Grace & Peace Archives - Page 73 of 76

Grace & Peace: Revelation #18

Douglas Wilson on March 29, 2016

“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11)

“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. So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth” (Rev. 2:14–16).

The church at Pergamum had done well against the hostility of overt persecution. Even when Antipas was killed, they stood firm. But that does not mean that the church was above criticism. The Lord had a few things against them, and it pertained to what they were willing to tolerate in their midst. We know the content of the false teaching that had some presence there, but there are two ways to read what we call it. [Read more…]

Grace & Peace: Revelation #17

Douglas Wilson on March 23, 2016

Grace and Peace
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11)

“And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges; 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.” (Rev. 2:12–13).

The church at Pergamum was a church that was already experiencing persecution. In the course of these letters, the Lord has been warning all the believers in Asia Minor of this impending reality, but in some places it had already begun. Pergamum was one of those places. John says that “Satan’s seat” was there, which is likely a reference to emperor worship. Even though the emperor was in Rome, the most organized location for emperor worship was in Asia Minor, where these seven churches were. The cult of Rome had been planted in Pergamum as early as 29 B.C. and there was no quicker way for the Christians to prove their lack of patriotism than to refuse to go along with worship of the emperor. [Read more…]

Grace & Peace: Revelation #16

Douglas Wilson on March 17, 2016

Grace and Peace

“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11)

“Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death” (Rev. 2:10–11).

The church at Smyrna was standing at the edge of persecution. The Lord encourages them in that place by telling them not to fear what they are about to suffer. This implies two things. One is that they will in fact suffer, and the other is that in Christ they have no need to fear it. The specific persecution they faced was going to be stirred up by the devil. Some of them would be thrown into prison so that they might be tried or tested. The tribulation would last for ten days. We can assume that it was going to end in death for some of them, because the Lord promises the crown of life for those who were faithful to the point of death. [Read more…]

Grace & Peace: Revelation #15

Douglas Wilson on March 17, 2016

Grace and Peace
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11)

“And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan” (Rev. 2:8–9).

The second message to be delivered is to Smyrna, a city about fifty miles north of Ephesus. Remember that John is on Patmos, an island to the southwest of Ephesus about 63 miles away.

The Lord Jesus identifies Himself here in two different ways. The first is by saying He is the first and the last, the protos and eschatos, the beginning and the end. All of human history is encompassed by Him; He contains it all. Not only does He contain all human history, but He established Himself as Lord in the very middle of human history by His resurrection from the dead. He identifies Himself as the one “which was dead, and is alive.” [Read more…]

Grace & Peace: Revelation #14

Douglas Wilson on March 11, 2016

Grace and Peace
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11)

“Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 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 tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God” (Rev. 2:4–7).

This pointed admonition to the Ephesian church is filled with balanced tensions. The message began by
praising them for their works, but rapidly comes to the point where it tells them to return to the works they did at first. He tells them here that they have abandoned their first love. The word translated abandon admits of numerous legitimate translations. I think one of them that makes good sense of the context is that they had grown slack in their first love. Combine this with the other word he uses, which is when he tells them to remember where they had fallen from. Given this description, and the fact that the Lord said that lack of repentance would result in the lampstand of the church being removed (which would mean the extinction of the church there), we see that the situation was very grave. [Read more…]