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Revelation Book Of The Bible

What Is The Context Of Revelation 2 And The Hidden Manna

Revelation (The Book of Revelation Visual Bible) ESV | Bible Movie

We find the hidden manna passage within the letter to the Church of Pergamum. In the first few chapters of Revelation, the Apostle John addresses seven different letters to seven churches.

Pergamum, according to GotQuestions, was a city full of art, culture, and beauty. But unfortunately a pagan deity rests in the heart of the city, and according to John’s letter, at least one follower of Jesus was put to death in Pergamum for standing strong in his faith.

The church as a whole in this city seems to do the same. They won’t buckle under the societal pressures to give up their faith.

However, John does seem to indicate they’ve bowed down to some moral compromises. Especially of those of Balaam and Balak, and those of the Nicolaitans. It seems the morally wrong actions had something to do with pagan sacrifices. Most likely, they were eating meat dedicated to idols, and committing sexual immorality while doing so.

With this in mind, John calls them to repent and remember the important sacrifice. The one of Jesus. That the food from the idols won’t sustain them spiritually. But the hidden manna will.

In turning to the hidden manna, we will receive a white stone of acquittal and will enter the gates of heaven.

Book Of Revelation Prophecies

Unlike all other New Testament books, Revelation is a prophetic book concerning the events of the last days. The name comes from the Greek term apokalypsis, meaning unveiling or revelation. Unveiled in the book are the invisible forces and spiritual powers at work in the world and in the heavenly realms, including forces at war against the church. Although unseen, these powers control future events and realities.

The unveiling comes to the Apostle John through a series of magnificent visions. The visions unfold like a vivid science fiction novel. The strange language, imagery, and symbolism in Revelation were not quite as foreign to first-century Christians as they are to us today. The numbers, symbols, and word pictures John used held political and religious significance to believers in Asia Minor. These followers were familiar with the Old Testament prophetic writings of Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and other Jewish texts. Today, we often need help deciphering these images.

To further complicate the book of Revelation, John saw visions of both his present world and of events yet to take place in the future. At times John witnessed multiple images and different perspectives of the same event. These visions were active, evolving, and challenging to the imagination.

Why We Should Seek After The Hidden Manna

It seems very intuitive that we need to turn to Jesus to sustain us, revive us, and heal us. But it’s far easier to say it than do it.

It’s also easy to laugh at churches like Pergamum and say, “Well, yeah. Eating meat sacrificed to idols and committing sexual immorality seems like a rather bad idea. Why didn’t they put two and two together.” But in reality, we turn after “meat” to idols. We turn to things that will not sustain us or only will fill our empty stomachs for a short while.

There’s a reason the woman at the well gets so excited about the idea of water that will never make you thirsty again.

John 4:15: “The woman said to him, Sir, give me this water so that I wont get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.

It’s exhausting to go back to sources that will not sustain us. That only satisfy us for a short period of time. They fill our stomachs for a while, but once our stomachs empty, we feel a longing for something that will last us.

Like the Church of Pergamum, we need to turn to Christ. We need to push away the temporary things that only fill us for a short period of time. And we need to seek after the hidden manna. We need to seek after Jesus, the only one who can truly satisfy.

Hope Bolinger is an acquisitions editor at End Game Press, and the author 21+ books. More than 1400 of her works have been featured in various publications. Check out her books at hopebolinger.com for clean books in most genres, great for adults and kids.

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Title Authorship And Date

The name Revelation comes from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: á¼ÏοκάλÏÏÎ¹Ï , which means “unveiling” or “revelation”. The author names himself as “John”, but modern scholars consider it unlikely that the author of Revelation also wrote the Gospel of John. He was a Jewish Christian prophet, probably belonging to a group of such prophets, and was accepted by the congregations to whom he addresses his letter.

The book is commonly dated to about AD 95, as suggested by clues in the visions pointing to the reign of the emperorDomitian. The beast with seven heads and the number 666 seem to allude directly to the emperor Nero , but this does not require that Revelation was written in the 60s, as there was a widespread belief in later decades that Nero would return.

Revelations Role In The Bible

Revelation Illustrated : An Artist

Revelation is traditionally attributed to the apostle John, who also wrote a Gospel and three New Testament letters. He was a leader in the early church, and he probably wrote his documents after most of the other New Testament books were already written.

Two characteristics of Revelation set it apart from the rest of the New Testament:

  • Its the only book of its genre. Most of the New Testament is history or a letter. Revelation is indeed sent as a letter with a traditional greeting , direct messages to the recipients , and a sendoff , but the bulk of the letter is a record of Johns vivid symbolic visions. No other book of the New Testament feels like Revelation.
  • Jesus directly addresses the readers. Youll have to flip back to the Old Testament to see someone write down a message from God for someone else. The Gospels record Jesus teachings, and the letters draw application from His teachings, but only in Revelation does Jesus Himself speak directly to the churches .
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    What Does The Bible Say About Bread And Jesus

    Matthew 6:11: “Give us today our daily bread.”

    We not only need God, but we need him on a daily basis. We find him through prayer, through the reading of Scripture, and through the regular fellowship with believers.

    John 6:35: “Then Jesus declared, I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

    Jesus doesn’t mean this in a literal sense. We aren’t supposed to take a chunk out of Jesus’ shoulder for lunch. But Jesus understands that our spiritual needs far transcend our physical ones. Sure, we can have a full stomach and still fly wayward toward hell at the same time.

    Matthew 26:26: “While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, Take and eat this is my body.

    As mentioned before, Jesus calls himself the bread during the Last Supper. We commemorate this through the practice of communion. Knowing that God alone sustains us and fulfills our spiritual needs.

    Acts 20:7: “On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight.”

    The breaking of bread is an important practice in the Early Church. It reminds them about what Jesus did, and why they needed to turn to Jesus on a constant basis.

    For more Bible verses on bread, check out this article here.

    Revelation Isnt Just An Outlier

    Revelation may be distinct from the New Testament, but its style and theology are right at home in the Bible. Revelations symbolic visions are similar to what youd see in the Old Testament prophecies of Ezekiel, Daniel, and Zechariah.

    Of course, even after going over the books content, it can still be difficult to know what Revelation is all about. Some of the visions are explained for us: the Lamb is Jesus and the dragon is the devil . Othersmost, reallyarent so directly explained.

    Some say all of Johns visions are about the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D. others say the prophecies havent been fulfilled yet. As you read and study Revelation, keep a few things in mind:

    • This message is written to churches in Asia, which had both Jewish and Gentile members.
    • Jesus begins everything with messages to the churches who were dealing with distraction, persecution, false teaching, immorality, laziness, and stagnation.
    • The correct response to this letter is to come to Jesus and invite others .

    Revelation is the last book of the New Testament and the Biblewhat a finish!

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    Protestant View Of The Papacy As The Antichrist

    Protestant Reformers, including John Wycliffe, , John Calvin, Thomas Cranmer, John Thomas, John Knox, Roger Williams, Cotton Mather, Jonathan Edwards, and John Wesley, as well as most Protestants of the 16thâ18th centuries, felt that the Early Church had been led into the Great Apostasy by the Papacy and identified the Pope with the Antichrist. The Centuriators of Magdeburg, a group of Lutheran scholars in Magdeburg headed by Matthias Flacius, wrote the 12-volume Magdeburg Centuries to discredit the Catholic Church and lead other Christians to recognize the Pope as the Antichrist. So, rather than expecting a single Antichrist to rule the earth during a future Tribulation period, Martin Luther, John Calvin, and other Protestant Reformers saw the Antichrist as a present feature in the world of their time, fulfilled in the Papacy. Like most Protestant theologians of his time, Isaac Newton believed that the Papal Office was the fulfillment of the Biblical predictions about Antichrist, whose rule is prophesied to last for 1,260 years.

    The identification of the Pope with the Antichrist was so ingrained in the Reformation Era, that Luther himself stated it repeatedly:

    “This teaching shows forcefully that the Pope is the very Antichrist, who has exalted himself above, and opposed himself against Christ, because he will not permit Christians to be saved without his power, which, nevertheless, is nothing, and is neither ordained nor commanded by God”.

    and,

    Introduction To The Last Book Of The Bible

    Introduction to Revelation: Book of Revelation Explained 1 with Allen Nolan
    • General Biblical Studies, Interdenominational Christian Training Center

    The book of Revelation is by far one of the most challenging books in the Bible, yet well worth the effort to study and comprehend. In fact, the opening passage contains a blessing to everyone who reads, hears, and keeps the words of this prophecy:

    “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.”

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    Historicist Interpretations Of The Book Of Revelation

    Historicism is a method of interpretation in Christian eschatology which associates biblical prophecies with actual historical events and identifies symbolic beings with historical persons or societies it has been applied to the Book of Revelation by many writers. The Historicist view follows a straight line of continuous fulfillment of prophecy which starts in Daniel’s time and goes through John’s writing of the Book of Revelation all the way to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

    Theme Verse Of Revelation

    Therefore write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things.

  • Johns greeting and introduction
  • Jesus messages to seven churches
  • Visions of what comes after these things
  • The Lamb who was slain breaks seven seals
  • Seven angels sound their trumpets
  • The dragon, the beast, and the saints
  • Seven bowls of Gods wrath
  • The Lamb overcomes Babylon and judges the earth
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    The Harvest Of The Earth And The Vintage Of The Earth

    Two images at the end of this chapter are two different forms /Joel#3:13″ rel=”nofollow”> Joel 3:13) of ‘the traditional eschatological image of harvest’: the “grain harvest” and the “vintage” , to follow the messages that the angels have given for the nations of the opportunity to respond to the witness of the martyrs in repentance or to face the judgement of God .

    The Revelation Of Jesus Christ To The Seven Churches

    REVELATION ILLUSTRATED: AN ARTIST

    1 This is the revelation of Jesus Christ. God gave it to him to show his servants the things that must happen soon. He sent this revelation through his angel to his servant John. 2 John testified about what he saw: Gods word and the testimony about Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed is the one who reads, as well as those who hear the words of this prophecy and pay attention to what is written in it because the time is near.

    4 From John to the seven churches in the province of Asia. Good will and peace to you from the one who is, the one who was, and the one who is coming, from the seven spirits who are in front of his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the witness, the trustworthy one, the first to come back to life, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. Glory and power forever and ever belong to the one who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood 6 and has made us a kingdom, priests for God his Father. Amen.

    7 Look! He is coming in the clouds.Every eye will see him,even those who pierced him.Every tribe on earth will mourn because of him.This is true. Amen.

    8 I am the A and the Z, says the Lord God, the one who is, the one who was, and the one who is coming, the Almighty.

    Footnotes

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    The Book Of Revelation

    The Apocalypse, or Revelation to John, the last book of the Bible, is one of the most difficult to understand because it abounds in unfamiliar and extravagant symbolism, which at best appears unusual to the modern reader. Symbolic language, however, is one of the chief characteristics of apocalyptic literature, of which this book is an outstanding example. Such literature enjoyed wide popularity in both Jewish and Christian circles from ca. 200 B.C. to A.D. 200.

    This book contains an account of visions in symbolic and allegorical language borrowed extensively from the Old Testament, especially Ezekiel, Zechariah, and Daniel. Whether or not these visions were real experiences of the author or simply literary conventions employed by him is an open question.

    The lurid descriptions of the punishment of Jezebel and of the destruction of the great harlot, Babylon , are likewise literary devices. The metaphor of Babylon as harlot would be wrongly construed if interpreted literally. On the other hand, the stylized figure of the woman clothed with the sun , depicting the New Israel, may seem to be a negative stereotype. It is necessary to look beyond the literal meaning to see that these images mean to convey a sense of Gods wrath at sin in the former case and trust in Gods providential care over the church in the latter.

    The principal divisions of the Book of Revelation are the following:

    Johns Vision Of Christ

    9 I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.10 On the Lords Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,11 which said: Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.

    12 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands,13 and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest.14 The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.

    17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.18 I am the Living One I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

    Footnotes

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    What Is The Hidden Manna In Revelation 2

    To put it simply, the hidden manna represents Jesus.

    Back in the Old Testament, the physical manna fulfilled the physical needs of the Israelites. But spiritually speaking, they were starving. They needed the Bread of Life to step down, take on their sin, and to fulfill their spiritual needs. Hence why Jesus breaks bread at the Last Supper and calls it his body, broken for us.

    And this is why we take communion on a regular basis. Whether our churches do it on a weekly basis, or every so often, we take and eat the bread to remember Christ’s sacrifice and Christ’s promise that he will come again. He fulfills us, sustains us. He is our bread, our manna.

    Revelation does often make use of bizarre imagery, so it would make sense that manna would be included in that roundup. The idea of communion was repugnant to the Roman Empir because they’d misinterpreted it to mean cannibalism. So let’s take a look at the context of Revelation 2, and why it speaks about the hidden manna.

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