As we addressed last week, we tend to think of righteousness in moral terms, not lying, cheating, committing adultery, etc. A large portion of the biblical teachings on righteousness is about managing what we have been entrusted with right. All Christians should be living to hear the words on that great judgment day, "Well done good and faithful servant!" As we are told in The Parable of the Talents, the ones who heard those words were the servants who managed what they were entrusted with well.

          Supernatural means “super-natural.” As C.S. Lewis pointed out, almost all of the miracles of Jesus were simply the speeding up of a natural process. There was never any wine that did not start out as water and go through a process—Jesus just sped up that process. There was never anyone healed that God did not heal through the “natural” processes He placed in us, but through Jesus and His workers He sped this up.

     There are prophetic revelations that come poignantly in a dream, vision, or word. In my experience, these are usually about personal or localized issues that do not have widespread impact or long-term consequences. This is not to lessen their importance, and as with most of what we’re addressing, this is a principle and not a law. There are exceptions to principles, but the above has generally been my experience. Most of the time, major events that could impact nations come as unfolding revelations over time.

         As we seek to understand the possible symbolism of the 144,000, we need to first review the principles of biblical symbolism so that we do not drift into “free association”—the claim that something is representative without fully establishing the biblical connections that lead to this belief. Without doing this, almost anyone can claim that just about anything means just about anything. This is a recipe for delusion.

         We continue our study of the church at Pergamos (meaning “elevated,” approximately. A.D. 323 - 538) This week, we will cover the rest His complaint against this church, and also how it applies to us.

“But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality. 

As we consider the anointing for mobilizing, we must also understand how this applies to numbers. John the Baptist had an anointing to call and prepare all of Judea for the Lord. However, most do not start with such an ability to call great numbers. It is likely that John’s ministry was not that popular at first either. Usually we must learn to be faithful in the little before we are given greater authority.

The most mature Christians will be evidenced by their ability to appreciate and embrace those who are different, but are of the same faith in Christ. Only when we start to understand and appreciate the differences in the different parts of the body will we ever fit together properly, learn to function together, and thereby multiply our fruitfulness.

Last week we covered a number of practical issues concerning the kingdom of God, especially how elders or anyone given authority in the church need to be given specific authority, not general authority. Those appointed need to know their sphere of authority and stay within it or there will be an open door for confusion and division.

The next work of the flesh in this study is "strife." This is from the Greek word, eritheia, which is usually translated "contention" or "strife," but also could be translated "intrigue." By implication, this is the tendency to secretly spread strife. This is an evil that can be found in almost every congregation, and has almost certainly done more damage to the church than all of the cults and persecutions combined.