Reading through the Bible

I have read through the Bible about 14 times through the years. I do not get the concept of Reading Plans.

I think that we, as Christians, tend to make Bible reading much more complicated than it is in reality. Many of us claim to be "Bible Believing" or "Bible Centered" Christians but either we have never read through the Bible or we find it a daunting task for some reason.

It is remarkable to me that for people who claim to have a love and passion for the Word of God seem to have so much trouble actually reading the Bible.

Yes, the Bible does contain many genealogies that are not exactly exciting reading. Because it is a collection of manuscripts, it does not exactly read like a novel. But it is far from difficult to read.

For what other book do we feel inclined to create complex reading plans? I maintain that the best way to read the Bible is in the same manner that we would approach any other book. I read it from beginning to end. Sometimes I read for hours at a sitting, sometimes I read for shorter periods of time. Sometimes my read through will take only a few weeks, sometimes a year or more. I do not place too much importance on how long it takes. I simply pray for guidance and then I sit down, open the book and read. It is really not difficult.

The Bible is the living Word of God. Each time that I read it, it seems that through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, I find a message that I had not seen previously.

I urge you, whether you are a new Christian or have been a Christian for some time, that you simply pick up the Bible and read it!

I choose to read a different translation each time I read through. This is just my personal preference. I find that some translations are a little easier to read than others but have found none of them particularly difficult. Even the old English Language of the King James gets easier to read as you progress with your read through.

I also do in-depth Bible Studies (like the one I am currently doing on the Book of Revelation), separate from my read through. I encourage you to do the same.

So, in all due respect, stop planning and just read!

Letter to the Church in Thyatira

I realize that I am not going in exact chronological order here but, my Wednesday night Bible Study group is going to be discussing the letter to the angel of the church at Thyatira next week.

Revelation 2:18-29 is the scriptural text for this study.

"And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass; " Rev 2:18 (KJV)

A few notes about Thyatira:

This is an inland city in what is now Turkey. The Bible Almanac notes: " There were no great statues of Gods in the city, but trade guilds promoted idolatry and excess drinking."

J.Vernon McGee makes the following observation in his "Thru the Bible" Commentary :"Thyatira was built by Lusimachais and again by Selecus I the founder of the Seleucid dynasty.."

Acts 16:14 tells us, "And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. " (KJV)

This Lydia was the first convert of Paul. It is likely that when she returned to Thyatira, she was instrumental in starting the church there.

Thyatira was headquarters for many ancient guilds including:

• Potters
• Tanners
• Weavers
• Robe Makers
• Dyers

In fact, J.Vernon McGee states that it was the "center of the dyeing industry".

About the beautiful location of Thyatira, Sir William Ramsay has written : 

" Thyatira was situated in the mouth of a long vale which extends north and south connecting Hermus and Caicos Valleys. Down the vale a stream flows south to join the Lycus (near whose left bank Thyatria was situated), one of the chief tributaries of the Hermus, while its northern end is divided by only a ridge of small elevation from the Caicos Valley. The valleys of the two rivers, Hermus and Caicos, stretch east and west, opening down from the edge of the great central plateau of Anatolia towards the Aegean Sea. Nature has marked out this road, a very easy path, for the tide of communication which in all civilized times must have been large between the one valley and the other. The railway traverses its whole length now: in ancient times one of the chief routes of Asia Minor traversed it."

"......the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass; " Rev 2:18 (KJV)

J. Vernon McGee makes the following observation: " This pictures the Son of God in judgement. His eyes are like a flame of fire searching them out, and His feet are like burnished brass, which represents judgement. Christ is judging this church."

"I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first. " Rev. 2:19 (KJV)

Here the good works of the church in Thyatira are listed.

In his commentary, Matthew Henry notes: " The honourable character and commendation Christ gives of this church, ministry, and people; and this given by one who was no stranger to them, but well acquainted with them and with the principles from which they acted. Now in this church Christ makes honourable mention, (1.) Of their charity, either more general, a disposition to do good to all men, or more special, to the household of faith: there is no religion where there is no charity. (2.) Their service, their ministration; this respects chiefly the officers of the church, who had laboured in the word and doctrine. (3.) Their faith, which was the grace that actuated all the rest, both their charity and their service. (4.) Their patience; for those that are most charitable to others, most diligent in their places, and most faithful, must yet expect to meet with that which will exercise their patience. (5.) Their growing fruitfulness: their last works were better than the first. This is an excellent character; when others had left their first love, and lost their first zeal, these were growing wiser and better. It should be the ambition and earnest desire of all Christians that their last works may be their best works, that they may be better and better every day, and best at last."

The true believer's personal love for Christ should be manifested in his works.

On the subject of works in this context J.Vernon McGee observes: "Works are actually credentials of true believers." He goes on to quote from the Book of James: "Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works" "

Just to clarify my on position on works, which I believe to be the correct interpretation of works: Works do not save.  Our salvation, as Christians, does not come from our works. We did nothing to obtain salvation,Christ did the work of redemption.  However, our love for Christ should produce these works in us (so to speak).


"Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. " Rev 2:20 (KJV)

Okay... now the hammer comes down so to speak. This is the condemnation of the Church.

What is this reference to "Jezebel" ?:

"And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him. " 1 Kings 16:31 (KJV)

 "And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead. " 1 Kings 21:25 (KJV)

"And thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master, that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the LORD, at the hand of Jezebel. "2 Kings 9:7(KJV)

"And it came to pass, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, Is it peace, Jehu? And he answered, What peace, so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many? " 2 Kings 9:22 (KJV)

"And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her face, and tired her head, and looked out at a window.   And as Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, Had Zimri peace, who slew his master?  And he lifted up his face to the window, and said, Who is on my side? who? And there looked out to him two or three eunuchs.  And he said, Throw her down. So they threw her down: and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses: and he trode her under foot. And when he was come in, he did eat and drink, and said, Go, see now this cursed woman, and bury her: for she is a king's daughter. And they went to bury her: but they found no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands. Wherefore they came again, and told him. And he said, This is the word of the LORD, which he spake by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel: And the carcase of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel; so that they shall not say, This is Jezebel. " 2 Kings 9:30-37 (KJV)

Okay... that is some of the scripture in the Old Testament that tells some of the story of Jezebel.

Jezebel was responsible for bringing paganism to the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Jezebel was the consort to King Ahab.

To make the contextual connection here, I again refer to the writings of our old pal J.Vernon McGee.
McGee writes: "And evidently there was in the local church at Thyatira a woman who had a reputation as a teacher and prophetess who was the counterpart of Jezebel, the consort of Ahab"

McGee goes on to point out : "And concerning the historical period of the Dark Ages which the church  at Thyatria  represents,  pagan practices and idolatry were mingled with Christian works ad worship. The papacy was elevated to a place of secular power under Gregory I (A.D. 590), and later by Gregory VII, better known as Hildebrand, (A.D. 1073-1085). The introduction of rituals and church doctrine supplanted personal faith in Jesus Christ. Worship of the Virgin and Child and the Mass were made a definite part of the church service. Purgatory became a positive doctrine, and Mass was said for the dead. The spurious documents labeled Donation of Costantine and Decretals of Isidore were circulated to give power and rulership to the pope. As Jezebel killed Naboth and persecuted God's prophets, so the Roman church instituted the Inquisition during this period."

"And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. " Rev 2:21 (KJV)

The Greek word which is translated space in the King James and time in some other translations is the word "chronos" (Strong G5550). Strong's gives this definition:

"chronos
khron'-os

Of uncertain derivation; a space of time (in genitive case, and thus properly distinguished from G2540, which designates a fixed or special occasion; and from G165, which denotes a particular period) or interval; by extension an individual opportunity; by implication delay: - + years old, season, space, (X often-) time (-s), (a) while."

This is pretty clear. God will not put up with this sin forever. My reading of the Strong's definition of this Greek word indicates that this is a "fixed" period of time. It may be a realitvely long fixed period. However, according to the definition it will end!

J. Vernon McGee writes: " The Lord Jesus has patiently dealt with this false system for over a thousand years, and there has been no real change down through the centuries in this system. In fact, Rome boasts that she never changes - semper idem, always the same.

And consistent with the interpretation here, the scripture goes on to make the point:

"Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.  And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works. "Rev 2:22, 23 (KJV)

Here the consequences for this sin are laid out.


*** Will add more later****

Revelation 1:4

"John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come; and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne;" (NASB)

Well seven is a number that occurs quite often in the scripture. It is generally symbolic of completion. J.Vernon McGee in his Thru the Bible commentary makes the following statement: "However, in the Word of God the number seven is prominent." "It does not denote perfection, but it does denote completeness."

The Greek word that is translated "churches" here is Ekklesia (Strongs 1577) This word is derived from another Greek Word ekkaleo which means to call out.  The early Christian community was designated as Ekklesia to differentiate it from the Jewish community (sunagoge) There are two aspects of Ekklesia:

1. The world-wide church of Christ ( all who are called by and to Christ in the fellowship of His salvation)
2. Individual Churches

This two-fold aspect of Ekklesia makes this a little difficult for me in regard to interpretation. I have to agree with commentators that I have read in that according to the context here, this verse is quite likely referring to individual churches in Asia that actually existed at the time of the writing. That does not however in any way mean that the message is not applicable today! 

 The verse goes on to read, "Grace to you and peace"

The Greek word that is translated to the English word "Grace" here is Charis (Strongs 5485) . Interestingly, it is from the Greek root words "chario" which means to rejoice. Charis is a favor done without expectation of return.

The Lexical Aids to the New Testament in the Hebrew- Greek Study Bible makes the following observation regarding Charis: "Charis stands in direct antithesis to erga, works, the two being mutually exclusive." " God's grace affects man's sinfulness and not only forgives the repentant sinner, but brings joy and thankfulness to him."

The Greek word translated to the English word "Peace" here is Elrene (Strong's 1515) As far as I can tell this word is pretty much identical to the English word. It is remarkable however, that peace is a blessing brought to us by Christ through God's Grace. The distress of the wages of sin is removed through God's Grace and Peace remains. In fact the message of salvation is called the Gospel of Peace for this very reason.

J. Vernon McGee observes; "Peace flows from Grace and Grace is the source of all our blessings today".

"Him who is and who was and who is to come" is an obvious reference to Christ.

But who are the "Seven Spirits" ? This is the Holy Spirit. The Greek word which is translated here to the English word "Spirit" is Pneuma (Strong's 4151). An interesting note here is that this word literally means  wind or breath or blow. It is the Greek word that we use as a root word for English words such as Pneumatic and Pneumonia. This word is also used in the New Testament  to refer to the Holy Spirit. It is unseen but strong analogous to the wind, I suppose.

In his commentary, our old buddy Matthew Henry observes: "The Holy Spirit, called the seven spirits, not seven in number, nor in nature, but the infinite perfect Spirit of God, in whom there is a diversity of gifts and operations".

Our old buddy Matt also observes that the Spirits are before the throne because God governs all things by Spirit. Makes logical sense to me!

Revelation Chapter 1 Outline and Verse 1 -3

Welcome to my new blog! This is simply a place where I put my Bible Study Notes. I will probably also, from time to time add my personal observations and opinions.

Here are some notes for Revelation 1:

Chapter 1

Chapter 1 has four distinct divisions:

·         Introduction

o   Verse 1-3

·         Salutation

o   Verse 4-8

·         Christ and His Glory

o   Verse 9-18

·         The instruction to write

o   Verse 19-20

Introduction:

Verse 1

“[This is] the revelation of Jesus Christ [His unveiling of the divine mysteries]. God gave it to Him to disclose and make known to His bond servants certain things which must shortly and speedily come to pass [a]in their entirety. And He sent and communicated it through His angel (messenger) to His bond servant John,” (AMP)

This is a single revelation. The word translated as revelation is the Greek word, Apokalupsis (strong 602) which means an uncovering, unveiling or a disclosure. Apokalupsis refers not only to the thing shown and seen but to the interpretation or unveiling of the same.

The Amplified Bible Translation of this verse shown above brackets this as Christ’s “unveiling if the divine mysteries”.

This revelation is given to Christ by God. This, for me is a difficult concept. I understand this as God unveiling this revelation to the human mind of Christ while he was on earth. I am not certain if that is exactly correct but this concept seems to make the scripture make the most sense to me. In John 17:8 Christ says the following in a prayer, “for the words which Thou gavest me I have given them; and they received them, and truly understood that I came forth from Thee and they believed that Thou didst send me.” (NASB) . It seems that He is talking about a revelation here. Also it seems that he is saying that His purpose is to pass the revelation on to us.

In his commentary, Matthew Henry writes : “Our Lord Jesus is the great trustee of divine revelation; it is to him that we owe the knowledge we have of what we are to expect from God and what he expects from us.”

Regarding revelation see Daniel 2:28 : “However, there is a God in Heaven who reveals mysteries and he made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the latter days. This was your dream and the visions in your mind while on your bed” (NASB).

As with the revelation to Nebuchadnezzar, these things are relevant to us and must “shortly take place”.

The Greek word which is translated to “bondservant” in this verse is the word Doulos (strong 1401). Doulos means slave. It is a little more than just that though. Slave here is not a temporary relationship. Slave in this sense is a permanent relationship role. The Strong’s Concordance says of the slave, “his will altogether consumed in the will of the other”.

This revelation was given to Christ for the benefit of us, His bondservants or doulos.

This message was to John by an angel. The Greek word translated “Angel” here is Aggelos. Literally this means messenger. But, it does not mean a human messenger. It is a created spiritual angel sent to deliver an announcement or proclamation to John.

Verse 2

“who bore witness to the Word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw” (NASB)

 The Greek word that is translated “Word” here is very interesting. It is the Greek word Logos (strongss 3056).

The Lexical Aids to the New Testament in the Hebrew-Greek Keyword Bible states about Logos: “Logos, when it refers to discourse is regarded as ordinary linking and knitting together in connected arrangement of words of the inward thoughts and feelings of the mind. The animals produce sound, laloun, while God and human beings and those that have intelligence produce thoughtful expressions logoun. ”

In John 8:43, Christ says to the Pharisees , “Why do you not understand what I am saying ? It is because you can not hear My Word.”

The Greek word that is translated “what I am saying” is different from the one translated as “My Word”.

“My Word” is Logos. What I am saying is lalia (stongs 2981) which simply means talking or to talk.

The Pharisees did not understand what Jesus was saying because they did not understand His Logos or the interconnected thoughts and feelings of God’s mind. In other words they did not understand because they did not believe in Him. Jesus being the manifestation of God in the flesh was the Logos or Word of God.

The Greek word that is translated “testimony” here is the Greek word Maturion (strong’s 3142).

It is literally a form of witness. The “testimony” here is based on direct knowledge coincident with reality.Ver

Verse 3

"Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand." (KJV)

Blessed is translated from the Greek word Makarios (Strong's 3107). The Lexical Aids to The New Testament in the Key Word Study Bible makes the following comments regarding Makarios:

"Makarios differs from happy because happy is the person who has good luck...The blessed person is the one whom God makes fully satisfied, not because of favorable circumstances but because He indwells the believer through Christ."

"Makarios is the one who is in the world yet independent from the world; His satisfaction comes from God and not from favorable circumstances."

In Luke 11:28 the same Greek word is translated to blessed. Christ says, "On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it" (NASB) 

Later in the book of Revelation, using the same translation of blessed, Christ says, "And behold, I am coming quickly, Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book" Revelation 22:7 (NASB).

The one who is blessed here in Revelation 1:3 are those who read, hear and keep the words of prophecy contained in this book. But, what is prophecy?

The Greek word that is translated to prophecy here is Propheteia (Strong's 4394). In the context that it is used in this verse, it simply means that which is foretold.

We are to hear the words of the prophecy and keep the things that are told in the prophecy. The verse goes on to indicate that the "time" is at hand (or near).

The Greek word that is translated to the English word "time" here is Kairos (Strongs 2540). This Greek word makes the translation a little difficult. There is really no direct English equivalent for the Greek word Kairos.

In English the word time is really chronological time. It is simply a progression of moments. We measure this in seconds, hours, days, months, years, decades, centuries, etc. 

Kairos is kind of like a season... but that is not it precisely either.

The Lexical Aids to the New Testament in the Hebrew-Greek Keyword Study Bible makes this observation: "Kairos, however, implies not the convenience of the season but the necessity of a task at hand whether the time provides a good convenient opportunity or not."

Kairos is also translated to the English word "time" in Romans 13:11.

"And this do knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer than we believed" Romans 13:11 (NASB)