Smyrna, the source of blessing (2)

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 5, 2022

All uptrends and downtrends of history are related to the decisions of believers in choosing life either in the divine dynasphere or in the cosmic system. In the garden of Eden man was the ruler of this world, but outside the garden Satan is the ruler of this world. Inside the garden man could only sin by eating from one tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Inside the garden neither good not evil were issues because of the first three categories of trees. In innocence man did not have to understand good and evil to have a relationship with God. Only in sinfulness and spiritual death must man understand good and evil and make the choice, first at salvation and, afterward the divine dynasphere versus the cosmic system.

Proverbs 3:13-18

What is the issue in the book of Proverbs with regard to the book of life? It is the issue of happiness in relationship with God, happiness in relationship to what God has provided as a substitute for the first three categories of trees in the garden.

Principle of Happiness & Unhappiness in the soul.

1. As indicated by the first three categories of trees in the garden God created man to be happy. But that happiness demanded perfect environment, a soul designed for happiness, and its perpetuation through the tree of life.

2. Therefore God provided the perfect soul, the perfect body, the perfect environment for man’s happiness.

3. When Adam sinned it was not a sin of morality but a sin of rejection of God’s plan and God who invented happiness for man. It was a rejection of God’s plan and of God Himself and of God’s invention. The trees were all invented for man’s happiness in perfect environment. Happiness had to be perpetuated by the function of free will. Therefore one tree was forbidden. Happiness is a matter of decisions related to the soul.

4. Adam in the fall lost the divine provision of perfect happiness.

5. After salvation man can recover happiness but it is all related to a divine invention, the divine dynasphere and the daily perception of doctrine inside that dynasphere. Doctrine perceived in the cosmic system is useless, therefore the importance of the rebound technique.

6. As indicated by the first category of trees in the garden happiness is first of all the status quo of the soul, and if there is not happiness in the soul you can have everything associated with happiness in life and be unhappy with it.

7. In the second category of trees, happiness is expressed from the soul to the body. Man’s food was not necessary to sustain his body, the trees that were good for food stimulated the body, stimulated the taste buds. We are talking about the pleasure of food - which is a grace gift from God to Man.

8. Winner believers are those who live in the divine dynasphere consistently but loser believers are those who live consistently in the cosmic system.

9. Therefore cosmic believers are not only losers but are unhappy as well.

10. However, cosmic believers are always seeking happiness and they seek it in some area associated with happiness. But their unhappy state of soul guarantees their unhappiness in seeking out these associations.

11. e.g. marriage is often associated with happiness. But when an unhappy person gets married he has an unhappy marriage because he brings unhappiness into the marriage. The status of the soul is not changed by marriage.

12. Wealth is often associated with happiness. But the cosmic believer may be wealthy and be a very unhappy millionaire/billionaire. Happiness is not the status of the individual financially, it is the status of the soul.

13. You may change jobs in your pursuit of happiness. But even in the perfect job, if you are unhappy of soul, you will be unhappy in your job.

Principle: the Relation of the Winner/Loser Believer & Happiness

1. The cosmic believer is a soul WITHOUT doctrine, or what doctrine he DOES HAVE, has no relationship to happiness and blessing. Therefore the cosmic believer is a very unhappy person.

2. The rejection of Bible doctrine — which is, of course, rejection of life in the divine dynasphere — is tantamount to Adam’s rejection of perfect happiness in the garden. He used his own free will to reject it, just as we as believers make wrong decisions in life, and when we do, we simply create our own unhappiness. Unhappiness is created by man’s volition. Happiness is the invention of God, and God only administers it to those who are making right decisions. Therefore the importance of the divine dynasphere.

Now let’s clarify this - because this is an utterly urgent principle for this generation: rejection of bible doctrine is rejection of life in the divine dynasphere.

3. Once man had sinned from eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, eating from the tree of life would have simply perpetuated his status of unhappiness in the garden. Therefore the tree was shut down.

4. The Church is a Christian institution and designed for happiness. But the believer in the local church minus doctrine is an unhappy person in an institution designed for happiness.

This is why a pastor who has a church full of doctrinally trained congregants, should be overly concerned when an unhappy sheep moves on.

The pastor too must function in the paradigm of Grace.

5. Marriage is a divine institution, in contrast to a Christian institution, and designed for happiness, but believers who are unhappy of soul are unhappy in the divine institutions.

There is nothing wrong with the institution of marriage and there is nothing wrong with the Church, it is just that the people who are involved make it appear so.

6. You take your soul wherever you go, which means you carry your unhappiness with you, and you take it into happy circumstances and they become unhappy. One wet blanket at a party can ruin a party! One rotten apple spoils the barrel. As the old adage goes, if you find the perfect church, don’t join it - you will ruin it!

7. You can be unhappy at a happy party, you can be unhappy at a happy church, you can be unhappy in a happy business, you can be unhappy on a happy vacation, you can be unhappy with a million dollars, or anything you associate with happiness, and it all adds up to unhappiness. There is nothing associated with happiness that will bring you happiness if you are unhappy. That is the state of your soul.

8. Happiness and happy circumstances belongs to the happy believers with maximum doctrine in the soul, just like happiness in unhappy circumstances belongs to the happy.

9. This is another way of describing the believer who is a winner. The happy believer is a winner because he lives his life in the divine dynasphere. Happy believers have a soul filled with Bible doctrine from residence and function at gate four, interlocked with gates one, two and three.

10. Therefore it is inevitable that the winner, the happy believer, should have access to a special reward in heaven, in eternity. And he does! It is the tree of life.

Wednesday, January 12, 2022

We have learn then from our study of the tree of life that happiness is not success, promotion, wealth, fame, approbation, recognition, sex, social life, or even health, for even unhappy people are involved in all of these. Happiness belongs to the believer who lives and functions in the divine dynasphere. In eternity happiness is that ultimate which belongs to the winner only. In other words, God takes the happiness that is engendered in the divine dynasphere, gate 8, and perpetuates it to the tree of life, and only a few believers in every generation are going to have the privilege in eternity of eating from the tree of life.

With that understanding you can begin to appreciate why in Proverbs the tree of life is mentioned three times. Why is the tree of life mentioned? Because the tree of life is related to the subject of human happiness. The book of Proverbs has something to say about the subject Proverbs 3:13-18 .

Proverbs 3:13–18 NKJV

Happy is the man who finds wisdom, And the man who gains understanding; For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver, And her gain than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies, And all the things you may desire cannot compare with her. Length of days is in her right hand, In her left hand riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, And all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, And happy are all who retain her.

Verse 13, “How happy is the man who finds wisdom” — wisdom is maximum doctrine applied — “the man who gains understanding of doctrine.” While this does not have to be the mature believer, because every believer can apply doctrine, the mature believer will exist predominately in this state of happiness.

Verse 14, “For its profit is better than the profit of money, and its gain than fine gold.”

Verse 15 now takes doctrine, which is a feminine gender word in the Hebrew, and translates it by the word “she” [the personification of Bible doctrine]. “She is more precious than jewels” — the possession of jewels was not only a sign of wealth but a sign of enjoyment of those things — “and nothing can compare with her [Bible doctrine].”

Verse 16, “Long life is in her right hand” — doctrine is a basis for long life — “in her left hand are riches and honour.” These are the rewards in time through advancing to maturity. To some who have reached maturity and function in bible doctrine or wisdom, there is reason and rationale for God to extend their life. I think of my own father, who at the age of 50, had cardiac tripple bypass open heart surgery. They told him that his life expectancy was 5-10 years. Dad lived to be 84 years old before advancing to Glory.

Verse 17 ,“Her ways,” the ways of doctrine; “are pleasant ways, and her paths,” the paths of doctrine; “are prosperity.” Keep in mind that is not a given - there are many ways that are not the ways of doctrine.

Verse 18, “She is a tree of life,” doctrine is the tree of life. And the tree of life in the garden is forbidden but there is a tree of life in time — the perception of Bible doctrine in the soul produces happiness in the soul, without which there is no capacity for love, for life, for prosperity in any form; “to those who take hold of her [doctrine], and happy are all who hold her [functioning doctrine in the soul].”

So perception of Bible doctrine is analogous to eating from the tree of life in the garden. In time, learning Bible doctrine is as close as we can get to the tree of life in the garden. Those who persist in the perception of doctrine in time will eat from the tree of life in eternity. In eternity there is an ultimate reward, and that ultimate reward in the resurrection body belongs to those who discover something in this life, the true secret of happiness: eating from the tree of life which God has provided for our happiness now. This is another way of saying the perception of Bible doctrine through residence and function in the divine dynasphere.

Proverbs 11:11-31, 13:10-16, 15:1-5. These passages teach the principles of how to be cursed by association and blessed by doctrine. The person who thinks this about attending church, and being antisocial towards people is sadly mistaken.

When Adam sinned it was not a sin of morality, it was a sin of rejecting God’s plan and God’s invention of perfect happiness. After salvation man can, of course, recover happiness through his residence and function inside the divine dynasphere for there is a new tree of life since the fall of man which is the cross. And when a person believes in the Lord Jesus Christ he becomes a possessor instantly of eternal life. This means that the door for happiness is opened in this life, and the door of happiness is residence and function inside the dynasphere. The first three trees in the garden emphasize happiness as a state of the soul. The second category of trees in the garden represented or expressed the happiness relationship between the soul and the body. In time learning Bible doctrine is as close as we can get to that tree of life in Paradise, and those who persist in the perception of doctrine in time will eat from the tree of life in eternity and ultimately receive that fantastic reward. In other words, the tree of life in our context, Revelation 2:7, is the ultimate reward and blessing for the believer whose consistent and persistent positive volition toward doctrine results in spiritual advance to maturity. Therefore, in this dispensation this is only possible through our life in the divine dynasphere, which means constant decisions to reject the evil tree of the cosmic system.

In addition to the concept of the tree of life found in Revelation 2:7, it is also found in several other passages in Revelation. For example, it is found in Revelation 22:2. There the tree of life is found in the location of the new Jerusalem of eternity. It is located there for the availability of those Jews who reached maturity in the past and did so through Bible doctrine but without the benefit of the divine dynasphere. Revelation 22:14 also mentions the tree of life in relationship to eternal happiness and blessing. It is associated there with the great reward that comes to the winners — “Happy are those who wash their robes [the use of rebound in time to recover residence in the divine dynasphere] and continue their momentum, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter by the gates of the city.” The mature believer has as his ultimate reward in eternity for ever and ever access to a special super happiness that will not belong to the losers in eternity. So he has the ultimate in happiness in time and it is fitting that he should have the ultimate of happiness in heaven in eternity.

Principle of cursing by association with people versus blessing by association with doctrine.

If you are going to be happy in time, if you are going to fulfil God’s plan, if your life is going to glorify God, this principle must become real. Happiness does not come to you by your association with people. If you are a happy person associating with people that is one thing, but if you are an unhappy person association with people isn’t going to improve your situation.

There was a tremendous conflict in the garden of Eden which continues to have repercussion until this day. The woman sinned first, the sin of ignorance, and by her act of disobedience she had rejected and lost the perfect happiness of the garden of Eden. But she did so motivated by arrogance. She thought that by taking of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil it would make her as smart as God. But what she discovered immediately is that that tree of the knowledge of good and evil, when you are under the control of Satan, is human good and evil, for human good is synonymous with evil. She didn’t have any idea of good as the plan of God.

At the time of the woman’s sin and her spiritual death Adam was still in a state of perfect happiness. Adam and the woman had a perfect relationship because they had perfect happiness in the garden. So before the woman sinned it was a person coalescing with a person., combining perfect happiness with perfect happiness in any possible expression of happiness.

Adam could choose perfect happiness with God in the garden or unhappiness with the woman outside the garden. They had perfect happiness in the garden; they were created for perfect happiness. And as long as they stayed away from the forbidden tree that perfect happiness would be perpetuated by their eating at the tree of life. But when the woman sinned she was minus that perfect happiness, she became plus the old sin nature. But Adam remembers her and the good times together in the garden, and therefore he does something that creates a principle. In thinking of her as she was and the good times together he forgot the source of all of our good times, God. He had to choose between the Source and the memory of fun. So he said No to the Source, to God, and he took the fruit from the hand of the woman. But he did it on the basis of memory of the wonderful times they had had together, not the memory of the Source of happiness. For happiness you always have to go to the source and the only way you can do that is to recall doctrine at the right time in your life. This is the tragedy of so many Christians: they forgot to apply doctrine at the right time and make the right decision.

Unhappiness with the woman won. Adam could choose perfect happiness with God in the garden or unhappiness with the woman outside of the garden. Unhappiness with the woman won and the power of the principle of cursing by association became a major factor in human relationship throughout history. Man chose to be unhappy. We are the products of our own decisions.

Unhappiness always attacks happiness for happiness is the invention of God to be maintained by means of our new tree of life — Bible doctrine resident in the soul — Proverbs 3:13-18.

You cannot remain happy by association with unhappy people, except under one condition: the life in divine dynasphere and the daily perception of Bible doctrine. It’s the only way you can handle unhappiness.

You can associate with unhappy people in business life, social life, married, life, home life, professional life, and spiritual life. And unless you possess Bible doctrine in your soul and its constant application and formation of a true scale of values, you will become unhappy through the principle of cursing by association.

The pull on Adam in the garden before he sinned was stronger in the direction of the unhappy woman who had sinned than in the direction of God who had provided the trees in the garden for his happiness. This problem continues today: the people with whom you associate may be unhappy. We can associate with them but none of us are strong enough to do it on our own. The only way you can do it is life in the divine dynasphere. Unhappy people will get to you every time if you don’t have that doctrine. [If you say No to the Source, then you’ll say Yes to the sourceless every time!]

Principle: Unhappiness breeds unhappiness

The believer associated with unhappy people is vulnerable to unhappiness.

Therefore, believer beware that in your association with unhappy people you do not reject or ignore your source of happiness — remember God. Your source of happiness is Bible doctrine.

Unhappiness is contagious unless you function at gate four of the divine dynasphere, perception and application of Bible doctrine.

In some cases decisions must be made in the direction of separation. In many cases, like marriage, home life, business association, there is no physical separation possible. The believer must therefore use doctrine to endure. But you can’t endure grimly. If you do not endure in a state of happiness, your own personal happiness, then you are never going to make it in life and you are going to wind up under the principle of cursing by association. The point is, can you hold your own when you are associated with someone who is an unhappy person? Adam didn’t, and Adam was stronger than we are. Therefore we have to have something stronger than we are to do it. And the only way to do it is to go to the source, eating from the tree of life, your daily perception of Bible doctrine. So enduring in a state of happiness it does not mean to hang on grimly, it means that you are not in any way affected by the unhappiness of someone associated with you.

Some situations are endured with happiness while other circumstances simply demand separation.

Sorting this out, however, requires maximum knowledge of doctrine for the wisdom to do so. And that doctrine must come from the basis of happiness in the human soul. The believer who does this consistently is a winner and will be rewarded by access to the tree of life in eternity. the ultimate in happiness forever and ever.

END OF WEDNESDAY 1/12/2022

BEGINNING OF WEDNESDAY 1/19/2022

Proverbs 11:11-31

Proverbs 11:11–31 NKJV

11 By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted, But it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked. 12 He who is devoid of wisdom despises his neighbor, But a man of understanding holds his peace. 13 A talebearer reveals secrets, But he who is of a faithful spirit conceals a matter. 14 Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counselors there is safety. 15 He who is surety for a stranger will suffer, But one who hates being surety is secure. 16 A gracious woman retains honor, But ruthless men retain riches. 17 The merciful man does good for his own soul, But he who is cruel troubles his own flesh. 18 The wicked man does deceptive work, But he who sows righteousness will have a sure reward. 19 As righteousness leads to life, So he who pursues evil pursues it to his own death. 20 Those who are of a perverse heart are an abomination to the Lord, But the blameless in their ways are His delight. 21 Though they join forces, the wicked will not go unpunished; But the posterity of the righteous will be delivered. 22 As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout, So is a lovely woman who lacks discretion. 23 The desire of the righteous is only good, But the expectation of the wicked is wrath. 24 There is one who scatters, yet increases more; And there is one who withholds more than is right, But it leads to poverty. 25 The generous soul will be made rich, And he who waters will also be watered himself. 26 The people will curse him who withholds grain, But blessing will be on the head of him who sells it. 27 He who earnestly seeks good finds favor, But trouble will come to him who seeks evil. 28 He who trusts in his riches will fall, But the righteous will flourish like foliage. 29 He who troubles his own house will inherit the wind, And the fool will be servant to the wise of heart. 30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And he who wins souls is wise. 31 If the righteous will be recompensed on the earth, How much more the ungodly and the sinner.

Verse 11, “By the blessing of the upright [the mature believer] a city is exalted [blessing by association], but by the mouth of the wicked one [the cosmic believer] it is destroyed.”

All gossiping and maligning has it origin in unhappy souls. This will help us in our examination of James 3: where we deal with the sins of the mouth.

Verse 12, “He who despises his neighbour [hatred: gate one, cosmic one] is destitute of doctrine [he lacks sense], but a man of understanding minds his own business [function of the doctrine of privacy].”

Happy people have no problem in giving privacy to others.

Verse 13, “He who functions as a talebearer [a violation of privacy] reveals secrets, but he who is faithful of spirit conceals the matter.”

Verse 14, “Where there is no guidance [from doctrine], the people fail; but where there is no lack of leadership there is deliverance.”

Verse 15, “He who is a co-signer of a note for a stranger will suffer for it, but he who hates co-signing is secure.”

In other words, friendship and compatibility is not based on doing something for someone, but true rapport is based on two happy people.

Verse 16, “A grace woman acquires integrity [or honour], a strong man in doctrine attains happiness.”

Verse 17, “The grace man benefits his own soul with happiness, but the cruel person [cosmic believer] troubles his own flesh.”

We are, as unhappy people, our own worst enemies. God invented happiness to remove that problem.

Verse 18, “The wicked [the cosmic believer] earns the wages of a lie, but he who sows righteousness has a true reward.” The true reward is the tree of life.

Verse 19, “The truly righteous believer lives, but he who pursues evil [the cosmic believer] goes to his death [doctrine of the sin unto death].”

Verse 20, “The Lord detests men of distorted right lobes [an unhappy person], but the upright in the way [the believer positive toward doctrine] are his delight.”

Verse 21, “Be sure of this, the evil will not go unpunished; but the descendants of the righteous will be delivered [there is blessing by association].”

Verse 22, “Like a ring of gold in a pig’s snout, so is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion [or wisdom].” In other words, the woman can be beautiful, but if she has an unhappy soul you may as well put the jewel in the pig’s nose.

Verse 23, “The desire of the righteous is unique good, but the expectation of the evil [the cosmic believer] is wrath.” In other words, they make decisions that bring disaster upon themselves.

Verse 24, “One man gives generously yet gains even more; another man is stingy and comes to poverty.”

Verse 25, “A generous man will prosper, and he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed”. Generosity goes with a state of happiness in the soul.

Verse 26, “People curse the man who hoards grain; but blessing crowns the one who is willing to sell.”

Verse 27, “He who seeks good finds grace blessing; but evil comes to him who seeks it.”

Verse 28, “He who trusts in riches will fall, but the righteous will prosper like the green leaf.”

Verse 29, “He who causes sorrow to his family will inherit the wind; and the fool will be the servant of the wise in the right lobe.”

Notice from all of this context, happiness versus unhappiness.

Verse 30, “The fruit of the mature believer is a tree of life” — happy people witness properly. They are motivated for it. Miserable people, unhappy people of soul (unhappy believers) are ineffective in witnessing — “he who wins souls is wise.” But that wisdom must come before the soul winning.

Verse 31, “If the righteous will be rewarded on earth [the mature believer who has happiness on earth]; how much more the cosmic believer and the sinner will receive discipline.”

Wednesday, January 26, 2022

We are picking up our review through the book of Proverbs of passages dealing with happiness and unhappiness which reflects bible doctrine in the soul.

Proverbs 13:10-16

Proverbs 13:10–16 NKJV

10 By pride comes nothing but strife, But with the well-advised is wisdom. 11 Wealth gained by dishonesty will be diminished, But he who gathers by labor will increase. 12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life. 13 He who despises the word will be destroyed, But he who fears the commandment will be rewarded. 14 The law of the wise is a fountain of life, To turn one away from the snares of death. 15 Good understanding gains favor, But the way of the unfaithful is hard. 16 Every prudent man acts with knowledge, But a fool lays open his folly.

Verse 10, “Through arrogance comes nothing but strife [arrogance means unhappiness], but wisdom is found in those who take advice.”

Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Hebrew (Old Testament) 2295 זָדוֹן

זָדוֹן (zā·ḏôn

ZADON, or ZDN is the concept of an inflated view of oneself, self-willed and not humble, as a moral failure

James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).

Verse 11, “Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow.”

the word dishonest here is our word that has as its base - puffs of air. הֶבֶל (hě·ḇěl) or HBL Vapor, breath, meaninglessness, idols, or vanity.

here we have the idea of money as that gained through labor and service, through the consistent sweat of the brow, vs. money that is the result of puffery, fraud, deception.

Salient to our conversation on happiness - the person who lives by the sweat of his brow, by working hard, has the capacity of happiness.

Verse 12, we have the principle: “Hope deferred makes the heart [right lobe, or core of thinking] sick; but desire fulfilled is a tree of life.” In other words, you will never find happiness through your hopes in getting something you associate with happiness. Your happiness will only come from feeding on the tree of life — Bible doctrine.

Also, we find that procrastination is not that which is based on stability in the soul. Pushing away hope, and pushing it away again - due to inaction from lack of doctrine, causes unhappiness. reaching the goal, due to continued right action, brings the desire. This is a tree of life.

We have here our Tree of Life reference, which means happiness.

We can simplify this - the pursuit of bible doctrine brings the Tree of Life, Happiness in the Soul.

or put another way:

The pursuit of Functioning Bible Doctrine, lets us operate using the Mind of Christ, Which ends with our sharing the Happiness of God.

Verse 13, “The one who despises the word will pay for it, but the one who respects the mandate of God will be rewarded.”

Verse 14, “The teaching of the wise pastor is the fountain life, turning a person from the snares of death”.

The Complete Jewish Bible rendering here is helpful. Very similar to our expanded translation.

14 The teaching of a wise man is a fountain of life, enabling one to avoid deadly traps.

Verse 15, “Good understanding of doctrine wins favour, but the way of the unfaithful does not endure”.

Good understanding is in view here. We are in a passage about Wisdom. So the understanding is of wisdom, or bible doctrine.

One of these ways leads to stability; one of these ways leads to destruction.

Verse 16, “Every wise person acts out of knowledge of doctrine, but a fool [the cosmic believer] exposes his folly.”

Proverbs 15:1-5

Proverbs 15:1–5 NKJV

1 A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger. 2 The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, But the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness. 3 The eyes of the Lord are in every place, Keeping watch on the evil and the good. 4 A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, But perverseness in it breaks the spirit. 5 A fool despises his father’s instruction, But he who receives correction is prudent.

Verse 1, “A gentle answer [a happy person doesn’t have to get up on his high horse when he is challenged or when someone is being unkind] turns away wrath, but harsh words stir up anger.”

Wrath is the idea here of venomous anger. We call it wrath. But it can also be translated as heat or poison or rage. A truly tender or gentle answer will always be diffusing. This is the Judo of interpersonal communication. Sometimes hard facts need a soft or gentle presentation. I recall this one time working at the Help Desk for a large corporation. I had a VP on the phone, who had been drinking, and was upset.

Now notice that soft does not mean spineless. It is contrasted to עֶצֶב ě·ṣěḇ, pain, hurt, toil. So we have the response that does not incite pain vs the response that incites pain.

Are you confused yet?

How about this - The Happy person [bd in soul] doesnt have to retaliate anger to the angry.

Verse 2, “The tongue of a wise person makes doctrine good, but the mouth of a fool [cosmic believer] gushes folly.”

The cosmic view will always be opposed to doctrine. That which comes from the mouth of the cosmic believer will be folly. Folly here, is to be rash, make a stupid mistake, act stupid. It is the opposite of acting with discernment which comes from functioning bible doctrine.

Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Hebrew (Old Testament) 222 אִוֶּלֶת

אִוֶּלֶת (ʾiw·wě·lěṯ

The root of this Hebrew word, means to congeal, to thicken (as the red sea is described in the Song of Moses which we reviewed a couple of weeks back). We have the similar idea in English with our concept of becoming “thick in the head”. We might say that he or she is “thick headed”. The idea is that things move slower in the thick headed. It is harder for the light to penetrate with the thick of head.

So too, this person who is in the cosmic system, just doesn’t get it. We have learned about the scar tissue of the soul. Here we are learning about the thickness, the folly of those who are in the cosmic system. These just don’t get the point of bible doctrine, of instruction from God’s word. Understanding comes slow … when it comes. We have a number of synonyms: thick headed, numbskull, slow, inept.

Verse 3, “The eyes of the Lord are everywhere [the omniscience of God], keeping watch on the evil and on the good.”

There is none who is free from examination, or who will escape being weighed. This makes the person of bible doctrine Happy. This will make the cosmic, unhappy.

Verse 4, “A soothing [healing] tongue is a tree of life.” What is the healing tongue? The healing tongue is the teaching of doctrine. And that is the tree of life — “but perversion in it is the crushing of the spirit [distorting doctrine crushes the spirit].”

Our word for a SOOTHING tongue here, is the same as back in verse 1., where we had a gentle response.

Verse 5, “A fool despises his father’s discipline, but he who regards correction shows prudence.”

Notice the relationship: the pastor is in view in the first part of the passage; the father is in view in the second. Generally people who have respect for their parents in childhood [enforced and genuine humility] are teachable from the pulpit where Bible doctrine is taught. And generally the people who have learned to not respect their parents reject doctrine, resist the Word, and wind up as losers in the Christian life.

+++++

February 2, 2022

Revelation 2:8

Revelation 2:8 NKJV

8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write, ‘These things says the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life:

Verses 1-7 dealt with the church at Ephesus; verses 8-11 deal with the church at Smyrna. In verse 8 we have the encouragement of the local church.

It begins with the connective conjunction καί (kai) = , showing that all of these churches are related in a common function.

Note that each of our churches addressed in this section written to them, are connected with this construction:

First we had the message for the Ephesians:

Revelation 2:1 (NKJV)

1 “To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, ‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands:

Revelation 2:8 (NKJV)

8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write, ‘These things says the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life:

Revelation 2:12 (NKJV)

12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write, ‘These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword:

Revelation 2:18 (NKJV)

18 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write, ‘These things says the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass:

Revelation 3:1 (NKJV)

1 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, ‘These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.

Revelation 3:7 (NKJV)

7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, ‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens”:

Revelation 3:14 (NKJV)

14 “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God:

Notice that in each case our following here start with that conjunction “and” or our greek conjunction kai.

This lets us know that the messages are all tied together.

The principle of the connective conjunction here is to show that the Roman empire, while it persecuted the Christians many times, was actually sustained and supported by them since they were the first Gentile client nation to God in the times of the Gentiles which began in AD 70.

I want to note that we have an interpretive argument here in this section of Revelation. We didn’t get into it back in verse 1, or in Chapter 1 verse 20. Angel means messenger. It can also be a term for a messenger. The problem here I think, is that the translators have chosen to make a choice to transliterate the word from the Greek instead of translating it. This creates prejudice for most of the readers.

A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed. BAG (ἄγγελος)

ἄγγελος, ου, ὁ ‘messenger’.

① a human messenger serving as an envoy, an envoy, one who is sent

ⓐ by humans; Gen 32:4, 7; Jdth 1:11; 3:1; 1 Macc 1:44; 7:10; Lk 9:52; of John the Baptist’s disciples 7:24; of Joshua’s scouts Js 2:25 (cp. Josh 7:22).

ⓑ by God (prophets Hg 1:13; Mal subscr.; a priest Mal 2:7. of John the Baptist as forerunner Mt 11:10; Mk 1:2; Lk 7:27 (all Mal 3:1; cp. Ex 23:20).

② It is used in a the sense of a transcendent power who carries out various missions or tasks; as a messenger, or angel (ἄ. as a spirit-being, oft. connected w. the nether world in Gr-Rom. sources) Never in the NT or the Sept. OT. Never in this sense with other terms.

ⓐ function as messengers of God, angels (Gen 16:10f al.) Mt 1:20; 2:13, 19; Lk 1:11; 2:9; Ac 5:19; 12:7, 23. τοῦ θεοῦ Gen 31:11; 32:2 ; ) Lk 12:8f; 15:10; ( Lk. 2:15). ἄ. θεοῦ Gen 21:17 ; Judg 13:6 Gal 4:14; Hb 1:6 (Ps 96:7; Dt 32:43); (Dt 32:8). Abs. (Num 20:16; Judg 13:11; Lk 1:13, 18, 38; 2:10, 13, 15, 21; Ac 7:53; 1 Ti 3:16; 1 Pt 1:12

(in wordplay on the superiority of human beings to angels Mk 8:38; Lk 9:26; Ac 10:22; Rv 14:10; 1 Cl 39:7 (Job 5:1);

ἐκλεκτοὶ ἄ. 1 Ti 5:21 (ἄ. as witnesses so Test; ἄ. ἰσχυρός Da 4:13; Ps 102:20) Rv 5:2; 18:21.

Their abode is heaven, and so they are ἄ. τῶν οὐρανῶν Mt 24:36 (unless οὐρ.=θεοῦ); ἄ. ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς Mk 12:25; ἄ. ἐν οὐρανῷ 13:32; ἄ. ἐξ οὐρανοῦ Gal 1:8, cp. Mt 22:30; 28:2; Lk 22:43.

They return to heaven when they have fulfilled their mission on earth 2:15. 2 Cor 11:14;

ἄ. φωταγωγοί There the good are united w. them after death. They appear in dazzling light Lk 2:9; Ac 7:30 (Ex 3:2); ISm 6:1; cp. the ‘shining face’ of Ac 6:15;

or in white garments Mt 28:3; Lk 24:4. Called πνεύματα Hb 1:7;

1 after Ps 103:4. πνεύματα λειτουργικά serving spirits Hb 1:14. Their voice is like thunder ; γλῶσσαι τῶν ἀ. language of angels 1 Cor 13:1 . 2 Cor 12:4; Rv 14:2f;

Test Job 48-50 ;

They bring messages fr. God to men Lk 1:11f; Mt 28:2ff, and were also active in the giving of the law νόμος διαταγεὶς διʼ ἀγγέλων Gal 3:19; cp. Ac 7:38, 53; Hb 2:2 .

As guardian angels of individuals (Tob 5:6, 22; Mt 18:10 Ac 12:15 (Lk 4:10 (Ps 90:11);

They conduct the blessed dead into heaven Lk 16:22 ;

instruct humans to do good ; δικαιοσύνης ; rejoice at the repentance of a sinner Lk 15:10; cp. the ἄ. τῆς μετανοίας T

hey preside over various realms ἄ. ὁ ἔχων ἐξουσίαν ἐπὶ τοῦ πυρός Rv 14:18;

ἄ. τῶν ὑδάτων Rev 16:5; the four winds Rev 7:1. God assigns them διακόσμησις γῆς; .

Subordinate to Christ Mt 4:11; 13:41; 16:27; Hb 1:4ff (Ps 96:7; 1 Pt 3:22; Rv 5:11f;

glorify him Mt 26:53; μυριάσιν ἀ. Rv 5:11.

Seven principal angels Rv 8:2, 6; 15:1, 6; 16:1; 17:1; 21:9

Angels at the Parousia Mt 24:31; 2 Th 1:7. Μιχαὴλ καὶ οἱ ἄ. αὐτοῦ Rv 12:7.

Revered by people θρησκείᾳ τῶν ἀ. worship of angels Col 2:18; λατρεύειν ἀγγέλοις as a sign of Jewish piety.

But nowhere in this list do we have angels given doctrine to teach the congregations of God - These Golden Lampstands.

Now yes, we have instances of Angels explaining things, explaining prophecy, explaining God’s providence. But never do we have them stepping into the province of the Pastor Teacher. This is a Royal Family of God and Royal Priesthood role. Angels do not participate.

Did you notice an instance of Angels teaching bible doctrine to a congregation that I have missed?

I respectfully break with those brothers who teach the passage is about Angels here. We can still be friends and break bread togethere.

Reve 2:8

Revelation 2:8 NKJV

8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write, ‘These things says the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life:

With this we have a dative singular, indirect object, from the noun ἄγγελος, which we assert here actually means a messenger. As messenger, here it refers to a pastor.

The dative of indirect object indicates the one in whose interest the act is performed. This is a reference to a future pastor who replaced John, after John’s death, at Smyrna. And since at the moment John is the non-resident pastor this is addressed to those who would follow, who would succeed him. It is also a dative of advantage since it is to the advantage of the local church at Smyrna to have a pastor whether he is resident or not.

The believer in this dispensation actually cannot learn doctrine without the gift of pastor-teacher. Can you learn by reading other teachers, or listen to a radio program, or on the internet? Yes. So let me state this differently: the CA believer is designed to function in a local congregation with a Pastor Teacher ministering the the teaching of God’s word. This is a part of the function of the divine dynasphere with regard to perception of doctrine. This is the design of GAP, what we have long known as the Grace Apparatus for Perception: God’s Grace provision of doctrine for you.

The pastor is the authority by which God communicates doctrine to the believers, and also it is the test. The existence of the pastor is the test for the first three gates of the divine dynasphere — the filling if the Spirit, basic impersonal love which is your objectivity (you cannot learn any subject at any time without objectivity. The subject being taught becomes the issue rather than the personality of the one who communicates). Gate three is the basis for teachability — enforced and genuine humility.

So let'’s review the issue of objectivity vs. subjectivity

We don’t always think of it under these terms … but what we call impersonal love, is actually objective love. Objective love chooses to love based on objective criteria for love.

In contrast personal love is actually subjective love. Subjective love chooses to love based on subjective criteria for love.

In other words, subjective love is based on criteria of personal appeal to me, whereas objective love is based on criteria of principle that is paramount in my thinking.

Romantic love, as an aside comment, is based on the mix of the two - that which is personally appealing, and that which is of character or principle in the target of love or affection. If someone cannot list qualities of character for the one to whom their love is targeted, then that love is not actually romantic, it is subjective or infatuation.

In the end the Romantic love you marry is the one you marry - because they are the only one that you know you are safely “at home” with, whenever you are around them. This is objective, character focused thinking, and subjective thinking at its best mix. If you are not “at home” and know you are safe when you are around your spouse, or the person you are considering to be a spouse, then something is off. It may be your thinking ; it may be their behavior;or it may be you are in the wrong place with the wrong person.

So, of course, the first three gates in the divine dynasphere all depend upon having God’s Word communicated directly to another human being, who has an old sin nature, who has the weaknesses and the strengths that belong to the human race, who is a fellow member of category homo sapiens. Therefore the importance of the local church as the classroom and the gift of pastor-teacher as communicator.

Next comes the genitive singular of relationship from the noun ἐκκλησία (ekklēsia), used for the local church. ἐκκλησία is used in classical Greek for the meeting of the council who run the city state. It is also used in technical areas for the function of the royal family of God. Every believer is in the body of Christ and/or the Church in relationship to God, which is the basis for the royal family concept, and also there is the local church where we assemble to learn doctrine.

With this we have the generic use of the definite article, indicating the principle of the pastor’s authority over the local church through the communication of Bible doctrine. And in this case the local church is the congregation at Smyrna. Smyrna today is Izmir, the second largest city in Turkey. We have then the preposition phrase en plus the locative of Smurna in the Greek. In transliteration from greek to englishthe “u” becomes a “y”. By the way, we know the name of the next pastor. His name is Polycarp; he is going to succeed John.

Smyrna

— a large ancient city on the west coast of what is now Turkey, but was called Asia Minor. It is at the head of the Gulf of Smyrna which reaches 30 miles inland from the Agean Sea.

Here is a closer view.

The city of Smyrna was originally settled by a group of people called the Lelages. These were one of those Asiatic peoples who are identified with the Carians, who were identified as the famous mercenaries of the ancient world.

About 1100 BC Smyrna was taken from the Lelageans by the Aolean Greeks. In 688 BC Smyrna was taken over by the Ionian Greeks and in 627 BC the Ionian city was taken over by the Lydians. And the Lydians are the key to a lot of things, not only in western Turkey but also as far as the entire Mediterranean basin is concerned.

They are definitely connected with the origin of the Romans who were a very different people from the people around them called the Latins. The real key to blessing by association is Smyrna which is the city that really started the Romans.

The secret to the rise of Rome was three things: respect for law, tremendous self-discipline, and the ability to sacrifice for their government. All of these things were a part of their concept.

The thing that would sustain Rome and make it great is the divine dynasphere, function inside the divine dynasphere as over against believers being in the cosmic system.

The uptrend will come from the believers on the west coast of Asia Minor, and the downtrend will come from all over the empire wherever believers became involved in the cosmic system.

Under the concept of manifest destiny any great nation has to start with landed aristocracy. Eventually, of course, there will be an industrial complex as there was in Rome. And there is always an undeveloped frontier.

People who can’t make it under the landed aristocracy will go out to the undeveloped frontier. But eventually if the nation is going to be great there must be the leadership of the industrial complex.

You can never defeat a good industrial complex, and there is a reason for that under the doctrine of manifest destiny. Manifest destiny says that if a nation is going to be great it will eventually combine all three factors in manifest destiny.

The landed aristocracy will combine under the leadership of the industrial complex and eventually they will take in all of the undeveloped frontier. It is not a racial issue, it is an issue of the laws of divine establishment or category one doctrine.

And the combination produced outstanding leaders, outstanding soldiers, etc.

The Spaniards had the advantage of numbers, the Gauls had the advantage over the Romans in physical strength, the Carthaginians had the advantage of mental sharpness, the Greeks had the advantage of culture, the Latins and the Italians had the advantage of shrewd common sense, but Rome conquered them all.

Notice the distinction between the Romans and the Latins and the Italians. They were not the same people. The Romans conquered the Latins and the Italians and eventually gave them citizenship.

After the city state was developed it conquered Italy and after it conquered Italy it conquered everything in the Mediterranean basin which became the basis for setting up the first Gentile client nation to God.

Before we finish our study we will see how the entire world was evangelized because the Roman legions went successfully all the way to the Euphrates, to the southern Danube, to the Rhine, all of the way to the Caledonia's in Scotland. And while they could go no farther there was one thing that stepped beyond the Roman eagles and standards of SPQR — the Christian missionaries who crossed the Euphrates, the Danube, the Rhine, and went beyond Hadrian’s wall. A

nd by so doing one of the greatest periods of missionary activity that has ever existed came about. The Roman conquests were often cruel because war is often cruel but while there is cruelty in war -- that doesn’t mean that there is anything wrong with war. Without war we would have no freedom, we would not be evangelized, we would not have a civilization or the greatest blessings of modern time.

The key to everything then is Smyrna. It was Smyrna which provided the greatness of the Roman empire. In 688 BC the Ionian Greeks took over and when Alexander conquered the world he went through and took Asia Minor, and after his death the city of Smyrna was ruled by the Macedonians. And one of the Macedonian generals who took over the city was Lysimachus. He rebuilt the city which had been destroyed. When he rebuilt the city he located it at the head of one of the chief highways of that area. Therefore its magnificent port became a trading centre and one of the most prosperous in all of the ancient world.

Along with Ephesus and Pergamum, Smyrna became one of the most brilliant and prosperous cities of Anotalia or western Turkey. The population of the city at the time that John wrote was about 200,000. Thanks to the planning of Alexander the Great and the execution of his city planning, Smyrna had wide, paved streets. For that reason alone they could expand and expand, and it became the centre of commerce and for several hundred years it was one of the most prosperous cities in the ancient world.

In AD 23, less than a century before our passage opens up, a temple was built in honour of the emperor Tiberias and his mother Julia. It was connected by a wide golden boulevard. T

his became one of the most famous of all boulevards in the ancient world and people would actually travel thousands of miles just to walk on the golden boulevard.

Because the trade there was so great the Jews moved in and there was a large Jewish population. There was also a very large Roman population, a large Greek population and, of course the Asiatics.

There were a strong group of believers in Smyrna. The church is one of the greatest of all time. It is the only one of the seven churches in Revelation 2 & 3 which was not criticised.

It became the bulwark of the Roman empire. Under the principle of the pivot and the sustaining of a client nation to God, this one was the greatest.

By 300 AD the majority of the people in Ephesus and Smyrna were believers, they became almost totally Christian cities.

Smyrna was the last city to hold out against the Mahommedan invasions, it did not fall to the Turks until the year 1424 AD. It was the discovery of America and the discovery of the sea routes to India which eventually ruined Smyrna’s trade.

Polycarp, the pastor who succeeded John was one of John’s parishioners. He was a young person in John’s church in Ephesus. After the death of John he went to Smyrna where he was accepted as the pastor.

It was during a pagan festival that Polycarp was brought before the proconsul, Philip, who tried to force him take an oath to revile Christ. Of course, Polycarp refused. His answer was very simple:

“For eighty-six years I have been a servant of our Lord Jesus Christ, and He has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my Lord and King, my only saviour?”

Polycarp was then seized and burned at the stake. The Roman empire had many horrible Caesars and very few good rulers.

They had many things against them and yet, because of the city of Smyrna, because of the tremendous advance of believers in the divine dynasphere, it became the secret that carried the Roman empire for 300 years plus.

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The mandate from our Lord Jesus Christ to John in verse 8:

the aorist active imperative of the verb grafw, write. The culminative aorist views the writing of the book of Revelation in its entirety but it regards it from the viewpoint of existing results, the completion of the canon of scripture, the history of the world from the time of writing (AD 96) down to the end of the world. The book of Revelation is a text book of world history. We have already seen this in chapter one. In chapters two and three we have the historical trends of the Church Age, the dispensation of no prophecy. The next prophecy is the resurrection of the Church. In the meantime everything is discerned through historical trends. Then, Revelation in chapters four and five the removal of the Church, the royal family of God — the Rapture. In Revelation chapters 6-18, three aspects of the Tribulation. Chapter 19: the second advent of Christ and the changing of the rulership of this world from Satan, who is at that time incarcerated for a thousand years, to our Lord Jesus Christ. Then there is the Millennial reign of our Lord, one thousand years of perfect environment. And then at the end of that Millennial reign, the loosing of Satan, the Gog revolution, followed by the last judgment — the second resurrection, the destruction of planet earth by God Himself, which means that there is no way that mad men pressing buttons can destroy this earth with sophisticated weaponry.

The active voice: John, under the ministry of the Holy Spirit, produces the action of writing under the ministry of the Holy Spirit a text book of world history. Every historical trend, every eschatological function of the future is involved in this book.

Next we have the encouragement of the congregation. This follows a very definite pattern throughout. It starts out with the accusative neuter plural, direct object, from Tade. This is a strange type of demonstrative pronoun because it was used originally as a part of the introductory formula for the translation of the Persian kings’ decrees into Greek. The Persians ruled so many Greeks that the decrees first came out in Persian and were then translated into Greek. And they always started out with this accusative form, tade. It is used here as the introductory formula of a decree and a mandate from our Lord Jesus Christ and as His estimation of the situation in Smyrna. With it we have the present active indicative of the verb legw, which means here to communicate. The aoristic present tense of legw sets forth an event as now occurring, therefore punctiliar action in present time. The active voice: Jesus Christ produces the action of the verb, the communication of an estimate of the situation. The indicative mood is declarative, representing the verbal idea from the viewpoint of reality. The rest of the verse is really the subject of the verb.

Then we have a big subject, because the subject not only has our Lord Jesus Christ but a relative clause in there to indicate who is doing the communicating. We start then with the definite article, o(, plus the nominative singular from the subject, prwtoj, correctly translated “the first.” With this a connective kai and then the generic used of the definite article plus the nominative singular subject again from e)sxatoj. Translation: “the first and the last communicates these things.”

What is the meaning of our Lord’s title, “the first and the last’? This is not the same as a)lfa and o)mega. It actually has a fourfold interpretation.

Twenty six years after the times of the Gentiles began in AD 70 the apostle John, during the rule of the Caesar Domitian, was banished to the Isle of Patmos in hopes that he would die there. Instead he sat down under the ministry of God the Holy Spirit to write the last book of the canon of scripture, the book of Revelation. The book of Revelation is the text book of world history from the time of John, AD 96, to the end of time. In chapters 2 & 3 we are studying historical trends. Once we understand these things we can determine exactly what is happening today, we can determine what has happened in any period of history, and we can see the entire issue of this dispensation and our relationship to it.

We have now gone into some isagogics in order to understand what we are studying with regard to these churches. Why the western coast of Turkey? Why the seven churches located in that area? Why not something in historical trends written to Rome or to Antioch or to Jerusalem? Why these? Because these seven churches, through residence and function in the divine dynasphere, carried client nation SPQR for a record time for any nation which has been a client nation to God. And for a period of time, from 96-180 AD, thanks to the mature believers who advanced from gate four to gate eight of the divine dynasphere and formed a pivot, we have one of the greatest periods of prosperity in all of human history.

The origin of the Romans includes the geographical area we are now studying. Many of the seven churches were located in the area of ancient Lydia. The source of Rome’s original leadership came from the area of the seven churches and specifically from the city of Smyrna. So it is fitting that the same area should provide mature believers from all races to provide blessing by association which would carry the Roman empire through the greatest period of prosperity that the world has ever known. There was an amalgamation of races resulting in the rise of Rome. But it was not a racial issue, it was a respect for law, respect for authority, respect for good government; it was a system of integrity developed by the Romans. But the thing that sustained them and the thing that made the empire greater than the republic was on the west coast of Asia Minor: manifest destiny, combined with the seven churches of the Roman province of Asia, turned the Roman empire into a great client nation. Christianity was tested under the Roman empire but that testing prepared them for the greatest missionary thrust the world has ever known. Missionaries out of the Roman empire, after going through the ten times of persecution ending with Diocletian, went far beyond any area where Roman eagles and the standards of SPQR ever went.