The Messages To The Assemblies

FULL MEETING WITH MIDRASH HERE

NOTE: THE TRANSCRIPT IS NOT EXACTLY LIKE THE RECORDING.

Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21 provide Yeshua’s end times timeline framework. Revelation fills up the framework with instructions and further prophecies. Reading Matthew, Mark and Luke in light of Revelation unlocks our understanding.  

Revelation 1:1 to 6:8 correspond with Matthew 24:3-8, Mark 13:3-8, and Luke 21:7-11, the time which He said was not yet the birth pangs. Chapter 1 reveals Yeshua. Chapters 2 and 3 reveal the spiritual state of His people. It is chapters 2 and 3 where Yeshua explained how people could be taught He is the Messiah but still be deceived, and it is these chapters that will be the focus of this teaching. But first, we must cover some aspects of Yeshua revealing Himself to John.

THE REVELATION OF YESHUA

This revelation came roughly 60 to 70 years after Yeshua ascended to His throne. The only Apostles who was left was John and he was a very old man.

Revelation 1 is the chapter of Yeshua establishing that He is the Messiah John knew and that He was sent by God to give this message to His people that God gave Him for that purpose. He identifies Himself as the one who washed us from our sins in His blood and that He has made us to be a Kingdom of Priests, which the first generation in the wilderness failed to be (Exodus 19:5-6). The implication is that this generation is also failing. He also says this message is to the 7 assemblies (Revelation 1:4-6).

Revelation 1:12 says: [John] turned to see the voice that spoke… [and] saw seven golden lamp stands [Menorah]. 
Revelation 1:13 And among the lamp stands was one like a son of man, clothed with a robe reaching down to his feet, and with a golden sash around his chest. 
Revelation 1:14 His head and his hair were white as white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire. 

This passage corresponds to Daniel’s vision.

Daniel 7:9 “I watched until thrones were placed, and one who was ancient of days sat. His clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool. His throne was fiery flames, and its wheels burning fire. 

And then:

Daniel 7:13 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, there came with the clouds of the sky one like a son of man, and he came even to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. 

The Ancient of Days in Daniel 7:9 is the Heavenly Father. The description of Yeshua in Revelation 1:13-14 has similar, but not exact, elements. For instance, His hair was white as wool but He had flaming eyes while the Ancient of Days sits on a throne made of fiery flames. Two elements with different application.

Why the difference? The preincarnate Yeshua’s eyes are flames of fire because they reflect the flaming throne of His Father symbolizing that the Father’s authority is in Yeshua’s flaming eyes and they see everything!

What happened to the Son of Man?

Daniel 7:14 Dominion was given him, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which will not pass away, and his kingdom that which will not be destroyed. 

Yeshua had called Himself the Son of Man numerous times during His life on earth. The Jewish leaders understood what He meant. Other prophets were called “son of man” but those human prophets were not taken before YHVH’s fiery throne and given dominion, glory and a Kingdom to rule over the nations. So when Yeshua said “Son of Man”, He meant that Son of Man; the one who received dominion and authority that had not been given to the other sons of men.

Yeshua presented Himself to John, showing Himself to already be in possession of the dominion, glory and kingdom which the Son of Man had received in Daniel 7:14 with the right to be served by all peoples, nations and languages.

Revelation 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, ” says YHVH (‘kurios’, Strong’s G2962), “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Here, Yeshua calls Himself God because ‘kurios’ can be used for any of the names of God.

Revelation 1:17 …I am the first and the last, 

Yeshua has now established His identity as our God who has authority to instruct us. Now, He will define what He meant when He told us to beware of being deceived. He gave the Book of Revelation answer to the disciples’ questions.

THE ANGEL

There is another, separate, entity involved – a special messenger/angel – that should be identified for who he is. Yeshua, even though revealing Himself to John, will deliver the contents of the vision through this special messenger who was introduced to us in Revelation 1:1.

Revelation 1:1 This is the Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things which must happen soon, which he sent and made known by his angel to his servant, John, 

We will discover in Revelation 19:10 that this angel/messenger happens to be a brother in the faith who endured the Tribulation and has now returned to the past, to John’s time, either from the future or perhaps eternity itself. We know he is a future or eternal brother in the faith because of what happened between them.

Revelation 19:9 [The angel] said to [John], “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’” He said to me, “These are true words of God.” 

But here is what John did, in his own words:

Revelation 19:10 I fell down before his feet to worship him. He [the angel] said to me, “Look! Don’t do that! I am a fellow bondservant with you and with your brothers who hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God, for the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy.” 

The messenger told John he is a fellow bondservant! People ask why John fell down to worship this bondservant. I can understand why. In all the mass of symbolic language and seeing Yeshua as John had never seen Him before in Revelation 1, John may have thought this was his “old” Yeshua who has come to him as he knew on earth. Remember, Revelation is the longest single vision ever given. By the time chapter 19 comes, John was likely overwhelmed and even disoriented. I love how the people of the Bible reveal their weaknesses to us.

READ AND HEAR

Now we come to another facet of Revelation 1. Reading and hearing this Book comes with a blessing:

Revelation 1:3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things that are written in it, for the time is at hand. 

The blessing comes if we read, hear and keep what is written. The emphasis is on the keeping of the instructions to the assemblies written in Revelation chapters 2-3. The word “hear” is the Greek ‘akouo’ (Strong’s G191) which is the Hebrew word ‘shema’ (Strong’s H8085) in Deuteronomy 6:4. “Shema [hear], O Israel”…

We are to read, and “hear” with the intention that we will keep the things that are written in the Book of Revelation just like we are to do the things written in the Law after hearing them. Yeshua’s instructions to the assemblies in chapters 2 and 3 are not primarily prophecies. They are instructions to be kept; observed. This is of primary importance. His instructions are designed to help us not be deceived. Not being deceived is the reason the Book of Revelation was given to us. Deceived people cannot understand the prophecies.

THE TIME THAT IS AT HAND

Revelation 1:3 says “the time is at hand”. This statement confuses people because those who read, or who have ever read, may think the “time that is at hand” in their time, in whatever little patch of time they lived in during the last 2,000 years. This is one reason people have thought over the last 2,000 years that the prophecies of Revelation would happen in their day.

The “time is at hand” tells us the time has come for Yeshua, Himself, to intervene, to instruct the assemblies on their failing spiritual condition. Just like the failed first generation that sinned within 40 days of receiving the Kingdom of YHVH, so is this renewed generation failing again 1500 years later. The “time was at hand” for Yeshua to explain their condition, expound on His words and define the deceptions He had spoken of in Matthew 24:4-5, Mark 13:5-6 and Luke 21:8.

To that end, the brother of John, which is called “angel/messenger”, to whom Yeshua gave the message, will now deliver the message. Yeshua gives us hope by having someone who has been through the Tribulation and is an overcomer. He is a firsthand witness to the events of the 7 years.

Part of the messenger’s message was to reiterate what Yeshua said about Himself returning in the clouds in Matthew 24:30, 26:64, Mark 13:26 and 14:62, and what the 2 men told the disciples at His final ascension in Acts 1:10-11.

The messenger said:

Revelation 1:7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, including those who pierced him. All the tribes of the earth will mourn over him. Even so, Amen. 

This was another reassurance to us because of the gravity of the messages to the assemblies. We need hope that we can cling to!

Revelation 1:10 [John] was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day [the 7th day Sabbath], and [he] heard …a loud voice, like a trumpet 
Revelation 1:11 saying, “What you see, write in a book and send to the seven assemblies: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.” 

This time, Yeshua’s message won’t be cryptic like it was in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21 when He only said “don’t be deceived”. Whereas He was speaking only to His disciples at that time, now He will speak to His entire people who He has divided into 7 assemblies.

Why this division into 7? The number 7 reminds us that the assemblies, full of His people that fill up His Kingdom, was created by Him just as He had created the earth and all things in and around it in 7 days. Yeshua is the Creator of all things, even the Creator of His Kingdom and the people who fill it!

Five of the 7 assemblies are prophetically following a downward path but they can correct their trajectory. Their failings were leading them into the religions of Rome, Greece and Asia Minor and away from the Kingdom.

Thus, He divided the entire congregation into 7 assemblies and gave each one of them a star or guardian angel and 1 lampstand/menorah. The Menorahs symbolize the light of the 7 assemblies and the condition those Menorah were in. Only 2 of the 5 assemblies were operating correctly.

The Menorah also ties us back to our Mount Sinai origins, to the Tabernacle which was erected and operated according to the Torah, the Law of YHVH which is also known as the Law of Moses. Those with eyes to see and ears to hear understand the significance of this. Those who are blind and deaf do not.

Revelation 1:17 When I[John] saw him, [John] fell at his feet like a dead man. He [Yeshua] laid his right hand on me[John], saying, “Don’t be afraid. I am the first and the last, 
Revelation 1:18 and the Living one. I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever and ever. Amen. I have the keys of Death and of Hades [the grave]. 
Revelation 1:19 Write therefore the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will happen hereafter; 
Revelation 1:20 the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lamp stands. The seven stars are the angels [Heavenly messengers provided for] the seven assemblies. The seven lamp stands are [the symbols of the created] seven assemblies [the fulfillment of the filling up of His Kingdom with believers]. 

Their lampstands were not burning as they should and one of them was in danger of being removed entirely.

THE MESSAGES TO THE SEVEN ASSEMBLIES

Now, Yeshua has established Himself as the one with the authority to oversee the giving of this message.

Recall that the first answer Yeshua had given to His disciples when they asked about His return was to warn us not to be deceived, also saying false prophets would claim He is the Messiah and would still deceive people. Now He will answer how this happened.

Matthew 24:4 Jesus answered them, “Be careful that no one leads you astray. 
Matthew 24:5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will lead many astray. 

Mark 13:5 Jesus, answering, began to tell them, “Be careful that no one leads you astray. 
Mark 13:6 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and will lead many astray. 

Luke 21:8 He said, “Watch out that you don’t get led astray, for many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he ,’ and, ‘The time is at hand.’ Therefore don’t follow them. 

He, again (in the Revelation), did not start with the prophecies (just like before). He started with the messages to the assemblies which were the warning about how they had already been deceived. But He also wanted to give prophecies about the last 7 years. However, the deceived cannot understand the prophecies. But worse than that, is that the deceived will die. So if you want to understand the prophecies and live, you must get out of your deception! That is what the messages to the assemblies is all about.

Revelation chapters 2-3 defines the deceptions. They are leaving our first love in Revelation 2:4 (Ephesus); following the doctrines of Balaam and the Nicolaitans in Revelation 2:14-15 (Pergamum); tolerating the ways of Jezebel in Revelation in Revelation 2:20 (Thyatira); dead works in Revelation 3:1-2 (Sardis); and being lukewarm in our service to Yeshua in Revelation 3:15-16 (Laodicea). The assemblies of Smyrna and Philadelphia were doing well.                                                                                     

FIRST LOVE

Leaving our first love leads to practicing the other deceptions. It is the beginning of danger.

Leaving our first love means we have lost our Kingdom focus and become less devotional and worshipful of YHVH, less caring toward others and generally less service oriented. We spend less time in prayer and studying scripture to make ourselves approved (1 Timothy 2:15). We are not actively seeking the Kingdom in our daily lives and are paying less attention to what YHVH wants us to do in all our situations throughout all of our days before making our own decisions without Him which leads to our lives moving in a direction He has not approved.

Leaving our first love, our devotion to Yeshua, is first problem mentioned because this leads to all the other problems in the assemblies. Constant devotion to Him keeps us strong in the faith; being lax in devotion imperils our faith by making us susceptible to lies and false doctrines. The result of leaving our first love is the removal of our light, our Menorah (Revelation 2:5).

We cannot understand the prophecies if we are in a state of deception. This is why Christianity and Judaism are so full of false prophets. They are not in their “right love”. They are not Kingdom-oriented, devoted and obedient servants who follow YHVH’s ways which He specified in the laws of His Kingdom. Their religions dictate their beliefs and behaviors rather than the Kingdom’s ways, the Torah, dictating their beliefs and behaviors.

THE DECEPTION OF THE NICOLAITANS

What is the false doctrine of the Nicolaitans? It arose out of the destruction of the temple in 70 AD. The world saw that destruction as YHVH’s defeat. If a temple of any god or goddess was destroyed, it meant that god or goddess was defeated. The world and Yeshua’s believers saw this and began to draw the wrong conclusions.

People were still taught, and they still believed, Yeshua was the Son of God who had come to save the world but they now saw that God had fallen in the destruction of His own temple system just like many of the other gods in the myths. This provided rich soil for the false doctrine of the Nicolaitans – antinomianism. This doctrine teaches that believers are now under grace alone, without laws, because the temple that upheld those laws was destroyed.  

Paul had taught the assemblies to not eat meat sacrificed to idols and to not participate in other gods’ rituals but Paul had died before the temple was destroyed. Now, with the temple destroyed and its God defeated, it was an easy leap back into the pagan religions of Rome, Greece and Asia Minor.

Believers began to view YHVH and Yeshua as just part of the pantheon of gods, a “father/son” pair just like Zeus and Apollo, while still accepting Yeshua as a Messiah. This is exactly what Yeshua said would happen.

According to Nicolaitanism, there are many paths to God and to immortality so people should practice their sacrifices through the other gods that were still available, and yet still proclaim Yeshua. Some believers mixed worship of Yeshua with the other gods by eating meat sacrificed to idols and even participating in fornication practices because Nicolaitanism opened the door to the doctrine of Balaam.

The Book of Hebrews was written in answer to Nicolaitanism to explain that YHVH wasn’t doing away with His temple system and that which was erroneously thought to be “old and passing away”, according to the Nicolaitans, was not YHVH’s system but that first generation of people, the disobedient golden calf crowd that kept returning to worshiping the bull for 1500 years. This is why the Book of Hebrews has that lengthy 11^th chapter on faith! It explains that YHVH’s Temple system is eternal because its High Priest is eternal. The other gods are not eternal. And we know YHVH’s temple system is still active because He sits in His temple in Heaven, and His temple will eventually come to be on the earth, as prophesied by Yeshua and He allowed man to have a model of His Heavenly temple among them, but He had removed it because of sin.  

Modern Christianity still holds to Nicolaitanism in their doctrine that YHVH doesn’t want a temple or sacrifices, and in their Christmas, Easter, Halloween, Valentine’s and St. Patrick’s days, the Catholic celebrations of dead people, which is necromancy, etc. These celebrations involve food which Acts 15 says we are not to partake of (the meats sacrificed to idols). We should not eat any of the food from such celebrations. Don’t eat the appetizers, entrées, side dishes, meat, desserts, and the candy.

BALAAMISM

The doctrine of Baalim is a companion to Nicolaitanism. Whereas the Nicolaitans’ starting point was the weakening of Torah prohibitions against mixed worship which led to idolatry and sex rituals, Balaam’s doctrine starts there. Balaam got Israel to condemn itself by worshiping Baal Peor and having ritual temple, and openly public sex (fornication) in honor of Baal Peor. The public display of sex was the whole point of worshiping Baal Peor.

JEZEBEL

The Jezebel of King Ahab’s day was a priestess in the Canaanite Baal cult. This cult did not include ritual sex like was allowed in Nicolaitanism and required in Balaamism. Instead, Jezebel’s god was one that died and resurrected in annual cycles. Her god looks a lot like the resurrecting Yeshua. This is how Yeshua became known as just another of the dying and resurrecting gods.

Jezebel’s specialty was false prophecy (starting with the false doctrine of her dying and resurrecting god), and teaching the Israelites to reject YHVH’s Laws and instructions. She was the epitome of the Deuteronomy 13 false prophet who prophesies falsely and then leads YHVH’s people away from the Torah. Her god’s ways looked better than YHVH’s ways because in the ways of her god, you would never truly die; you would always resurrect over and over again, and you didn’t have to follow YHVH’s rules.

Israel did not yet have a “dying and resurrecting” god in the days of Jezebel (Yeshua would do that later) so this appealed to the wayward Israelites. They saw it as their way to immortality.

The falsity of the “dying and resurrecting” god is that this is not resurrection. You are being lied to! This annual “god cycle” is reincarnation. Every human being incarnates – gets a body – but no human being, or god, reincarnates year after year. We know that after the death of the body, comes judgment for man and man’s gods. The doctrine of reincarnation is utterly false!

Yeshua incarnated as a man, died and then did not reincarnate. He resurrected because resurrection is a one-time event for qualified individuals only. This is why His people will resurrect but not reincarnate.

Gods that die and reincarnate are not eternal or immortal. They are just caught up in a cycle of death, living for a year, and then dying again. But when you’re enamored with the idea of dying and coming back to life, even if you have to do it over and over again, that looks better than dying and staying dead, right? So the Israelites believed Jezebel’s false prophecies because they liked the idea of not staying dead even if they had to die over and over again in order to not stay dead. This is vicious cycle!

The false prophecies of Jezebel are never revealed in scripture. We don’t need to know them. The falsest prophecy of all, which she brought to Israel, is reincarnation, the “dying and resurrecting” god. This idea had crept back into Israel’s assemblies by the end of the 1^st century. Yeshua’s resurrection was no longer enough because the temple and its God were defeated. But did that mean Yeshua’s resurrection was also defeated, had become meaningless or the same as the other gods? Did it mean He was just another of those gods that die and resurrect? That was the confusion in Thyatira.

In addition to being a false prophet, she was a wicked and murderous tyrant. Her spirit in the churches at the end of days is why the brethren will turn on each other causing some to be martyred for Yeshua.

False prophets always lead people away from YHVH’s Kingdom! Stay away from Christian, Jewish and any other prophet that does not teach you to keep the 7^th day Sabbath and all the other Laws of YHVH’s Kingdom. Reject them before the Kingdom rejects you!

INSTRUCTIONS THAT BECAME PROPHECIES

Yeshua’s instructions were given to John to instruct and steer believers back to the ancient path, the true way given by YHVH at Mount Sinai. But the instructions of Revelation 2-3 became prophecy that was fulfilled by the continued direction the church would take and which it continues to take.

Believers need to understand these things because Yeshua tells us what He will remove from us if we don’t repent. He will remove our lampstand (Revelation 2:5) if we don’t return to our first love. He will come to make war against His own people (Revelation 2:16) for holding the doctrine of Balaam because judgement begins in the House of YHVH (1 Peter 4:17). He will throw His people’s lot in with the whore of Mystery Babylon (Revelation 2:22) for allowing false prophecies into the congregation. He will come as a thief in the night when we are unprepared for His return (Revelation 3:3) for having dead works – works without faith/obedience, rendering those works worthless to God. And He will vomit us out of His mouth (Revelation 3:16) for being lukewarm or apathetic.

THE PUNISHMENTS

What does it mean for Yeshua to come as a thief in the night? It means He will set fire to His unfaithful people. The High Priest would slip into the altar area in the night to see if any of the night watchmen were sleeping and not tending the altar through the night. Whoever was found sleeping had a coal from the fire thrown on him. The linen garment would go up in flames.

What does vomiting us out of His mouth mean? It means He will no longer advocate for us with the Heavenly Father for the forgiveness of our sins. This goes back to Hebrews 6:4-6. If He stops being our advocate, everything is lost including our eternal life.

Hebrews 6:4 For concerning those who were once enlightened and tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, 
Hebrews 6:5 and tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the age to come, 
Hebrews 6:6 and then fell away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance; seeing they crucify the Son of God for themselves again, and put him to open shame. 

Yeshua never has and never will leave His people guessing about what He means when He says something, but we must have eyes that are willing to see and ears that are willing to hear and a spirit that is willing to obey.

The believers of the 1st century had already been bombarded by Jews wanting them to convert to Judaism (in order to legitimize their faith, according to the laws of Judaism) and the Gnostics were working to spiritualize everything YHVH made into non-existence. Through all that, though, the believers had the Apostles to consult with about these things, but they were all dead before 70 AD, and once they were gone, John was the only one left. The Book of Revelation was written circa 90 AD. Yeshua’s people needed the Book of Revelation before John died and Yeshua give it to him to teach to us as God had given the Law to Moses to teach us.  

The greatest value of the Book of Revelation is not in its prophecies but in instructing us how to recognize and stay away from deception so we can understand the prophecies.  

I will address the 2 assemblies that were operating correctly in another teaching.

REMINDER

We are in Passover season now. We cannot go to Jerusalem this year… Again! So should we flaunt the seder in YHVH’s face by doing the rabbinic tradition of having the seder in our homes? No! Then what are we to do? Fast through the seder! Mourn the fact that we cannot be in the place of His name! Daniel fasted through Passover (Daniel10:1-4). Zephaniah 3:18 says YHVH will gather those who mourn for the feast because it is a reproach. Why is it a reproach? Because they cannot attend it in the place of His name. They are captives! All Israel are still captives until the day of Yeshua’s return.

And He will see Him soon! Repent and be saved when He returns!