""And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like burnished bronze, says this: 'I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first. 'But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. 'I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her immorality. 'Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds. 'And I will kill her children with pestilence, and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds. 'But I say to you, the rest who are in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan, as they call them--I place no other burden on you. 'Nevertheless what you have, hold fast until I come. 'He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, TO HIM I WILL GIVE AUTHORITY OVER THE NATIONS; AND HE SHALL SHEPHERD THEM WITH A ROD OF IRON, AS THE VESSELS OF THE POTTER ARE BROKEN TO PIECES, as I also have received authority from My Father; and I will give him the morning star. 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'" - Revelation 2:18-29
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Thyatira
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Jesus is pure and holy and comes from the very Throne of God.
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""And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like burnished bronze, says this:" - Revelation 2:18
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Ambassadors of living flame.
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"As I looked, behold, a storm wind was coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing forth continually and a bright light around it, and in its midst something like glowing metal in the midst of the fire. Within it there were figures resembling four living beings. And this was their appearance: they had human form. Each of them had four faces and four wings. Their legs were straight and their feet were like a calf's hoof, and they gleamed like burnished bronze. Under their wings on their four sides were human hands. As for the faces and wings of the four of them, their wings touched one another; their faces did not turn when they moved, each went straight forward. As for the form of their faces, each had the face of a man; all four had the face of a lion on the right and the face of a bull on the left, and all four had the face of an eagle. Such were their faces. Their wings were spread out above; each had two touching another being, and two covering their bodies. And each went straight forward; wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go, without turning as they went. In the midst of the living beings there was something that looked like burning coals of fire, like torches darting back and forth among the living beings. The fire was bright, and lightning was flashing from the fire. ... Now over the heads of the living beings there was something like an expanse, like the awesome gleam of crystal, spread out over their heads. ... Now above the expanse that was over their heads there was something resembling a throne, like lapis lazuli in appearance; and on that which resembled a throne, high up, was a figure with the appearance of a man. Then I noticed from the appearance of His loins and upward something like glowing metal that looked like fire all around within it, and from the appearance of His loins and downward I saw something like fire; and there was a radiance around Him. As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking." - Ezekiel 1:4-13, 22, 26-28
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Progressively increasing dimensions of power, holiness and glory.
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These holy beings with the four faces who carry about this throne are known in other places as “the burning ones” or the seraphim (which also refers to venemous serpents and fiery dragons, but I digress...)
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Fire always represents an intense form of power and a purifying force. It's mere presence changes whatever is around it.
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The “burning coals” may be the same/analagous “stones of fire” that Ezekiel references later as being upon the mountain of God.
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""You were the anointed cherub who covers, And I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked in the midst of the stones of fire." - Ezekiel 28:14 NASB
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In the center of this lighting and fire whirlwind there is a man who is glowing with the power and radiance of flames and glowing metal.
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Based on the increasing power and presence of lightning, flame, and glowing metal, this man at the center seems to be the source of the energy; the burning heart at the center of existence.
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This one is sitting on the chariot throne of God and moving about the world wherever the spirit goes.
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Indicating the authority and the power of God moving about the earth.
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"I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, there was a certain man dressed in linen, whose waist was girded with a belt of pure gold of Uphaz. His body also was like beryl, his face had the appearance of lightning, his eyes were like flaming torches, his arms and feet like the gleam of polished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a tumult." - Daniel 10:5-6
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This is one of the pre-incarnate manifestations of Jesus in scripture and the church in Thyatira should be thinking back to this reference when Jesus introduces Himself to them in this way.
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Jesus identifies Thyatira as those who have been faithful and who are continuing to grow in their faith.
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"'I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first." - Revelation 2:19
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They are not falling into complacency or acting as though they have arrived, they are continuing to pursue a life with Christ.
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“Marriage, it's the second-hardest thing you'll ever do.” - My Mentor
“What's the hardest?” - Me
“Keeping your heart alive in Christ as you grow older.” - My Mentor-
Love begins to die the moment we begin to take the other for granted or stop pursuing them.
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We all have to choose our ONE THING
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"Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you; however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained." - Philippians 3:12-16
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Paul forgets any success or failure and keeps moving towards the goal of total conformity/entanglement/union with Christ.
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"One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the LORD
And to meditate in His temple." - Psalm 27:4-
David's only desire from God is to dwell in the Presence.
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"Now as they were traveling along, [Jesus] entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord's feet, listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me." But the Lord answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her."" - Luke 10:38-42
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Service flows from love, but only bitterness from busyness.
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"And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing." - 1 Corinthians 13:3
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Our faith is always either growing or decaying. We are told that the foundation is the love of Christ and that it builds from this base.
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"Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you. Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you. I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder," - 2 Peter 1:1-13
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We have received His faith and by it we have everything we need for life and godliness so that we would be ever-increasing partakers in the divine nature.
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The truth is present with us (the Holy Spirit) but who doesn't need a reminder?
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Yet, this is your problem: you tolerate Jezebel, the false prophetess that leads My people astray.
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"'But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols." - Revelation 2:20 NASB
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The Guilds
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Where Pergamum was run by the temples and their culture, Thyatira was run by the guilds.
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Nearly all work within Thyatira was governed by some kind of guild and the guilds, in turn, paid their dues to the emperor and to the god Apollo.
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Refusing to participate in the guild requirements blacklisted you from nearly any profitable profession within the city.
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If you were unwilling to bow to Caesar or to offer a sacrifice to Apollo with your guild, you were kicked out, and there goes your economic security.
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This is where Paul and Silas were imprisoned for “not obeying the customs of Rome” in Acts 16.
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The first-century prophetess.
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Scholars think there may have been a woman who was a leader within the church in Thyatira who began to receive “prophetic revelation” that Jesus permitted them to offer these sacrifices and bow to Caesar as long as they didn't do so “in their heart”.
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Jezebel the Queen.
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"It came about, as though it had been a trivial thing for [Ahab] to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he married Jezebel the daughter of Ethba'al king of the Sidonians, and went to serve Ba'al and worshiped him. So he erected an altar for Ba'al in the house of Ba'al which he built in Samaria. Ahab also made the Asherah. Thus Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel than all the kings of Israel who were before him." - 1 Kings 16:31-33
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She is the daughter of Eth-Ba'al, a man whose name literally means, “with Ba'al”. He ruled over the city of Tyre and expanded into Phoenicia with violence and, in the case of Israel, with marriage diplomacy.
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Under her influence, Ahab betrays God and builds a temple and altar to Ba'al and local Asherah shrines throughout the region.
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"Ahab called Obadiah who was over the household. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly; for when Jezebel destroyed the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave, and provided them with bread and water.)" - 1 Kings 18:3-4
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Jezebel went further than influence and into direct and violent opposition to the prophets of God to such an extent that they were hiding in caves to avoid her.
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The similar heresy.
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Remember Pergamum
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"'But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality." - Revelation 2:14
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Instead of teaching, this time it's prophecy and “spiritual revelation” but it's end goal is the same: to coax those who are growing closer to Christ away from Him and permit compromise in their hearts.
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Christ is the center of it all, and the measure by which we judge spirits.
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"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world." - 1 John 4:1-4
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Truth will always testify to Jesus.
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False wisdom will always try to get around Him.
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""Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. "And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. "Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. "The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell--and great was its fall."" - Matthew 7:24-27
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Jesus did not shy away from some of His most compelling and convicting words (the sermon on the mount, specifically), calling them instead the foundation for either life or destruction.
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Those who have succumbed to this teaching are to repent of their actions, toleration, and compromise. Those who have not compromised have no other burden than to continue their resistance.
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"'Behold, I will throw [Jezebel] on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds. ... 'But I say to you, the rest who are in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan, as they call them--I place no other burden on you. 'Nevertheless what you have, hold fast until I come." - Revelation 2:22, 24-25
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Once again, a division within the church that must be healed on one part by repentance and return and on the other part by constancy and a steady gaze on Christ.
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Tendency is usually for divisions to provoke both parties into a betrayal of Christ.
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The Obvious Betrayal: the compromise that leads to a fixation upon and a love for things that are contrary to Christ.
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If you are beginning to do something that goes against what Jesus taught or to lose your affection for Jesus, you must have turned your attention to things other than Him and His love for you.
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The Subtle Betrayal: when those who are “in the right” begin to focus on correcting the wrong or “defending the truth” instead of the restoration and redemption of all things.
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We prove that our self-righteousness has consumed our heart when we label someone as “hopeless, irredeemable, or worthless”.
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This also means that we have lost sight of Christ as well, since He looked upon a “hopeless” world and chose hope, redemption, and restoration of value. People who are with Him will always do the same.
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The consequences of tolerating this false spirit will be the letting loose of that spirit, which, like in the days of Jezebel, is a spirit of death.
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"'I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her immorality. 'Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds. 'And I will kill her children with pestilence, and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds." - Revelation 2:21-23
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Time to repent is rejected.
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Evil, even murderous evil like Jezebel, is given time to repent of it's ways.
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Tribulation comes to those who are cheating with her.
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At a certain point, evil that was once easy to go along with will begin to be very painful and costly, this is the tribulation.
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Repentance is still on the table.
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As long as there's breath, there's a chance.
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Death is sent from God to those who are “her children”: have successfully rejected the adoption by God and have been adopted by Ba'al/Apollo/Asherah
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God extinguishes, or allows to be killed, with the force/spirit/angel of death.
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kill – apokteino – to kill or allow to be killed, metaph. To extinguish or abolish.
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Pestilence – thanatos – literally means death and is a singular noun referring to the power, authority, and/or sentence of death. Thanatos is also the name of the greek personification of death.
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This is also the fourth horseman in Revelation 6, indicating that we are to think of Thanatos as a spiritual being restrained by God.
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"When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, "Come." I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death [Thanatos]; and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth." - Revelation 6:7-8
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As the book of Revelation continues to reveal, God's method for judging evil is to let it loose upon itself.
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While they remain God's children, they may suffer tribulation, but death has no say until they are given over to it.
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Each one according to their deeds.
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Once again, this is not about praying the right prayer or belonging to the right club, it's about whether or not we are doing the things that awaken our heart towards Jesus, or put ourselves under the dominion of death.
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""I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I [Moses] have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them."" - Deuteronomy 30:19-20
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Side note: the land is the better country, not a tract of property.
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"All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them." - Hebrews 11:13-16
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Those who overcome will go from being the powerless and disenfranchised to the powerful judges of the earth. They will do this because they know Him so well.
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"'He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, TO HIM I WILL GIVE AUTHORITY OVER THE NATIONS; AND HE SHALL RULE THEM WITH A ROD OF IRON, AS THE VESSELS OF THE POTTER ARE BROKEN TO PIECES, as I also have received authority from My Father; and I will give him the morning star. 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'" - Revelation 2:26-29
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The time for the world to govern itself is limited, and at the end the nations will be judged for the way they led and how they established justice for their people.
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"Why are the nations in an uproar
And the peoples devising a vain thing?
The kings of the earth take their stand
And the rulers take counsel together
Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying,
"Let us tear their fetters apart
And cast away their cords from us!"
He who sits in the heavens laughs,
The Lord scoffs at them.
Then He will speak to them in His anger
And terrify them in His fury, saying,
"But as for Me, I have installed My King
Upon Zion, My holy mountain."
"I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me,
'You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
'Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance,
And the very ends of the earth as Your possession. '
You shall break them with a rod of iron,
You shall shatter them like earthenware.'"
Now therefore, O kings, show discernment;
Take warning, O judges of the earth.
Worship the LORD with reverence
And rejoice with trembling.
Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way,
For His wrath may soon be kindled.
How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!" - Psalm 2:1-12-
While this Psalm is clearly speaking of Jesus and His judgment, the words of Jesus to the overcomers in Thyatira indicate that they will be sitting with Him as he executes this judgment.
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This judgment will not only be over people and systems, but a judgment of the lesser divine beings as well.
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"Does any one of you, when he has a case against his neighbor, dare to go to law before the unrighteous and not before the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? If the world is judged by you, are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life?" - 1 Corinthians 6:1-3
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They are also given the Morning Star: their hope, Jesus.
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""I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star."" - Revelation 22:16
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