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All right, you guys.

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Welcome back to another

episode of I Can't, He Can.

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Today, we are going to continue

with the Sound Mind series

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in the Book of Revelation.

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Now, if you remember last

week, we went ahead and did an

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introduction to Revelation, and

we also read through chapter one.

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Today, we're going to

be doing chapter two.

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I was thinking that we would be able to

also do chapter three, but looking back

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into my notes now, despite it being a

pretty short chapter of only 29 verses,

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there is a lot to unpack with details that

I think are very important, because it

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does give into, explaining a little bit

more of Jesus' character or another side

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of Jesus' character that we don't really

get to, see, you know, in a vast majority,

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throughout some parts of the Bible.

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so I think that it's very important

to dive into those, reasons as to

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why He says the things that He says.

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And as always, I want to be as accurate

as possible with, how I interpret

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things, so that's why I wanna give

you a little bit more, as to what

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I learned when I was reading this

very, short but jam-packed Chapter.

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I was gonna say episode.

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but in chapter two, Jesus actually has

a message, for John to give churches.

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And we already know, we covered in

chapter one, that there are seven

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churches that this message is going

to be for, and in just chapter two,

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the messages are for four churches.

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So as always, I remind you guys

before we begin, have your Bibles.

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As you can see, I have many, many notes.

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Oop.

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Something always happens.

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I have many, many notes here, and I

am also prepared with my notes, from

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what I was taking as I was reading.

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The more I read these verses,

the more I was just like, "Wow."

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Like, I don't want to skip over

anything and it be something

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that is very, very important.

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But anyway, I digress from that, and today

we are going to be reading through chapter

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two, and then I will be going over, my

very important side note before we dive

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into my verse by verse explanation.

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So I hope you guys enjoy.

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I hope you guys take some notes as well.

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But more than anything, I hope you

guys are reading for yourself because

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if there is ever anything that I

may say incorrectly, I encourage

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anyone and everyone to reach out to

me, via Instagram or here on YouTube

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or whatever platform it is that

you listen to and, and let me know.

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But please also stick by,

for the end of the episode.

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I have a very brief announcement

that I wanna give, as to the

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direction of the podcast and some

things I've been thinking about.

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So I would really appreciate if you guys

stick around to the end and let me know

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what you think about that in the comments.

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Or again, you can reach out

to me Instagram, or here.

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Anyway, without further ado,

let's begin reading the Book

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of Revelation, Chapter Two.

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" To the angel of the church of Ephesus

write, 'These things says He who holds

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the seven stars in His right hand,

who walks in the midst of the seven

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golden lampstands: "I know your works,

your labor, your patience, and that

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you cannot bear those who are evil.

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And you have tested those who say they

are apostles and are not, and have found

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them liars; and you have persevered and

have patience, and have labored for My

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name's sake and have not become weary.

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Nevertheless I have this against you,

that you have left your first love.

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Remember therefore from where you

have fallen; repent and do the first

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works, or else I will come to you

quickly and remove your lampstand

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from its place - unless you repent.

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But this you have, that you hate the deeds

of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

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He who has an ear, let him hear what

the Spirit says to the churches.

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To him who overcomes I will give to

eat from the tree of life, which is in

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the midst of the Paradise of God."'"

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Now verse eight.

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And to the angel of the church in Smyrna,

write these things, says the first and

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the last, who was dead and came to life.

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I know your works, tribulation,

and poverty, but you are rich.

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And I know the blasphemy of those

who say they are Jews and are

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not, but are a synagogue of Satan.

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Do not fear any of those things

which you are about to suffer.

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Indeed, the devil is about to

throw some of you into prison,

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that you may be tested, and you

will have tribulation ten days.

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Be faithful until death, and I

will give you the crown of life.

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He who has an ear, let him hear what

the Spirit says to the churches.

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He who overcomes shall not

be hurt by the second death.

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Verse 12.

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And to the angel of the church in

Pergamos, write, These things says,

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He who has the sharp two-edged sword.

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I know your works and where you

dwell, where Satan's throne is.

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And you hold fast to My name and did not

deny My faith, even in the days in which

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Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was

killed among you, where Satan dwells.

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But I have a few things against you,

because you have there those who hold the

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doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to

put a stumbling block before the children

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of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to

idols and to commit sexual immorality.

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Thus, you also have those

who hold the doctrine of the

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Nicolaitans, Which things I hate.

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Repent, or else I will come to

you quickly and will fight against

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them with the sword of My mouth.

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He who has an ear, let him hear what

the Spirit says to the churches.

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To him who overcomes I will give

some of the hidden manna to eat.

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And I will give him a white stone, and

on the stone a new name written which

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no one knows except him who receives it.

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Verse 18.

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And to the angel of the church in Thyatira

write, 'These things says the Son of God,

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who has eyes like a flame of fire, and

His feet like fine brass: "I know your

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works, love, service, faith, and your

patience; and as for your works, the

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last are the m- are more than the first.

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Nevertheless I have a few things

against you, because you allow that

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woman Jezebel, who calls herself a

prophetess, to teach and seduce My

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servants to commit sexual immorality

and eat things sacrificed to idols.

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And I give her time to repent of her

sexual immorality, and she did not repent.

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Indeed I will cast her into a

sickbed, and those who commit adultery

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with her into great tribulation,

unless they repent of their deeds.

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I will kill her children with death, and

all the churches shall know that I am

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He who searches the minds and hearts.

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And I will give to each one of

you according to your works.

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Now to you I say, and to the rest

in Thyatira, as many as do not have

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this doctrine, who have not known

the depths of Satan, as they say,

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I will put on you no other burden.

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But hold fast what you have till I come.

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And he who overcomes, and keeps

My works until the end, to him I

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will give power over the nations.

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He shall rule them with a rod of

iron; they shall be dashed to pieces

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like the potter's vessels, as I also

have received from My Father; and

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I will give him the morning star.

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He who has an ear, let him hear what

the Spirit says to the churches.'"

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And that's the end of chapter two.

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Listen In this chapter, while it

was very brief and the messages were

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very fast to these four churches, it

was very, very, urgent, I would say,

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what Jesus is trying to say to them.

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He's saying two things: "I know

the good, but I also know the bad."

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So what does that tell you about Christ?

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He is telling us that he sees the good

in his people, but there are things

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that he dislikes, and here is your

warning because he is so merciful

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and so good, he is also saying, "But

these bad things that I'm seeing you

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guys doing, I need you to repent."

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And kind of like how it says here, in

verse 23, after the part, "I will kill

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her with death, and the churches shall

know that I am he who-- that I am he

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who searches the minds and the hearts."

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So he specifically says there that he

searches minds and hearts, therefore

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meaning he knows everything that we

think, he knows everything that we feel.

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So if a person is truly doing good,

but somewhere deep down in them,

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they still feel some sort of evil

ways, evil thoughts, you know, their,

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their desire is not what they are

showing off to people God, Jesus,

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and the Holy Spirit, they know.

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They search our hearts and our

minds, and they already know that.

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So true repentance,

true repentance is key.

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Either way, let's go back to

the beginning of chapter two.

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I'm going to do my verse … not

really verse by verse

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because I do skip over a few.

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However, before we do the mostly

all 29 verse review, I want to do

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an introduction to something that

you guys heard as I was reading,

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and it talks about the Nicolaitans.

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Now, as always, I shared what I

learned with David, and I told him

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something that he looked at me and he

thought it was just, like, so bizarre.

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I told him, I was like, "I have

no idea what Nicolaitans are."

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Like, first of all, when I heard

Nicolaitans, I was like, "Oh my God,

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this must be a place, like, called

Nicola or Nicolae," some ridiculous

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thing, which even now saying it, I'm just

like, "Okay, Sarai, how embarrassing."

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But if you don't know, you don't know, and

there's no shame in not knowing something.

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What there should be a downside

to is if you don't do more to find

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out and question, these things so

that you can have things straight.

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So of course, before I do any sort

of explanation of what I learned,

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I need you guys to also understand

who these people are that Jesus

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specifically says that He hates.

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And why would Jesus hate someone if one

of the biggest thing or, like, the main

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point of God and the gospel is that

He loves us and loves everyone, right?

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Doesn't that just kind of,

like, seem very opposite?

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Well, this is why, he says those things,

or in my opinion, these are the little

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tidbits that I gathered that would

explain why he says he hates Nicolaitans.

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Anyway, I digress.

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So Nicolaitans, as I was looking

over Google and reading through the

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Bible, I couldn't find really anything

in the Bible that talked about

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Nicolaitans specifically in detail.

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So as I was retr- researching, it

says that the term Nicolaitans derives

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from the Greek word nikos and laos.

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That means conquers or subdue is

nikos, and laos is the people.

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So it's people that conquer or subdue.

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In essence.

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And known information about the

Nicolaitans is that this sect, the

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sect of the Nicolaitans, are primarily

from Nicholas, who was one of the

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early church deacons in Antioch.

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And there in…

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You can see in Acts 6:5, this is

where the apostles choose Nicholas.

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let's actually go really fast to

Acts, and let me look at that 'cause I

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actually didn't read that specifically,

but I am curious to look at it now

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'cause my focus was on the Nicolaitans,

but I wanna see what it says.

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Acts 6:5.

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Three, four, five.

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Okay, so here it says, Acts 6:5,

"And the saying pleased the mult…"

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Excuse me, "And the saying pleased

the whole multitude and they chose

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Stephen, a man of full faith and the

Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus,

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Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicholas

a proselyte from Antioch whom they

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set before the apostles and when they

had prayed, they laid hands on them."

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And then verse seven, "Then the

word of God spread and the number of

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the disciples multiplied greatly in

Jerusalem, and a great many of the

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priests were obedient to the faith."

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Okay, the beginning of chapter six in

Acts is called Seven Chosen to Serve.

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So again, like I was mentioning

and I had researched, was that

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these gentlemen were chosen by

the apostles to expand the church.

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And Nicholas, is the one that, in

essence, the Nicolaitans came from

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because his name was Nicholas.

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You guys get it.

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and therefore Jesus hates the Nicolaitans.

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But why?

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Let's continue.

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so from my research it says, "Historical

records reflect the followers of Nicholas

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fell off or distorted his teachings.

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Mostly located in Ephesus and

Pergamum," meaning the Nicolaitans,

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that's where they were mostly from.

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"Some ties to Thyatira Church, to…"

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Excuse me, "To the Thya- Thyatira Church

and the false prophetess Jezebel,"

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which is one of the things that Jesus

also mentions that He hates Jezebel.

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He gave her a chance to repent.

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She chose not to, so she's going to

essentially get death because of her sins.

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anyway, so the four churches that

were discussed in chapter two-

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are here.

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The Loveless Church is what

it's known for, which is Ephesus

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Then it's the persecuted church,

which is the Church of Smyrna, the

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compromising church, which is Pergamos,

and the corrupt church, which is

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Thyatira, which is where Jezebel was.

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So that's why some of these notes

kind of like intertwine with each

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other regarding the Nicolaitans.

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Okay, so I wrote here, why, why Jesus

hates the Nicolaitans and Balaam.

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He also references to Balaam.

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Now, when I was reading initially

before doing my research, it kind

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of like skipped over my mind, and

I didn't even remember Balaam.

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I just focused on Nicolaitans

because I had never heard of that.

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Now, Balaam and Nicolaitans are two

separate things, and I had intertwined

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it thinking that they were related.

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They are because they were, you

know, sinners and, they all worshiped

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Baal-like, attributes, I guess you

can say, but they are still separate.

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So their doctrine, both of them, is

linked to the Old Testament figure of

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Balaam and I'm going to get into why.

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Numbers chapter twenty-two

through twenty-four is

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specifically the story of Balaam.

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Now, before I continue with the

Nicolaitans, I wanna just explain

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why they're separate, but they're

still related because of their sin.

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So specifically in Revelation

chapter two verse fourteen,

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let's look at that right here.

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It says, "But I have a few things

against you because you have there

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those who hold the doctrine of Balaam,

who taught Balak to put a stumbling

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block before the children of Israel

to eat things sacrificed to idols

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and to commit sexual immorality."

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Okay, then verse fifteen,

here is the difference.

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This is why I confuse it because

it's one after the other.

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Then verse fifteen he says, "Thus,"

meaning also, furthermore, "Thus

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you also have those," meaning other

people, "who hold the doctrine of the

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Nicolaitans, which things I hate."

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So they are two separate things,

but they're still related.

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Now, I didn't catch that, again, like I

said in the beginning, but I was like,

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"Where are these Nicolaitans coming from?"

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And then even when I was

researching, it talked about Balaam.

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So I went back to Numbers,

which I had already read.

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I knew the story of Balaam.

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This is where, God uses the donkey to

make sure that Balaam pays attention

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to what He is saying because in

Numbers chapter twenty-two through

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twenty-four, it's that story where,

you know, he is, I guess, guiding

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Balak, and in a nutshell, essentially.

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Balaam is still a faithful

servant to God, right?

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At least that's what I thought.

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It seemed he was still a faithful

servant to God, and he was still being

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obedient, but there was nothing in

there about what it says here- Here

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in, in verse 14, which is saying that

he was a stumbling block to Balak.

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We don't get any of that.

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Okay?

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So I was like, what is going on here?

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Now, in Numbers chapter 31, many

chapters after 22 and 24, which is the

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story of Balaam, Balak, and the donkey.

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Okay?

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So in Numbers chapter 31 verse 16, Moses

confirms that Balaam was the one who

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verbalized a sinful type of work to Balak.

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That was the only thing that was

said that you could kind of say,

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"Okay, so Balaam was the reason

why all of these people stumbled."

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Like, it wasn't very clear.

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that's Numbers chapter 31 verse 16.

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Let's go there really fast.

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I know we're kinda jumping all over the

place today, y'all, but you know what?

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Sometimes we gotta do this.

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Numbers chapter 31.

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Almost there.

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All righty, verse 16 right here.

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Perfect

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And this is Moses speaking because

he's the one that wrote Numbers.

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So Numbers 31:16, "Look, these women

caused the children of Israel, through

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the counsel of Balaam, to trespass

against the Lord in the incident

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of Peor, and there was a plague

among the congregation of the Lord."

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So while it says that Balaam's

counsel was the one that caused

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all these people to kind of fall

off the bandwagon, it still doesn't

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give too much information as to why.

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So you would have to look at to

what happened in Peor and, like,

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all of those things to kind of

get a little more detail, right?

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But we're not gonna go there.

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What I'm trying to do with all of this

is I want you to understand why Jesus

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is saying that in the Church of Pergamos

these things are like you guys gotta

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go sideways and do things the right

way away from the people of Balaam and

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the Nicolaitans 'cause I hate them.

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And this is why.

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We're explaining why he hates them.

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So moving forward, now that we

read what Moses confirms, here

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: 00:20:49

clearly Jesus confirms he, in

fact, was a stumbling block.

293

: 00:20:54

Despite the story in Numbers 22-24 that

doesn't really allude to the things that

294

: 00:21:01

Balaam taught Balak, you can clearly

see the things that Jesus is saying.

295

: 00:21:07

Now, Moses didn't really

give too much detail.

296

: 00:21:11

It was kind of like a little,

you know, above surface level

297

: 00:21:16

explanation, but Jesus, the one

that searches our hearts and minds,

298

: 00:21:21

exposes that right here in verse 14.

299

: 00:21:25

And when I read that, I'm

like, "Wait a minute."

300

: 00:21:29

I went back, I was like

I know this is Numbers.

301

: 00:21:31

I went back, I started looking

at Balaam, and I read…

302

: 00:21:34

And then I read chapter 23, and

I'm like, "There's nothing here."

303

: 00:21:37

And then I read chapter 24, and

I'm like, "There's nothing here."

304

: 00:21:40

So that's why I started Googling,

and sometimes you have to do that

305

: 00:21:43

because you need to find, like,

okay, where specifically is this?

306

: 00:21:48

I read over what Moses said in chapter 31.

307

: 00:21:52

Like many things you don't grasp, but

until you start trying to understand

308

: 00:21:57

and until you start digging,

it's not going to really connect.

309

: 00:22:02

Like, there are times where Jesus

and the Holy Spirit are going to

310

: 00:22:06

speak to you and literally open up

your spiritual eyes, but sometimes

311

: 00:22:10

you do have to go the extra mile.

312

: 00:22:12

And I really, really am so glad that

I looked into this because my mind was

313

: 00:22:19

open to the fact that us unknowingly,

like Balaam, I'm sure that he was

314

: 00:22:26

trying to be obedient to God because

he seemed like an obedient person.

315

: 00:22:30

We don't know, because we're

not told here, that his heart

316

: 00:22:34

was evil or, literally trying to

maliciously turn these people away.

317

: 00:22:39

But maybe, and again we'll never

know, this is my interpretation,

318

: 00:22:43

maybe, just maybe us unknowingly

can lead people astray.

319

: 00:22:49

So it matters what we say.

320

: 00:22:51

It matters the words that we use, and

that's actually something that my pastor,

321

: 00:22:56

has been going over in the Book of James

with us That the tongue is so important.

322

: 00:23:02

Like our mouths can speak

life or can speak death, and

323

: 00:23:06

clearly this was the case.

324

: 00:23:09

This was the message that I got

from, again, looking into, what the

325

: 00:23:15

Nicolaitans were and then realizing

that Balaam was also mentioned in

326

: 00:23:19

here, and it is very, very important.

327

: 00:23:23

B- Balaam steered this entire group

of women and people to go astray,

328

: 00:23:28

to sin, and obviously then to

death because probably some of them

329

: 00:23:33

didn't repent, or many of them.

330

: 00:23:35

and then the Nicolaitans were people

who pretended to follow this deacon

331

: 00:23:41

that was chosen by the apostles, and

they completely twisted and turned

332

: 00:23:47

this faithful man's words, and they

became known as the Nicolaitans.

333

: 00:23:51

Like, I'm sure Nicholas did not want

his, his legacy to be the Nicolaitans.

334

: 00:24:00

And again, there may have been people

who remained faithful to the gospel

335

: 00:24:05

and remained true to what Nicholas was

teaching, but then there's always that

336

: 00:24:10

rotten bunch, and you don't wanna be that

rotten bunch or cause people to become

337

: 00:24:15

a rotten bunch because of what you say.

338

: 00:24:18

So All in all, the message

with what I learned here was

339

: 00:24:24

that we need to be careful.

340

: 00:24:26

We need to be careful because

down the road, we may see fruit

341

: 00:24:30

of things that we say to others.

342

: 00:24:34

And I can even say that for my

children, like me always yelling and

343

: 00:24:38

being so stern and being so, you know,

disciplinary all the time, has had

344

: 00:24:45

a long effect that now I'm trying to

work on, and sometimes that's not good.

345

: 00:24:51

So even in things like that, we have

to be careful because in the long run,

346

: 00:24:55

we will see effects of what we do.

347

: 00:24:57

Anyway, I digress, and let me continue

so that we can do the verse by verse.

348

: 00:25:03

Now, the Nicolaitans, are also similar

in sacrificial acts that resemble Baal

349

: 00:25:09

worship because, again, like Jesus said,

they were people that sacrificed to

350

: 00:25:13

idols, they committed sexual immorality.

351

: 00:25:15

and we know, from who Baal

is, and I'll read it here.

352

: 00:25:19

I put, side note, who is Baal?

353

: 00:25:21

And I put, "Biblical text

associates Baal to extreme cult

354

: 00:25:25

and ritualistic temple prostitution

and sacrifice of children," etc.

355

: 00:25:31

There, of course, there were many

other things, but these are, like,

356

: 00:25:33

the main things that we know about

and we have heard and read about.

357

: 00:25:38

and also, a little further from what I

was reading as I was researching, Baal

358

: 00:25:43

is also seen as a deity of rain, the

clouds or the elements, or a Semitic

359

: 00:25:49

Zeus, to the, I guess the Jewish

people, the Israelites, you can say.

360

: 00:25:54

But all in all, now we know

who the Nicolaitans are.

361

: 00:25:58

We remember who Balaam was, due to

Numbers 22 through 24, and how he,

362

: 00:26:05

was obedient to God in that time,

or seemed to be obedient to God.

363

: 00:26:10

and also God uses anything that He

has to to make His case in point.

364

: 00:26:15

He used the donkey to make sure

that Balaam listened and obeyed to

365

: 00:26:21

what God was requesting him to do.

366

: 00:26:23

So now that we have covered that, let's

go briefly through the notes that I

367

: 00:26:30

have on here regarding the verses.

368

: 00:26:32

So we already know verse one and two,

that Jesus's message specifically to begin

369

: 00:26:38

with is for what's called the loveless

church, and this is a church of Ephesus.

370

: 00:26:44

And it says here, verse three, Jesus

commends for the good they have done.

371

: 00:26:49

Like I said, Jesus always calls out

the good that they did, and they

372

: 00:26:53

also, excuse me, and He also sees

and knows the wrong that they did.

373

: 00:26:58

So in verse three That is what he says.

374

: 00:27:02

Let's read it briefly again.

375

: 00:27:04

"And you have persevered and have

patience, and have labored for my

376

: 00:27:08

name's sake and have not become weary.

377

: 00:27:12

For nevertheless, I have this against

you, that you have left your first love.

378

: 00:27:17

Remember therefore," verse five,

"Remember therefore from where you have

379

: 00:27:21

fallen; repent and do the first works."

380

: 00:27:26

Okay, so really fast, repent, remember

where you have fallen, remember the

381

: 00:27:31

things that are not mine, that clearly

is the reason why you have to repent.

382

: 00:27:37

So repent from that

and do the first works.

383

: 00:27:40

Do what you first did, which is

good, which is what he approves us.

384

: 00:27:45

And then he continues on in verse five to

say, "Or else I will come to you quickly

385

: 00:27:50

and remove your lampstand from its place."

386

: 00:27:54

So if you remember in chapter one, one of

the things that John sees is that Jesus

387

: 00:28:02

is surrounded by lampstands and Let me go

back here and double-check for you guys.

388

: 00:28:11

Where was it?

389

: 00:28:14

Okay, yeah, so the mystery of the seven

stars which you saw in my right hand.

390

: 00:28:17

He has seven stars in his right hand

and seven golden lamp stands, which the

391

: 00:28:22

seven stars are the angels of the seven

churches, and the seven lamp stands

392

: 00:28:27

which you saw are the seven churches.

393

: 00:28:30

So the seven churches that he's

giving the message to are the lamp

394

: 00:28:33

stands, and the stars are the angels.

395

: 00:28:36

So let's continue verse

five: I put thee out.

396

: 00:28:41

So in verse five, this is like their way

out, and it shows that Jesus is merciful,

397

: 00:28:46

which he shows again their wrong and

gives them the answer, which is to repent.

398

: 00:28:50

That's what we just read.

399

: 00:28:52

Verse six, Jesus levels with Ephesus.

400

: 00:28:54

He has hope for them, and he has

common interests, which is the

401

: 00:29:00

Nicolaitans, and, you know, it's

not a very, like, positive common

402

: 00:29:03

interest, but that's what he's saying.

403

: 00:29:06

again, this is a book of hope, Revelation.

404

: 00:29:08

It's not, like, a book of despair.

405

: 00:29:10

It's not supposed to get us scared.

406

: 00:29:13

but again, it's a book of hope

because, yes, eve- even though

407

: 00:29:16

we've- Excuse me, even though we've

sinned, there's still a way out.

408

: 00:29:22

and let's go ahead and read verse six.

409

: 00:29:24

It says, "But this you have,

that you hate the deeds of the

410

: 00:29:28

Nicolaitans, which I also hate."

411

: 00:29:30

So there is common ground.

412

: 00:29:32

Those people that are doing good do

have it in common with Jesus that

413

: 00:29:36

they know that these Nicolaitans

are doing the wrong thing.

414

: 00:29:40

So he's saying, "We have a,

we have something in common.

415

: 00:29:44

Do not do as they do."

416

: 00:29:46

Now, the Church of Smyrna, which

is, verse eight through 11.

417

: 00:29:52

It's just very few verses

that, Jesus gives to John to

418

: 00:29:57

give to that Church of Smyrna.

419

: 00:29:59

It's the persecuted church.

420

: 00:30:01

I'm going to read my summary

of what I took from that.

421

: 00:30:06

And I put here, Jesus knows

all they've gone through.

422

: 00:30:09

He sees the wolves in sheep's clothing

that are amongst them, and in verse

423

: 00:30:14

10, he prophesies that they will be

tested and put in prison, but to be

424

: 00:30:18

strong and contend, because they will

receive the crown of life if they do.

425

: 00:30:24

In verse 11, Jesus confirms, and I'll

read that now, Jesus confirms that

426

: 00:30:28

standing strong in the faith and for him

means we won't suffer a second death.

427

: 00:30:34

And verse 11 says, "He who has

an ear, let him hear what the

428

: 00:30:37

Spirit says to the churches."

429

: 00:30:40

Mind you, Spirit is in capital

S, which that's the Holy Spirit,

430

: 00:30:44

that's Jesus, that's God.

431

: 00:30:46

"He who has an ear, let him hear

what the Spirit says to the churches.

432

: 00:30:50

He who overcomes shall not

be hurt by the second death."

433

: 00:30:55

So if you overcome all your trials

and tribulations, like the Church of

434

: 00:30:59

Smyrna, who was going to be thrown

in jail and imprisoned and all of

435

: 00:31:03

these things and persecuted, that's

why they're the persecuted church,

436

: 00:31:07

they will be given the crown, and

they will not have that second death.

437

: 00:31:12

So moving on to the Church of

Pergamos, which here it says

438

: 00:31:16

it's the compromising church.

439

: 00:31:20

I really like this one,

his message to them.

440

: 00:31:22

So my notes here say in verse

13, Jesus says the dwa- that they

441

: 00:31:28

dwell where Satan's throne is.

442

: 00:31:31

They also believe in the gospel, so I

guess that's why they're compromising.

443

: 00:31:35

Let's see what verse 13 says "I

know your works and where you

444

: 00:31:41

dwell, where Satan's throne is."

445

: 00:31:44

Could that be, like, literal,

like I know where you guys live?

446

: 00:31:47

Like, maybe you have, like,

a throne to Satan or to these

447

: 00:31:50

baal gods that you believe in?

448

: 00:31:53

Or could it just be spiritually

he knows where their heart is?

449

: 00:31:57

Their heart is not with God.

450

: 00:32:00

So that's what I question.

451

: 00:32:01

So again, verse 13, "I know your works and

where you dwell, where Satan's throne is.

452

: 00:32:06

And you hold fast to my name and did not

deny my faith, even in the days in which

453

: 00:32:11

Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was

killed among you, where Satan dwells."

454

: 00:32:16

So ac- according to this, they live

where Satan's throne is, but they

455

: 00:32:23

still also hold fast to His name.

456

: 00:32:25

So they're still true in their faith,

and they still believe in Jesus, and

457

: 00:32:30

they did not deny the faith or His name.

458

: 00:32:34

where, Antipas, the faithful martyr,

you know, the, the man that was killed

459

: 00:32:39

for the gospel, one of, one of the many

that was killed for the gospel, even

460

: 00:32:44

in that time when they saw that happen,

they still remained true to the faith.

461

: 00:32:48

So Looking back now, maybe I

can say that they probably live

462

: 00:32:53

amongst all of these people.

463

: 00:32:55

and you can kind of derive that

maybe that's why they're calling

464

: 00:32:58

this a compromising church because

they're still choosing to live among

465

: 00:33:03

people that worship a different god

or worship Satan or whatever it is.

466

: 00:33:10

So you have to be careful even where,

not specifically where you live

467

: 00:33:15

nowadays, but who you associate with

because then you're compromising.

468

: 00:33:21

You're putting yourself in that situation

where you could be, persecuted per

469

: 00:33:28

se, you could be judged for being, you

know, a follower, a believer, or you

470

: 00:33:33

can compromise yourself and go along

with things because you don't wanna

471

: 00:33:38

be martyred per se or, persecuted

and judged and ridiculed for your

472

: 00:33:44

beliefs, and it's very important.

473

: 00:33:47

again, one of the worst things

that you can do is deny God.

474

: 00:33:50

That's really the…

475

: 00:33:51

Actually, that's the only

sin that is unforgivable.

476

: 00:33:54

You deny God, you, say that

you don't believe, that's it.

477

: 00:34:00

Like, there's no, there's no

other sin that is forgivable.

478

: 00:34:05

Okay, that aside, moving on.

479

: 00:34:06

Verse 14, I put here in my notes

Jesus, Jesus' issue with them, and

480

: 00:34:13

he-- and I put here accept people of…

481

: 00:34:15

That, yes, exactly what I was saying, that

he accepts the people of Balaam, and in

482

: 00:34:18

verse 15 he goes on to explain, the things

of the Nicolaitans which I already kind

483

: 00:34:23

of touched over, which was that they eat

sacrifices, there's sexual immorality, and

484

: 00:34:27

they have the doctrine of the Nicolaitans

which is the Church of Pergamos.

485

: 00:34:32

So the Church of Pergamos, while they

have these people that are good citizens,

486

: 00:34:38

I guess you can say, followers of

Christ, they are faithful, they still

487

: 00:34:42

live amongst the Nicolaitans which

we know who and what they are now.

488

: 00:34:48

So let's reread verse 15, 14 and

15 'cause it's very important.

489

: 00:34:52

"But I have a few things against you

because you have there those who hold the

490

: 00:34:58

doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to

be a stumbling block before the children

491

: 00:35:03

of Israel to eat things sacrificed to

idols and to commit sexual immorality."

492

: 00:35:10

Thus, you also have those, meaning

there's aside from the Balaam

493

: 00:35:15

people, there are these people.

494

: 00:35:18

Thus, you also have those

who hold the doctrine of the

495

: 00:35:21

Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.

496

: 00:35:25

Okay.

497

: 00:35:26

And again, he always gives a solution.

498

: 00:35:28

Verse 16: Repent.

499

: 00:35:31

Repent, as simple as that.

500

: 00:35:34

True repentance, 'cause he

searches the mind and the heart.

501

: 00:35:37

Repent, or else I will come to

you quickly and will fight against

502

: 00:35:41

them with the sword of my mouth.

503

: 00:35:44

And if you go back into chapter one,

I'm not gonna go and find it and

504

: 00:35:47

search for it, 'cause I always take

forever, but go back to chapter one.

505

: 00:35:51

John's des- yes, John's description

of what Jesus looked like as he

506

: 00:35:56

was coming in the clouds is that

he also had a sword in his mouth.

507

: 00:35:59

So that's why he says that, or else I

will come to you quickly and will fight

508

: 00:36:03

against them with the sword of my mouth.

509

: 00:36:08

Moving on

510

: 00:36:12

So in verse 18, Jesus lets them know

that he has eyes like a flame of fire.

511

: 00:36:19

I just wrote that down 'cause I,

I thought it was very specific.

512

: 00:36:22

Oh my gosh, my shirt, it's bothering me.

513

: 00:36:25

Sorry, guys.

514

: 00:36:25

it's very specific that, you know,

there's all these details, and I just

515

: 00:36:30

point that out because if you imagine

what Jesus may have looked like just

516

: 00:36:35

as he was walking amongst the people

at that time, John experiencing all

517

: 00:36:40

these visions and him coming back with a

sword in his mouth, eyes like, you know,

518

: 00:36:45

flames, s- he still didn't get scared.

519

: 00:36:50

He was, like, seeing all this glory.

520

: 00:36:54

And when you think of a sword, when

you think of flames, you think of evil,

521

: 00:36:58

demonic things because that's what today's

day and age would make that seem like.

522

: 00:37:02

I'm not saying that's what it is, but I'm

saying what people today would make that

523

: 00:37:06

seem like or make you think it's like.

524

: 00:37:08

But imagine something so

beautiful that you still would

525

: 00:37:15

fall to your feet as John did.

526

: 00:37:17

so it-- imagine just how

glorious it, that must have been.

527

: 00:37:22

A sword that was so beautiful coming

out of someone's mouth and fire in

528

: 00:37:29

someone's eyes, and you would still

look and have the appearance of

529

: 00:37:34

glory and beauty, like, and majesty.

530

: 00:37:37

It just-- I just think of that, and I

can't associate anything scary, with God.

531

: 00:37:43

And yes, we do know that there will

be the wrath of God, especially in

532

: 00:37:47

end times and, and, all of that,

which we'll go over eventually here.

533

: 00:37:53

But even so, there is still an element

of all things beautiful when it has to

534

: 00:37:59

do with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.

535

: 00:38:01

So I just think of that, and it's hard

for me to imagine, like, wrath per se,

536

: 00:38:07

but, but I just imagine it as glory and

it's just- Like, what is glory, you know?

537

: 00:38:15

We could never, never,

never, never imagine.

538

: 00:38:18

Anyway, and that's one of the

things that I feel encompass all

539

: 00:38:21

of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.

540

: 00:38:25

I digress.

541

: 00:38:26

So continuing on verse 19, let's

read verse 19, which is already

542

: 00:38:30

the corrupt church, which is

the, the church of Thyatira.

543

: 00:38:35

Thyatira?

544

: 00:38:35

I don't know.

545

: 00:38:36

David's probably gonna hear this and,

like, roll his eyes every time I say

546

: 00:38:39

it, 'cause I probably butcher it.

547

: 00:38:41

But anyway, verse 19, I put here that

service, faith, and patience are good,

548

: 00:38:46

but Jesus outlines that their works

are way more, as in not good, because

549

: 00:38:53

it outweighs the good that they did.

550

: 00:38:55

So again, Jesus is saying, "I

know the good that you've done,

551

: 00:38:59

but what you've done that's bad

outweighs all your good works."

552

: 00:39:03

And we have to keep that in mind.

553

: 00:39:05

Like, we can tithe, we can

go to church, we can pray.

554

: 00:39:09

Prayer is works.

555

: 00:39:10

We can do all of these things.

556

: 00:39:12

We can be great to our neighbors.

557

: 00:39:14

But if our hearts and other actions that

some people may not see, or most people

558

: 00:39:19

may not see, are still not good, that

can outweigh all the good you do do.

559

: 00:39:27

so you have to be very careful.

560

: 00:39:28

You have to be careful that your

heart is in the right place.

561

: 00:39:31

Like, true repentance is change.

562

: 00:39:37

true faithfulness and true following

of Christ leads to disciples,

563

: 00:39:43

discipleship, to people who are

walking, talking, and acting like Jesus.

564

: 00:39:49

And of course, we will always fall short.

565

: 00:39:53

I wish I could say that I had

more faith that we can be almost

566

: 00:39:57

perfect, but the reality is that

we will fall short at some point.

567

: 00:40:01

Why?

568

: 00:40:01

Because we are human.

569

: 00:40:04

We are corruptible.

570

: 00:40:05

Our flesh is something that we

fight against every single day.

571

: 00:40:09

We fight it from the

moment our alarm goes off.

572

: 00:40:13

We are woken up, most of us, in the

middle of the night, and we're woken

573

: 00:40:17

up because that's a time where we

should be praising the Lord before the

574

: 00:40:21

sun arises, and yet we stay in bed.

575

: 00:40:23

So we are fighting our flesh, and

fighting our body, and fighting our

576

: 00:40:26

mind from the moment our eyes open.

577

: 00:40:31

Okay, let's read verse 19

578

: 00:40:36

And it says here, "I know your works,

love, service, faith and your patience.

579

: 00:40:41

And as for your works, the

last are more than the first."

580

: 00:40:45

Verse 20, "Nevertheless, I have a few

things against you, because you allow

581

: 00:40:49

the woman Jezebel, who calls herself

a prophetess, to teach and seduce my

582

: 00:40:54

servants to commit sexual immorality

and eat things sacrificed to idols."

583

: 00:41:00

Again, in my notes when we're talking

about Nicolaitans and Balaam, that's

584

: 00:41:03

why I talked about Jezebel and the

church of Thyatira because these

585

: 00:41:08

three people, Balaam, Nicolaitans, and

Jezebel, are all connected because they

586

: 00:41:12

all seem to worship the same things.

587

: 00:41:15

All of those, you know, sexual

immoralities, seduction, all those evil

588

: 00:41:19

things that God hates and of course Jesus.

589

: 00:41:22

So, verse 20, I already went over that.

590

: 00:41:24

Verse 21, Jesus allowed Jezebel to repent.

591

: 00:41:27

She did not, like I mentioned before.

592

: 00:41:29

He is always merciful, even to Jezebel.

593

: 00:41:32

Even to Jezebel, who we all know she's

mentioned before as well in the Bible.

594

: 00:41:37

We've all heard of Jezebel.

595

: 00:41:39

Like, I…

596

: 00:41:40

If, if you're, I wanna say maybe

even, like, 20 and over, like

597

: 00:41:44

when you're an adult already, I

feel like we all hear Jezebel.

598

: 00:41:47

Maybe even a woman being called a Jezebel.

599

: 00:41:49

This is why.

600

: 00:41:51

And even to her, God

and Jesus were merciful.

601

: 00:41:56

They gave her a chance to

repent, and she chose not to.

602

: 00:42:00

So what happened?

603

: 00:42:01

Jesus, God, Holy Spirit,

she was repaid with death.

604

: 00:42:06

She was repaid with death, and he gives

great detail about how, that was going

605

: 00:42:11

to happen, and even to the children,

which is very sad but when you are so

606

: 00:42:16

evil you will be repaid with what you

give, is what I'm taking from here.

607

: 00:42:23

so let me see.

608

: 00:42:23

Verse 21, "Jesus allowed

Jezebel to repent.

609

: 00:42:25

She did not.

610

: 00:42:26

He is always so merciful."

611

: 00:42:27

Thank you, Lord, for being such a

merciful God because you always are

612

: 00:42:32

despite how horrible we can be, how

evil we can be, you are merciful.

613

: 00:42:38

God is faithful.

614

: 00:42:41

Faithful Verse 23, "His wrath on her…"

615

: 00:42:46

This is not me reading verse 23.

616

: 00:42:48

These are my notes.

617

: 00:42:49

in verse 23, I wrote, "His wrath

on her, Jezebel, and the family in

618

: 00:42:53

the church, and all who follow."

619

: 00:42:54

Yes, exactly.

620

: 00:42:55

So that's what he was going to do.

621

: 00:42:56

It talks about her wrath.

622

: 00:42:58

Verse 23 says, "I will kill her children

with death, and all the churches shall

623

: 00:43:04

know that I am he who searches the

minds and hearts and will give to each

624

: 00:43:09

one of you according to your works."

625

: 00:43:11

So again,

626

: 00:43:15

it's unfortunate, but because of the

treachery, because of these actions, she

627

: 00:43:22

was given back and repaid what she did.

628

: 00:43:26

And again, this, her, her prophetess,

you know, ways, her Jezebel ways,

629

: 00:43:33

how we would say, led nations astray.

630

: 00:43:37

And imagine how many thousand,

millions perhaps, of people astray.

631

: 00:43:41

So of course, God is going

to repay the way that he did.

632

: 00:43:46

Verse 24 acknowledges not everyone

is corrupt, and verse 24 says, "Now

633

: 00:43:51

to you I say, and to the rest in

Thyatira, as many as do not have this

634

: 00:43:56

doctrine," meaning of course, you know,

not everyone is bad, "who have not

635

: 00:44:00

known the depths of Satan as they say,

I will put on you no other burden."

636

: 00:44:06

Again, merciful.

637

: 00:44:09

A merciful, merciful God.

638

: 00:44:13

A merciful Lord and Savior.

639

: 00:44:15

So those that do not hold the ways

of Satan, who do not follow Satan, he

640

: 00:44:20

will put on them no further burden.

641

: 00:44:23

That is just amazing, and we

should have so much gratitude

642

: 00:44:27

for those things verse 26.

643

: 00:44:31

My notes here say, "To contend and

be strong in the faith, you will

644

: 00:44:34

become rulers and have power."

645

: 00:44:36

So verse 25 through 26 says this:

"But hold fast," contend, okay?

646

: 00:44:42

Contend.

647

: 00:44:42

We went over that in Jude.

648

: 00:44:44

"But hold fast what you have till I come.

649

: 00:44:48

And he who overcomes and keeps

My works until the end, to him

650

: 00:44:53

I will give power over nations."

651

: 00:44:57

So to those who overcome … And

again, this is for the Jews.

652

: 00:45:00

This is not specifically for us.

653

: 00:45:01

This is for the church that He is

talking to, not for us, the Gentiles.

654

: 00:45:06

I want to be specific.

655

: 00:45:09

He is saying, "I will give

power over the nations."

656

: 00:45:15

Verse 27, my note says, "Those who

have the power will dash to pieces the

657

: 00:45:19

wicked and will receive a morning star."

658

: 00:45:22

So he says in verse 27, Jesus, "He shall

rule them with a rod of iron," meaning the

659

: 00:45:28

people that He is going to give power to.

660

: 00:45:32

"He shall rule with a rod of iron.

661

: 00:45:34

They shall be dashed to pieces

like the potter's vessels."

662

: 00:45:39

And I think that was it for my notes here.

663

: 00:45:42

But I have in this verse 23,

I put, "Reap what you sow."

664

: 00:45:47

And of course, it's because, "And I will

give to each one of you according," and

665

: 00:45:52

I circled according, "to your works."

666

: 00:45:54

And I put, "Reap what you sow."

667

: 00:45:56

You are always gonna be paid back.

668

: 00:45:58

You're always gonna be paid back.

669

: 00:45:59

You put in the work, you're gonna

get, you know, a good, repayment

670

: 00:46:03

for, for all of your work.

671

: 00:46:05

I have some notes on here.

672

: 00:46:07

Names some good things.

673

: 00:46:09

Yeah, he names the service, the faith,

the patience, and works are no good.

674

: 00:46:13

And yes, because I put here in verse 19,

"And as for your works, they were no good.

675

: 00:46:19

These are the last …," the, excuse

me, "The last are more than the first."

676

: 00:46:24

Let me see if I have any

other interesting notes.

677

: 00:46:28

Okay.

678

: 00:46:30

In verse 17, I put,

"Even so He will forgive.

679

: 00:46:34

The key is to really repent."

680

: 00:46:37

So yeah, I always put that.

681

: 00:46:38

Like saying they believe in Jesus.

682

: 00:46:41

Let me see.

683

: 00:46:42

I wrote that in my faith.

684

: 00:46:45

Okay.

685

: 00:46:46

Yeah, I have, I just have so many notes.

686

: 00:46:47

These are pretty much, like, the

things that I wrote down here.

687

: 00:46:51

But anyway, guys, I just

wanted to make sure that I

688

: 00:46:53

didn't skip over any important,

689

: 00:46:58

any important … No, and I didn't.

690

: 00:46:59

We went over everything.

691

: 00:47:01

Now, I hope that you guys

learned a lot because I certainly

692

: 00:47:07

did, only with chapter two.

693

: 00:47:08

Imagine this is, this is just chapter two.

694

: 00:47:13

I was going to do chapter three,

but I found it quite impossible.

695

: 00:47:16

We've already been going

over this for 48 minutes.

696

: 00:47:20

But it's important.

697

: 00:47:22

It's important, again

698

: 00:47:25

The details.

699

: 00:47:27

I remember there was an episode

that I called it keep it in context.

700

: 00:47:30

You need to have the context.

701

: 00:47:32

You need to know what is

for you, what is for us, the

702

: 00:47:35

Gentiles, what is for the Jews.

703

: 00:47:38

Like, we're not gonna receive

any power when we go to heaven.

704

: 00:47:40

No, we're gonna have our glorified body,

we're going to, you know, get our, our

705

: 00:47:45

reward, whatever that may be, for the

good deeds and, you know, how faithful

706

: 00:47:49

we were, when we, when we get to heaven.

707

: 00:47:51

But we're not gonna have, like, a kingdom.

708

: 00:47:54

We're not gonna have a palace or whatever.

709

: 00:47:57

those are things that are for

the Jews, and that's okay.

710

: 00:48:00

That's okay because there's no other

better reward than just knowing

711

: 00:48:04

that we're going to live amongst

God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

712

: 00:48:07

Like, what, what more could we ask for?

713

: 00:48:11

We're going to have eternal life

free of pain, free of anger, free of

714

: 00:48:16

all the problems that we have here.

715

: 00:48:18

Like, listen, I don't care what it is,

I would rather be a janitor cleaning

716

: 00:48:25

bathrooms in heaven than remain on a

cursed earth and especially be in hell.

717

: 00:48:30

Like, absolutely not.

718

: 00:48:31

So I digress from that.

719

: 00:48:33

I hope you guys learned a lot.

720

: 00:48:35

I hope that this has been an eye-opener

as far as to us needing to be careful

721

: 00:48:41

with what we say because not only can

we hurt people, um, in the moment, but

722

: 00:48:48

we can also learn that down the road our

very simple words or actions that we had

723

: 00:48:54

n- really no intention of doing caused

a stumbling block or had, like, a domino

724

: 00:49:00

effect in the life of other people.

725

: 00:49:03

and that is very important

because we seem to forget that.

726

: 00:49:06

I have forgotten that.

727

: 00:49:07

and I surely learned my lesson

reading this and learning about

728

: 00:49:11

Balaam, and the Nicolaitans as well.

729

: 00:49:14

So I hope to see you guys back

here for chapter three next

730

: 00:49:18

week of the Book of Revelation.

731

: 00:49:21

stay tuned for that.

732

: 00:49:23

And for my final, words, I

wanted to say that I have been

733

: 00:49:29

contemplating a lot Whether I

should, make this more interactive.

734

: 00:49:36

I, I don't want this to become like

a comment, like, forward thing.

735

: 00:49:41

but I would appreciate, questions

or any sort of information.

736

: 00:49:48

Ugh, I hate when YouTube does that.

737

: 00:49:50

It just skips videos.

738

: 00:49:52

Anyway, let me stand in front of that.

739

: 00:49:54

It feels weird seeing myself.

740

: 00:49:56

Anyway, I don't want this to

become like a forward and share…

741

: 00:50:00

No, no, no.

742

: 00:50:01

Whoever has to hear my

messages, hears my messages.

743

: 00:50:05

However, I do want, to start reading

sections of the Bible, as it was

744

: 00:50:13

like an audiobook, and I have been

contemplating that, for the past few days.

745

: 00:50:19

I actually had the thought of doing

something simple, maybe starting

746

: 00:50:22

with the Book of Psalms, and doing

that both in English and Spanish.

747

: 00:50:26

I began translating the English episodes

to Spanish, and while I love doing

748

: 00:50:35

that, it has become very tedious.

749

: 00:50:39

And I, I need to make sure that this,

that this is, is first of all doing the

750

: 00:50:46

word of God justice, and that I also

don't become daunted by it, because I

751

: 00:50:53

want the main point of what I am doing

and trying to get across to be about

752

: 00:51:01

Christ and not about making it perfect.

753

: 00:51:04

and to a certain extent, I'm

also kind of OCD and I want

754

: 00:51:07

anything that I do to be perfect.

755

: 00:51:10

We know that we're gonna fall short, but

I don't want to fall short in that aspect

756

: 00:51:15

where I can lead people astray because I

do a crappy job in something in Spanish.

757

: 00:51:20

so then I had that idea to read from

the Book of Psalms and perhaps maybe

758

: 00:51:25

read, like, for example, yesterday

I read, the portion of scripture in

759

: 00:51:30

Matthew chapter 6, about not worrying.

760

: 00:51:33

And just doing audio clips of things

like that in both English and Spanish,

761

: 00:51:40

where people can just Take in the Word

of God, no explanations, no details,

762

: 00:51:49

just the words being read from the Bible.

763

: 00:51:52

And people can find this

anywhere, especially on Audible.

764

: 00:51:56

but I really felt like that's

something I wanted to do.

765

: 00:52:00

Again, in both English and Spanish.

766

: 00:52:02

And if you guys have any input

for me, any comments on that,

767

: 00:52:07

I would really appreciate it.

768

: 00:52:08

Any feedback, you can comment

on this episode or again,

769

: 00:52:11

reach out to me on Instagram.

770

: 00:52:13

But that's what's on my heart.

771

: 00:52:15

That's what's on my heart, and that's

where I am with the translation of

772

: 00:52:19

all English episodes to Spanish.

773

: 00:52:22

I wanna do things right.

774

: 00:52:23

Not saying I will never again do

a Spanish episode, but my focus is

775

: 00:52:28

not going to be that anymore, and

I just wanted to make that clear.

776

: 00:52:32

I wanted, to be transparent and

honest about that because I owe that

777

: 00:52:37

to whoever listens to be honest and

to just hold myself accountable as

778

: 00:52:42

to why I don't do things sometimes

a specific way how I did it before.

779

: 00:52:48

So anyway, I digress.

780

: 00:52:51

As I always say, I am very

grateful you guys are still

781

: 00:52:54

here 50-something minutes in.

782

: 00:52:58

I could never express how

much I appreciate you guys

783

: 00:53:01

supporting and watching.

784

: 00:53:03

but more than anything, I, I pray that you

are blessed by this and that it brings you

785

: 00:53:10

one step closer to having a relationship

with Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit.

786

: 00:53:15

So I love you guys.

787

: 00:53:16

Thank you again, and I

will see you next week.

788

: 00:53:20

Take care.