Revelation 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.
15 So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate.”

The Lord had a few things against the church at Pergamos, but to understand the issues we need to do some research. The story of Balaam can be found in the Old Testament. Balak, king of the Moabites, hired Balaam to curse Israel because Balaam had a peculiar gift: whoever he blessed was blessed, and whoever he cursed were cursed. Balaam went out to curse Israel, but God intervened and Balaam blessed them instead. However, after this Balaam told Israel’s enemies how they could coax God into cursing Israel, and based on his advise they sent Midian women into the camp to commit fornication with the Israelites. God cursed Israel for this – but He also cursed Balaam. This is why the verse says that Balaam “taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel”. Balaam did it for the reward that it brought, but God was not pleased about it.

What it boils down to is this: Balaam corrupted God’s people through intermarriage with pagans in order to get them to commit fornication and idolatry. This is what was happening to the church in the days of Constantine. When the pagan state essentially “married” the church, joining the two together, the intermarriage corrupted the church and brought in spiritual adultery, pagan practices, and idolatry. This is the “doctrine of Balaam”. God had a strict warning for them:

Revelation 2:16: “Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.”

The Lord commanded the church to repent, or else He would fight them with the Word.

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

Pergamos represents the birth of the state church (AD 313 – 590, more or less). Notice how Jesus says that he has “the sharp sword with two edges”; this is a reference to the Word. In the Bible a sword is symbolic of the Word of God – in fact, the Scriptures are actually called a double-edged sword.

AD 313 is when Emperor Constantine made Christianity the official state religion of the Roman Empire. This is when the church became married to the state (something that ended in disaster, but that is outside the scope of this post).

Antipas was the bishop of Pergamos and was martyred in AD 92. Notice that this passage says that he was “slain among you” – meaning that when this letter was written Antipas had already been martyred. This is another piece of compelling evidence that Revelation was written after AD 70, which disproves preterism. Since the early church itself reported that the letter was written in the early 90s then that fits together pretty well.

It’s also interesting to note that the passage says that Satan’s seat (or throne) is at Pergamos. Esculapius (an idol in the form of a serpant) was worshipped at Pergamos, so that may be what this is referring to. It’s also possible that the verse was meant to be interpreted more literally than that; perhaps Satan’s headquarters on Earth is (or was) at Pergamos. No matter how you interpret it, though, Pergamos seemed to be a terrible place to live.

Today people commonly believe that the Catholic Church was just “the church” for a period of many centuries, and that the Reformation happened because the church had become too corrupt; it started out good but over time it went bad. That is actually not the case. The origin of the Catholic Church can be traced back to Augustine in the 4th century, and it was bad from the start. The Catholic Church has always taught a false gospel of salvation by works, and all throughout its history there have been genuine Christians who opposed it and believed in salvation by grace through faith. The Catholic Church has never been the true church; instead, it has spent 15 centuries opposing the true church and doing everything in its power to stamp it out – up to and including executing countless genuine Christians.

One of the key threats to Catholicism was the Bible. It was immediately obvious to many people who read the Bible that the teachings of the Catholic Church were wrong and heretical. Since the Bible was a threat, the Catholic Church made ownership of Bibles a crime punishable by death. A great many people were hunted down and brutally murdered because they owned a copy of the Word of God. (The Pope actually sent out armies to find Christian cities and massacre everyone inside, for the “crime” of believing in salvation by grace through faith. Throughout its history the Catholic Church has executed an estimated 50 million people for the “crime” of rejecting Catholic doctrine. They have never apologized for this.)

Given the awful persecution that genuine believers suffered during this period, you would think that their knowledge of the Bible would have suffered. After all, it was very difficult to even get a copy of the Bible (especially before the printing press was invented), and it was incredibly dangerous to own one. Yet, as it turned out, believers during this period had an amazing knowledge of the Bible. This is what one Catholic inquisitor had to say:

“They had the Old and New Testament in the vulgar tongue; and they teach and learn so well, that he had seen and heard a country clown recount all Job, word for word; and divers, who could perfectly deliver all the New Testament; and that men and women, little and great, day and night, cease not to learn and teach” (Orchard, p. 266).

What a testimony! Not only did these persecuted believers study and teach the Bible day and night, but there were some who could recite the entire book of Job – and others could recite the entire New Testament! Another inquisitor had this to say:

“They can repeat by heart, in the vulgar tongue, the whole text of the New Testament and great part of the Old: and, adhering to the text alone, they reject decretals [statements issued by the Pope] and decrees with the sayings and expositions of the Saints” (Faber, p. 492).

These ancient Christians could not only recite the entire New Testament, but a great part of the Old Testament as well. That is absolutely astounding!

Today things are very different. The Catholic Church has lost its power to hunt down and execute Christians; the last time it tried to kill someone over the Bible was in 1902 when the Archbishop of Sucre (in Bolivia) suggested that a man who was handing out Bibles should be executed. There are still parts of the world today where Christians are hunted down and persecuted, but in the United States we are largely free to own Bibles and openly conduct Bible studies. Bible study material is readily available; thanks to modern technology, it is even possible to listen to the sermons of pastors who are thousands of miles away. The amount of Biblical knowledge that we have access to is simply staggering.

Yet, despite this, we know far less about the Bible than our ancestors. There are few Christians today who have even read the entire Bible. Our forefathers did more than just read it: they actually had most of the Bible memorized. I have never met anyone who could even come close to reciting the entire New Testament. That level of Biblical knowledge is simply unheard of today.

The reason for this is quite simple: our ancestors cared a great deal more about the Bible than we do. It really mattered to them. We live in the Age of Laodicea – the church that was characterized by people who simply did not care. The Bible doesn’t really mean very much to us. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve tried to tell a Christian about the Bible and was told “Well, you know, I just don’t really care.” People in ancient times cared intensely about the Bible; they were willing to risk their lives to study it and know what it said. That kind of passion is gone. In today’s world pastors beg their congregations to read the Bible, but most people can’t be bothered. Many Christians think that reading the Bible is a chore – it’s something they feel that they should do, but they hope to finish as soon as possible so they can move on to more interesting things. The average American spends 5 hours each day watching television, but most Christians can’t be bothered to spend 15 minutes reading their Bible.

Yes, the Bible is long, but let’s be honest – that’s not really the problem. The Harry Potter series is more than 4,000 pages long, and people who are fans can read the entire series in a matter of weeks. These fans spend endless hours studying the complex world of Harry Potter, learning about the characters and the plot and all of the tiny little details. The hours that they spend aren’t a burden to them because they are passionate about the books – it’s a labor of love. In fact, they are so enthralled with the books that they don’t even notice the passage of time.

Our ancestors had that kind of love for the Bible. They were passionate about it; the Bible meant everything to them and they were willing to risk death to own a copy of it. They loved it so much that studying it wasn’t a burden. In fact, they came close to memorizing the entire Bible, simply because they were into it that much. They weren’t forcing themselves to go through some kind of painful exercise; they really loved it. It was a great joy to them. They had a tremendous, genuine love for God, and that love manifested itself in a love for God’s word.

We are not at all like that. Our generation cares so little about the things of God that we make Him want to vomit:

Revelation 3:15: “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.”

Don’t get me wrong – the modern Church is all about serving God. We spend lots and lots of time busily serving the Lord in all sorts of ways; it’s just that we don’t care very much about His Word. The Bible is so unimportant to us that reading it is a chore. Some people feel guilty about not reading it, so they try to squeeze in a few minutes here or there as time permits. If the truth were known, though, we don’t really want to read it at all – but that is something no one wants to actually admit.

If Christians actually care about the Bible then why is it so difficult to find people who have actually read it in its entirety? If you read just one chapter a day you can read the entire Bible in 3 years. How is it that we can find time to watch 5 hours of television each day and yet we can’t find time to read even one chapter out of the Bible? Isn’t this a glaring admission that we just don’t care?

There are other people who try to read the Bible but get stuck in Leviticus or Numbers and just give up. To me this is a sign that their heart just wasn’t in it. After all, if you really cared, wouldn’t it make more sense to research the parts that are hard to understand – or, in a worst-case scenario, simply skip over them and move on to whatever is next? People who are die-hard Harry Potter fans will spend years discussing the parts of the series that are hard to understand or that don’t make sense. Christians, on the other hand, just throw up their hands and say “I give up. What’s on television tonight?”

This all comes down to a matter of the heart. If we actually cared about the Bible then we would read it. We would study it. In fact, we would do everything we could to learn about it. If we truly loved God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, then we would have an incredible passion for His Word. We would want to know it. We would make it a priority. We wouldn’t see reading it as a burden or afterthought; instead we would be all over it. We would care so much about it that we would know it forward and backward, inside and out.

Would that God would give us a heart like the one our ancestors had! I wish modern Christians had the same enthusiasm and passion for the Word as our forefathers. It would make a tremendous difference.
 

Read the Word – All Of It

This goes without saying, but I’m going to say it anyway: God wants us to read His word. He wants us to study it, think about it, meditate on it, and delight in it:

Psalm 1:2: “But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.”

God also wants us to live by it, and to hunger for it the way we hunger for food:

Matthew 4:4: “But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”

Think of it this way: God wants us to live by His Word. How can you possibly live in obedience to His Word if you haven’t read it? How can His Word be a light to your path if you don’t know it?

People treat the Bible as if it contains a few good passages that are mixed up with a lot of fluff. They study some parts of it and leave large portions of it unread and unlearned. The fact is that all of the Bible is important. It does not contain any extra or unnecessary parts:

2 Timothy 3:16: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

Notice how clear this verse is! All Scripture is given by the inspiration of God. All Scripture is profitable. It is all meaningful. Don’t just read the “good parts”; it is all “good parts”. You need to read all of it and know all of it.

What I do, in order to make sure that I don’t miss anything, is start at the beginning (Genesis 1) and read straight through to the end (Revelation 22). I then start over at the beginning. I’ve done this for many years and have read the Bible cover-to-cover many times. I’m not saying that this is the only way to study the Bible, but it’s not a bad way. There are some people who read passages of the Bible at random, going here and there as they see fit. I am very leery of this because it makes it easy to skip entire portions of the Bible. All of it needs to be read. I encourage you to come up with a study plan that encompasses the entire Bible on a regular basis.

Here is another way to look at it: just what are you doing that is more important than reading the Bible? Yes, we all have responsibilities, and yes, those are important. There are some people who read the Bible instead of doing their jobs, and that is a terrible thing. But are you really so busy that there is absolutely no way you could possibly spend some time with God in His Word? Isn’t it far more likely that the reason you never get around to reading your Bible is because you don’t actually care about it?

I realize that sometimes things come up. I read the Bible regularly, but there are some days when I don’t. I am not saying that it is a sin to go an entire day without reading your Bible. What I am saying is that we need to do a lot more with our Bibles than let them collect dust on the shelf. We need to have a plan to not only read it, but to read all of it – and not just read all of it, but to read all of it on a continual basis. It’s not good enough to read it once and then put it back on the shelf and forget about it; we need to stay in the Word our entire lives. A true sports fan would never say “Well, I’ve seen one football game so I’m good to go.” Nope. Since he is a true fan, he keeps watching football games. If we truly love God then we will keep reading His word – not because we should, but because we love it.
 

Know The Word

As Christians, we should know what the Bible teaches:

2 Timothy 2:15: “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

The reason we should read the Bible is so that we can learn what it teaches. Reading the Bible is not an end to itself; instead, it is how we learn its teachings. We also need to learn how to properly interpret the Bible (which is a topic I will discuss more later on).

The reason we need to learn what the Bible teaches is twofold. First, it is so that we can honor God with our lives. We can’t possibly honor God if we don’t know what His Word says. The Bible is the only thing we have that tells us what honors God and what doesn’t; there are no other sources of divine revelation. Without the teachings of the Bible we are walking in darkness.

But there is another reason we should learn it, and that is so that we can defend the faith:

I Peter 3:15: “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:”

We need to know the Bible so that we can give an answer to those who have questions. Modern Christians are absolutely terrible at this. They can tell you what they believe, but they can’t tell you why they believe it. They can’t defend their beliefs. Most of the time they can’t even point you to Bible verses that defend their positions. The reason for this is because their beliefs aren’t based on the Bible; instead they’re based on what their pastors or parents have told them. When they were growing up they were told to believe certain things, and they do. Their beliefs have no Biblical foundation; it’s just tradition.

That is not how God wants us to be. God wants us to believe things because His Word teaches them, not because that’s how we were raised. As Christians we must have the ability to defend our beliefs with the Word. In fact, the reality is that our beliefs ought to come from the Word in the first place. If we are starting with a belief and then going to the Bible to try to justify it, then we are doing it backwards. Instead of imposing our beliefs on the Bible or using it as a prop to defend what we already believe, we ought to be reading the Bible and believing what it teaches. When it disagrees with what we already believe (and that will happen quite a lot) then we need to change the way we think and believe what the Bible says. There are many people who look at the Bible and say “Well, I just don’t believe that”. The truth is, as a Christian, you have no choice but to believe it. If what you believe disagrees with the Bible then you are wrong and you need to change. You do not have the option of rejecting the Bible’s teachings and doing your own thing.

Which brings me to my next point:
 

Don’t Just Believe What You’re Told

A lot of people treat their pastor as if he was God. They simply believe whatever he says. If a pastor or teacher stands up and tells them that the Bible says so-and-so, they will just believe it. This is a terrible mistake. God charges us to study the Bible for ourselves and compare everything we hear to the Word of God to make sure that it’s true. We ought to be like the Bereans:

Acts 17:11: “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”

Why were the Bereans “more noble”? Because when they were told something they actually searched the Scriptures for themselves to see if it was true. In fact, they did this on a daily basis. They actually exercised discernment!

The modern church desperately needs to learn this skill, because there is a staggering lack of discernment today. A pastor can get up and say almost anything and people will just believe him. People are not going home, opening their Bibles, and searching the Scriptures to see if the pastor was actually right. Instead they’re just saying “Well, that sounds good to me” and going on about their lives.

The fact is that a lot of things that pastors say are actually not true. For example, almost everyone believes that angels sang at the birth of Christ. There is even a famous hymn entitled “Hark, The Harold Angel Sings”. People have heard this all their lives and don’t even question it – but it’s wrong. Angels did not sing at the birth of Christ. In Luke 2 we find the account of Christ’s birth, and this it what it says:

Luke 2:13: “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

The angels said “Glory to God in the highest”; they didn’t sing it. This isn’t deep, or complicated, or buried; it’s right there in Luke 2. It takes all of five minutes to look up the chapter, read it, and verify what the song says – but nobody does that. Instead they just believe what they’re told.

Likewise, it’s a widespread belief that Gabriel will blow the trumpet when the Lord returns; there’s even a song about it. This “fact” is also wrong. Gabriel appears four times in the Bible (Daniel 8:16, 9:21; Luke 1:19, 26), but he never blows any trumpets, and he’s not even mentioned when the Bible is talking about the angels that are involved in end-times events. It only takes a few minutes to find this out but no one ever checks. They just believe what they’re told.

I can go on and on and on. This doesn’t just affect minor things; there are all sorts of major, important doctrines where the common belief is actually wrong. But no one bothers to look it up for themselves and see what the Scripture says. The Bereans searched the Scriptures daily, but we don’t; instead we watch television, because that’s more important to us.
 

Interpret The Bible Correctly

When people do read the Bible, the question they ask themselves is this: “What does this passage mean to me?” That is the wrong question to ask. Despite what you may have been told, the Bible is not about you. God did not write the Bible with you in mind; in fact, there are large portions of it that are not aimed at you at all. (For example, some parts of it are written to Israel; other parts are written to those who will live through the Tribulation. Taking a command that was given to Israel and applying it to the Church is a terrible mistake.) The question you should be asking is this: what does the passage actually mean?

When you get a bill in the mail you don’t look for hidden personal meanings. Instead you interpret the bill objectively, using the standard rules of grammar. You understand that when the electric company sends you a bill for $293.11, it’s because you owe them that amount of money and they want you to send them a check (and if you don’t, they will cut off your power). You understand that bills are bills and you know what to do in response. It’s not complicated.

Yet, people don’t interpret the Bible that way at all. Instead of researching the context, reading the entire passage, and trying to figure out what the writer was trying to say, they read verses out of context and utterly mangle them. People seem to interpret Bible verses as some kind of personal fortune cookie – and as a result they get into all kinds of trouble.

For example, take this verse from Joel:

Joel 3:10: “… let the weak say, I am strong.”

This verse is quite famous. In fact, we even have hymns about it! People read that verse and say “See, God is telling me that I am actually a strong person.” We thunderously cry out “Let the weak say, I am strong!” It is a cheer – a rallying cry. It gets us all excited. It’s great – except we are completely butchering what the passage is actually saying.

If you read the entire chapter of Joel 3 you will discover that God is talking about the battle of Armageddon. At the end of the Tribulation the armies of the world will gather and attack Jerusalem. They are determined to wipe out the Jews, but God mocks them. God says that He will defend His people and utterly wipe out the invaders. He then mockingly tells them this:

Joel 3:9: “Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up:
10 Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.
11 Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord.
12 Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.”

God isn’t encouraging the Gentiles; He is making fun of them. He is saying that the Gentile nations are claiming to be strong, but they are actually weak. They are coming to make war and wipe out Israel, but instead God will judge them and they will be wiped out instead. When God says “let the weak say, I am strong”, what He is actually saying is this: you Gentiles are claiming to be strong, but in reality you are weak and I am going to utterly annihilate you.

Do you see how the actual meaning of the verse is completely different from the way most people interpret it? Finding the real interpretation wasn’t hard: all we had to do was actually read the entire chapter, instead of focus on just that one verse. It wasn’t hard.

The rules for interpreting the Bible are not difficult. First, if plain sense makes sense, seek no other sense. If the Scripture can be taken literally then it should be taken literally. A symbolic or “spiritual” interpretation should only be used when a literal interpretation makes no sense or when the passage is clearly symbolic. Whatever you do, do not interpret the entire Bible symbolically. Only apply a symbolic interpretation when it is absolutely clear that the Bible is using symbolism. The Bible is not an allegory. You do not have the right to make it mean whatever you want it to mean. Your job, as a student, is to find the actual meaning of the passage.

Second, interpret Scripture with Scripture. When you do run across a symbol you are not allowed to decide for yourself what the symbol means. Instead, look up the symbol in the Bible and see how the Bible interprets that symbol. The Bible defines the symbols it uses. Look it up in the Bible; don’t look it up somewhere else.

Third, as we saw in the case of Joel 3, context is everything. Don’t just read one verse; instead, read the entire chapter. It’s really best to read the entire Bible and keep everything in mind, because sometimes the answer is not obvious. For example, in 2 Kings 18 Rab-shakeh told the Israelites that King Hezekiah had taken away God’s altars and high places. In fact, that is a lie; Hezekiah loved the Lord and served Him. The only way to find this out is to know the story of Hezekiah, which you won’t find in 2 Kings 18. You have to do your homework.

The final point to remember is to keep the audience in mind. Just because God told Israel that they couldn’t eat bacon doesn’t mean that you can’t eat bacon. The Mosaic Law applied to ancient Israel; it does not apply to modern Christians. Likewise, God made some promises to Israel that He did not make to the Church. Just because God promised it in the Bible does not mean God promised it to you. When reading a passage you need to figure out who the passage is about and who the passage applies to. This is difficult and takes a lot of time and experience, but fortunately there are resources available to help. If you read the Bible and mistakenly assume that all of it applies to you then you will end up in a lot of trouble. This does not mean that you can ignore some parts of the Bible, but it does mean that parts of it are to be used in different ways.

For example, in the book of Revelation the Bible makes it clear that anyone who takes the Mark of the Beast will be damned forever. The Church, however, will never be asked to take the Mark. This is because it appears during the Tribulation and the Church will be removed from the Earth before the Tribulation begins. None of us will ever be faced with that choice. The warning is aimed at people who are on Earth at that time, not us. Since we know the context and the audience we can arrive at the correct interpretation. We can also know that if we become Christians now, before the Rapture, then we will never have to face the Mark at all.
 

In Conclusion

There is a great deal more that can be said, but my time is short so I will close. It is vital that we study the Bible and learn what it teaches. It is vital that we take what we hear and compare it to the Word. It is vital that we know how to defend our beliefs and answer those who question us.

More than that, though, and above all else, it is vital that we develop a true passion for the Word. We need to love it and cherish it. If we truly love God then we will love His word; if we are passionate about Him then we will be passionate about the things He has said. If we have no love for the Word then the chances are very great that we have no real love for God either. We must cry out to God and ask for a heart that is passionate about Him, and we need to prepare our heart to seek Him. If our heart is cold and our passion is gone then our Bible studies are never going to get very far.

For my own part, I have made it a practice to read the Bible cover-to-cover, over and over again. I have read the entire Bible many times, and each time I read it I see things that I had not seen before. The Bible never gets old, nor do I ever exhaust it; instead, the more time I spend in it the more things I find. Even the seemingly boring and difficult parts have great treasures hidden in them, if we will just take the time to dig them out.

If at all possible, though, I would advise you to do more than just read your Bible. Reading the Bible is good, but it’s easy to read a passage and immediately forget what was just read. You should strongly consider getting a journal and, after reading a passage, writing a few brief notes about the chapter that you just read. What did the chapter mean? Did you learn anything? Was there anything that you found strange or difficult to understand? Is there anything that you might want to research later?

You don’t have to spend a great deal of time on this or go into a lot of depth. But if you do this – if you take the time to think about the chapter and write a bit about it – you will get a great deal more out of the Bible than you did before. It will open up entirely new vistas.

When Christ was dying on the cross He asked His Father to forgive those who crucified Him:

Luke 23:34: “Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.”

Stephen did the same thing. When the Pharisees stoned him to death for testifying about Christ he asked God to forgive those who had killed him:

Acts 7:59: “And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
60 And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.”

Based on these two examples it would be easy to think that this was simply the universal response to being martyred, but that is not the case. There is a rather odd exception to this rule, and it is found in the book of II Chronicles. When King Joash forsook the Lord and served idols, Zechariah rebuked him:

II Chronicles 24:20: “And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the Lord, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the Lord, he hath also forsaken you.”

The king did not want to hear this, so he had Zechariah killed:

II Chronicles 24:21: “And they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the Lord.”

When the king commanded that he be stoned to death you would naturally expect Zechariah to forgive him. After all, that’s what Stephen did when he was stoned to death. However, that’s not what happened. Instead Zechariah asked God to not forgive him:

II Chronicles 24:22: “Thus Joash the king remembered not the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but slew his son. And when he died, he said, The Lord look upon it, and require it.”

It would be easy to think “Well, Zechariah was just upset about being killed and set a bad example. We should copy the example of Stephen, not Zechariah.” The problem with this theory is that the Lord listened to Zechariah:

II Chronicles 24:23: “And it came to pass at the end of the year, that the host of Syria came up against him: and they came to Judah and Jerusalem, and destroyed all the princes of the people from among the people, and sent all the spoil of them unto the king of Damascus.
24 For the army of the Syrians came with a small company of men, and the Lord delivered a very great host into their hand, because they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers. So they executed judgment against Joash.
25 And when they were departed from him, (for they left him in great diseases,) his own servants conspired against him for the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest, and slew him on his bed, and he died: and they buried him in the city of David, but they buried him not in the sepulchres of the kings.”

Zechariah prayed for vengeance, and he got it: the king was defeated in battle and then murdered.

So what are we to make of this? I think the answer is actually simple: there is a key difference between the case of Zechariah and the other two examples. The Bible makes it clear that Christ was crucified out of ignorance:

1 Corinthians 2:7: “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”

When Stephen was stoned to death, Saul (who later became the apostle Paul) was there approving of it. He later explained that the reason God forgave him for persecuting the church was because he did it out of ignorance:

I Timothy 1:12: “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;
13 Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.”

As you can see, Paul actually comes right out and says that he obtained mercy because he persecuted the church out of ignorance.

The case of Zechariah, though, is different. Zechariah’s father was a priest named Jehoiada, who was a good friend to King Joash. As long as he was alive the king faithfully served the Lord:

II Chronicles 24:2: “And Joash did that which was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest.”

After Jehoiada died, however, the king forsook the Lord and served false gods:

II Chronicles 24:17: “Now after the death of Jehoiada came the princes of Judah, and made obeisance to the king. Then the king hearkened unto them.
18 And they left the house of the Lord God of their fathers, and served groves and idols: and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their trespass.”

When King Joash forsook the Lord, Jehoiada’s son Zechariah rebuked the king (just as Jehoiada would have done if he had still been alive). That’s when the king had him stoned to death.

Paul says that he received mercy because he sinned out of ignorance. King Joash, though, didn’t sin out of ignorance. He actually stopped following God to serve idols, and had the son of Jehoiada – who had been his very dear and close friend – murdered for rebuking him. Joash did not sin out of ignorance; he sinned willfully. Joash knew better but chose to sin anyway, so as Zechariah was dying he cried out for God’s judgment – and God sent it.

It is one thing to sin in ignorance and unbelief; it is quite another thing to abandon God and start murdering those who serve Him. Now, sinning in ignorance does not somehow make the sin “ok”; the wages for all sin is death, and God does not turn a blind eye to sin just because the person doing it doesn’t know any better. A sin committed in ignorance is still sin.

What I am saying is that Stephen understood that he was being killed out of ignorance and unbelief, and so he asked God to pardon their sin. Zechariah, however, was not killed out of ignorance and unbelief; he was killed by someone who knew better and had deliberately forsaken God. King Joash had already rejected God’s mercy, so Zechariah cried out for vengeance.

This is how the apostle Peter put it:

2 Peter 2:20: “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.
21 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.”

Peter actually says it is better to not know God at all than to know Him and turn from Him. We would do well to heed His words.

Revelation 2:11: “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.”

Here the Lord reminds everyone what the stakes are. Those who repent and believe in Jesus have a promise that no one else has: they “shall not be hurt of the second death”. What is the second death? To be cast into the lake of fire and tormented day and night, forever and ever. Those who accept Christ will be given mercy and an eternity of joy; those who reject Him will face wrath and an eternity of unbearable torment.

Christians are persecuted, hated, and despised, but we have a promise: faith in Jesus will save us from damnation and the wrath of God. What we believe is true and will save our souls. The world may despise us, but when it is all over the believers will inherit eternal life and joy, while those who rejected Jesus will suffer eternally. There are no other possible outcomes. The stakes are truly high – unimaginably high, in fact. Your fate for all of eternity lies hanging in the balance.

If you are not saved, then I strongly urge you to act now, while there is still time. One day you will stand before God, and when that day comes it will be far too late to change your mind.

Revelation 2:9: “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.
10 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.

Jesus had nothing negative to say about the church at Smyrna; He was very pleased with it. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” These people were laying down their lives for Jesus, thus demonstrating great love – the very thing that the Ephesians lacked. They loved not their lives to death, and so the Lord promised them a better resurrection.

Jesus once said that those who are persecuted for His sake should be exceedingly glad, for great is their reward in Heaven. Here Jesus reminds this church that although they are poor in this world, they are rich toward God and their reward in Heaven is great. He promised a special reward – a crown of life – to those who were faithful unto death. What this church was suffering was not for nothing; the Lord would reward them for it.

Notice that the Lord told them plainly that they were poor in material wealth and that they were going to suffer. There is no prosperity gospel to be found here! Jesus told His disciples that since the world hated Him, it would hate His followers as well. All throughout the Bible we are told that Christians will be persecuted, hated, and slandered. Jesus never promised us an easy life, so all of these should not come as a surprise. Our Savior warned us that we would suffer and He urges us to be faithful unto death and remember that the Lord will reward us. Our suffering is not in vain.

In the Sermon on the Mount Christ said something startling. Instead of laying up our treasures on Earth, He commanded us to lay them up in Heaven:

Matthew 6:19-21: “19 Lay not up for yourself treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

This passage is quite important, and yet it is widely overlooked. People tend to spiritualize it, thinking that it is somehow talking about spiritual blessings. Readers assume that the verse means “Serve God and He will bless you spiritually” and then move on, not realizing that they have completely misunderstood what Christ said.

Jesus is not talking about spiritual blessings here; He is talking about physical property. Stop and think about it for a minute. Can moths eat holes in your spiritual blessings? Can thieves break into your home and steal your spiritual blessings while you are away on vacation? Of course not! The only type of treasure that could be eaten by moths or stolen by thieves is physical treasure. What Christ is saying is that we ought to store our physical treasure in Heaven so that it can’t be stolen – and so that our heart will be focused on Heaven and not on Earth.

It’s common for people to assume that the pursuit of wealth is somehow a bad thing, but Christ never said that. Jesus did not finish the passage by condemning the pursuit of wealth or ordering His servants to take a vow of poverty. Instead Christ said we should put our valuables out of harms way. Jesus actually encourages us to “lay up treasures” – as long as we’re keeping them in the right place!

I realize this entire concept may seem strange, but that’s because of our own unbelief, not because of anything contained in the passage itself. I ask you again: can moths eat spiritual blessings? Satan may wreck havoc in our life, but if he was the real threat to our treasure then why not mention him instead of moths? The examples Christ uses draws our attention to physical property. He could easily have said something like “Don’t try to get physical wealth in this life, but instead give your goods to the Lord so you can have a closer walk with Him,” but He didn’t. He also could have said “Give your earthly treasures to God so that He can bless you spiritually,” but He didn’t say that either. What Christ actually said was radically different.

Very few people believe that we will have possessions in Heaven, but possessing things is not evil. Ownership and private property did not come about as a result of the Fall. We can own goods in this life without sin. It may seem strange to imagine owning things in Heaven, but since Christ encourages us to amass Heavenly wealth then it must be possible.

How we amass this Heavenly wealth is dealt with in several other passages. One key way is to give to the poor:

Matthew 19:21: “Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.”

Luke 12:31: “But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.
32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
33 Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.
34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

I’d like to point out one more time that Christ describes this Heavenly treasure as something that is real and tangible. He talks about bags that do not wear out and goods that are not eaten by moths. If Christ was talking spiritual blessings He could easily have said so, but He didn’t. Christ did not say “Seek the kingdom of God and you will be drawn closer to God, which is your reward.” Instead He talked as if the treasure was some type of physical good that would ordinarily be subject to the wear and tear of this life.

Another key way to amass Heavenly treasure is to be persecuted for serving God:

Matthew 5:11: “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”

Luke 6:22: “Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake.
23 Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.”

Another way is to receive the servants of God as what they are, or to help others in the name of God:

Matthew 10:40: “He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.
41 He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.
42 And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.”

The Bible also speaks of crowns that we can earn, which is another form of reward:

I Corinthians 9:24: “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.
25 And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.
26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:
27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”

There are actually several different types of incorruptible crowns. Paul elaborates about one of of them in 2 Timothy:

2 Timothy 4:7: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
8 Henceforth is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”

The crown of righteousness will be given to all those who long for the return of Jesus Christ and are excited about His return. There are many Christians today who dread the return of Christ and hope He stays away as long as possible; those people will not be receiving this crown.

Another type of crown is the crown of life:

James 1:12: “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.”

Revelation 2:10: “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.”

As we can see, the crown of life is given to those who endure temptation. Christ wants us to love Him, and the way we show our love for Him is by keeping His commandments (John 14:15). This means that those who keep His commandments prove that they really do love Him. Those who endure temptation and defeat it, choosing to walk in the ways of God instead of the ways of the flesh, will be given the crown of life.

Peter speaks of the third type of crown – the crown of glory:

I Peter 5:1: “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:
2 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;
3 Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being examples to the flock.
4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.”

This crown is promised to those who faithfully and selflessly take care of the Church. It appears that it will be given to pastors, evangelists, and elders who faithfully executed their job. Those who did well will be given the crown of glory, and those who were faithless will lose it.

It’s worth pointing out that in Revelation Christ warns us that we must be careful because these crowns can be lost:

Revelation 3:11: “Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.”

Our salvation cannot be lost and eternal life cannot be lost, so Christ is clearly not talking about either of those. What can be lost are our crowns, because they are rewards for a life well lived. If we dread the return of Christ then we will not be given the crown of righteousness. If we live selfish, carnal lives then we will never receive the crown of life. Finally, if we are pastors that choose to side with the world instead of with the Bible then we will never receive the crown of glory.

The one theme that is common in all of this is service to God and His Kingdom. If we give up the things that we have and sacrifice them for the kingdom of God – if we spend our lives building up His kingdom and serving Him – then we will have treasure in Heaven. If you want to lay up treasure in Heaven, this is how you do it.

As w can see, Christ is clearly talking about rewards for service – a gift that Christ has promised to give those who have performed acts of service for Him. These acts of service may be as large as dying for Christ or as small as giving a cup of water to a thirsty child, but none of them are too small to be noticed and none of them will go unrewarded. Jesus actually encourages us to “leap for joy” because of the rewards that we will receive! He wants us to look forward to these rewards and to set our hearts on them. He wants our heart to be focused on Heaven.

The word “reward” in Luke 6:23 is the Greek word misthos (#3408). According to Strong’s Hebrew-Greek Concordance it means “pay for service … hire, reward, wages”. Another word for it would be salary. This is an amazing thing, because Christ is not obligated to give us anything in return for what we do for Him:

Luke 17:10: “So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.”

Christ does not owe us anything for our lives of service – when we obey Him we are simply doing what He has already commanded us to do. Yet, in spite of this, out of His deep and passionate love for us, He offers us rewards. It is not a repayment of a debt (for no one can obligate God), but instead it is an amazing act of mercy and grace.

Usually when I teach this I run into very strong opposition to the entire idea of rewards. People are very opposed to this idea. Some argue that in Heaven “there are no big I’s or little U’s”, meaning everyone has the same reward. Others say that God is our reward and it’s wrong to look for anything else. Still others claim that looking for rewards is “unspiritual”.

These objections sound wise, but they are all mistaken. Christ dealt with this in Matthew 19:

Matthew 19:27-30: “27 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?
28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
29 And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
30 But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.”

It is interesting to note what Christ did not say. When Peter asked what reward he would receive in return for his service, Christ did not rebuke him, nor tell him that he would receive no special reward, nor say that God was his reward, nor say that eternal life was all he was going to get. Instead Christ actually said he would receive a special position of authority that no one else would have – Peter and the other disciples would be given thrones and judge the tribes of Israel!

From this passage alone it is clear that everyone’s reward is not the same. This also disproves the idea that everyone’s position is identical – some people (like the disciples) will be given more authority than others. Notice that verse 30 says that “many that are first shall be last”. It does not say that “everyone will be the same”! Some people, because of their acts of service to God, will have greater positions than others.

The idea of being rewarded for our service makes some people uncomfortable, but this is Christ’s idea, not our own. God is not somehow doing something wrong by generously rewarding people. The Lord is not rewarding us because God owes us something; He is rewarding us because He loves us. It has nothing to do with our worthiness and everything to do with His generosity. This passage makes clear what we will do with the rewards Christ has promised to give to us:

Revelation 4:9-11: “9 And when those beasts give glory and honor and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth forever and ever,
10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”

What are these people doing with their crowns? They are casting them before the throne of God and worshiping Him. The Lord had glorified them, but they turned around and used their glory to worship the Father. Nothing was directed toward self; instead, everything was directed toward God.

The word “crown” in this passage is an interesting one. It is the Greek word stephanos (#4735) and means “a badge of royalty, a prize in the public games or a symbol of honor” – in other words, a reward for emerging victorious in a contest. These are not crowns of authority but crows of victory – prizes, not scepters. The crowd in the throne room of Heaven took their crowns and used them to glorify the Father.

Christ even taught several parables on this subject. In Matthew 25:14-30 and in Luke 19:11-27 Christ tells the story of a ruler who entrusted his servants with various possessions and then went away on a long journey. When he returned he gathered his servants and asked them to account for what they had done. The ruler’s response to his servants’ faithfulness is very striking:

Matthew 25:20-21: “20 And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me give talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.
21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”

Luke 19:16-27: “Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds.
17 And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.”

In both parables the ruler rewarded those who had faithfully served him. This is quite unexpected, because the ruler had entrusted his possessions with servants. Being faithful managers was simply a part of their job; they didn’t deserve a tip for it. Despite this, not only were they rewarded, but they were rewarded extravagantly! When the ruler returned he entrusted entire cities to them simply because they had been faithful with a small sum of money. It would be like faithfully managing a few thousand dollars for a businessman, doing it well, and being rewarded by overseeing a hundred-million-dollar stock portfolio. There’s simply no comparison between the act and the reward.

What really mattered to the ruler was that his servants had been faithful, and since they were faithful he rewarded them with joy and far greater responsibilities. The money had simply been a test of their personal character, and since they passed they went on to better and brighter things. It didn’t matter if their pound had gained two pounds or five; what mattered was that they had faithfully served their master.

It is worth noting that the servant who was not faithful had his reward taken away:

Luke 19:24-26: “24 And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him [the unfaithful servant] the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds.
25 (And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.)
26 For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him.”

It’s tempting to think that Christ is talking about the unsaved in this passage, but He is not. The unsaved are dealt with in the next verse:

Luke 19:27: “But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring them hither, and slay them before me.”

The message Christ is teaching is crystal clear. The servants who faithfully served their master were rewarded. The servant who was not faithful had his reward taken away and given to someone else. Finally, all of those who refused to be servants at all and who rebelled against the ruler were executed. Christ is definitely not teaching that everyone will have the same reward in Heaven, or that He places no difference between His faithful servants and His unfaithful ones. In Revelation 21:4 it does say that “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain:” but it does not say that everyone shall receive the same reward. In fact, I Corinthians 3 says quite the opposite:

I Corinthians 3:11-15: “11 For other foundation can no main lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire.”

This passage is clearly saying that every man’s work will be tested, and anything that does not pass the test will be lost. Like the parable of the talents, a reward is given to some but not to others. Those who wasted their lives and built upon straw were still saved, but suffered loss. They attained eternal life but received no reward. It does not say that they will suffer pain and bitterness throughout all of eternity, but it does say that they will miss out on something.

In summary, I believe that the Bible teaches that Christ does reward our Christian service in this life with Heavenly treasures in the next. I also believe that we will give an account of our life to Christ, and those who were not faithful will miss out on rewards that will be given to those who served faithfully. Some, like the disciples, will have positions of greater authority than others. These rewards are given out of the generosity of God and are for the glory of God, not for our own vanity. All things are done for the honor and glory of God – and it pleases God to reward those who lived faithfully for Him.

In the book of Ephesians we find this remarkable, encouraging verse:

Ephesians 2:4: “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.”

Verse 6 contains a fascinating reference to our sitting “together in heavenly places in Christ”. That is worthy of exploration, but that is not the road I wish to take today. Instead I want to explore verse 7 – “that in the ages to come He might show us the exceeding riches of His grace”.

When we think of God’s grace, we often think of our salvation from our sins – and so we should, for it is by grace that we are saved. The death of Christ has purchased forgiveness for our sins and freedom from the wrath of God. We know that when we die we will go and be with the Lord, and when Judgment Day comes we will be declared innocent. That is an amazing and precious promise – but there is more.

This passage reminds us that God has bigger plans for us. When Christ spoke of salvation He repeated time and time again that those who are saved inherit everlasting life:

Matthew 19:29: “And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.”

Matthew 25:46: “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.”

John 5:24: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”

John 6:27: “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.”

Everlasting life means that we will never die; our existence will never come to an end. We will live on and on forever – not in a dreary eternity of boredom, but in the joyous presence of God. Ephesians 2:7 tells us that God has big plans for us. In the ages to come God is going to show us the exceeding riches of His grace! The riches of His grace far exceed our imagination. We have only begun to glimpse what God has planned.

This is not the only place where the Bible speaks of the ages to come. They are also mentioned in the book of Revelation:

Revelation 22:3: “And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.
5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.”

What will we be doing for all of the endless ages of eternity? We will be serving God. How will we be serving God? By reigning, forever and ever. Revelation 1:6 says that God has made us kings and priests, and that is not an idle statement; we are kings, and we will reign.

But who will we be reigning over? After all, a king must have subjects; otherwise he is king over nothing. Revelation 22 does not answer that question, but we are given something of a hint in the book of Isaiah:

Isaiah 9:6: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”

Notice what verse seven says: of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. In other words, the kingdom of God will never stop growing. It will experience infinite, endless growth, for all of eternity.

It seems unlikely that we will have children in the ages to come, since the people in Heaven neither marry nor are given in marriage. Since that is also true for the angels, that strongly implies that the growth will come from somewhere else.

Is it possible that the Creator will continue to create in the ages to come? We know that there will be no more sin, or sorrow, or pain; the former things are passed away. We also know that God worked for six days and then rested on the seventh day – but God did not promise to never create anything again. In Revelation 21 God creates a new heaven and a new earth. Might there be other works in the future?

What I do know is that in the ages to come God will show us the exceeding riches of His grace – and that is an extremely exciting thought. As hard and painful as this life is, it does not begin to compare to the glory that will be revealed in us. Better days are coming – and they will last forever.

Revelation 2:8: “And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;”

Smyrna represents the age of the martyrs (2nd and 3rd centuries AD). This was written to a church that was facing terrible persecution. Notice how Jesus describes Himself as one who “was dead, and is alive”. He is reminding the people at Smyrna that He, too, was persecuted, and He was also murdered – but death was not the end; after death is a resurrection. The people at Smyrna may have been facing death, but Jesus reminds them that death is not the end; a resurrection awaits.

That is something that we need to remember. Death is not the end. We may die peacefully, or in an accident, or we may even be murdered, but one way or another all of us will die (unless the Lord returns first). Even so, death is not the end. Jesus promised to raise us back to life, and He will. We need to hold on to that, and not weep like those who have no hope.

Revelation 2:7: “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.”

“To him that overcometh” is defined in I John, and refers to those who believe in Jesus:

I John 5:4: “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?”

All believers are overcomers, no matter how successful or unsuccessful they may have been in life. To believe in Jesus is to overcome the world – and all those who overcome will be given the right to eat of the tree of life.

The Tree of Life was in the Garden of Eden, but Adam and Eve were denied access to it after they sinned:

Genesis 3:22: “And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
23 Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.”

The Bible says that there will be a Tree of Life in the New Jerusalem, which will come down to Earth after the Great White Throne judgment:

Revelation 22:2: “In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”

I do not know if this is the same Tree of Life that was in the Garden of Eden, or if this is another one. I also do not know whether people are currently living in the New Jerusalem. It may be that the great golden city is reserved until after the Great White Throne judgment, or it may be that the city exists now and people are living in it.

Either way, one day we will get to eat of the Tree of Life. Can you imagine that? The tree that was denied to Adam and Eve will be given to us; Christ shed His own blood and died for us to pay our way. Thanks to Him, we will one day stand by that tree and eat its fruit, and we will most assuredly live forever. And why will these things happen? Because God chose to love those who despised Him, and to die for His enemies (Romans 5:7-10).

Our destiny is to live forever with God, where there are pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16:11).

Since today’s paper is rather long and complex, I thought it would be best to upload it as a PDF. You can download it here:

The Bible Version Controversy (PDF file; 13 pages)

The book of Zechariah is filled with odd and unusual things. One of the strangest is the vision that we find in chapter 4:

Zechariah 4:4: “And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep.
2 And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof:
3 And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.”

So far this is a bit unusual, but not too strange. We have a candlestick, a bowl, seven lamps, seven pipes, and two olive trees. It’s interesting, but there’s no good way to know what it means. So Zechariah asks for an interpretation – and gets a really odd answer:

Zechariah 4:4: “So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord?
5 Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.
6 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.”

I imagine you could have spent days thinking over the candlestick, bowl, lamps, pipes, and trees, and not come up with the interpretation of “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit”. (This, incidentally, is why it is so important to use the Bible to interpret symbolism, instead of coming up with your own interpretation. The actual answer can easily be something you would never have guessed.)

This interpretation, while illuminating, still leaves a lot of questions. How on earth does a candlestick, a bowl, some lamps, some pipes, and some trees symbolize that? What is the connection?

I looked up the passage in a number of commentaries and found wildly different interpretations. Apparently there isn’t a lot of agreement here – which is to be expected, given the cryptic nature of these verses.

The chapter does give us one further clue. We find it a few verses later:

Zechariah 4:11: “Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof?
12 And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves?
13 And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.
14 Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”

The two olive trees are the “two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord”. That alone is newsworthy – after all, did you know what two anointed ones stand by the Lord? Just who are these anointed ones, and what do they do? The passage doesn’t say.

If the olive trees are anointed ones, then what is the candlestick, the bowl, the lamps, and the pipes? From what I can tell based on the verse, it seems that the bowl is on top of the candlestick. The olive trees supply oil to the bowl, which then goes through the pipes to the lamps to keep them burning. It’s an automatic system – doing away with the need to manually refill the lamps (which was one of the Temple duties in the Old Testament).

In the Bible, oil is usually symbolic of the Holy Spirit. Christ once told a parable about 10 virgins, 5 of which ran out of oil for their lamps. In this system, however, that would never be a problem. The lamps are directly connected to the source of oil and will never run out.

If the anointed ones are the trees, then that makes them the source of the oil that runs the lamps; if the oil is the Holy Spirit, then that means – what, exactly? The Holy Spirit is one of the three persons of the Trinity; it is not a byproduct of an angelic anointed one.

Perhaps the answer can be found in the middle of the chapter. We have skipped a verse that may be key:

Zechariah 4:7: “Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.”

In the system of pipes and bowls and trees, the bowls have an endless supply of oil. They don’t have to worry about running out; that’s not an issue. They will have everything they need to keep burning.

In verse 7 God tells Zerubbabel that he will be unstoppable. The task that is facing him seems insurmountable, but it won’t be because God is with him. Perhaps the vision is intended to show him that God is supplying him a constant stream of grace – that God has connected him to the Source, and his lamp will never run out. He will have everything he needs to turn the mountain into a plain (or to rebuild the Temple, which was his actual goal). After all, it will be done “not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit”.

At the very least, it’s a thought.