely correlates the ministry of the Holy Spirit to the seven churches and speaks of the sufficiency of the Spirit.

Fellowship

Revelation 3:20 KJV

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

Such words of peace and rest did our Saviour speak!

• "Let not you heart be troubled ye believe in God, believe also in me...”[1]
• "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you...”[2] And this,
• "Behold I stand at the door and knock...”

Let it be remembered that these words are addressed to the Laodicean church whose testimony is so disreputable that Jesus said He would spew them out of His mouth. Yet even to this church, and perhaps especially to this church, there is granted to any who would, fellowship:

• Sweet
• Restful
• Blissful

fellowship.

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[1] John 14:1

[2] John 14:27

The Grace of God is Matchless

Revelation 2:20-22 KJV

Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.

And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.

Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.

What exceeding grace is of a God! Jezebel is a false prophetess.[1] This isn't her true name but hearkens our thoughts back to that wicked queen of Israel. She is guilty of idolatry and fornication.[2] The sin is

• Blatant
• Obnoxious and
• Contagious

as it seeks to seduce others into it.

Yet God gives her space to repent. He does not judge her immediately. He does not prevent her from seducing others into her bed. He gives space; time and opportunity for her to repent.

Further, He gives the seduced the same opportunity. Those who fall into the snare of sin, regardless of how evil the sin is, are always welcomed back if they repent.

“Grace, grace, God's grace. Grace that is greater than all our sin.... Marvelous infinite matchless grace, freely bestowed on all who believe”

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[1] In this instance the name Jezebel is used metaphorically, probably a heretical movement in the church rather than an individual.

[2] Likely a spiritual form though physical may be implied too.

Enveloped by Grace and Peace

Revelation 1:4-5 KJV

John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;

And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,

Apostle John believed in the three Persons if the godhead as is evidenced by his 1 John 5:7 but also by his greeting to those who would read the Revelation. John pronounced both grace and peace upon these readers. His is not a wishful pronouncement but one that proceeds from all three Persons of the godhead:

The eternal God

“Which is and was and which is to come.” God never changes. Yesterday, today and forever His name is, I AM.

The seven Spirits 

The Holy Spirit of God; He answers to the number seven

• In respect to His perfection and
• In regard to His place in the seven churches addressed in this Revelation

Jesus Christ

The faithful witness. It is from Jesus Christ that John receives this revelation. It belongs to Christ who faithfully and accurately delivers it to the Apostle. 

Grace and peace proceeding from the Trinity surrounds and envelops the believer in Christ. 

• We have grace and peace from above emanating from God the Father
• We have grace and peace from within emanating from the indwelling Holy Spirit
• We have grace and peace daily emanating from Jesus Christ and His Word, the Bible

God's Blessing No Guarantee of Salvation

Jude 1:5 KJV

I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.

God's material blessing is no guarantee of God's eternal salvation.

Writing to urge these Christians to contend for the faith and not merely membership in the organization if the church, reminds them that though God delivered all of the Jews from Egypt, He later destroyed those who were not believers. 

• These are people who had partaken in the Passover.
• These are people whom the death angel had passed over
• These are people who had miraculously crossed the Red Sea
• These are people who had followed the pillar of fire. 

By birth they were Jews and by form, they appeared to be right, but by faith, they came short. 

America needs to heed this warning of Jude for we have a spiritual climate much like these wandering Jews:

• We have experienced the unmistakable blessings of God
• We have enjoyed the fruits of a marvelously bountiful land 
• We have rested in the liberties purchased by our forefathers
• We have each embraced our own version of worship[1]

But, though we can each revel in the bounty, success, and blessings of being Americans, it in no way guarantees a happy relationship with God.

Americans have the freedom to worship God (or to reject worship) according to the dictates of our own consciences but we are still responsible before God. Liberty to do a thing does not make the thing right in the sight of God. Enjoying the material blessings of being an American does not ensure one's place in the heavenly world of God. 

• Birth
• Blessings and
• Religion

Are not our means of eternal salvation. That comes only by grace through faith.

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[1] A recent survey revealed that 95% of all Americans still claim to be religious, though religion means something different to each if us.

Live Up to Our Reputation

3 John 1:12 KJV

Demetrius hath good report of all men, and of the truth itself: yea, and we also bear record; and ye know that our record is true.

It is one thing to have a good report of men, it is often an entirely different thing to hold that report in truth. 

• A man might have a good report of men through coercion
• A man might have it through bribery
• A man might be well reported by the majority if men due to peer pressure
• A man might have deceived men whereby their report is based upon skewed observations

Here is a man whose good report is not only from the mouths of men but is consistent with the truth itself. 

It should be our purpose to not only be well reported of by people but to be in fact worthy of a good report. It is not enough to win the favor of men; we must seek to have the favor of the truth itself.

Let our lives live up to a good report.

The Sort of Love John Commanded

2 John 1:5-6 KJV

And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.

And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.

We are so given to assumption. We have particular views and we often inject those views into our understanding of the Word of God without considering the views of the one writing that portion of the Word of God. We do the same in conversations with others, hearing what they said, but interpreting it according to our own background and beliefs and not that of the speaker. By doing so we are likely to completely miss the point the speaker wanted to make. Such presumptions do great damage to genuine Bible study because we make the Bible say what we want it to say rather than what it in fact says. 

Here is a case in point. John says the commandment he has for them is to love one another. But people are very likely to read into the commandment things that John did not intend. 

• Some would say that love means to never be confrontational
• Some would say that love means to approve of things whether they are biblically right or not
• Some would say that love means to disregard doctrinal purity in lieu of cross-denominational peace

A person may become very defensive and hateful of someone who doesn't interpret loving one another the same way as they do. Our country now calls preaching against homosexuality a hate crime. They accuse the Christian who believes the Bible of being hateful when in fact we are merely obedient to the Word of the Lord. 

John saw this problem and corrected it by defining love as walking after God's commandments. Love has the specific quality that it is obedient to and lives consistent with[1] the teachings of the Bible. No true love may be demonstrated unless there is obedience to God's Word.

The love John commands then is a polar opposite to what would be the general interpretation derived from a human background and belief. It is a love that can only be understood by putting aside our own ideas and actually hearing what God has given in His Word.

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[1] The passage says walking after His commandments rather than obedience to His commandments. It is possible to be obedient to the commandments of the Bible but to do so with a wrong heart. The Pharisees were guilty of this. Obedience to God is rather like a life instinct than a forced lifestyle.

Keeping Self

1 John 5:18 KJV

We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.

We know than none of us is capable of keeping himself spiritually safe in this world. It is the reason God has given us:

• Prayer
• The Word of God
• The local church and
• The abiding ministry of the Holy Spirit

Paul said that he was persuaded that He is "able to keep that which [he had] committed unto Him against that day." His faith was in Christ and not in his own keeping. 

The wise Christian knows not to take this keeping for granted. He employs those things God has given:

• Prayer
• The Word of God
• The faithful attendance at a local church and
• Dependence upon the Holy Spirit

He keeps himself by keeping with God in fellowship through these gifts of God. He trusts in God's keeping because he is close to God through those things God loves. 

The Root of Truth

1 John 4:2 KJV

Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:

According to Albert Barnes, the question at stake in the day of John's writing was whether Jesus Christ was a man. Among the late first century thinkers of Christian teaching, there was little question that Jesus was the Son of God. The question they wrestled with was whether He ever was truly a man or only seemed to be.

• Perhaps, they reasoned, He only seemed to be tempted
• Perhaps He only seemed to have suffered
• Perhaps He only seemed to have died

The question then was concerning the incarnation. Did God truly become man?

The issue has turned around today. Few question the historical veracity that the man Jesus Christ lived. Even among

• Non-Christians
• Secular historians and
• Practitioners of Islam

there is little debate that Jesus lived. The question today is whether the man Jesus Christ was in fact, God. 

This passage holds true from either perspective. The doctrine that Jesus is both God and man is a foundational doctrine of truth. Not that it is the only true essential doctrine or even that is the difference between salvation or not, but it is the essential doctrine upon which all other doctrine must rest. 

Why Words Comfort

2 Chronicles 32:8 KJV

With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

Under such incredible pressure as facing the Assyrians, the nation that had defeated nearly every nation neighboring Judah, including annihilating the northern kingdom of Israel, Hezekiah was able to comfort the people so that they rested themselves upon his words. What made his words so powerful?

Hezekiah did what was right in the sight of the Lord

2 Chronicles 29:2 KJV

And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done.

Hezekiah walked according to those things David had done

2 Chronicles 29:2 KJV

And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done.

Hezekiah had a track record of leading the nation in godliness

2 Chronicles 29:3-5 KJV

He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the LORD, and repaired them.

And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together into the east street,

And said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites, sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the LORD God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place.

Hezekiah’s prayers had been previously answered

2 Chronicles 30:17-20 KJV

For there were many in the congregation that were not sanctified: therefore the Levites had the charge of the killing of the passovers for every one that was not clean, to sanctify them unto the LORD.

For a multitude of the people, even many of Ephraim, and Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet did they eat the passover otherwise than it was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, The good LORD pardon every one

That prepareth his heart to seek God, the LORD God of his fathers, though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary.

And the LORD hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people.

They had every reason to trust Hezekiah because Hezekiah had proven to them that he trusted the Lord.

The one best able to comfort us when we are in any trouble is the one we have watched walk with God before there was trouble.

Legalism vs. Liberty

2 Chronicles 30:17-20 KJV

For there were many in the congregation that were not sanctified: therefore the Levites had the charge of the killing of the passovers for every one that was not clean, to sanctify them unto the LORD.

For a multitude of the people, even many of Ephraim, and Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet did they eat the passover otherwise than it was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, The good LORD pardon every one

That prepareth his heart to seek God, the LORD God of his fathers, though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary.

And the LORD hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people.

We often use the story of the death of Uzzah[1] as an example of "doing the right thing the wrong way" and getting very bad consequences. Here is a case of doing the right thing but not with right people, and God being gracious to them. 

I see in these two instances demonstrations of what might be thought of as:

Old Testament law vs. New Testament grace

Someone might also see them as illustrations of;

Legalism vs. liberty

What we have to reconcile is that both are equally true. Hezekiah did not excuse the ill-preparedness of these people, he rather acknowledged it and asked God to pardon it.

The conflict then is not between legalism and liberty but between legalism and license.

• Praise God that He is gracious despite our failings.
• Thank God He will accept our worship though "all have sinned and come short if the glory of God."

But woe be it to the person who expects God's acceptance. Woe to the man who views God's pardon as evidence of the justness of sin.

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[1] 2 Samuel 6:3-8 KJV

And they set the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab that was in Gibeah: and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drave the new cart.

And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab which was at Gibeah, accompanying the ark of God: and Ahio went before the ark.

And David and all the house of Israel played before the LORD on all manner of instruments made of fir wood, even on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on cornets, and on cymbals.

And when they came to Nachon's threshingfloor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it.

And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God.

And David was displeased, because the LORD had made a breach upon Uzzah: and he called the name of the place Perezuzzah to this day.

The Ruin of Us

2 Chronicles 28:23 KJV

For he sacrificed unto the gods of Damascus, which smote him: and he said, Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them, therefore will I sacrifice to them, that they may help me. But they were the ruin of him, and of all Israel.

The temptation to worship false gods was in Ahaz's case, due to what he perceived to be those God's favor on the Syrians. If they had so blessed them, then perhaps they could so bless him.

Things are not so different in our own day. People still tend to follow after those they perceive to be successful and blessed. 

• In the world, it is the celebrity, the athlete, the wealthy
• In Christianity, it is the big church, the successful evangelist, the conference leaders

In either case we view them as having a sort of divine favor we want to somehow tap in to.  

Most of the time these celebrity types, just like the kings of Syria, are happy to accept the benefits of having a following but have little real interest in being a help to their followers. Still, the followers follow, hoping at last to find the secret, the combination of sacrifices and offerings, the "god" who will take their side and give them favor.

The Bible says these false gods were the ruin of Ahaz. 

• It wasn't his education
• It wasn't his parents
• It wasn't his circumstances
• It wasn't his lack of money or armies or influence

The ruin of Ahaz was his worship of other gods.

And so will it be ours. Our trouble now and in the future will not be the lack of

• Education or
• Wealth or
• Geniuses or
• Leaders

Our ruin as a people and as a nation will be our obsession with and dependence upon other gods but the living God.

How to Stay Steadfast in Faith

2 Peter 3:17 KJV

Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.

Gill comments on this verse, "though the saints can never finally and totally fall into sin, or from the truth, yet they may fall from their steadfastness, both as to the exercise of the grace of faith, and as to their profession of the doctrine of faith; and to be fluctuating, hesitating, and doubting in either respect, must be very uncomfortable and dishonourable."

The question is not about one losing their salvation for once a person is born again, he is saved forever. However, there is a question as to that person's steadfastness as a believer. 

• The waves of corrupt doctrine
• The seduction of the false teachers and 
• The beguiling of the flesh in this world

have prevented many a Christian from gaining a sure footing on the rock of truth that is Jesus Christ.  

That Christian who dabbles with worldliness while he half-heartedly practices his faith, or worse, plants his roots in worldly philosophy while attempting to blend in some Christian persuasion, is destined to live in discomfort in this life and to suffer loss of reward in the next.

Peter gives the antidote of this discomfort when he advises us in the next verse to "grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Saviour, Jesus Christ." The best way to stay planted spiritually is to keep growing spiritually.

The True Proverb

2 Peter 2:20-22 KJV

For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.

For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.

But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

Albert Barnes writes,

"There was no thorough internal change, any more than there is in the swine when it is washed, or in the dog. This passage, therefore, would seem to demonstrate that there never had been any real change of heart, and of course there had been no falling away from true religion. It should not, therefore, he quoted to prove that true Christians may fall from grace and perish. The dog and the swine had never been anything else than the dog and the swine, and these persons had never been anything else than sinners."

What a terrible thing for a person to

• Hear that there is salvation
• Approach that salvation, to even
• Teach others about this salvation and then to
• Personally turn from that salvation

It would be better for one to have never heard in this case because their judgment would be lesser.

But then there is this caveat; that even though they have not been born again, there is hope while there is breath in them that they will one day come to Him. 

John Newton was born to a mother whose desire for her son was that he grow up to be a preacher. She died when he was nine years old, and with her death went all influence toward godliness. Though there were indications of spiritual illumination in his teen years, Newton plunged into deeper and deeper sin. With deeper sins came greater degrees of bitter fruit; life becoming harsher and harsher until finally on board a ship that was doomed to sink, he wondered if there was any hope that God could be merciful to his soul. 

God was merciful. He was spared death at sea and came to place faith in Christ. With saving faith came a transformation of character until Newton was called into ministry and was greatly used in his lifetime and having written one hymn that is even still ministering to hearts. 

A More Sure Word

2 Peter 1:19 KJV

We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:

The prophecy being considered is that of the second coming of Jesus. Peter says that it is "a more sure word". More sure is the coming of Jesus Christ to first receive the saints to heaven and then to establish His kingdom on this earth than any prophecy previous to it: 

• More sure than his first coming
• More sure than the prophecies concerning the kingdoms of this world
• More sure than those prophecies concerning the future of Israel

This prophecy is more sure: 

• Based on the fulfillment of those prophecies before it
• Based on the coming of the Messiah the first time - which coming Peter had been an eyewitness to 
• Based on the promises of Jesus Christ Himself and
• Based on the assurance of the angels at His ascension

Our Apostle urges us then to take heed to this promise as a light in a dark place. As the days grow more evil and the night grows much darker, the child of God does best walking in the light of Jesus' soon coming. 

Motivation for Ministry

1 Peter 5:1-3 KJV

The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:

Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;

Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.

Peter was nearing his final days in the earth. Knowing his time was short his focus turned to those who would carry the torch of the faith into succeeding generations. He urged them to feed their flocks:

Willingly

In each case he gave the negative to help define the positive. No man should be constrained to be a minister of the gospel, except for that constraint that comes as a result of our love for the Lord. Ministry ought to be a willing work. We do it out of desire. 

Cheerfully

Not for the sake of financial gain. This is not an occupation in the traditional sense of the word. Of course we must feed our families and put a roof above their heads. But no preacher is serving under the right state if mind if he serves for money. Churches may help their pastor in this regard, not by keeping him poor, but by being certain his material needs are provided so his mind may be on the ministry. 

Humbly

The pastor is not a lord over God's people. He is not better than them, more holy than them closer to God than them.  He is called not to use the people of God to create his own kingdom but to care for them with humility and to serve as an example of devotion, love and long suffering in the life lived for God.