Cyber Missionaries

The second letter of Jesus was addressed to the messenger of the church at Smyrna. During the time of John, Smyrna was apparently a city of great beauty and impressive architecture that circled Mount Pagus like a “crown”.  When walking through the city, one would see the Ephesian gate, a gymnasium (near the harbor), a stadium (west side), a theater (holding 20,000 and located on the northwest mountain slope), temples to Zeus (including a large altar), Cybele (the Mother Goddess, near the harbor), Aphrodite, Dionysius, and the Emperors (probably Tiberius in 26 AD and Domitian before 96 AD), the harbor, a library, and a massive agora with a bema on the west and a basilica on the north. This wealthy city was also known for its exceptionally good wine that could be used for both enjoyment and medicinal purposes. Smyrna was dedicated to the worship of the emperor and the imperial cult. Along with the other cities of Asia Province, Smyrna competed for the honor of building a te...

Have you ever wondered how Henry Ford made his first car, how Steve Jobs made the first Apple Macintosh computer, or how Bill Gates coded the first Windows operating system? Have you ever wondered how God made you? The Psalmist said, "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well." Psalms 139 14. God is the perfect workman. The making of the human being was a wonderfully thought-out process conceived in the infinite mind of Divine Love. Let's begin at the beginning of time, when God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness..." Genesis 1:26. What was God's intention through in this statement? Let's find out: Image: the word image was translated from the Hebrew word pselem which meant shadow, phantom or ghost . God's intention was for the inner unseen being of man, which we understand today as the soul, to resemble His own. Likeness: the word likeness was tr...

If you have a phone in your hand, I believe the first place you'll go to for definition is Google. What is discernment according to Google? It is the ability to judge well. Let's look at another definition from Noah Webster's 1828 dictionary: Discern: To distinguish; to see the difference between two or more things; to discriminate; as, to discern the blossom-buds from the leaf-buds of plants. To discover by the intellect; to distinguish; hence, to have knowledge of; to judge. To see or understand the difference; to make a distinction; as, to discern between good and evil, truth and falsehood. Discernment: The act of discerning; also, the power or faculty of the mind, by which it distinguishes one thing from another, as truth from falsehood, virtue from vice; acuteness of judgment; the power of perceiving differences of things or ideas, and their relations and tendencies. Discernment is vital for making the right decision. How does it work? Let us examine the definitions a...

  The history of the seven churches began at the anointing of Jesus Christ in 27 AD, and it is this church that is His agency for the proclamation and demonstration of the saving gospel. It is this church that will, in the succeeding generations, be His people until the end of time.  Said the apostle Paul, "For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise." (Galatians 3:26-29) During the time of John, Ephesus was a metropolitan city in the Roman Empire's province of Asia Minor, known today as modern Turkey. It was a city of elites, much like New York or Dubai today, a center for trade, pleasure, and antiquities culture of many cultures especially Greek and Roman.  Ephesus ...

"I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet. Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: " (Revelation 1:10-11) Said the apostle, "I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength." (Revelation 1:12-16) Who was this? John fell on his face at the sight, but he felt hand touch him and heard an encouraging voice said, "Fear not; I am the first ...

Adam and Eve yielded over their position as king and queen when they chose to disobey the command of God through the flattering deceptions of the Devil. The Bible says that the Devil has “...the power of death…” Paul in his letter to the Romans said, “...sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all men sinned…” Romans 5:12 . When you see death, decay or deterioration occur, you are now sure that you are stepping into the territory of the Devil.  Sin and death are twin siblings, and sin is the elder of the two. Death cannot be born if sin does not precede it. The Bible says that “...the wages of sin is death…” Romans 6:23 . In the above verse Paul said that by Adam, sin entered the world and death followed closely behind. God was dead serious when He told Adam, “...thou shalt surely die…” if they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He knew of the power that Satan wields. Had Adam and Eve heeded God’s comma...

A hesitant victim can be conquered by the art of baiting. Google dictionary defines bait as food placed on a hook or in a net, trap, or fishing area to entice fish or other animals as prey. The word “entice” means: to attract or tempt by offering pleasure or advantage. In his book The Art of War, Sun Tzu said, “Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him.” The Prince of Darkness is a skilful general who plans and devices his baits with such mastery that countless men, women, youth and children throughout the ages fall victim to his attacks. He is no respecter of persons and does not have any mercy even on women and children. His mind is totally bent on the destruction of the human race. The benefits and advantages presented by him are dedicated to our destruction. In the previous chapter, we learned that the Devil reinforces his attacks against his enemies by presenting them with benefits. In the second chapter of this book, we identified the second enemy that we ...

Sun Tzu said, “All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.” The Art of war, pg. 3. Such are the tactics used by the Devil against a human being who does not make the Word of God the basis of his life. God in His wisdom warned Adam and Eve of the foe they face. It would have been too obvious for the Devil to take his original angelic form and come to Eve, so he came up with the plan to take the form of the Serpent, “…the most subtil (beautiful, precise, wide, crafty and cunning) of the beast which the Lord God had made…” Genesis 3:1 . The book of Revelation describes the Devil as “…the great dragon, that old serpent…” Revelation 12:9 . The Greek word “drakonia” which is translated as “Serpent” or “Dragon” means – fabulous serpent. The creature that approached Eve that day was the most...

   On September 24, 2013, someone asked this question in an online bible study forum: The phrase, the Lord's day, found in Revelation chapter one, occurs only once in the New Testament. What evidence do we have to determine what day John was talking about? The ways it seems to generally be understood among many Christian denominations are as follows: Christians generally believe John referred to Sunday, the first day of the week. Christian Sabbath observers such as Seventh Day Baptists and Messianic Christians believe John referred to the Sabbath of the LORD (7th day: Saturday). Other denominations like the Church of God believes John refers to the day of the LORD, a day of judgment. What concrete scriptural evidence do we have to indicate what this day is or is not? I am looking for traceable, logical steps, leading to a Bible-logical conclusion. Let us, from the Bible, answer the question above. If we examine the text and language closely, John referred to this day as t...

Let us take time to examine the historical setting in which the book of Revelation was written. Says the apostle, "I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ." (Revelation 1:8) During the reign of Domitian (r. 81-96 CE), Christians were persecuted for their refusal to participate in the imperial and state cults of Rome, which held the emperor as a god who should be worshipped. Christians were charged with atheism, or disbelief in the gods. This was a crime, that of treason, as angering the gods meant that you could threaten the prosperity of the Empire, thus, Christians were persecuted for their refusal to honour the gods. According to theologian Tertullian (155AD-220AD) in his book  On The Prescription of Heretics , John was banished to Patmos after being plunged into boiling oil in Rome and suffering noth...

Choosing to sin was the reason for the fall of Lucifer, and eventually, the fall of man. Sin is everything that is opposite to who God is. The Bible says, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die…” Ezekiel 18:20 “For the wages of sin is death…” Romans 6:23 . “…you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?” Romans 6:16 . “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” Genesis 1:1-3 . The sun if the main source of light on planet earth, but it was created on the fourth day. What is the nature of this light that God unleashed on the first day?  The Bible answers, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were...

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. (Revelation 1:8) John was still writing through the opening statements of the book of Revelation when the above statement was made by the Lord. In the Old Testament, "The Lord" was always transliterated from the Hebrew word "yeh-ho-vaw" or Jehovah. By John, it was transliterated from the Greek word "kurios" which means supreme authority. The speaker in Revelation 1:8 is Jehovah, the supreme authority, the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end, the Almighty. Let's identify who exactly was speaking here: Alpha and Omega: In the beginning of his vision, John saw the Alpha and the Omega and "...fell at his feet as dead...", but He laid His hand on John and said, "...Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell an...

In war, strategy and tactics are absolutely vital. Strategy is the planning, coordination, and general direction of military operations to meet overall political and military objectives. Tactics implement strategy by short-term decisions on the movement of troops and employment of weapons on the field of battle. The great military theorist Carl von Clausewitz said, "Tactics is the art of using troops in battle; strategy is the art of using battles to win the war." Battle strategies require careful designs and calculated decisions to ensure victory. The first thing we have to know about the devil is what Ezekiel mentions about him: “Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty…” Ezekiel 28:12 . Lucifer stands at the pinnacle of perfection, especially in wisdom. We can only imagine what kind of brain he has and how he uses it to plan out his attacks against his enemies. The Bible uses the symbol of a “Serpent” to identify Satan (Revelation 12:9). The first vers...

Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. (Revelation 1:7) In our previous studies, we looked at how the book of Revelation, even though it was given by God the Father, is centred on Jesus Christ. We looked at the authorities behind the book - The Father, The Seven Spirits of God, and Jesus Christ Himself. The verse above depicts the second coming of Jesus Christ and fulfils one of the profound prophecies made by Jesus Christ while He was on Earth. On the night of His arrest, the high priest posed a question, "I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God." Jesus replied, "Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven." (Matthew 24:63-64) Those who "pierced" Jesus were all the peopl...