This Word for the Week ministry is a way that we are seeking to methodically sink our roots deeper into sound biblical truth, as well as the important spiritual issues of our times. For this reason we want to delve a little deeper into the text that we studied last week, Ephesians 4:11-13, which is one of the most succinct declarations of the purpose of the church in Scripture.

A couple of years ago the media coverage of a few shark attacks made it seem that the waters were churning with killers on a rampage. Millions fled the beaches out of fear and a great many have not yet returned. What really happened is that there were fewer newsworthy stories that summer than normal. The shark attacks caught the public’s interest, so the media rode this story for as long as they could, dramatizing every attack more than what normally would have been covered.

         We have been discussing how the Apostle Paul became a disciple of the kingdom of heaven. He gave a remarkable explanation of this in Philippians 3:10-14:

          that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;

    Todd Bentley was used to spark the Lakeland Outpouring, which raised the faith level of much of the body of Christ. Testimonies of healings and miracles from it are now virtually all over the world. When Todd’s marriage failed, he abruptly stopped all ministry and virtually disappeared for almost nine months. In the meantime, his divorce was finalized and he has recently remarried. 

         We touched on how the “beast” in Revelation is an economic system that determines who can “buy, sell, or trade,” but it is more than that. The beast is also the personification of the worship of man. That is why his mark is 666. In biblical numerology, six is the number of man because man was born on the sixth day. Therefore, this system is an economy that worships man, esteeming man as the god of man, able to solve all of our own problems, and able to pick the winners and losers and distribute the resources.

         The next church the Lord addresses is the church at Pergamos. Theologians and Bible scholars viewing this as a revelation to the entire church age generally view this as a word to the church from approximately A.D. 323 to 538.

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

     To live a great Christian life does not mean you must become famous. Some of the most well-known people on earth could be the least known in heaven. Likewise, the most well known in heaven could be the least known on earth. Having a great Christian life is not about fame. Rather it is having a life that is pleasing to the Lord and hearing on that great Judgment Day, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (see Matthew 25:21 NKJV).