The Book of Revelations: Chapter 2 Part Two

In Revelation 1:20 Jesus addresses his body as seven churches, and says there is a mystery within. God does not keep mysteries a secret, but is telling us that in order for us to understand it, the mystery must be revealed with the mind of Christ and not with the natural mind. Paul refers to this mystery in Ephesians 5:32, I Corinthians 2:7, and 15:51. Jesus shares this mystery before Calvary in Matthew 13:11. In Proverbs 25:2 we read, "It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honor of kings is to search out a matter."

Ask yourself, why did Jesus choose these seven churches in Revelation chapter 2? He doesn't mention the church in Jerusalem, Rome, or Corinth, yet these were churches that were very well known during this time. If you take the churches in their order they portray creation in Genesis Chapter one.

What Adam de-created in Genesis chapter 3, Jesus brought into re-creation. These churches are structured and placed in an order to bring forth God's plan on this earth.

In Revelation 1:12, John is placed in front of the candlesticks. This symbolizes the churches' understanding of what it means to be in the Holy Place of the Tabernacle of God. The promise in overcoming for each church is to enter the Holy of Holies. It is not about keeping or losing salvation. It is about passing through the veil (overcoming this lack of vision) and entering into the Holy of Holies (promised land). Revelation has never been about sending non-believers to an eternal hell, but a spiritual transformation of Christ in each of us being revealed that causes transfiguration of the body of Christ in the earth.

Day one: (Genesis 1:3) Let there be light.

Church of Ephesus - If they didn't repent their light would be removed. If they overcame they would eat of the Tree of Life. Aaron's rod, which is a tree, supernaturally budding in an ark (coffin) found in the Holy of Holies. The veil is rent by the death of Christ. If we see His death as our death, then we see His Life as our Life.

Day two: (Genesis 1:6) Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.

Church of Smyrna - Division; there are Jews and those that think they are. This church is made up of those that walk in the spirit, and those that declare they are a Christian through literal understanding. They have a heavenly and a natural understanding of God. If we identify with the death of Jesus then we receive a crown of Life. The crown around the ark that holds the mercy seat in place is our crown. To have this crown, we must think with the Love and Mercy of Christ Jesus to the rest of the world. We must change the way we think so that the crown on our head is the mind of Christ Jesus.

Day 3: (Gen. 1:10) There are plants that produce food, bread, and wine. You have the manna, tree yielding fruit (Gen. 1:12).

Church of Pergamos - The promise to the over-comer is hidden manna in a stone. The white stone is like a diamond (hard, unbreakable, many facets with dimension and color). Our hidden manna is the revelation knowledge of our true identity and renewed name/covenant that the first Adam denied. You are not of the first Adam, but a new creature in Christ (the second Adam). Your new name is a son of God, a Christ one.

The first Adam remained a son of God created in his Father's image according to Genesis 5 and Luke 3. When Adam's mind was veiled because of sin, he was like an eagle being raised by chickens. Even though an eagle can take on the character of a chicken, he will always be an eagle.

The over-comer receives the hidden manna which is in the ark. In Revelation 11, John illustrates that the manna has to be crushed, beaten, and baked. We will go through trials that cleanse the religious mind set in each of us in order for our true identity to be manifested.

Day 4: (Gen. 1:14-18) Creation of the sun, moon, and stars.

Church of Thyatira - The promise is given to the over-comer of the morning star. Jesus is our morning star, the Light of the world. The dawning of His Light breaking in us is revelation truth made known by the Holy Spirit. Light knowledge is used to rule and reign with Jesus Christ. Going into the Holy of Holies we receive a supernatural Life in Christ Jesus with a law that is unbroken. The law was placed in the coffin (ark). There is a dawning of our new day that only has His Light because Christ Jesus fulfilled the law and manifested all prophecy concerning the messiah. There is no judgment or condemnation in the Holy of Holies. "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit," (Romans 8:1).

Day 5: (Gen. 1:20-22) The creation of birds, animals, and fish in the sea.

Church of Sardis - This church was made of a mixture of people that were spiritual, carnal, and dead. The over-comers will be clothed in white linen. In the Holy of Holies, only the High Priest could go into this area once a year and only when covered with the purity of white linen. He had to be totally cleansed, totally pure, totally light, and totally in the presence as a son of God because only God could stand before God. When he went about his duties in the outer and middle courts during the rest of the year, he would wear the garments of royalty.

Day 6: (Gen. 1:26) The day that man was created.

Church of Philadelphia - Man became the tabernacle of God; a pillar in the temple. The over-comers become pillars in the house of God. Pillars are what carry the weight for the load bearing portion of the house. The pillars bring forth the unconditional love, mercy, and forgiveness for those that are burdened with heavy yokes. These are the intercessors and the cloud of witnesses that give their life to intercede for another.

When the High Priest went into the Holy of Holies, it was to be as an intercessor for all the children of Israel. When he came out, it was to declare forgiveness of sins which were atoned for by the blood sacrifice. The people were no longer sinners, and their relationship with God was restored. Jesus became our High Priest over 2000 years ago. He did it once and for all mankind cleansing us from all unrighteousness and restoring our true identity with God our Father.

Day 7: (Gen. 2:1-2) God rests.

Church of Laodicea - The over-comer of this church receives the invitation to sit and rest at the throne with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The throne of God is in the Holy of Holies between the Cherubim on top of the mercy seat. However, because this church thinks that they already have the full gospel, they are content with the Holy Place. True full Gospel will be found in the Holy of Holies and where the dead are raised to Life (Hebrews 6:1-2).

The curse the first Adam brought in Genesis is death (Romans 6:23). The promise that the second Adam, Jesus Christ, gave us is that we can't die. The death of the old man is already dead.

There are five months from the end of Passover to the Feast of Tabernacle. Five is the number of grace. The curse we face today is a lie which says it is up to us to kill the old man, our old nature. It is a curse because works cannot over come the little beast in Revelation. The only way we become over-comers is by acknowledging the blood of Jesus and the finished work HE did 2000 years ago. Then grace and rest abounds.

This book is a journey for the body of Christ individually and corporately to go from the Holy Place into the Holy of Holies where there is Eternal Light, Life, and Love while on this earth. We can only get there by a identifying with His death. The trumpets and vials in this book may look scary and ugly to our natural mind, but what John is revealing to us is the death of Christ, and the effect it has on each of us. Our desire must be to allow the Holy Spirit to reveal to us that we already died with Him on the cross, and today we are now resurrected with Him (Philippians 3:10).

Out of the place where Jesus is resting will flow a river of pure Life that comes from the throne. That throne is our inner most being. Revelation is to find that place of rest in each of us, and to experience it in the natural so when others see us they see HIM.

The Church of Ephesus:

In Chapter two of Revelation we begin with John writing to the Church of Ephesus. He is writing to the angel or messenger of this church. The name Ephesus means "permitted." He that holds the seven stars in His right hand, who was in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks is talking about Jesus and mature believers, not a building or physical place. These people have been declaring "church" by the authority of the pastors, apostles, teachers, prophets, and evangelists. They are people that began their Christian life loving Jesus in a personal relationship allowing Him to be Lord of their Life. However, with time, they put the works of the church before their love for Jesus and unconditional love for others. In Rev. 2:5, Jesus says, "remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works." Paul addressed this same issue in his letter to Ephesus 1:4, "he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love". This first works takes us back to the Garden of Eden in Genesis. What caused mankind to fall? Eating off the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Any fruit off of this tree, whether good or evil, will result in death. What is the first work that Adam was called to do? Genesis 1:28 says, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it." What was Adam and the woman supposed to produce? They were created in the image of God as a son of God (Luke 3:38). They were supposed to produce more sons of God. These are trees of Life with the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-25). They were warned not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge, but they could ear of the Tree of Life. What we take into our self is what we create. "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life" (Proverbs 4:23).

Revelation 2:7 tells us that when we change the kind of thinking that causes separation and division, judgment and condemnation, into life; then we can see ourselves eating from the Tree of Life which is found in the Holy of Holies, or the midst of the Paradise of God. There is no time and no limitations in this place. There is only the eternal presence of God. We don't have to leave our natural body to come into His presence, but we do have to allow the Love and Life of Jesus to be our mind and true identity.

The church of Ephesus was strategically placed as the first letter John wrote. Many Christians today have lost their first love with their relationship with God. They know Him as Creator of all, but not as Father and the fullness of what that entails. Instead they settle with seeing Him as their Savior plus works. Paul addresses this same situation in chapter two of the book of Galatians. In the amplified Bible we read verse 21, "Therefore, I do not treat God's gracious gift as something of minor importance and defeat its very purpose; I do not set aside and invalidate and frustrate and nullify the grace (unmerited favor) of God. For if justification (righteousness, acquittal from guilt) comes through (observing the ritual of) the law, then Christ (the Messiah) died groundlessly and to no purpose and in vain. (His death was then wholly superfluous)."

Peter tells us in Act 10:34 that God is no respecter of persons. He is Lord of all. This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The first church is told to come back to their first love and eat off the Tree of Life that is found in their inner most being; their spirit.

The Church in Smyrna:

Next, John writes to the church in Smyrna. The name of this church means "myrrh." It was a fragrance used for anointing purification. This church had the essence of God with them. If we use olives and grapes as an example of releasing the oil and the wine, these people had to be crushed, smashed, and pressed to be prepared to be over-comers in order to release a fragrance. Then they had to go through a season of waiting, in isolation and darkness, just as olive oil and grape juice must go through a fermenting process, until God is ready to move.

After we go back to our first love, we can expect that the accuser of the brethren, our carnal mind, will cause internal pressure over everyday issues in our life. Our natural mind will point us in a direction that the problem is someone else, or a certain situation. These are outward issues, but it is how we deal with them that are the real focus. Is it the outcome of being right or wrong that is more important, or is it being able to resolve the issue with the peace that surpasses all understanding?

Verse 10 says some will be in prison and have tribulation for ten days. This is all symbolic/ spiritual language. The prison is being locked up with our own thought process. This prison will cause pressure. The ten days is a number that represent the day of atonement and the law. It may take one day, 10 days, or several years; but this prison will cause pressure within us. If we are not freed we will manifest outward emotions or inward aliments by trying to handle these trials with our natural wisdom of justice. Only the peace of God can release us from this prison, but we must accept that we died with Him on the cross in order to be resurrected from the prison of death.

It is necessary for each of us to go through the trials and pressures of what our natural mind tries to tell us so that the anointing of the Holy spirit will be pressed out of us. Jesus has promised a crown of Life for those that are willing to go through the trials versus running from them. As we go through each trial, we must allow His joy, His peace, and His anointing to come forth out of our inner most being. The essence of LOVE must be manifested. A crown represents royalty which carries with it a way of thinking. Over-comers are given the mind of Christ to rule and reign with Him.

Verse 11 teaches that the over-comer won't be hurt of the second death. Religion likes to use this verse to justify a rapturing out of the church, or believers not being a part of an eternal hell. This verse is talking about the spirit of man not the natural body. It is also addressing believers in Christ, not the non-believers. "To be carnally minded is death" (Romans 8:5). In Revelation 20:6, and 14, we are told about this second death. It is a lake of fire. Again, we are talking spiritual, not a literal lake where people are going to be tormented by a literal fire. Death and hell or the grave, are cast into this lake. Literally, a lake is a body of water. Spiritually, this represents a company of people that are filled with the Word of God. It would take oil on the top of the water to see a lake on fire. Spiritually, this is symbolic of these people having the mind of Christ and the Holy Spirit our anointing. God is a consuming fire. The second death is being surrounded and consumed with the love of God by a company of people that are priest of God. They are reigning with Christ while in their natural body.

We read in Romans 8:8-11, "So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man has not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken you mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you."

God hates death more than we can possibly understand. He came and did away with death and He doesn't need it for us to come into His presence. The trials and tribulations this church represents serve the purpose of:

1. Requiring us to see everything and everyone through the eyes of God.

2. Realizing that we can only incorporate the word through His strength of mercy, love, and life which He completed fulfilled and gave to us through His grace. He does not need our permission for His will to be manifested. He is GOD! We are not stronger than His love no matter how much we may try to resist Him.

Only by the Holy Spirit can the mysteries of scripture be revealed to us (Ephesians 1:9). Jesus had a conversation with the religious leaders in John 8:51-59 that they couldn't understand because they interpreted His words literally while Jesus was talking spiritual. Let's read verses 51and 52: "Verily, verily, I say unto you if a man keeps my saying, he shall never see death." Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, if a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death." Religion is still teaching and preaching the word of God to be understood with our natural understanding. It may sound good, but it is not fruit from the Tree of Life.

The Church in Pergamos:

John addresses the church in Pergamos beginning with verse 12. This time he writes that the message comes from the one that has a sword with two edges. Hebrews 4:12 says, "The word of God is sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

Verse 13: Their works were where Satan's seat is, or from the throne of the accuser. This accusing is taking place between their ears; their natural thought processes are leading them instead of the Spirit of God. They are dwelling in humanity, carnality, exultation, and pride. They claim the name and faith of God when John refers to Antipas as a martyr. Antipas means "like the father." Jesus was the express image of God the Father. He was slain where Satan, the accuser of the brethren dwells.

Verse 14: Christ confronts this church with the issue that they are holding the doctrine of Balaam. Balaam was a Moabite. They represent the fleshly, carnal, way of thinking. The word "doctrine" tell us they were teaching scripture from a natural understanding versus spiritual which always causes a stumbling block for God's children. They are not able to grow up and become sons of God until they learned to disconnect with the old Adam and connect with their new life in Christ.

The Nicolaitanes, referred to in verse 15, taught spiritual unfaithfulness. They believed it was acceptable to be a Christian, but still be married to the old Adam. A common phrase that was used is we are "sinners saved by grace." This is addressed by Paul in Romans 7:1-4.

Let's read:

"Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? For the woman which hath a husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, through she be married to another man. Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God."

The church of Pergamos was spiritually eating legalism and using the word of God to justify their belief.

Verse 16: We are told that God hated this teaching and would come against it by using the same Word of God that was spoken in judgment against them. Judgment begins in the house of God. Do not judge, (Matthew 7:1-2)! "I will fight against them with the sword of my mouth." Our mouth is the place that the voice of God comes forth. It is through us that His Word will be spoken.

Verse 17: The manna that the over-comer is able to eat from is the hidden word of God. The word is Life that can't be received or understood by our natural means no matter how many doctorate degrees we have in Theology. God is the giver of the understanding of spiritual wisdom and He gives to those that have ears to hear the Holy Spirit. The white stone in this verse is the diamond symbolizing purity and righteousness. Jesus is our stone. The over-comer will receive a white stone (Christ), and a new name, or the nature and character of God. Only God can be the giver of manna so that the one that receives will know that it came from God.

The Church in Thyatira:

Verse 18: here we have again symbolism of how the Son of God, Jesus Christ, appears to John in the spirit. It is the same appearance as in Revelation 1:15 and Daniel 10:6. Notice that each church is addressed by particular attributes of the Son of God, but still the same Son of God? There is only one Christ and Jesus is the head. If we take a look at our natural body and the way it operates we may be able to understand the significance of why Jesus has different titles in addressing the seven churches.

The natural body functions by the signals it receives from the brain. Those signals are carried via blood and nerves to every part of the body. If we were to ask the different parts of the body to give a description of the brain, each part would describe it differently than the other. Each part of the body needs a particular amount of blood and nerve impulses to allow it to function properly; however, it takes every part to form the whole body, and every part must be in unity. If one little part of the body is injured or not functioning properly, the entire body is affected. Each body part communicates with the portion of the brain it is connected to in receiving their supply of wholeness. For example, the signals the heart receives are only for the heart, etc. If signals to the body are sent from sources other than the brain, radical cells are created which we call cancer.

The same thing occurs with the body of Christ. If His body receives teachings, preaching, and doctrine that are not absolutely from the Tree of Life, they will bring death to the body. Each of these churches represents a portion of the body of Christ, yet each portion is necessary to form the whole body. The Son of God, Jesus Christ, must communicate with each particular portion of His body in accordance to bringing forth the fullness of His body. So when we come to the fourth church, it is a message coming from the same King of kings and Lord of lords.

We have over 20,000 different denominations in existence today all declaring that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. They each have their portion of the body that He has given. He is the Tree of Life; He is the Word of God; He is the Alpha and Omega. He is not Baptist, Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, Pentecostal, etc. Each denomination has allowed certain attributes of Jesus Christ to have more impact in their functioning as His body than the other denominations may have. However, one denomination is not any more important than the other. Jesus addresses seven churches as a symbolic number of completion and wholeness. It takes the whole manifestation of the Son of God to occur.

Most denominations exhort the eminent return of our Lord Jesus Christ, but they don't encourage the unity of His body for that to occur. They would rather live with the idea of "someday" when the Lord returns, or "someday" when I get to heaven message instead of putting aside "self" and lifting up "Christ." Being a Christian is not about individual people and what God can do for them. It is about the unity of faith as a corporate body lifting up Christ unto the glory of the Father who is ALL in ALL (Colossians 3:11).

Verse 19: John is told to write about what the Son of God sees taking place at the church of Thyratra. The word "works" is mentioned twice at the beginning and the end of his statement. He includes that there is love, service, faith, and patience at this church, but works is the dominating factor, even to the point of overriding love.

Verse 20: Even though there are a lot of good things going on at this church, there is something that is out of balance. The son of God addresses this as the woman Jezebel. The illustration of using the name Jezebel takes us to the Old Testament in I Kings where King Ahab was being ruled by the queen versus him being the ruler of the land. What does this mean to us? Jezebel speaks about the soul's part of the body, individually and corporately. It is the emotional portion controlling our literal understanding of the ways of God. The Jezebel spirit believes justice must be served and they use the word of God to prove their position. God is Spirit. Spirit must commune with spirit, not soul. King Jesus must commune with kings with ruling and reigning in the Kingdom of God. This must take place as spirit beings, not by emotions or soul connections.

Paul addresses this in I Timothy 2. He begins this portion of his letter as an intercessor for ALL men, not just believers. In verse 2 of this chapter, he mentions kings and those in authority or lords and priests. These are the mature in Christ who rule and reign with Him. Verse 4 says that ALL men will be saved and will come into the knowledge of Truth of Jesus Christ. He continues this chapter with spiritual wisdom of how the spirit man and the soul (woman part) that is in each of us, is to respond to this revelation. Religion justifies that only men are to be leaders and women are to be quiet. This teaching of scripture would contradict other areas in the Bible where God used women over men to declare His will. Another problem with this interpretation of Paul's letter is that he begins by sharing spiritual wisdom. If we then flip to natural we bring confusion to the body of Christ leaving the impression that

Paul was double minded in his understanding of the will of God.

If the woman, or soul, inside each of us is ruling our spirit man, or the Christ in us, then there will be a war called Armageddon taking place within each of our flesh. A Jezebel soul will declare being a prophetess, unto "self," not by God. Again, this is not about literal women, but about the deception coming from the soulish/emotional realm. The name of Christianity and the Word of God is being used to teach people how to be unfaithful to God in very subtle ways.

The Book of Revelation fine tunes the believers that have been called out to enter into the Holy of Holies today. All of these churches have been functioning with love and reverence to God in accordance to what they thought they knew as truth.

I would like to share a story about my personal life to help illustrate this Jezebel spirit. My husband and I enjoy going on cruises which usually gives us opportunities to do Ballroom dancing. Dancing is an exercise we have both enjoyed, so we thought we would perfect our steps by taking some lessons. During the beginning of one of our lessons we were trying to practice some slow steps that required us to have our arms placed at each others waist and shoulders creating a close body contact. When it came to actually moving, we looked like two clumsy people. We were both getting frustrated because I insisted he wasn't doing it right, and of course he insisted he was.

Our instructor came over to assist us and observe what we were doing. Our position was good, arms and legs were in proper place, body contact looked great, heads turned correctly…but…when we moved we didn't flow together. Our instructor looked at ME in the eyes and said very gently, "You must let go and let him lead." I asked how to do that as I could feel the emotion of tears weld up because I had thought for sure it was his entire fault.

She had me step back away from my husband, to calm down, and be by myself. Then she told me to raise my arms in anticipation of my dance partner; but, I also had to close my eyes. I waited and waited. She told me under no circumstance was I to open my eyes at any time. After a few minutes which seemed like an eternity, my husband was instructed to come to my side and gently place himself into correct position as my dance partner. We stood there together for just a few moments, but I still had to keep my eyes closed. When our instructor gave HIM the signal, not me, he took control and together we glided gracefully around the dance floor. As two, we became one to the music. It was a lesson in life that reminds me of: "Let go and Let God BE the ruler of my LIFE."

Verses 21-24 give us symbolism of what will happen if we don't allow the Christ in us to be the ruler over the soul and flesh. The word adultery is not referring to a literal sexual issue. It is staying in communion with people that call themselves Christian, but allow their natural mind to rule their life instead of the Spirit of God.

The "killing of her children" is not God slaughtering babies, but the carnality in each of us being destroyed by the Word of God.

Thyatira means odor of affliction. One of the most offensive smells is that of flesh rotting and decaying. The Word of God will force the Jezebel mind or soul in each of us to be destroyed by trials and tribulations. True death is being carnally minded (Romans 8:6). God searches the hearts of man. He challenges me daily forcing the "self" to be destroyed. The spiritual trials don't come from major issues in my life, but how I handle the small things.

In verse 24, "the depths of Satan" refers to the souls' emotional and humanistic ways. Many churches today address the topic of Satan with humanistic teachings. They preach a long sermon about "the devil doing this or that," and then give a five minute closing about the power of God. Hebrews 2:14 says, "that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil." As we mentioned earlier, "to be carnally minded is death" (Romans 8:6). The carnal, humanistic mind is the bottomless pit or the depth of Satan. Our imagination has the ability to travel beyond time with creations that may sound good coming from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, but has no Life. "Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined" (Genesis 11:6). The church must have "ears to hear" what the Spirit of God is saying. There may be a lot of emotional high making the man's soul feel good, but this church was told they are an odor of rotten flesh to God.

Verse 26: The over-comer from this church is given power over the nations. This is one of those challenges to most Christian doctrines. To preach that we will be an over-comer when we "get to heaven" after we die nullifies the ability to have power over nations. These nations are not literal countries around the world, but principalities and powers of control between our ears: condemnation, denomination, and imagination.

Strong's Concordance refers to the word "nations" as number #1384 meaning "ethnos" in the Greek. Paul and John use this word to distinguish the whole race of mankind with natural understanding instead of spiritual.

The word unto "the end" means "according to the pattern." The pattern is Jesus who showed us the Father, who is LOVE. Love is the pattern. It is not love plus works or love plus dos and don'ts. It is only love with no condition and no compromise. This is the pattern Moses had to keep to build the Tabernacle in the Wilderness. This is also the issue that John addresses in I John. Other scriptures which refer to Revelation 2:26 are Matthew 24:13, Matt. 13:13, Matt. 10:22, and Hebrews 3:6, 14.

Verse 27: The power over the "nations" will be ruled by a rod of iron. Iron is a chemical element necessary for oxygen to be carried through the body. Without it the body doesn't have quality oxygen to give energy and life. It is like running your car in second gear on the interstate instead of driving in fifth by the power of shifting gears.

Iron is not flexible. Once it bonds to oxygen, it doesn't let go till it reaches its destination. The "rod" is symbolic of the Tree of Life, or Aaron's rod, that is found inside the Ark of the Covenant. Once this church overcomes the Jezebel spirit in them and enters the inner court, they no longer need to control the church with their natural understanding. Being in the Holy of Holies, they manifest the power of unconditional love as a rod of iron that cannot be compromised. This love has the power to break earthly vessels or the carnal mind symbolized by clay pots.

Jesus was raised to maturity by the Father to be a sacrifice for all mankind. His humanity had to be completely beaten, broken, and bruised as a sinless Lamb. If we are His body, our humanity must go through the same process. I don't mean our bodies are literally beaten. It is the old mind, will, and emotions that must be broken to where we are completely subdued in our natural way of thinking and doing things. God will remove the carnality and we won't have any say about it. He is not asking for our opinion or timing. Most of the time it will take place suddenly as a thief in the night. His "first fruit" will experience it, and then the rest of all mankind in his own order, until the fullness of His glory is manifested.

In Luke 17:34-36 we read, "I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left." The two in each illustration is the spirit man and the natural man. Religion uses these verses to justify a rapture where the believer will be taken to heaven and the non-believer is left to go through a tribulation.

In reading what is discussed before these verses along with the view of Matthew and Mark in this same parable, it appears that the tribulation has already started before the separation of the two. The separation is the result of the preceding verses. The person taken in these verses is the carnal mind, and the one "left behind" is the Christ in each of us.

In Luke 17:37 the disciples asked Jesus where this separation would happen. Jesus told them that where the body is the eagles would be gathered. The body is the body of Christ which includes all mankind. The eagles are over-comers that see and understand what the Spirit says as a believer. They understand the things of God from the mind of Jesus Christ who is the head of the body.

Our natural body is not the source of Life, but it is where transformation and transfiguration will take. This takes us to Revelation 2:28 where the over-comer receives the morning star. The morning star is Christ. In Rev. 22:16 Jesus said, "I am the root offspring of David, the bright and morning star."

Christ is in each of us today. He is the breath of God, the Word and Spirit of Revelation Truth and Life that will be as a rod of iron breaking our earthen vessel so that the morning star, the dawn of Light will radiate Christ.