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The Daily Word of Righteousness
Seven Areas of Reconciliation, #3
Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. (Revelation 2:1-3)
The praises and rebukes of the Lord, concerning the works of the churches, have to do with the need for the believer to be reconciled to God in fulfillment of the Day of Atonement.
The purpose of the Day of Atonement is to make possible the spiritual fulfillment of the feast of Tabernacles which follows. The feast of Tabernacles portrays the dwelling of God with His people. God cannot settle down to rest in the saint until the areas that cause confusion and rebellion are dealt with.
The rewards set forth in Revelation, Two and Three are elements of the fulfillment of the feast of Tabernacles in the saint. The final reward is to be seated with Christ in His throne as He has been seated with His Father in God's throne (Revelation 3:21).
When God in Christ is at rest in us we have attained the fullness of redemption. We have arrived at the first resurrection from the dead (in the spiritual sense). The Kingdom of God has been established in us. This is the "mark" toward which Paul was pressing. This is the "rest," the perfection which is the subject of the Book of Hebrews.
Before we can attain complete and perfect rest in Christ in God, our whole personality must be reconciled completely and perfectly to God. As we understand the Scriptures, the seven churches of Asia represent, among other things, seven areas of personality and behavior that must be brought into the likeness of God's Personality and behavior before the spiritual fulfillment of the feast of Tabernacles can take place in us in its entirety.
The areas of need concerning conformity with God's Personality and behavior are as follows:
Ephesus—we must worship the Lord Jesus rather than our church and its activities.
Smyrna—we must be willing to suffer, to remain in the prison where the Lord permits Satan to test us. We must be faithful unto death
Pergamos—we must bear a true witness against Satan and all of his works.
Thyatira—we must stand against the spirit of worldliness and immorality in the churches.
Sardis—we must turn away from fleshly talents and enterprises and return to prayer, repentance, and holiness.
Philadelphia—when the Lord sets before us an open door we must wait patiently for Him to move, recognizing that our relationship to Him is more important than any accomplishment we can achieve in our own wisdom and strength.
Laodicea—we must turn away from all self-centeredness and make every effort to please the Lord and do His will.
The saint who would enter fully into the rest of God must be willing to follow the Spirit of God as the Spirit deals with him in each of these seven areas.
To be continued.