The lutheransermons's Podcast

Sermon for the 19th Sunday after Pentecost - October 8, 2023

Sermon for the 19th Sunday after Pentecost, based on:

Isaiah 5:1-7

Philippians 3:4b-14

Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon originally delivered October 2, 2011

Preparing for Worship - October 8, 2023

Both the Psalm and Old Testament lesson this week speak of the judgment upon the Old Testament people of Israel, because of their sin and rebellion against God. These readings tie in well the messages from the New Testament readings, too.

The psalm is Psalm 80:7-19. The earlier part of the psalm, before today’s reading, refers to three of the Northern tribes of Israel (80:2-4) crying out for God’s mercy and help, likely as they and the Northern Kingdom of Israel were being conquered by the Assyrian armies. Psalm 80:7ff., our reading, speaks of God’s people as being “a vine brought out of Egypt and planted” in the Promised Land and blessed and protected and brought to prosper by the Lord. Now, however, the walls of the vineyard (Northern Israel) have been broken down  and it has been ravaged and burned by enemies. The psalmist calls upon the Lord for salvation and restoration for His “son,” as the people of Israel are sometimes called. (See Hosea 11:1-2 and why God’s people were in such trouble.) In this psalm, though, in a prophetic way, the son refers especially to “the Son of man,” the Son of God’s right hand, our Lord Jesus Christ, who would ultimately “save” and “restore“ and give new “life,” available to all.

The Old Testament lesson, Isaiah 5:1-7, is also about God’s people as “a vineyard.” It is a “love song,” as God speaks of all that He has done for His people, His vineyard. He has done everything He could for them, now referring to the Southern Kingdom, Judah and Jerusalem; yet they have been yielding not good grapes but “wild grapes,” with “bloodshed” and “outcries” of evil against the Lord. As as result, the Southern House of Israel will also be trampled down and left a “wasteland” (by the Babylonian empire).

In the Gospel lesson, Matthew 21:33-46, Jesus also tells a parable of God’s people as a vineyard. (Some of God’s people had been restored in Jerusalem and the land of Israel after the Babylonian captivity.) The “master of a house,” the Lord Himself, had built the vineyard very well and “leased it to tenants,” the people of Israel. At harvest time, He sent servants (prophets and other spokesmen for the Lord) to “get His fruit,” but the tenants seized them and beat some and killed others, and did not give Him His fruit. The owner sent other servants, and they were treated the same way. Finally, the Master sent His own Son, and the tenants did not respect even Him, and threw Him out and killed Him. What will happen to those evil tenants? They will have a miserable death, and the vineyard would be given to other tenants, who will produce and provide good fruit.” It is clear to the Jewish religious leaders that Jesus was talking about Himself as the Son of the Lord, Whom they would soon be killing, in spite of His warnings to them. Jesus also quotes from Psalm 118:22-23, saying that He would live, even after His death, and be the Savior and “Cornerstone” on whom the new people of God, who believed in Him, would be built. Those who rejected Jesus would eventually be “crushed” and “broken to pieces.”

In the Epistle lesson, Philippians 3:4b-14, Paul says that he had been one of those “persecutors” of Christ Jesus and His “church,” as described in today’s Gospel lesson. He had been an outstanding Jewish leader, with all the right background and credentials, until by God’s grace he received the “surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus as his Lord.” All his previous “righteous acts of his own” were “loss” and “rubbish.” He had now received “the righteousness from God” that came simply “through faith in Christ” and His already accomplished “sufferings” and “death” and “resurrection.” Now Paul wanted to “be found always in Christ” and “faith in Him.” That gift of God is what we all need and have in Jesus, too.

Bible Study - Revelation 1-3 Part 10

Today we look at the letter to the church at Thyatira, in Revelation 2:18-29. Thyatira was the smallest city of the seven to whom letters go in Revelation 2-3, but its church receives the longest letter for one main reason, as we will see. Thyatira was founded by Seleucus, a general with Alexander the Great, as a military outpost around 300 BC. It was 20 miles Southeast of Pergamum and by the time of this letter was known for its many trade guilds. We hear in Acts 16:14 that it was the hometown of Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth (who became a Christian in Philippi), and it was known for its purple dyeing and weaving.

This letter begins as the others do, addressed to the “angel” (the pastoral leader and messenger) of the church at Thyatira (Revelation 2:18). The letter was written down by John, but it is clearly “the words” of Jesus, “the Son of God.” This is the only time in Revelation that this title is given to Jesus, maybe since Psalm 2 is quoted later in this letter, right after the Lord says of the coming Savior, “You are My Son” and again identifies Him as “the Son” (Psalm 2:7,12).

The other words about Jesus in v.18 are part of the vision of Him that John saw in Revelation 1:14-15. The “flaming eyes” of Jesus picture that Jesus can, as He says in Revelation 2:23, “search minds and hearts of people.” The “feet of burnished bronze” suggest His strength and “authority” described 2:26-27.

Jesus begins His specific message to this church with a great compliment. His eyes of fire can see and know their “works” and that the faithful people there are growing in “love and faith and service and patient endurance” in times of trouble, and are even doing better in living out these gifts of God than before (Revelation 2:19). This is the opposite of what Jesus had said about the church in Ephesus, where they had abandoned “the love that they had at first,” and were called to repent (Revelation 2:4-5).

However, Jesus also has a very serious concern about the church at Thyatira. “I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols” (Revelation 2:20). This sounds similar to the situation in Pergamum with some who were following the teachings of Balaam and Balak and the Nicolaitans and having problems with idolatry and food offered to idols and sexual immorality (Revelation 2:14-15). This seems to be a bigger problem, though, in Thyatira, as the false prophetess is influencing a larger number of people of the church, as Jezebel, a non-Jew, in the Old Testament was married to King Ahab and led him and many of the Israelites far from God and into worship of Baal and other false deities and much immorality. (See references to this in 1 Kings 16:31-33, 18:4, and 2 Kings 9:22.)

The church has some responsibility, too, in “tolerating” what this woman, like Jezebel of old, was doing and her “seduction” of many people. She has had “time to repent, but refuses to do so” (2:21). Sexual immorality” and “adultery with her” and mention of her “sick-bed” and “her works” all tell how she is leading this immorality and rejection of God and His will. All involved with her need to repent or there will be “great tribulation” for them, as well as for her (2:21-22). Jesus even mentions “death” for her "children" in v. 23. This probably does not mean her literal children, but those following in this woman’s evil footsteps, and influencing still others in bad ways. They will be judged, too, unless there is repentance and return to the Lord.

There is also reference in v. 24 to “what some call the deep things of Satan.” Some think that some of what was going on was an early form of Gnosticism, also. Gnostics thought that only the spiritual is important and that the material, including our bodies, were unimportant and we could do whatever we wanted with them without any harm to our spirit. The word “gnosis” means “knowledge,” and some thought that the more knowledge the better, even knowledge of and participation in evil and the satanic and the totally immoral, that they believed would gain knowledge and understanding, and yet not hurt the soul and spirit. All this was totally wrong, according to Scripture, and the opposite of God’s will in Christ. The true knowledge was always in God and His Word.

Jesus then reminds all the churches (since the message of these letters applied to all churches and they were all to have ears to hear all He said) in v.23 that He is the One who "searches minds and hearts and will give to each according to his own works.” He knows all our thoughts and deeds, and we can hide nothing from Him. If we have only our own thoughts and words and deeds to offer to God, we are all in big trouble. This is said often in the Scriptures. Jeremiah 17:9-10 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? ‘I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give to every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.'”

These are important words for us and our churches in our own day, too. So many people think that things like sexual morality are not a big deal, and it does not matter much what we do. These Scriptures remind us that temptations to immorality can also lead us and others far away from listening to our Lord and trusting Him, too. We need to take these passages of Law and warning seriously and hear the call to repentance, when we are drifting from the Lord and His will.

God also says, though, through Ezekiel, prophesying about Christ and His saving work for us and the gift of baptism: “I will sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean of all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules” (Ezekiel 36:25-27). Forgiveness and new life are always possible with the Lord.

Jesus also recognizes that there are those in Thyatira who resist false prophetesses and false teachers and are trying to keep the faith in Christ and regularly repent and trust His forgiveness and promises. He says to them and to us, in verses 24-25: “I do not lay on you any other burden. Only hold fast what you have until I come.”

Jesus also gives His promises to those “conquerors” (and we have heard that that refers to those who keep trusting Christ Jesus and His saving, conquering work already done for us) who keep trying to follow Christ and His way to the end of our lives or the return of Christ, whichever comes first (2:26-28). Jesus then quotes from Psalm 2:7-9 - words that speak of Himself, the Christ, the Anointed One of God (Psalm 2:2) and His victory and authority over all things, as King of Kings. He is Savior and blesses all who take refuge in Him as Lord and Savior (Psalm 2:12). He also is One who can bring wrath, “a rod of iron,” upon those who reject Him, who are like “earthen pots that are broken.”

There is also an indication that somehow God’s people will participate in the final reign of Christ in eternal life, together with Him. We will have perfect peace with Him, after all the struggles of this life and the struggles of our churches. The authority is all Christ’s (Matthew 28:18), but we will enjoy His blessings, too. (See 2 Timothy 2:12, for example, and Romans 8:18.)

Finally, Jesus says that He will give the believers “the morning star” (Revelation 2:28). The Morning Star is Christ Himself. See the prophesy of Him in Numbers 24:17, the star that announced His coming in Matthew 2:1-12, and the clear words of Jesus in Revelation 22:18: “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the Root and the Descendant of David, the Bright Morning Star.”

If we have Christ Jesus, as He promises, we have everything we need, for this life and for eternal life. And the Apostle John said it so simply in another of His letters, “I write these things to you who believe in the Name of the Son of God (Jesus Christ), that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13). May the Lord keep us in that blessed gift of faith always.

Sermon for the 18th Sunday after Pentecost - October 1, 2023

Sermon for the 18th Sunday after Pentecost, based on:

Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32

Philippians 2:1-13

Matthew 21:23-32

Sermon originally delivered September 25, 2011

Preparing for Worship - October 1, 2023

In the Psalm for the day, Psalm 25, David speaks of his “trust” in the Lord, as the “God of his salvation.” At the same time, He asks the Lord to remember His mercy and goodness and not remember the sins of David’s youth and his transgressions. Several times David speaks of the need to be taught the Lord’s truth and to be led in His ways and to wait humbly for the Lord and His steadfast love.

The Old Testament lesson is from Ezekiel 18:1-4 and 25-32. Ezekiel reports God’s command no longer to use the proverb, “The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” We cannot blame our parents or others for what we individually do. “All souls are the Lord’s,” and “it is the soul who sins who shall die.” God’s ways are “just,” but our ways are often not. We are called to “repent and turn away from our transgressions,” with “a new heart and a new spirit.” (Both Ezekiel 11:19 and 36:25-27 tell us that God gives us that “cleansing” and “a new heart and spirit.”)

The Gospel lesson is Matthew 21:23-27 (28-32). Jesus had chased out the money changers and sellers from the temple and the next day was teaching in the temple. The chief priests and elders came and asked Jesus, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” Jesus challenges them with His own question about from where the baptism of John the Baptist came - “from heaven or from man?” The elders realize they are in trouble no matter which way they answer, and so they say nothing. Jesus does not answer them either. He knows that their judgment was already against Him, and that He would be crucified in a few days (Matthew 26:2). Jesus then tells a parable about two sons. The one who who did the will of his father did the right thing, though he was a rebel at first. In the same way, the religious leaders are the continuing rebels, for they will not believe in the message of John or the One for Whom he was preparing the way - Jesus Himself.

The Epistle lesson continues readings from Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, Chapter 2: 1-4 (5-13) 14-18. Paul calls upon the Philippians to be like-minded, with the mind of Christ, following the humility and love and service by which Jesus came into this world and even gave His life for us on the cross. We bow our knees before Jesus and confess that He is Lord and try to follow in the way of salvation. Paul reminds us, though, that it only God at work in us who enables us to “will and to work for His good pleasure.” Through Him we are considered “without blemish” and are “lights” in the midst of a “crooked and twisted generation,” as we “hold fast to the Word of Life,” in Christ.

NEW Sermon/Bible Study on Psalm 27

Sermon/Bible Study based on Psalm 27

Sermon originally delivered September 27, 2023

Psalm 27 is the psalm assigned for worship this past Sunday - but since we use a Divine Service at all of our regular worship, there isn’t a specific place for a psalm. Psalms are good to listen to and study, though, because they are written by real people, just like us, with their joys and struggles and challenges. Psalm 27 is a good example, with David as the author.

If you know much about David, you know that he was the youngest child in his family and not always respected or thought much of, until he, as a young person, defeated the mighty giant, Goliath, with a sling-shot.

David had many other dangers and challenges in his life, too. You get a sense of that in verses 2 and 3 of the psalm. We hear David speaking:

• “Evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh.”
• I have “adversaries” and “foes.”
• “An army encamps against me” and “war arises against me.”

David faced all of that and more. King Saul tried to kill him more than once. When David finally became king, he had to fight many battles against many people to try to secure the land for the Israelites, and to set up a capitol city in Jerusalem, as a place for the tabernacle and later the temple to be built. His own son, Absalom, later on overthrew him as King and tried to capture and do away with him. Yet David says, again and again, in this psalm: “Whom shall I fear? Of whom shall I be afraid? I will be confident!”

How about us and how we are doing, these days? On a smaller scale, do we face many of the same challenges and fears?

• We live in a pretty safe community, but we sometimes hear of “evildoers” and bad things happening pretty close to where we are, right now. That’s why our church and school have to be locked up much of the time, especially for the sake of our children and staff at our school.
• Do we still have “adversaries and foes?” We hear and read almost every day of people attacking the Christian faith and important things that we believe.
• What about armies and wars? We wonder what will happen between and Russia and Ukraine. What about the threats of China with Taiwan and other nations, too? 

Some say that reading the news these days is “doom scrolling,” because there is so much doom and gloom described. This all leaves us perplexed and worried and feeling helpless - at least at times - as if we were in-the-dark in life.

How did David cope with all this? He said in verse 1, “The Lord is my Light.” This sinful, fallen world has always been full of darkness, but as David wrote in another psalm, “With You, O Lord, is the fountain of life; in Your Light do we see light” and hope, too (Psalm 36:9). And another psalmist also wrote: “Send out Your Light and Your Truth, O God; let them lead me; let them bring me to Your holy hill and to Your dwelling. Then I will go to the altar of the Lord, to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise You” (Psalm 43:3-4).

The reality is that David was not always so confident in his Lord when tough times came. He wondered, at times, where the Lord was and what He was doing. We get a glimpse of that in verses 7-10 of Psalm 25, where David prays that the Lord will “hear” him  and “not turn away” and “not hide His face” from him, or “cast him off” or “forsake him.”

David even thinks of his parents and how they have “forsaken” him, in v.10. He probably simply means that they have died (which they could not control), and he greatly misses them and their presence and their encouragement, as we all do when our loved ones and other family die. That can be a very dark time for us, too.

Yet, then, David bounces back to his trust in the Lord, as v.10 ends: “but the Lord will take me in,” even if family and friends are gone. He asks the Lord to teach him His ways and lead him on a “level, stable path.” That is what David had prayed for in v.3 - that he would be able to be often in the Lord’s house and talk and inquire of Him. For the Lord and His Word were a continual “lamp to his feet and a light to his path” (Psalm 119:105) and would point him again to what he also mentioned in v. 1 - “the Lord’s salvation,” which would ultimately come in Jesus.

The name “Jesus” means “Savior” - the Lord saves - and Jesus was “the Light of the world” (John 8:12) and “the true Light who enlightens every person” and “the Light that no darkness can ever overcome” (John 1:5,9). Jesus Himself said, “Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the Light of Life” (John 8:12). That Light and that eternal victory, that salvation, was won for us by Jesus by His death and resurrection.

We are here today at worship for the same reason that David wanted to be in God’s House. We have days of strong faith, but also darker days of worry and struggle. We need to be reminded again and again of the Lord’s forgiveness and His promises, especially in Christ our Savior. And they are always there for us, too, in God’s Word and the gift of the Lord’s Supper.

One commentator on this psalm says that people sometimes “whistle in the dark.” It’s a coping mechanism that helps them feel a little better when by themselves on a dark night - but it doesn’t help very much. We have so much more, in our Lord. As David said in verses 5-6 in this psalm: “The Lord will hide me in His shelter in the day of trouble; He will conceal me under the cover of His tent; He will lift me high upon a rock. And now my head shall be lifted up… and I will sing and make melody to the Lord.”

David had his psalms to sing, and we have our hymns, which also reflect God’s Word to us and encourage us, so that we can say with David, as he says in v.1, “The Lord is my Light and my Salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the Stronghold, the Defense of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

And we can also say with David what some call his “Amen,” his “This is most certainly true” of this psalm, in v.13-14: “I believe, (I truly believe!) that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” - (strength in this life and eternal life to come.) Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!”

We pray: “Now may the peace of God which passes all understanding keep our hearts and minds safe, only where they can be safe, in Christ Jesus” our Lord (Philippians 4:7). Amen.

NEW Sermon for the 17th Sunday after Pentecost - September 24, 2023

Sermon for the 17th Sunday after Pentecost, based on:

Isaiah 55:6-9

Philippians 1:12-14, 19-30

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon originally delivered September 23, 2023

Sermon for the 17th Sunday after Pentecost - September 24, 2023

Sermon for the 17th Sunday after Pentecost, based on:

Isaiah 55:6-9

Philippians 1:12-14, 19-30

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon originally delivered September 18, 2011

Preparing for Worship - September 24, 2023

This week’s psalm is Psalm 27:1-9. David knows that “the Lord is his Light and his Salvation.” David is not “afraid,” though “evildoers” and “foes” and even “armies” are opposed to him. He prays that he may be able to keep coming to the Lord’s “tent,” His house, “to sing and make melody to the Lord” and to pray for His “sheltering” protection “in the day of trouble.” He trusts that the Lord will “hear” and “be gracious,” as He is “the God of his salvation.”

God speaks also through Isaiah in our Old Testament lesson, Isaiah 55:6-9. We, too, are called to “seek the Lord” and forsake our “unrighteous ways and thoughts,” and He will “have compassion and pardon us.” His “thoughts and ways” are always better and “higher” than ours, as we keep calling “calling upon Him” and listening to His Word.

We especially see the “higher” ways of the Lord in the parable that Jesus tells in the Gospel lesson, Matthew 20:1-16. A man hires laborers to work in his vineyard at a certain wage; and as the day goes on he hires more workers. Some worked only one hour, where those hired first had worked 12 hours - yet they all received the same wage, the original agreed-upon wage. How unfair this seemed to those who worked the most. They thought they deserved more pay, though they received exactly what was promised. We might tend to agree with the workers who “bore the burden of the whole day and the scorching heat” until we realize that, in context, Jesus is teaching about receiving salvation and eternal life. No one can earn or deserve that not matter how hard we work and try to do the right things. We are saved only through the “generosity” of our Lord in sending Jesus to do His saving work for us. It is His gift to us, and when we finally are brought to trust in that, the undeserved grace of God for us, we can only rejoice when others receive that gift of grace, too, at whatever point in their lives.

The Epistle lesson, Philippians 1:12-14, 19-30, begins a series of readings from another of Paul’s letters. Philippians 1:7 tells us that Paul is in prison because of his Christian faith, as he writes this letter; yet it is called his Epistle of Joy, because he sees how the Lord is working this all out for good. He is having opportunities to witness to many people he could not have reached out to otherwise, and his fellow believers in Philippi are gaining “confidence” in “speaking the Word of Christ without fear.” Paul does not know what the future will bring, but he is confident that he still has more fruitful labor to do in sharing the Gospel. He knows that he will be OK, in life or death. He says, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” In the meantime, he encourages the believers in Philippi (and us, too) to “strive side by side for the faith of the Gospel” without fear, “believing in their salvation, and that from God.”

Bible Study - Revelation 1-3 Part 9

This week, our focus is on the letter to the church at Pergamum, in Revelation 2:12-17. It begins with the same pattern as the other letters (Revelation 2:12) written to the angel (the messenger, leader) of the church, with words coming from Christ Himself, who has the sharp two-edged sword (in His mouth) as described in the vision given to John in Revelation 1:16.

Jesus says that “He knows where the church at Pergamum dwells” (Revelation 2:13). It is where “Satan’s throne” also is. Pergamum was a legal center of that area of Asia Minor and was filled with temples of false gods and idols. All seven cities to whom John writes had pagan temples, but this city may have been the worst. Already in 29 BC a temple had been built to the “divine emperor” Augustus and the goddess Roma. A prominent cult was that of Aesculapius, the god of healing, whose symbol was a serpent, which reminded Christians of Satan. There was a memorial to Zeus “the savior,” the chief god of the Romans, and Athena, one of the chief goddesses, and many other temples. Which of these was “Satan’s throne?” We don’t know, but maybe it was the combination of all of these places of idolatry and false worship. The early Christians had certainly been taught that “an idol has no real existence and there is no God but one” (1 Corinthians 8:4-5). Satan is definitely involved with idolatry, though, and demons are at work in all this idol worship and food sacrifices to them, and people can be led astray by them (1 Corinthians 10:19-21).

Jesus knows what is going on in Pergamum, though, and has been helping the Christians to “hold fast to His name and never to deny Christ and His faith, even during the time when Antipas, “Christ’s faithful witness” and likely the leader of the church at Pergamum, had been killed “among them,” by the forces of Emperor Diocletian, for not worshipping Diocletian as Lord and God. Jesus Himself is called the greatest “faithful witness” in Revelation 1:5, perfectly doing His Father’s will and shedding His blood, that we might be saved, but Antipas also was willing to die for the Christian faith, and most of the believers in Pergamum kept the faith in these hard times.

Some, however, had drifted away into the false teachings of “Balaam and Balak” and the false teachings of the Nicolaitans that we heard about in Revelation 2:6 and the Ephesian church (Revelation 2:14-15). The story of Balaam was especially important in the Old Testament (Numbers 22ff). A Moabite king, Balak, hired Balaam to put curses on the Israelites, who were threatening their land, but the Lord did not allow Balaam to do so. Balaam instead was able to convince Israelites to have sexual relations with Moabite women, and soon the Israelites were worshipping the Moabite god, Baal, offering sacrifices to Baal, and eating off those sacrifices. Much trouble resulted, and many died of a plague, in God’s judgment for their sins (Numbers 25). In Numbers 31, Balaam and many others were killed, and Moses spoke of the terrible, evil advice that Balaam gave that brought many Israelites into idolatry and sexual immorality. See Numbers 31:16, especially.

Ever after that time, the evil story of Balaam was used as a warning about the dangerous combination of sexual immorality and idolatry, in both the Old and New Testament. See Deuteronomy 23:4, Joshua 13:22 and 24:9-10, Micah 6:4, 2 Peter 2:15, Jude 11, and now this passage in Revelation 2:14. The temptation to sexual immorality, which is a rejection of God’s will,  can lead to more and more rejection and even to rejecting God Himself for false gods and idolatry. That is what was happening with some in the church in Pergamum, along with some who became involved in the false cult of the Nicolaitans, which also involved sexual immorality and unbelief. See Revelation 2:6.

Paul also pointed out that tragic Old Testament events like these were examples for us in New Testament times “not to desire evil as they did,” including idolatry and sexual immorality. See 1 Corinthians 10:6-21. Jesus pointed out, then, that He “had a few things against” the church at Pergamum - particularly that they were not dealing with the idolatry and immorality of some within their own church. These people needed to be confronted and called to repentance, and the people of the church also needed to repent for failing to do anything. Otherwise, the Lord Jesus Himself would need to come and “war against the evil with the sword of His mouth.” (This is pictured as part of the final judgment. See Revelation 19:15-16, 21; but the Lord could bring some judgment sooner. See the words to the Israelites in Jerusalem who kept refusing God and His will until the city was finally destroyed (Jeremiah 21:5-6).)

Again, in Revelation 2:17, Jesus calls all the churches to hear what He is saying to all the churches. Do we have sexual immorality going on in our churches? Do we have idolatry in our churches today - maybe not worship of literal idols but of things that are made more important than our Lord? The call is to repentance. (See also passages like Ezekiel 12:2 and 13:2.)

But then also, Jesus gives great promises, in unusual picture images (Revelation 2:17). “To the one who conquers” through Jesus and faith in His victory for us, Jesus promises to give “hidden manna” and “a while stone with a new name.” In Exodus 16:31-34, when manna was first given to the Israelites, they were to save some to be kept always as a reminder of God’s taking care of the people. In Psalm 78:23-24, this manna is described as “the grain of heaven” and “the bread of the angels.” Jesus, in John 6:47ff, speaks of Himself as the true bread of life, the manna from heaven, and all who believe in Him will have eternal life. He was also preparing for the gift of the Lord’s Supper, Holy Communion, which helps sustain us for eternal life. The hidden manna is a way of describing that all we need will be taken care of in eternal life, just as the “tree of life” will provide for us, as promised in Revelation 2:7.

We are not exactly sure what the white stone and new name represent. Isaiah 62:2 promises that when the Lord comes, all believers will be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give. Isaiah 65:15 promises that “the Lord will call His servants by another name.” White is always a symbol for purity and being clean. All those believers pictured in heaven are described as having white robes in Revelation 7:9,13-14. Christ, the Word of God, rides, at the end, on a white horse and “has a name written that no one knows but He Himself,” in Revelation 19:11-13. And the Lord Himself says, at the end, “Behold, I am making all things new.”

All this seems to be a marvelous way of picturing the greatness of the eternal life that will be ours, by God’s grace and the saving work of Christ. We can’t fully understand it all, but we believe it all, through Christ and the Holy Spirit. Read 1 Corinthians 2:7-16 in closing this study.