And to the angel (messenger) of the assembly (church) in Smyrna write: These are the words of the First and the Last, Who died and came to life again… (Revelation 2:8 AMPC)There is a church who needs to remember that Jesus was the First Born of many and the Last sacrifice we need. They also need to remember that He died, but was brought to life again.
Jesus wants you to know about some basic ways Heaven works. The journey to discover this information began one Monday, during the Dream Interpretation meeting on Zoom. I lost all WiFi connection, then came back in with data on my phone. Within 10 minutes, again I was kicked out and this time I couldn’t open the Zoom app on my phone.
People who have had a near-death experience (NDE) or have been taken to Heaven, explain it as vivid beyond description. This is one part or one aspect of Heaven. To fully understand experiencing Heaven in this way, we must look to the Word of God.
The Old Testament is written in Hebrew and the New Testament was originally written in Greek. If we look to the language of God’s people, the Hebrew word most often used for Heaven is shamayim. It refers to the “unseen” or “invisible” realm and is both singular and plural. Most Christians agree that Heaven is a “spirit realm” because Jesus declared that God is a spirit being:
We will continue studying the Book of Revelation, not assuming we will find all the answers, but knowing much will remain a mystery until the events begin to unfold. We are quite willing to agree to disagree on many of the interpretations which are only “theory” and cannot be proven at this time. We study the Revelation of John so that our minds are open to possibilities, should these events begin to happen in our generation.
And every spirit that confesses not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof you have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. (1 John 4:3 AKJV)
There are “spirits” that are contrary to God and will not confess Jesus has come in the flesh, that is the spirit of antichrist. There are many people who work in agreement with these spirits and are referred to as antichrists:
Little children, it is the last time: and as you have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. (1 John 2:18 AKJV)
These antichrists are people who preach a doctrine that leads others away from Christ. There will be someone who is the leader of a rebellion against God on this earth. He is referred to by many names:
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 AKJV)
When you therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoever reads, let him understand:) (Matthew 24:15, Mark 13:14 AKJV)
This abomination of desolation, the son of perdition, man of sin that must come and perform certain acts before Jesus returns, I will refer to as the AntiChrist, because he is a man who will be the opposite of Christ and will try to take His place.
One of the blessings of Revelation is that through studying it we can identify some of the plans of the enemy. On the surface, it oftens seems cryptic and impossible to understand. If we let the Bible, and especially the Book of Revelation interpret inself, we can get a glimpse into the playbook of Satan’s army.
And I stood on the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads the name of blasphemy. (Revelation 13:1 AKJV)
Just as the prior chapter briefly recounted Israel’s history, now a recap of Satan’s activity is given. Most of the imagery in Revelation is metaphorical. Let’s examine other scriptures to see how to interpret them. The beast is fully revealed in a later chapter, so let us start at the beginning.
Before we discuss the churches of Revelation, the Lord has asked me to show you what it means to be the Bride of Christ, since the Church is the Bride. When Jesus refers to us as His bride, is more than a title, it is how He feels about you. If you were engaged to be married to the person of your choosing, how would you feel about them? Here is how the Lord revealed His feelings to me:
