She who overcomes

I recently took part in another study that explained the double-edged sword and made sense to me, so I thought I would share it with you. In Rome during this time, the sword was a symbol of the highest order of official authority. The Roman government had two divisions--the Right of the Sword and the Rod of Iron--the division of the sword had the power of life and death! Also in Hebrew 4:12 it says, "For the WORD OF GOD is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." and since John 1:1 tells, "In the beginning was the WORD, and the WORD was with God, and the WORD was God," what I get from that is this that Jesus will stand over us in final judgement either to speak life (eternal life with Him) or death (eternal damnation without Him). I hope this helps or makes sense. God bless.

Q4. The vision of Christ among the lampstands (1:12-20) is much different than the Carpenter-Teacher who walked the roads of Galilee and Judea. Why? What overall emotions is this vision of Jesus among the lampstands designed to evoke in the reader? Why is this understanding of Jesus important to a balanced faith? This vision of Christ is meant to show us His kingship. He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings. All power and glory belong to Him. Some people get so caught up in seeing Christ as only a teacher and friend, that they forget His deity. He is God. Balanced faith to me means understanding that while Jesus is our friend, He is also our King who sits at the right hand of God Almighty, so there is a reverence and awe that should also be there.

While I don't know all of the countries that are being persecuted, we all know China, North Korea, Iran, Turkey, India are few of the ones in which we have public knowledge. From Genesis to Revelation, we are told to take courage because God is on our side. So, every Christian should be encouraged to know that we don't fight this battle alone, and God has promised that while trials and tribulation will come, it does not have the final say--God does! As Paul said in 2 Timothy 2:11 "For if we died with HIM, We shall also live with HIM," and 3:12 "Yes, and ALL who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus WILL suffer persecution." So, we have been very clearly told that there will be persecution, but the awesome part is the end of the story...CHRIST WINS! Allelulia! For all of us the encouragement is this, anything we go through here on Earth is worth it to be able to stand on that final day and hear "Well done, my good and faithful servant."

It tells us that the Father is and always has been. He was before the world began--He is the beginning and the end. The significance here is that God says this is who I am and then Jesus repeats that He is those very same characteristics indicating to us what we should already know that They are one and the same through the Trinity. I love the example that is often used with water to explain the Trinity--whether water is liquid, ice, or steam...it still has the same H2O molecules, it is still water.

If you think about the word encourage--it literally means to "give courage"; Christians then and now are faced with the decision to deny Christ or face death. Therefore the theme of testimony is important because we are to stand firm and declare Jesus as Lord even at the cost of life. Jesus is the faithful witness...He gave His own life that we might live and know truth. That is the ultimate example of how we are supposed to live our own lives. I believe that we are afraid to be clear witnesses today because we fear the world more than we fear God. When we get further in Revelation and study the churches, we will see that at Pergamos this was happening. They were participating in pagan activities in order to have work. We "compromise" our beliefs to fit in or get ahead. The sad thing is that we are missing out on so many blessings from God when we choose the "easier" path. I don't know about anyone else, but I get so frustrated with myself when I don't speak up or follow what I know that the Holy Spirit is prompting me to say or do because I "fear" what someone will think about me. And, while we are not being persecuted unto death here in America, we are facing persecution--look at Sarah Palin or some of the conservative talk show hosts that have the guts to speak their mind. If we lived during Jesus's time, I think that the media and Hollywood would be crying, "Crucify them!"

Hi, My name is Tina and I live in Kansas. I am 43 years old and have 2 grown daughters and a beautiful new grandson. I grew up in church, but didn't come into a true relationship with the Lord until in my late 20's. Then about 5 years ago, God shook me up again when I did the "Believing God" study by Beth Moore . Since then, my hunger and thirst for the word have been unquenchable. For about the last year the Lord just keeps directing me into studies on Daniel and Revelation. I just recently finished Kay Arthur's study on Daniel. I am now studying Revelation through a Kay Arthur study and our Sunday School class is also studying it. So, when I saw this, I decided to check it out as well. I believe that we are living in the end times, and I am doing all that I can to be a prepared "bride" for Christ. Amen