At the end of the 3rd Missionary Journey, Paul makes a short stop at Miletus where he met the pastors of Ephesus for a farewell speech before departing for Jerusalem (Acts 20:17-38). 

 

Revelation 2:2

 

I [deity of Christ] have known [omniscience; foreknowledge] your modus operandi and vivendi both your strenuous effort [hardship, difficulty, pressure] and your perseverance [applying under the pressure of undeserved suffering], furthermore, you are not able to tolerate evil men, and you have tested those who call themselves apostles [the Gnostics], and they are not, and you found [via investigation and observation] them to be false;

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Οἶδα τὰ ἔργα σου καὶ τὸν κόπον καὶ τὴν ὑποµονήν σου, καὶ ὅτι οὐ δύνῃ βαστάσαι κακούς, καὶ ἐπείρασας τοὺς λέγοντας ἑαυτοὺς ἀποστόλους καὶ οὐκ εἰσίν, καὶ εὗρες αὐτοὺς ψευδεῖς·

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The mature believers, through thorough examination and analysis by means of their discussions with these teachers and leaders of Gnosticism discovered that Gnostic teachings and beliefs did not align with the true doctrines of Scripture.

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Evil:

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1. Evil is the policy of Satan which became operational when Ishah (after the Fall called Eve) and Adam ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil

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2. Eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil temporarily destroyed their relationship with the Lord via the loss of their human spirits and the acquisition of a sin nature.

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3. The sin nature is Satan’s major agent for the implementation of his policy of Evil.

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4. ‘Good’ outside of God’s plan is Satanic and always leads to Evil.  So, evil is more than ‘good.’ Evil combines good and sin to attack God’s plan for mankind.

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5. Evil attacks the Laws of Establishment, laws related to the individual, marriage, family, and nation. Evil also seeks to hinder the unbeliever from understanding and believing in Christ, and if he should believe then attacks his spiritual life.

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6. Therefore, any attack on the individual’s right of freedom (the right to succeed or fail), the right to privacy, the right to accumulate and own property and the right to protect oneself, wife, family, and property via firearms is evil.  (Of course, the criminal has forfeited these rights since he in arrogance attacks the rights of others.)

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7. A few examples of such violations are as follows: census taking, NSA spying on law abiding citizens, high taxes which attacks success for the purpose of redistribution to those who are failing economically which in turn attacks the right to fail, forced shutdown of businesses, forced mask wearing, social distancing, social security, national health plans, forced vaccinations, the seizure of weapons from law abiding citizens, preventing a woman in her first tri-semester from having an abortion, any attack upon marriage such as the husband’s authority, autoerotism, fornication, adultery, communal living, homosexuality, lesbianism, incest, bestiality etc., any attack upon the authority of parents over their children such as the parent’s responsibility to administer proper corporal punishment to their children, forced chemo and vaccination of children etc., attack on nationalism through any form of disarmament, the failure to prepare young male citizens for warfare, the United Nations or any other form of internationalism that attacks nationalism etc.

    

8. Satan’s attempt to blind the minds of unbelievers through religion, 2 Corinthians 4:4, “In whose case, the god of this world [Satan] has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God.”  and the luring of Christians away from the execution of the spiritual life through legalism and emotion is part of Satan’s plan of evil as per 2 Corinthians 2:11, “so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan for we are not ignorant of his schemes.”

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9. Evil is the adverse trend of society which leads to the malfunction of society, the removal of the legitimate authority and ultimately the destruction of society.

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10. Evil is Satan’s policy and function as the ruler of this world. Evil is Satan’s system by which he administers the rulership of this world. Satan cannot restrain sin as the ruler of this world and Satan’s human good is inevitably parlayed both into sin and evil. So evil then is the modus operandi and the modus vivendi of Satan as the ruler of this world. Though Satan would like to bring in a world government under his authority, a rule sponsoring world peace and prosperity, he neither has the integrity nor the ability to accomplish this goal. 

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11. Evil is the function and innovation of that person who is consistently involved in the cosmic system.

 

12. The origin of evil is Satan’s genius to devise a system namely Cosmic 1 & 2 to oppose God. So, evil originated in a higher form of creation; it originated in angelic creation. It originated with the greatest of all creatures to come from the hand of God, Satan himself.

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Revelation 2:3

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Furthermore, you keep having perseverance [learning and applying under undeserved suffering from the time of Paul in 54 AD until the writing of John in 96 A.D.] and have endured [have passed most, if not all of the undeserved suffering tests] because of My name’s sake and have not fainted [in their souls] under pressure [have not grown weary].

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καὶ ὑποµονὴν ἔχεις, καὶ ἐβάστασας διὰ τὸ ὄνοµά µου, καὶ οὐ κεκοπίακες.

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They endured under testing; first they passed Providential Preventive Suffering with its three tests namely people, thought and system testing. These tests are a warm-up for the different Momentum Tests.

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 Momentum testing is designed for two reasons. First to provide the believer with the opportunity to apply doctrine he has learned. Secondly, to accelerate the believer’s momentum. Spiritual growth results from perception of Bible doctrine, but that growth is accelerated from the application of Bible doctrine to the categories of testing. All suffering is divided into three categories: suffering for testing and blessing, suffering for discipline and punishment and suffering caused by bad judgment. Momentum Testing or suffering is the subject in view here. In summary, no believer can fulfill the plan of God and glorify the Lord apart from momentum testing.

 

People testing. People become a major distraction to momentum when the believer gets his eyes on people through love or animosity. People testing comes in two categories. (1) In personal love or admiration, the object of your love often controls your life or provides for you unhappiness, unless you have attained spiritual self-esteem, spiritual autonomy, or spiritual maturity. In wanting to please the object of your personal love, you find yourself being a different person and not following your normal function. The reaction of a person in love is disillusion and bitterness followed by implacability and vindictiveness as one continues in the cosmic system. (2) In personal hatred or animosity, the object of your antagonism or irritation often has control of your life or happiness, unless you have advanced to spiritual adulthood. The solution to people testing is to get your eyes on God and His plan, and not on people.

 

When you become jealous, angry, bitter, vindictive, or implacable; when you are dissatisfied, antagonistic toward someone else, friend or stranger, lover or enemy; you surrender the control of your life to that person. You become a slave to the object of your antagonism or love. At the same time, you have no control over your life, canceling all the characteristics of spiritual self-esteem and spiritual autonomy.

 

Therefore, to make a personal love relationship work, the believer must use a virtue base totally outside himself. Otherwise, people will make him miserable all his life. Only the advanced believer has the capacity for personal and impersonal love and so has control of his own life and he maintains control of his own happiness. Therefore, disappointment, disillusion, frustration, dissatisfaction with others cannot mar his happiness under the principle of misery derived from getting your eyes on people. Furthermore, once you attain spiritual adulthood, and you begin to function under the three categories of suffering for blessing, God becomes the source of your happiness. People can only become a distraction to the fulfillment of God’s plan for your life when human relationship becomes more important to you than Bible doctrine.

 

Thought testing. Failing thought testing is generally related to the believer’s negative volition toward doctrine. There are two different ways in which negative volition toward doctrine is developed: you are arrogant and preoccupied with yourself and therefore you do not take the intake of doctrine seriously; you are antagonistic toward its content, or are hypersensitive about some principle or some truth especially if it makes you look bad. You may be prejudiced against some area of truth due to some false teaching in the soul that causes you to resist doctrinal teaching that hits that area of prejudice.

 

Thought testing occurs at all stages of Christian experience, but its direct application as a part of suffering for blessing in momentum testing is the subject here. It occurs in spiritual self-esteem when providential preventative suffering provides some preliminary thought testing. In spiritual autonomy, momentum testing includes thought testing. In spiritual maturity, evidence testing provides definite thought testing. To pass thought testing at any stage of the Christian life, the believer must have the following. (1) Pertinent metabolized doctrine to meet thought testing at a given stage. (2) The filling of the Spirit at the time of thought testing to make the correct application of metabolized doctrine. (3) This means the ability not to be distracted by false issues or to be misled by wrong priorities.

 

Mental attitude in the Christian life is the function of your thinking and the pressure of thought conflict in your soul. What you really are at any given time is what you think. All of us are constantly changing in our thinking. This can mean instability in life. Therefore, the real you is the thought content of your soul. Proverbs 23:7, “As he thinks within himself, so he is. He says to you, ‘Eat and drink,’ but in his right lobe [thinking] he is not with you.” This verse uses hypocrisy as an illustration of the fact that we are what we think, not what we do, and not necessarily what we say. A thought can make or break you, depending on the nature of the thought. It’s either thinking derived from metabolized doctrine in your right lobe or thinking derived from the propaganda of Satan. One will improve you; one will break you apart.

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Galatians 6:3, “If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” Here is a thought that will destroy you. 1 Corinthians 10:12, “Therefore, let him that thinks he stands take heed, lest he fall.”  Since thinking is such a crucial issue, there are mandates throughout the Bible regarding thought testing. Romans 12:2, “Stop being conformed to this world [age], but be transformed by the renovation of your thought, that you may prove what the will of God is, namely, the good [spiritual self-esteem], the well-pleasing [spiritual autonomy], the complete [spiritual maturity].” Romans 12:3, “For I say through the grace which has been given to me to everyone who is among you, stop thinking of self in terms of arrogance beyond what you ought to think, but think in terms of sanity for the purpose of being rational without illusion as God has assigned to each one of us a standard of thinking from doctrine.”

 

 

System testing. Characteristics and categories: The characteristics of a system are three-fold. (1) Authority. (2) Policy. (3) Objective. The personnel under the authority can face system testing. The policy of management can also cause system testing. The objective of the organization can cause system testing as well. There are seven general categories of different systems. (1) Business organizations, large or small. (2) Military services. (3) Professional organizations, such as medical organizations, law firms, engineering companies, law enforcement. (4) Ecclesiastical organizations, such as local churches, denominations, cults, theological seminaries, Christian service organizations. (5) Athletic organizations, such as professional, college, high school teams. (6) Divine institutions, like marriage and family. (7) Government: national, state, or local.

 

There are good and bad organizations, systems, leadership, policies, and objectives. Your system testing may be from either category, good or bad. Therefore, there are many areas of system testing related to people, policy, and purpose of any organization. Because no one is perfect and because everyone has an old sin nature, personality, policy, and purpose conflicts will inevitably exist. Generally, there are three areas of system testing. (1) The authority may give unfair and unjust treatment, as from management, the boss, supervisor, senior officer, coach, professor, government bureaucrat, husband, parents, etc. Favoritism on the part of management can inevitably lead to personality conflict in an office. (2) The policy may be unreasonable, or it may conflict with normal living or with your own personal norms and standards, or it may be a stupid though still enforceable policy. (3) The objectives may be unreasonable or even impossible because of lack of ability in the personnel trying to fulfill them. Or there may be a conflict between your personal life and the objectives.

 

Sooner or later in life someone is going to be unfair to you and if that some is not just an individual but an individual in a system then you have system testing. The believer becomes the victim of a rotten system which requires him to apply impersonal love plus the three stages of the faith-rest drill and or some other doctrine. If not, he fails system testing.

 

The world is filled with bad systems which seek to destroy the integrity and the honor of individuals. Many organizations become rotten and corrupt when the leadership of such a system is rotten or corrupt through involvement in the cosmic system. Many illustrations exist, e.g. the judicial system where the judges are sociologists instead of interpreters of the law; they favor criminals while ignoring the victims.

 

System testing distracts the believer from spiritual momentum when he becomes preoccupied with himself, when he resents human injustice to the point of self-pity, when he becomes bitter and full of hatred and implacability, when he seeks revenge instead of leaving the problem in the Lord’s hands.

 

Disaster testing is when the believer faces either personal or collective disaster or both simultaneously. The Christian must understand that these tests are necessary if he is going to gain the necessary strength to continue his advance. The Christian becomes strong when he successfully goes through the furnace of suffering. Unfortunately, many Christians react to disaster testing rather than understanding its necessity. 

 

Personal disaster testing is designed as suffering for blessing for acceleration of momentum. Historical disaster, collective disaster, or national disaster testing is related to the bad decisions of others in which you are involved by association. For example, a lot of people suffer unfairly when the president decides to implement socialism. There are at least six characteristics of disaster testing. (1) Pain, physical or mental pain and anguish. (2) Crime, where you are the victim. (3) Persecution (not paranoia). (4) Privation, meaning hunger, thirst, exposure, fatigue. (5) Loss of loved ones, property, success, money, etc. (6) Disease and handicaps.

 

Historical downtrend is a maximum number of people in a given area living in the cosmic system. In this situation, there must be maximum faith, maximum spiritual self-esteem, and maximum spiritual maturity if you are going to pass the disaster test.

 

Prosperity testing. We must all face the prosperity test before we can attain maturity. God will provide in logistical grace some system of prosperity, some system of human recognition, something that can be construed as prosperity. Does that change our scale of values and make the learning and applying of doctrine secondary? If so, we will flunk this test and this failure will prevent us from cracking the maturity barrier.

 

There are two categories of prosperity testing. (1) Individual prosperity testing, in which some form of success challenges the top priority of doctrine. (2) Collective prosperity testing, in which a city, state, nation, or group becomes very prosperous. The believer sharing in that prosperity becomes distracted from doctrine, lured away from the protocol plan of God. The pursuit of pleasure excludes the priorities of integrity both in establishment and in the Christian life. Collective prosperity testing challenges the society to choose between truth and hedonism. Every believer must pass the prosperity test before he can achieve spiritual maturity. Prosperity is the most subtle distraction to the spiritual life.

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The cosmic system can offer you success, sex, fame, wealth, promotion, social and professional prosperity, but all these are without happiness and you make your own misery. Passing this test consolidates the believer’s scale of values, making them consistent with the protocol plan of God, resulting in stabilizing the right priorities of life, and giving capacity to enjoy prosperity. Passing this test means that the mature believer receives God’s greatest prosperity, the greater blessings of time and eternity.

 

Regarding these tests namely people, thought, system, prosperity and disaster testing, many Christians in the Ephesian Church then took and successfully passed Evidence Testing. They were able to accomplish this since their first love was for God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ “because of My name’s sake.”

 

Paul spent nearly 3 years in Ephesus circa 53-56 A.D. during his 3rd missionary journey which teaching gave them a tremendous understanding of the spiritual life.  We know that he established many churches in this area for he called the pastors of Ephesus together at Miletus and gave a farewell message to them before closing out his 3rd missionary journey. 

 

In circa 61 A.D., Paul wrote to the Ephesians from his house arrest in Rome teaching many advance doctrines and dealing with some of their failures regarding impersonal love, chapter 4, regarding marriage, chapter 5, and children, and slaves in chapter 6. Also, in this last chapter, he explained the basics of the spiritual life via military analogy. Since many in this church became mature believers, it is quite evident that they heeded the admonition of Paul. They went all the way to maximum glorification of God. They started out by passing Providential Preventive Suffering, then Momentum Testing and finally Evidence Testing.

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Revelation 2:4

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But I hold [aoristic present is very Koine] this against you, that you have abandoned [deserted] your most important [first in degree] love [their love for God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ].

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ἀλλὰ ἔχω κατὰ σοῦ ὅτι τὴν ἀγάπην σου τὴν πρώτην ἀφῆκες.

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Many of the Christians of Ephesus heeded Paul’s admonition in his epistle to them.  However, roughly 45 years later when John wrote, some had lost their momentum by leaving their first love, their love for God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. However, when they, the churches in Ephesus were admonished by John in 96 A. D., they recovered and contributed more than any other area toward the golden age of the Roman Empire. So, this church along with many other great churches brought about the golden age of the Roman Empire from 96 A.D. to 180 A.D. under the emperors, Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antonius Pius, and Marcus Aurelius. However, many of the Christians in the Roman Empire including the Ephesians failed to pass the prosperity test ushered in by the Golden Age of the Roman Empire which failure brought about a decline in the Empire which decline dovetailed with the rule of the evil Emperor, Commodus.

 

Revelation 2:5

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Therefore, recall to mind from what state you have fallen [intensive perfect], and change your thinking and execute the most important production [of the spiritual life]; or else I will come to you [in divine discipline] and will remove [potential indicative] your lampstand out from its place [the local Church franchise] if [3rd Class] you do not change your thinking [by using the Recovery Procedure and reestablishing your priorities].

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µνηµόνευε οὖν πόθεν πέπτωκας, καὶ µετανόησον καὶ τὰ πρῶτα ἔργα ποίησον· εἰ δὲ µή, ἔρχοµαί σοι καὶ κινήσω τὴν λυχνίαν σου ἐκ τοῦ τόπου αὐτῆς, ἐὰν µὴ µετανοήσῃς.

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The stars give-out light just as good ministers communicate the light of the Word. Churches where Bible doctrine is taught and mastered are golden lampstands which bring light to the world. In summary, the stars send out light from heaven. The lampstand sends out light from the burning fuel of Bible doctrine and sheds true light upon the events of history.

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When the pastor no longer teaches the Word of God as a star giving out light, he will be removed from the right hand of the Lord, and the members of the congregation are no longer interested in learning the Word, the golden lampstand as per Revelation 2:1 is removed from history.

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Daily decisions of the believer determine the historical uptrend or downtrend of the client nation to God. The uptrend of history is related then to the believer’s use of divine power namely the two power options.  The downtrend of history occurs when the believer rejects God’s power for the cosmic system of Satan.

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Revelation 2:6

 

At least [yet] you have this in your favor namely that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which deeds I also hate [an anthropopathism expressing the Lords attitude toward evil].

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ἀλλὰ τοῦτο ἔχεις, ὅτι µισεῖς τὰ ἔργα τῶν Νικολαϊτῶν, ἃ κἀγὼ µισῶ.

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They do not hate the Nicolaitans, but their deeds. The Nicolaitans are the licentious branch of Gnosticism. They are the great enemy of the Church in the 1st, 2nd and even third century.  It is related to the phallic cult in Revelation 2:14, 15 which Balaam taught Balak in order to undermine Israel in the Old Testament. The leader of the cult was given the Bible name of Jezebel (Revelation 2:20). The Nicolaitan-Christians compromised with paganism. 

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The important issue here is that Christians must distinguish between people and their weaknesses. None of us are perfect. Under impersonal love, the Ephesian believers did not hate the Nicolaitans (conqueror of the people) who attracted people through its licentiousness and religious function as it was connected to idolatry. (Balaam means destroyer of the people.)

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Revelation 2:7

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‘He who has an ear [capable of perception, but involves motivation and volition], let him hear what the Spirit communicates to the churches. To him who is a winner [overcomes], I will authorize him [predictive future: I will give him the privilege] to eat from the Tree of Life which is in the Paradise of God.’

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ὁ ἔχων οὖς ἀκουσάτω τί τὸ πνεῦµα λέγει ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις. τῷ νικῶντι δώσω αὐτῷ φαγεῖν ἐκ τοῦ ξύλου τῆς ζωῆς, ὅ ἐστιν ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ τοῦ θεοῦ.

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Connected with your ears is a principle called volition. You can learn anything you want to even though it may take you a little while. The ear represents the grace system of perception. Hearing has always been one of the major systems of perspicacity. God has provided a grace system for the perception of Bible doctrine, a system where IQ is not an issue, only positive volition and consistent decisions to learn doctrine; this goes far beyond merely hearing sound. It deals with motivation and volition and your desire to learn, your teachability. What you learn today motivates you for learning something in addition to that tomorrow. Doctrine is built on doctrine and each doctrine learned becomes motivation for learning the rest.

 

The Tree of Life was associated with perfect happiness in the environment of the Garden, as well as the perpetuation of Adam and his wife’s relationship with God in the Garden, Genesis 2:9, “Out of the ground, the Lord God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight, and good for food; the Tree of Life also in the midst of the garden, and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.” Genesis 3:22, “Then the Lord God said, ‘Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil, and now, he might stretch-out his hand and take from the Tree of [everlasting] Life and eat and live forever.” When man sinned and was driven out of the Garden, he was cut off from the Tree of Life, Genesis 3:24, “So, He drove the man out and at the east of the garden of Eden, He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the Tree of Life.” The tree of life is not seen again by man until the eternal state, Revelation 2:7.  Revelation 22:1, 2, “Then he [the angel] showed me the River of the Water of Life [the first monument of eternal life], bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God [the Father] and from the throne of the Lamb [the Lord’s throne in the New Jerusalem] (2) in the middle of the street of the city [was the River of the Water of Life]; so, on either side of the river, the Tree of Life [the 2nd monument of eternal life] with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. [a memorial that there is no conflict between nations in the eternal state] Revelation 22:14, “Happy are those who wash [perfective present: the use of the Recovery Procedure starting at salvation and continuing throughout their lives] their robes in order that they might have the privilege to the Tree of Life and that they may enter the city [of the New Jerusalem] by the gates.”

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Paradise:

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1. A Persian word describing a garden where the Parsi partied.

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2. The king’s garden for magnificent parties associated with great happiness was called paradise.

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3. In the New Jerusalem, God will have his own Paradise Club with beautiful gardens for winners only.

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At this point, it is important for us to understand why Adam rejected the Tree of Life in the garden for the woman outside of the garden. By creation, man was designed for happiness, and prosperity which was to be perpetuated indefinitely as long as he was positive toward God’s plan. The prohibition to not eat from the fourth tree, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was the only test of obedience. Only disobedience to this one command could destroy their happiness and relationship with God. The tree of life, of course, combined capacity for happiness with immortality (perfect happiness and immortality go together) and could only be lost by a negative action on the part of the man and the woman. In other words, the Tree of Life would be useless to man in the status of spiritual death. And since man died spiritually when he ate of the fruit of the forbidden tree, it was absolutely, necessary that the Tree of Life be removed until a future time, i.e. eternity.

 

Unhappiness breeds unhappiness namely via cursing by association. The believer associated with unhappy people is vulnerable to unhappiness. Therefore, believer, beware that in your association with unhappy people you do not reject or ignore your source of happiness which is God. Since unhappiness is contagious, separation if possible is the best course of action. However, in many cases, like marriage, home life, business association, physical separation is not possible. (Children should never separate from their parents.)  In such cases, the only way the believer can survive is to feed on what is comparable to the Tree of Life, the daily perception of Bible doctrine.

 

In summary, some situations are endured with happiness while other circumstances simply demand separation. Sorting this out, however, requires maximum knowledge of doctrine for the wisdom to do so. The believer who does this consistently will become a winner and will be rewarded by access to the Tree of Life in eternity, the ultimate in happiness forever and ever.

 

Because the tree of life is related to the subject of human happiness. The book of Proverbs has something to say about the subject, Proverbs 3:13-18, “How happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding [of doctrine]. (14) For its profit is better than the profit of money, and its gain than fine gold. (15) she” [the personification of Bible doctrine] is more precious than jewels, and nothing can compare with her [Bible doctrine]. (16) Long life [a full life] is in her right hand, in her left hand are riches and honor [rewards in time]. (17) Her ways [the ways of doctrine] are pleasant ways, and all her paths are prosperity. (18) She is a tree of life [capacity of life] to those who take hold of her [doctrine], and happy are all who hold her fast [doctrine resident in the soul].” In time, learning Bible doctrine is as close as we can get to the tree of life. Those who persist in the perception of doctrine in time will eat from the tree of life in eternity.

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Proverbs 11:11-31, “By the blessing of the upright [the mature believer] a city is exalted [blessing by association via a pivot], but by the mouth of the wicked one [the cosmic believer] it is destroyed. (12) He who despises his neighbor [hatred] is destitute of doctrine, but a man of understanding minds his own business [function of the doctrine of privacy]. (13) He who functions as a talebearer [a violation of privacy] reveals secrets, but he who is faithful of spirit conceals the matter. (14) Where there is no guidance [from doctrine], the people fail; but where there is no lack of leadership there is deliverance. (15) He who is a co-signer of a note for a stranger [attempting to gain friendship] will suffer for it, but he who hates co-signing is secure. (16) A grace woman acquires integrity [honor], a strong man in doctrine attains happiness. (17) The grace man benefits his own soul with happiness, but the cruel person [cosmic believer] troubles his own flesh. (18) The wicked [the cosmic believer] earns the wages of a lie, but he who sows righteousness has a true reward. [The true reward is the tree of life.] (19) The truly righteous believer lives [a fulfilling life], but he who pursues evil [the cosmic believer] goes to his death [doctrine of the sin unto death]. (20) The Lord detests men of distorted right lobes [an unhappy person], but the upright in the way [the believer positive toward doctrine] are his delight. (21) Be sure of this, the evil will not go unpunished; but the descendants of the righteous will be delivered [there is blessing by association]. (22) Like a ring of gold in a pig’s snout, so is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion [or wisdom]. (23) The desire of the righteous is only good, but the expectation of the evil [the cosmic believer] is wrath. [In other words, they make decisions that bring disaster upon themselves.] (24) One man gives generously yet gains even more; another man is stingy and comes to poverty. (25) A generous man will prosper, and he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. [Great believers are happy and generous.] (26) People curse the man who hoards grain; but blessing crowns the one who is willing to sell. (27) He who seeks good finds grace blessing; but evil comes to him who seeks it. (28) He who trusts in riches will fall, but the righteous will prosper like the green leaf. (29) He who causes sorrow to his family will inherit the wind, and the fool will be the servant of the wise in the right lobe. (30) The fruit of the mature believer is a tree of life [ happy people witness properly], and he who is wise, wins souls [wisdom comes first]. (31) If the righteous will be rewarded on earth [the mature believer who has happiness on earth]; how much more the wicked [the cosmic believer] and the sinner will receive discipline.”

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Proverbs 13:10-16, “Through arrogance comes nothing but strife [arrogance means unhappiness], but wisdom is found in those who take advice. (11) Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow. (12) Hope deferred makes the heart [right lobe] sick; but desire fulfilled is a tree of life. [In other words, you will never find happiness through your hopes in getting something you associate with happiness. Your happiness will only come from feeding on the tree of life that is capacity from the intake of Bible doctrine]. (13) The one who despises the word will pay for it, but the one who respects the mandate of God will be rewarded. (14) The teaching of the wise [communicator] is the fountain life, turning a person from the snares of death. (15) Good understanding of doctrine wins favor, but the way of the unfaithful does not endure. (16) Every wise person acts out of knowledge of doctrine, but a fool [the cosmic believer] exposes his folly.”

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Proverbs 15:1-5, “A gentle answer [a happy and wise person doesn’t react angrily when he is challenged or when someone is being unkind] turns away wrath, but harsh words [of a person without soul-capacity] stir up anger. (2) The tongue of a wise person makes doctrine acceptable, but the mouth of a fool [cosmic believer] gushes folly. (3) The eyes of the Lord are everywhere [the omniscience of God], keeping watch on the evil and on the good. (4) A soothing [healing] tongue is a tree of life. [The healing tongue is the teaching of doctrine which is the tree of life], but perversion in it [the tongue] crushes the spirit [distorting doctrine crushes the spirit]. (5) A fool despises his father’s discipline, but he who regards correction demonstrates prudence.”

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Revelation 2:8

 

And to the messenger [a reference to the pastor] of the church in Smyrna write: The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this:

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Καὶ τῷ ἀγγέλῳ τῆς ἐν Σµύρνῃ ἐκκλησίας γράψον· Τάδε λέγει ὁ πρῶτος καὶ ὁ ἔσχατος, ὃς ἐγένετο νεκρὸς καὶ ἔζησεν·

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Smyrna, a large Ionian city on the west coast of Asia Minor was at the head of the Gulf of Smyrna which reached 30 miles inland from the Aegean Sea, and just 40 miles north of Ephesus. Anciently, it was one of the finest cities of Asia and was called “the lovely—the crown of Ionia—the ornament of Asia.” Because of its magnificent port, it became a prosperous trading center. Along with Ephesus and Pergamum, Smyrna became one of the most brilliant and prosperous cities of Anotalia (Asian Minor). The population of the city at the time that John wrote was about 200,000. To its credit, it was the only one of the seven churches in Revelation 2 & 3 which received no word of reproach from the Lord.

 

Polycarp, the pastor who succeeded John was a member of John’s ministry. After the death of John, he went to Smyrna where he was accepted as the pastor. It was during a pagan festival that Polycarp was brought before the Roman proconsul, Philip in 160 A.D, who tried to force him to revile and deny Christ. Polycarp refused by answering, “For eighty-six years I have been a servant of our Lord Jesus Christ, and He has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my Lord and King, my only Savior?” Polycarp was then seized and burned at the stake.

 

There are four meanings to the phrase, “The first and the last”.

 

1. Jesus Christ as “the first” is eternal God, coequal and co-eternal with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. As eternal and infinite God, Jesus Christ pre-existed history and was the original creator of all things (John 1:3). Jesus Christ in hypostatic union also concludes history as “the last”. He began history by personally creating man namely Adam. And as the last Adam He will personally conclude history with the destruction of the earth and stellar space. Even though history is the record of man’s thoughts, motives, decisions, and actions, it is Jesus Christ, the first and the last, who controls history. Therefore, there are two sources of judgements and disasters in history: the sovereign decisions of our Lord Jesus Christ and the erroneous decisions of mankind.

 

2. The second meaning has to do with the two great prophecies of history. They are the first and second advents. So, many prophecies in the Old Testament deal with the details of our Lord’s first advent, all of which are a part of “the first.” Everything pertaining to the First Advent was fulfilled prior to the beginning of the Church Age namely the virgin birth, the incarnation, the hypostatic union, our Lord’s residence and function in the prototype spiritual life, His resultant impeccability, His saving work on the cross, His death on the cross, His physical resurrection, ascension, and session, etc. Therefore, Christ as the first is related to the first advent and the strategic victory of the cross. Christ as the last is related to His victory at the second advent. The first and the last, then, is a title of our Lord Jesus Christ as the prophetical key to human history.

 

3. The third meaning of our subject by application refers to the uptrends and downtrends of history depending upon the decisions of Christians.  Christ is either first or last to every believer dependent upon whether the believer is executing the spiritual life or living in the Cosmic System. In other words, as goes the believer in Christ so goes human history in any generation. When the believer puts Christ first in his scale of values, it contributes to the uptrend of history; when the believer puts Christ last in his scale of values it contributes to the downtrend of history. Therefore, “the First and Last” emphasizes the function of human volition in history especially that of the Christian.

 

4. “First and last” also by application refers to the source of both temporal and eternal blessing for the believer. Our first blessing relates to time while our last blessing relates to eternity. “First and last” is the fulfilment of the Christian way of life resulting in our Lord distributing Escrow Blessings in time and eternal blessing and reward at the judgment seat of Christ.

 

The phrase, “who was dead, and has come to life” views the resurrection of our Lord in its entirety but regards it from the viewpoint of existing results: the continuation of human history past the first advent. This continuation of history is the subject of the book of Revelation. Jesus Christ produces the action of the verb through His physical, literal, bodily, resurrection from the dead.

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Revelation 2:9

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I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich spiritually), and the blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are not [true Jews as believers in Christ] but are a synagogue of Satan [These racial religious Jews were very antagonistic toward the believers in Smyrna].

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Οἶδά σου τὴν θλῖψιν καὶ τὴν πτωχείαν, ἀλλὰ πλούσιος εἶ, καὶ τὴν βλασφηµίαν ἐκ τῶν λεγόντων Ἰουδαίους εἶναι ἑαυτούς, καὶ οὐκ εἰσὶν ἀλλὰ συναγωγὴ τοῦ Σατανᾶ.

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“I know” refers here to our Lord’s divine knowledge or omniscience regarding the status quo of this second church which contributed so much to the blessing of the Roman Empire as a client nation where over several hundreds of years, millions of people were led to the Lord Jesus Christ and subsequently thousands advanced to spiritual maturity.

 

Smyrna was a wealthy city and many believers were, or had been, financially extremely prosperous. There was a wealthy Jewish coalition in Smyrna who delighted not only in eliminating job opportunities for these Christians, but also delighted in destroying Christians in business enterprise by using devious means to do so. All the same, under Logistical Grace Provision, these believers flourished spiritually, the only wealth that really matters. 

 

Revelation 2:10

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Stop fearing [They were aware of the pending persecution.] that which you are about to suffer. Note that the devil is about to cast some of you into prison in order that you may be tested, and you will have special persecution ten times [ten historical persecutions from 96-305 AD].  Keep on being faithful even until death, and I will give you the Wreath of Life.

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µηδὲν φοβοῦ ἃ µέλλεις πάσχειν. ἰδοὺ µέλλει βάλλειν ὁ διάβολος ἐξ ὑµῶν εἰς φυλακὴν ἵνα πειρασθῆτε, καὶ ἕξετε θλῖψιν ἡµερῶν δέκα. γίνου πιστὸς ἄχρι θανάτου, καὶ δώσω σοι τὸν στέφανον τῆς ζωῆς.

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The imperative mood in this verse with the negative forbids the continuation of fear, their initial reaction to suffering, pressure, and disaster.

 

There is a principle which David enucleated in Psalm 56:3 when he said, “What time I am afraid, I will trust in you [trusting in the Lord after recovery of fellowship].” In other words, he would come around to being able to think under pressure. And even in the greatest of pressures, the pressure with regard to death: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” This principle is the basis for establishing the faith-rest drill as the concept in applying doctrine under suffering even death. Freedom from fear means that the believer has the potential to think under pressure. And the ability to think means the ability to concentrate. The two of them together mean courage, for courage is thinking and concentrating under pressure.

 

When John wrote this in 96 AD the persecution of Christians had begun under the Emperor Domitian.  From Domitian in 96 A.D. to Diocletian in 305 A.D., there would be persecution of Christians 10 times

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The Ten Persecutions:

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1. Domitian: 81-96 A.D

2. Marcus Aurelius: 161-180

3. Commodus: 180-192

4. Septimius Severus: 193-211

5. Maximinus Thrax: 235-238

6. Decius: 249-251

7. Gallus: 251-253

8. Valerian: 253-260

9. Aurelian: 270-275

10. Diocletian: 284-305

 

These persecutions prepared the Christians to evangelize the world, especially the barbarians. As Tertullian put it, “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church”. The greatest missionary movement of all time in history would be sown in the blood of martyrs throughout the entire Roman empire over a period of two hundred years. Many of these people are going to die in the most horrible way, and yet they are the basis of one of the greatest counters to Satan’s administration of the rulership of this world that history has ever known.

 

The first of the ten persecutions occurred during the reign of Domitian from 81-96 A.D., the last of the Flavian Emperors. It is believed that because he was jealous of his older brother, Titus, he had him murdered. In his arrogance and psychosis, he announced his own deification and demanded that his subjects treat him as a god. As a god, he degraded the senate, persecuted Christians, and banished John to the Isle of Patmos in 95 A.D. His wife, Domitia Longina possibly bittered by the untimely death of her son and tired of Domitian’s insanity, arranged to have him stabbed to death in 96 A.D. From the divine viewpoint, he died because of his persecution of John, just as Nero died for his execution of Paul. Furthermore, the Lord who controls history, determined that it was time to begin the Golden Age of the Roman Empire.

 

The second great persecution occurred long after in 161-180 AD under Marcus Aurelius who was a fine unbeliever, the last of the good Antonine emperors. He was austere from his stoic beliefs but was very philanthropic in his domestic policies. It was in AD 161 that the Parthians attacked the eastern frontier and while they were driven back, the soldiers who fought them brought back from the area across the Euphrates, the Asiatic plague and millions in the empire died. Now, since Christians would not worship the pagan Roman gods and seek help from them, they were blamed for the plague. Actually, the Lord was removing the dead wood from the Roman Empire in order to reinvigorate it. So, it wasn’t the gods bringing punishment, but God, the Lord himself. The Romans and Marcus Aurelius were right about it being a judgment from the heavens, but the blame was misplaced for it was not the fault of Christianity as such. Even so, Marcus Aurelius began a great persecution of the Christians.  The Lord used the emperor as His agent to remove reversionistic Christians and to test the great ones. After Marcus died at the age of 59 in 180 A.D. possibly poisoned by his son in what is now Vienna.

 

The third persecution, 180-192 AD, was under the Emperor Commodus, the son of the former emperor. Marcus Aurelius had great wisdom but began losing it when he began his persecution of the Christians. His legal adoption of his evil son demonstrated a complete loss of wisdom. Never had any Antonine Emperor ever adopted his natural progeny if they had one. Rather, they had always picked a highly qualified person for adoption and succession. Even though Marcus Aurelius made a terribly bad decision in adopting his own son, it would be used of the Lord to punish SPQR (Senatus Populusque Romanus) for a period of some twelve years. The eighties were the worst period of the first century. When Commodus became emperor at age nineteen, he instituted a reign of terror which the empire has not seen since the time of Nero’s degeneracy. Some examples should suffice. Commodus had great physical strength and would appear in the arena dressed as a gladiator killing unarmed opponents. Often, he appeared in the streets of Rome wearing a lion’s skin and carrying a club and called himself Hercules. Walking through the streets, he would club to death citizens to demonstrate his Herculean power.  Not even the Senators were safe from his demonic cruelty for he would enter the senate and slaughter until the Senate floor was covered with blood. The persecution of the Christians was unspeakable, until Martia, a believer became his mistress. When it was discovered that Commodus intended to kill her and all the palace attendants, they hired Narcissus, a wrestler to strangle him to death. Thus, ended the third of the ten special persecutions.

 

The fourth special persecution was under Severus who reigned from193-211 AD. He was a superstitious African who in 202 adopted an anti-Christian policy which forbade Christians to witness for the Lord Jesus Christ. It promised death to any Christian who would talk about the Lord Jesus Christ and converts were to be punished as soon as they were discovered. The persecutions first broke out in Alexandria. Mobs of Egyptians robbed, raped and murdered in the name of destroying Christianity. Among the Christian martyrs in Alexandria were Felicity and Perpetua of Carthage; these two were famous for their stand for the Lord before they were horribly killed.

 

The fifth persecution, 235-238 AD, was under Maximus (Maximinus) Thrax. He was an eight-foot giant of tremendous physical strength and was as brutal as he was strong. When he became emperor, he ordered all Christian leaders to be put to death or exiled. Pontian, the orthodox head of the Church of Rome, was deported to Sardinia and forced to work in the mines there. He eventually died of the privations and inhuman treatment in the mines. Origen took refuge in Cappadocia where the Roman legions functioned and ignored the orders of the emperor. One day, when Maximus Thrax stepped out of his chariot, some people came out of the bushes ambushed and killed him.

 

The sixth persecution was under Trajanus Decius. Before Decius’s reign, persecution of the Christians in the empire had been sporadic and local, but about the beginning of January 250 A.D., he issued an edict ordering all citizens to perform a religious sacrifice in the presence of commissioners. Thus, he is responsible for instituting the first organized persecution of Christians throughout the empire. A large number of Christians defied the government’s mandate to perform a religious sacrifice, for which the bishops of Rome, Jerusalem, and Antioch lost their lives, and many others were arrested. Evil will not go unpunished by the Lord. So, Decius and his son were killed in battle fighting the Goths.

 

The seventh was under Emperor Gallus who reigned from 251-253. He continued the persecution started by Decius until he was murdered in August of 253.   

 

Number eight on the list was Valerian 253-260 A.D. His persecution of Christians throughout the empire was hindered by a Persian invasion.  This forced him to battle the Persians. In the battle, he was taken captive by the Persian Emperor Shapur I after the Battle of Edessa, becoming the first Roman emperor to be captured as a prisoner of war, causing shock and instability throughout the Roman Empire. As a captive, he was horribly tortured by being skinned alive. When the Roman envoys came to sue for peace they were presented with the skin of Valerian. As a result of this, the Christians had peace for ten years.

 

The nineth on the list was Lucius Domitianus Aurelian who ruled the Roman Empire for almost five years, from the fall of 270 to the fall of 275 A. D. The accomplishments of this reign far outweigh its brevity. Aurelian reunited an Empire that was on the brink of permanent fragmentation, while also defeating a wearying assortment of Germanic incursions. He also found time to build fortifications for Rome herself, and create a series of economic reforms, including a reorganization of the imperial mint. Unfortunately, he also persecuted the Church. Felix, bishop of Rome was the first martyr to Aurelian's petulancy, being beheaded on the twenty- second of December, 274 A. D. Agapetus, a young gentleman, who sold his estate, and gave the money to the poor, was seized as a Christian, tortured, and then beheaded at Praeneste, a city within a day's journey of Rome. Even though Aurelian was successful in battle, certain officers conspired to kill him, the reason being unclear. While the army was camped, Mucapor, a Praetorian officer and several other officers caught Aurelian alone, and murdered him. The Christian writers Eusebius and Lactantius believe that Aurelian was planning to persecute their faith even more, and thus he incurred God's disfavor. He defeated many of Rome’s enemies, but he could not defeat the wall of fire around the Christians.

 

Diocletian reigned from 284-305 AD. Apart from his persecution of Christians, the tenth persecution, he was an effective ruler. He was a Dalmatian, the son of a freed slave. He was a strong worshipper of the sun god, Jupiter, and under the influence of one of his cohorts he started persecuting believers. In February of 303, he sought to completely root Christianity out of the empire. In doing so, he ordered all copies of the Bible surrendered and burned, all churches destroyed, all meetings abolished. Christians were deprived of their civil rights, including the holding of public office.  Weakened by illness, Diocletian left the imperial office on 1 May 305, and became the first Roman emperor to abdicate the position voluntarily. He lived out his retirement in his palace on the Dalmatian coast, tending to his vegetable gardens.

 

With the retirement of Diocletian, Galerius took his place and continued persecution of Christians until the pressure was too great and he issued reluctantly an edict of toleration which cancelled all persecutions of believers and pardoned all Christians who were still living. In 313 A.D., Constantine issued at Milan the edict which terminated these ten special persecutions of our passage. “We grant,” he said, “to the Christians and all others free choice to follow their own mode of worship, whatever they wish ...”. These were the 10 periods of persecution of the Christians in the Roman Empire.

 

Why God chose Rome as the first gentile client nation. However, it was not the Roman Republic but the empire which became the first gentile client nation to God. The genius of Julius Caesar set up a system of administration for the empire that would function perfectly, regardless of whether the emperor was good or bad; competent or incompetent. Many times, rulers of Rome tried to wipe out Christianity in the empire not realizing that they were attempting to destroy themselves and their empire for  as long as there was a pivot of mature believers, Rome would continue to be the client nation to God. In the midst of these attempts to wipe out Christianity, Christianity not only grew in the Roman Empire, but it expanded beyond its borders. Rome survived because believers in these seven churches made decisions to reside and function inside of God’s power system, and by making those decisions SPQR as an empire continued until 476 A.D. by which time there were too many cosmic believers in the empire, and missionary activity ceased to exist.

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Now for the clause found in this verse regarding the Wreath of Life “. . . and I will give you the Wreath of Life.” The Latin ‘Corona’ was the highest decoration in the army and is the exact equivalent of the Greek ‘Stephanos’ (wreath). The Romans had many different crowns as decorations in the military namely, the ‘corona obsidionalis or grammania’, a wreath of golden strands was the highest and rarest decoration. This was given for breaking a blockade or raising a siege. One example of actions leading to awarding of a grass crown would be a general who broke the blockade around a beleaguered Roman army. The ‘corona civica’ was a crown made of golden oak leaves which  was awarded to a soldier who saved the life of another citizen in battle and held the ground where this deed occurred for the rest of the day. The ‘corona navalis’ was the highest decoration in the navy for destroying an enemy fleet or the first marine to board an enemy ship. The ‘corona muralis’ was awarded to the first soldier who scaled the wall of a besieged city. The ‘corona vallaris’ was awarded to the first soldier to scale an enemy rampart. The ‘corona aurea’ was a golden crown for gallantry in battle or any heroic act in battle. The ‘corona triumphalis’ was awarded to a victorious commander. Each crown included a monetary reward, freedom from taxes, children educated at public expense, a statue of the person erected in the public square, and a home wherever you wanted it built. The crown is used by analogy for the greatest honors God can give to believers. There were also decorations worn around the neck, decorations on a baldric worn over the chest, and various spears as rewards.

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When the Christian completes the spiritual life and subsequently receive the fullness of blessing from God, he will wear the both the crown (wreath) of righteousness and the crown (wreath) of life. The crown of righteousness and the crown of life go together. If you have one, you will have the other. As a result of having obtained maximum capacity righteousness, the Christian will receive the wreath of righteousness as per 2 Timothy 4:7, 8, “I have fought that honorable fight [advanced through the stages of spiritual growth], I have finished the course [Paul reached spiritual maturity and had passed Evidence Testing], I have guarded the doctrine [as first priority in the soul]. (8) In the future a wreath of righteousness [escrow blessings for eternity] is reserved for me [on deposit since eternity past], which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award me on that day [at the Evaluation Throne of Christ] and not only to me but to all those who love His appearing [mature believers, whose thorough understanding of doctrine enables them to be occupied with Christ],” and the wreath of life as per James 1:12,  “Happy is the believer who endures testing [passes the three categories of undeserved suffering] for having become approved [at his evaluation after the Rapture], he shall receive the wreath of life, which He [the Lord] has promised to those who love Him [enduring devotion and respect for the Lord Jesus Christ].”