We will dig into that question shortly, just before we look into the messages to the 7 churches in Revelation. But first let’s consider something. One of the main themes we’ve been pressing through all of the emails is this: the Last Day Church is not big but small. She is not getting better but worse. She is not enlightened but is deceived more and more. She is falling away. BUT…there is always a remnant. The reason I press it again here is that we cannot understand Revelation, Matthew 24, 25, Luke 21 or any other prophecy unless we accept that notion. The whole word tells of it, the apostles plead against it, Jesus laments it but offers a way out of it, the Holy Spirit exposes it. Satan tries to hide it. He masquerades as an angel of light.
Paul pleaded that the church in his day, who was already falling away even as she was birthed (there is a reason and explanation for that), would “AWAKEN TO RIGHTEOUSNESS and sin not, for some of you have not the knowledge of God and I say this to your shame”. Satan’s lie is that all is well with her and better than that; or that idea’s counterpart that all is dismal and just give up because man is hopeless. Each idea is a lie.
Remember the birds hiding in the overgrown bush that became a tree? and the woman working leaven into a lump that is to be unleavened? This is wickedness infiltrating the church of the last days and not a growing agent for good. I am amazed at the wonderful analogies God uses. I was watching the cooking channel one day after we talked about the correct understanding of the 7 Kingdom parables. A cook was baking bread. She said this: Don’t add salt to the flour (wheat) in the beginning of the mixing process. Salt kills yeast (leaven). Now who are we as believers instructed to be to the earth? Salt! Salt does these things, it heals by stinging. It is painful to put salt on an open wound but by golly it is a good thing…it heals the disease. Salt also preserves. It covers and keeps bacteria out so rotting cannot happen. Salt also flavors!!! It makes whatever we are eating delicious and extra yummy. It elevates flavor and enhances subtle notes.
But salt ALSO kills yeast! Yeast is leaven and leaven is a symbol for sin…always. I just found that so fascinating. So if we are making pizza dough and want the yeast to live and puff up…make sure you keep the salt away! You can add it in after the yeast has grown and then salt will not affect it. Scary. It has done it’s work. What a lesson. If you really want to have fun. Investigate how sugar feeds yeast, does honey?
So revelation opens and we see Jesus. He is declaring that He is the beginning and the end, the who is was and is and is to come, the Almighty. He is God and now has a message to church as a whole.