Prayer – Lord Jesus,
please give me wisdom and understanding concerning the book of
Revelation.
This letter is from John to the seven churches in the province of
Asia. Grace and peace to you from the one who is, who always was, and who is
still to come; from the sevenfold Spirit before his throne; and from Jesus
Christ. He is the faithful witness to these things, the first to rise from the
dead, and the ruler of all the kings of the world. All glory to him who loves
us and has freed us from our sins by shedding his blood for us. Revelation
1:4-5
Red Poppies
Garden of Gethsame - Israel
Symbolic of fallen warrior
Jesus shed His blood for us.
Meditate. Consider God’s guidance in scripture.
Seven churches.
Seven is known to be the number of perfection—but I recently learned that the
original Greek word “hepta“ means complete or fully mature. The Seven
churches are located in Asia, what is now Turkey. These are ancient cities
protected by the Culture and Tourism Ministry of the Republic of Turkey. The
churches are listed here in the first chapter of Revelation. Within this book, a
specific letter was addressed to each of the Christian churches in those cities.
The messages deal with issues or problems that each particular church was
experiencing. The angel directed John to write these messages.
It said, “Write in a book everything you see, and
send it to the seven churches in the cities of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum,
Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.” Revelation 1:11
Now we know where
the seven churches are, but you’ll have to consult your own Biblical maps to
view just where those cities are located in central Turkey/Asia. If your Bible
doesn’t have diagrams of the Asia region, Google “Map of Biblical Asia now Turkey”
and you will be provided with wonderful maps of that region of central Asia.
Sevenfold Spirit of
God. The sevenfold Spirit of God, or the Spirit of the Lord, represents the
Holy Spirit—with several attributes, although not seven specific ones. Those
qualities, in the Spirit’s perfect fulness, are listed in Isaiah 11:2-4, in a
prophesy about the Messiah.
And the Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—the Spirit
of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. He will delight
in obeying the LORD. He will not judge by appearance nor make a decision based
on hearsay. He will give justice to the poor and make fair decisions for the
exploited. The earth will shake at the force of his word, and one breath from
his mouth will destroy the wicked. Isaiah 11:2-4
(Underlined for emphasis.)
One of the seven
churches is portrayed as having the sevenfold Spirit of God.
“Write this letter to the angel of the church in
Sardis. This is the message from the one who has the sevenfold Spirit
of God and the seven stars: “I know all the things you do, and that
you have a reputation for being alive—but you are dead.” Revelation 3:1
The best part of
these two focus verses is the descriptions of God and of Jesus:
God:
one who is,
who always was, and
who is still to come…
Jesus:
faithful witness to these
things,
the first to rise from the
dead, and
the ruler of all the kings of
the world.
who loves us and
has freed us from our sins by
shedding his blood for us.
We are
blessed to have this book of Revelation and an opportunity to glorify the Lord.
God is, He was, and He is to come…someday. I praise God from whom all blessing
flow, because He is eternal—forever.
Verse of Salvation ~ Listen to me, my people. Hear me,
Israel, for my law will be proclaimed, and my justice will become a light to
the nations. My mercy and justice are coming soon. My salvation is on the way.
My strong arm will bring justice to the nations. All distant lands will look to
me and wait in hope for my powerful arm. Look up to the skies above, and gaze
down on the earth below. For the skies will disappear like smoke, and the earth
will wear out like a piece of clothing. The people of the earth will die like
flies, but my salvation lasts forever. My righteous rule will never end! Isaiah
51:4-6
© 2023 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All
rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless
otherwise noted.
New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale
House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream,
Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.
Books by Mickey M.
Hunacek
Available as e-books or paperbacks at Amazon.com
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