The new covenant is a call to become citizens of another realm—the kingdom of God. This is not a realm of this earth but one far above it and above every other realm in heaven and earth. The kingdom of God is preparing to come and assume its authority over the earth as well. When we join this realm, we are committing to live for it by being joined to the will of the King, who is over all. When we join Him and His domain, we agree to put His interests above any others, even our own. 

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      To make some overall points about the seven churches Jesus addressed in Revelation, I began last week to address one of the most important factors in a successful life or church: the ability to listen to, and truly hear, what others are saying to us—especially the Lord. One of the most common statements the Lord made to His followers was, “He who has ears, let him hear.”

      He said to His disciples concerning the multitudes, “While seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand” (see Matthew 13:13). Are...

      After the Lord explained to John that what he was about to see was a revelation of Jesus, He gave John a message for each of the seven churches in Asia Minor. Why those churches?

      Together, the Lord’s messages to these churches were a message to the whole church, throughout the church age. These were messages given in advance for each period of church history. We will cover this in some detail. First, we need to look at how He delivered His message to these churches, as this is also a reflection of His nature.

      Jesus spoke...

      Even though the true Christian life is the hardest life we can live, it is also the best and the most fulfilling life we can live. It is hard, but it is worth it, with dividends that will last for eternity. The righteousness, peace, and joy that we find in His kingdom are worth much more than any earthly treasure.

      It is this life that this study of The Revelation of Jesus Christ makes clear to us. This is about the ultimate battle between light and darkness that has been waged over mankind and planet earth for ages....

      The Father chose the name Jesus for His Son because Jesus means Joshua in Hebrew. Jesus is a warrior leader like the biblical Joshua, who led Israel into the promised land. Jesus is now leading all who follow Him into our promised land. This is not just for eternity, but for the present as well. Just as Israel took on a warrior demeanor during the time of Joshua, Jesus’ disciples also took on His warrior nature—not for physical war but for spiritual war. As we read in 2 Corinthians 10:4, “The weapons of our warfare are not of the...