The Lord Knows our Tribulation, and He Knows Religion Opposes Christ and the Church

The Lord told the church in Smyrna not to fear the things which she was about to suffer (prison, persecution, tribulation, and even death), because He knows their tribulation and poverty, and to those who are faithful, He will give the crown of life (see Rev. 2:8-11). The church in Smyrna was a suffering church; […]

Entering the Fellowship of the Lord’s Sufferings for the Church to be His Testimony

This week in our deeper study and prayerful consideration of the seven epistles to the seven churches in Rev. 2 we come to the Lord’s speaking to Smyrna, the suffering church. In Matt. 16:18 the Lord uttered the greatest prophecy in the Bible, On this rock I will build My church, and the gates of […]

We need to Maintain the eating of Christ as the Tree of Life in the Church Life

At the end of the Lord’s epistle to the church in Ephesus He calls for the overcomers, promising them to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God (Rev. 2:7); today we as believers in Christ need to maintain the eating of Christ as the tree of life in the […]

Loving the Lord with the First Love, Being His Testimony, and Functioning as Priests

May we be those who are loving the Lord with the first and best love, those who are His testimony on earth today, and who function as priests in the church life! In His epistle to the first church, the church in Ephesus, in Rev. 2, the Lord appreciates some of the things she has, […]

Repenting and Doing the First Works – the Works Motivated by our Love for the Lord

The Lord’s word to the church in Ephesus in Rev. 2:1-7 is a warning to us all; after He acknowledged the many works, labor, endurance, and suffering that the church in Ephesus had, the Lord said He has one thing against her, that she has lost her first love, and therefore she had to repent, […]

Never Leaving our First Love for the Lord but Giving Him the First Place in all Things

The first epistle the Lord sent to the seven churches in Rev. 2-3 was to Ephesus, and He had only one thing against them, that they left their first love; therefore, they had to repent and do the first works – if not, He would come to them and remove their lampstand out of its […]

God’s Building is Covered by Christ in His Humanity and Redemption for our Protection

The foundation and base of the church is the redemption of Christ (as typified by the sockets of silver in which the boards of the tabernacle were standing), the materials for the building up of the church is the humanity of Jesus (typified by the acacia wood) and the divine nature with the divine life […]