The Interesting Content of the Seven Letters

The Interesting Content of the Seven Letters

Part 1

On closer examination of these letters, you will notice something that, according to the usual understanding, is truly sensational! Jesus asks for nothing except for our works.

What Christ has done for us—the atonement, forgiveness of sin, and pardon—is not even mentioned. Neither is there a single word about the gifts of the Spirit or other gifts, or healings and miracles.

What could be the reason for that? This is amazing in the eyes of people who are extroverts. Yet in God’s eyes, and in the eyes of spiritual people, it is quite simple and even obvious. It is as simple and easily comprehended in the same way that scaffolding is of little interest when a building is finished, and the façade of the building—irrespective of how brilliantly its construction may have been executed—is, nevertheless, of little interest in relation to the building’s content.

It says continually, “I know your works . . . ,” and, “To him who overcomes, I will give . . . .” The only thing of interest to Christ is our works. These works are either praised or judged as unacceptable. They are the damning evidence of our condition, for our acceptance or our rejection.

The condition for being reckoned among the overcomers is that our works are perfect before God. Rev. 3:2.

We also see that all the glorious promises are only for those who overcome. There are no promises for those who do not overcome.

How is all this to be understood? Is the atonement no longer valid? Are we not justified by faith in the atonement?

As far as God is concerned, He has done everything, He has given everything. It is finished!

We have received abundant grace, abundant offers concerning everything we need in order to overcome and to live a life acceptable to God. We have also received innumerable opportunities and a long time of grace. We have no excuses for our defeats.

God has been extremely gracious and longsuffering. We have had ample opportunity to believe His work and His Word, to seek and to receive strength for victory over all sin.

In the end it is therefore only a question of one thing: namely, what has all this grace and goodness wrought in us?

This is in perfect agreement with the other words of the gospel that unequivocally state that we will be judged and rewarded according to our works.

Therefore: Through God’s work in Christ Jesus and through everything that God’s great grace has given us and which can constantly be transferred to us, we have unlimited opportunities to overcome all conscious sin, to walk holy, spotless, and blameless before God’s face with a perfectly good conscience, and with increasing light from above, to grow up to the maturity that is necessary for the bride of Christ to be ready to go with Him to the wedding.

If we have not reached this goal during our time of grace—which is seen and indicated by our works—we have received His great grace in vain. In several places Paul speaks about receiving grace in vain. James 1:26 also mentions it.

Therefore the seven letters are concerned only with our works. The state of affairs in these churches was such that the lives of some of them were approved, but the lives of the majority of them were not approved. If they did not repent, they would be inevitably rejected; they would be spewed out of His mouth.

This is something else than the current one hundred percent reprehensible harlotry!!! Contrary to the spirit of the Scriptures and the letter of the Scriptures, they say that our works do not matter—whether they are good or bad; as long as we believe in the atonement we will all get into the kingdom of heaven on account of the blood. The harlot—the great and the little ones—makes everything so pleasant and easy: we will all drive leisurely into the kingdom of heaven on a wide highway, as opposed to Jesus’ extremely earnest words and the apostles’ serious and urgent exhortations. This is a fateful deception.