Why Is There Suffering?

Basic Justice: The good are rewarded, the evil are punished

Biblical positions:
1. All humanity suffers because of the rebellion of our leaders against God’s morality (Gen 3-11)
2. The good prosper, the wicked are punished in this life (Proverbs)
3. God established governments to reward the good and punish the evil—it is the primary institution of justice (Rom 13;
4. The good suffer and the wicked prosper (Psalm 73)
5. The good suffer for no discernable reason, but will obtain prosperity eventually (Job)
6. The good will prosper and the evil will be punished, eventually (Psalm 37; 73)
7. Everyone is wicked, but God has mercy on a few (Psalm 14; 103)
8. The good suffer because they are good and are trying to stand with God’s goodness (Matt 10)
9. God will create a utopia without suffering, but the evil will be excluded (Isa 65-66; Rev. 20-22; Daniel 12; etc)
10. Those who suffer now for God will obtain reward in God’s kingdom (Jesus)
11. Those who live luxuriously now will suffer in God’s judgment (Luke 6, 16)
12. There is none who are good, but God grants grace to a few to be changed, persecuted and then rewarded (Jesus, Romans)

Humanistic positions:
1. Human institutions (family, government, non-profits, etc) are instituted to create justice.
2. There is no justice, just arbitrary good and evil, reward and punishment.
3. The wicked need not be punished, but transformed.
4. Personal economic well-being creates a society of justice.
5. Unjust oppression must be overcome by revolution.
6. Unjust oppression can be overcome by discussion and economic reprisals.


The problem of injustice is not foundationally institutional, but within human nature itself.

Faithfulness To The Absent King

Matthew 25:31-46 and Giving

Although often called, “The parable of the sheep and the goats”, it is really a straightforward description of judgment day which initiates the kingdom of God, being neither a parable nor is the phrase “sheep and the goats” anything more than a passing simile.

“My Brothers”
There have been various interpretations of the phrase, “my brothers”, which proves to be the crux of the text. Some have interpreted this phrase to mean the Jews, some to be the poor of the world, and more. However, this phrase is repeated two other times in Matthew, in chapter 12:50—“For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” And in 28:10 where Jesus is sending a message to “my brothers” to meet him in Galilee. Both of these specifically designates his disciples. “The will of my Father” has already been associated earlier in Matthew as the teaching of Jesus (Matthew 7:21-24). Thus, these “brothers” of Jesus are those who live out the teaching of Jesus, become his disciples and so suffer loss because of it. This completely parallels the beatitudes, which speak of the persecuted and poor of those who are righteous inheriting the kingdom. Here in Matthew 25, we see this promise fulfilled—the brothers of Jesus and those who assisted them receiving the kingdom of God enter into the kingdom of the one finally coming to rule. It is also interesting to note that the beatitudes mark the first pericope of the first body of teaching in Matthew, while the description of the coming of the Son of Man is the final pericope of the final body of teaching in Matthew. The other phrase to indicate the identity of these brothers is the phrase “the least of these”. Although many translations put the word “even” in the English, the Greek has no equivalent. It is better seen as Jesus’ personal title for the disciples, “the little ones”, or “the least”, as seen in Matthew 10:42; 18:6, 10, 14, as “the little ones”. While specifically a different Greek word, the concept remains close, (see Luke 16:9—“He who is faithful to The Least, will be faithful in much…”)

Judgment in Matthew
There are many other passages in Matthew that deal with the righteous receiving the kingdom, and the unrighteous being punished:
• Matthew 7:21-27—Description of punishment of those who say “Lord” but do not obey Jesus; parable of the two houses.
• Matthew 8:11-12—Statement of judgment of those who apparently will receive the kingdom.
• Matthew 10:14, 40-42—Promise of reward for those who assist the righteous and the prophets.
• Matthew 11:20-24—Prophecy of judgment of the cities who rejected Jesus although works of power were done there
• Matthew 12:36-37—Prophecy that on the day of judgment individuals will be judged on the basis of their careless words.
• Matthew 12:39-41—This generation will be condemned by Nineveh and the Queen of Sheba because they listened to their prophets and one greater than those prophets has come to them.
• Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43—Parable of the wheat and tares
• Matthew 13:47-50—Parable of the fish in the net
• Matthew 16:27—Son of man will come to repay everyone according to what he has done
• Matthew 18:23-35—Parable of the unforgiving servant
• Matthew 21:28-32—Parable of the two sons; Sinners entering kingdom before the Pharisees
• Matthew 21:33-41—Parable of the tenants in the vineyard
• Matthew 22:2-14—Parable of the wedding banquet
• Matthew 24:44-25:13—Warning to be ready; parable of the 10 virgins.
• Matthew 25:14-30—Parable of the talents

Hospitality and Judgment
Out of these passages, Matthew 10:40-42 is most significant in comparison with the description in Matthew 25:31-46. Both in that passage and in this one, it is the one who offers hospitality or mercy to those who are righteous that are focused on, rather than the righteous themselves. The ones who “welcome” the righteous are said to gain the reward of the righteous. The term “welcome” is already used in 10:14, speaking of the hospitality the apostles should receive. If they should not receive this hospitality, Jesus says, then “it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment.”

Genesis 18 and 19 offer a significant paradigm in relation to Matthew 10 and 25. Yahweh and two others appeared to Abraham, and Abraham bowed before them, begging them to accept his humble hospitality. After they accepted, he proceeded to offer them a great feast. There is no indication that Abraham understood his visitors to be powers of heaven, but simply to be strangers passing by. In opposition to this example is the reaction of Sodom to two of the same strangers. They enter the town, and the one righteous person in the town offer them hospitality—but it turns out he does so primarily out of fear of what the rest of the town would do. For even as Abraham went out of his way to offer hospitality to the strangers, so did Sodom go out of their way to do evil to the same strangers, threatening them with perverse acts of sex. This type of treatment of strangers is cause enough to destroy the town and the outlying areas. Jesus compares the towns who refuse to offer hospitality to the apostles with Sodom, but he claims that the punishment will be worse for those who reject the apostles than it was for Sodom.

All of this emphasized the place of those who may not be a prophet or an apostle themselves, but who come in contact with them. The prophet, righteous one or apostle of Jesus (in 25:31-46 called “my brothers”) becomes the point of reward or punishment, depending on how one responds to them. Should one respond with hospitality and kindness (as the teaching of Jesus commands—Matthew 7:12; 9:13; 12:7), then that one will be rewarded in the final judgment. Should one not offer hospitality or kindness to the righteous one, then he will be punished on the final day. This is the paradigm of Genesis 18 and 19, Matthew 10 and Matthew 25.

Faithfulness to the Absent King
There is one other significant point of Matthew 25:31-46. The act on which punishment or reward rests is not primarily an act of kindness, although it reflects a heart of mercy. If it was simply kindness Jesus was looking for, then to act this way to any stranger or poor person would do. However, Jesus emphasizes that it is “my brothers” who are the key point—the righteous ones who follow Jesus. In Matthew 10:42, the focus in on giving hospitality “in the name of a disciple”—“disciple” being a distinctive term of a follower of Jesus. Thus, the reward is not just given to those who are kind to those who are righteous in general, but specifically those who offer hospitality to those who are followers of Jesus. The emphasis is not mercy in general, but a display of faithfulness to Jesus by enacting his command of mercy to those who come in his name.

This fits the paradigm of a king returning to his people after an absence, as the context of 25:31-46 seems to indicate. The parable of the talents (25:14-30) immediately precedes it, describing the judgment of a property owner over his slaves about their work during an absence. The slaves were rewarded or punished in accordance with the instructions of the property owner. The parable of the ten virgins (25:1-13) describes the judgment of the virgins’ actions (or inactions) while awaiting the coming of the bridegroom. The virgins were included or excluded depending on their state of readiness when the bridegroom came. Before that (24:45-51) is the analogy of a slave who needs to be working for when his master arrives. If the slave is not working, he will be punished, but if he is faithful to the master by working when he is absent, then the master will reward him.

All of these parables speak of faithfulness to an absent master through actions. A slave is faithful to his master in his absence by working hard. A virgin is faithful to her coming bridegroom by being prepared in her responsibility. A steward is faithful to his master by increasing his money while he is absent. Even so, while the king is absent, faithfulness is given to him in his absence by caring for his appointed servants—those who obey Jesus’ commands and who suffer loss and persecution for it. On this is the day of judgment based.

Summary
Thus, the teaching of Matthew 25:31-46 can be summarized: While awaiting the coming of the Son of Man, those faithful to Jesus will be characterized by offering hospitality and mercy to those who suffer due to being obedient to Jesus. On the day of judgment, those who offered such mercy will be included in the kingdom, while those who refused will be excluded and punished eternally.

Notes on Revelation 4

Door in heaven opened—This is a passageway to the Spirit world, an alternative universe that runs parallel to our world.

First voice—This is Jesus, who has not yet been named. This may indicate that this is a separate vision taking place at a later time, because John has to inform us who he was speaking to, as if we weren’t just hearing a long set of speeches from this same voice.

“Come up here”—Some say that this phrase is in the future and it represents the rapture. This could not be, for the following reasons:
a. The end of the sentence is where the spirit-being indicates that he would show “What will happen after this”, thus the prophecy of future times is not yet.
b. The purpose of the sentence is to give prophetic knowledge, not to live in heaven
c. John does not represent the church, but is simply a prophet.
Thus, the statement is not about the rapture, but an invitation to receive spiritual knowledge.

“In the spirit”—This might be the prophetic spirit, indicating an ecstatic trance, or it could be the Spirit World itself (or both). Clearly, John is indicating that what he is seeing is in the spirit world and he is reflecting that in his words.

The Vision—This is a Throne vision, such as was often experienced in the OT (e.g. Isaiah 6, Ezekiel 1-2, I Kings 22:19ff). This passage closely parallels Ezekiel’s vision, but it also gives some changes from that. From this point through much of the rest of the book, all action is centered on the throne. This reflects basic Christian theology that all real political and natural actions come from the authority of God—whether good or evil from a human perspective.

The throne—God is spoken of as the one who sits on the throne, not mentioned directly as is common in the first century. John is seeing the reality on which the ark of the covenant was copied (Hebrews 8:5). Thus there are parallels between the temple/tabernacle and the throne room of God, including cherubim, precious stones, and a sea. (Exodus 28, II Chronicles 3-4). This description is copied from Ezekiel 1:26-28,

Jasper, Carnelian, Emerald—Representing magnificence. All were used in Eden (Eze 28:13). Probably a summary of the full list of stones in Rev 21. The throne room is the seed of the new creation.

Rainbow—Also Eze 1:28. As God promised in Genesis 9, the rainbow would be ever before him, to remind him to keep his promise not to destroy all of humanity.

Twenty four elders, thrones—God’s full people have always been represented by 12 tribes. The original leaders of the tribes were the patriarchs, who are given blessing by Jacob/Israel in Genesis 49 and Moses in Deuteronomy 33. A father is a leader, always, and represents the clan. But Jesus proclaimed that the 12 apostles would sit on twelve thrones and rule over the twelve tribes (Luke 22:30, Matt. 19:28; Rev. 21:12ff). All the promises of God are represented here, giving the ruling of the people of God to both patriarchs and apostles.
They are not angels, because angels are always mentioned separately. They are priests, of a sort (as there are 24 head priests in the early temple—I Chron. 24:4-6), as they lead worship and pray to God. But they are also kings, as they sit on thrones and have crowns. Nor are they the church, for the church is spoken of as multitudes in white robes (7:9-17). It is best to see them as the leaders—as “elders” are always seen as leaders of a clan—of the people of God.


Lightning, sounds, thunder—The kind of voice that came from God during the speaking of the ten words (Exodus 19:16; 20:18; Job 37:2; Job 40:9; Psalm 77:18). This voice of God is the source of later judgments in 8:5, 11:19 and 16:18.

Seven lamps=seven spirits-- See Zechariah 4:2-6. God’s spirit is seen as His power through which He works in the world. Spirit is not ethereal, but super-physical. The “lightning” in Ex 20:18 is in the LXX translated as “lamps” or “torches”—the same word used here. These are certainly seen as representing God’s power.

Sea of glass like crystal—In Genesis 1, the sea is divided between the earthly sea and a spiritual one. Sea monsters (like Leviathan or Satan) frolic in the heavenly sea (Psalm 104). In the Temple, there was a sea which was a giant basin for the priests to wash their hands between sacrifices (II Chron 4:2-10). In the OT, there are two main physical seas—the “Reed” or Red and the “Great” or Mediterrarian. Solomon placed his sea toward the Southeast, so that might represent the Red Sea. But this Sea is unique, clear as crystal, like the water in the final utopia (22:1). Ezekiel also saw an “expanse” of crystal in his vision of the throneroom (Eze 1:22). The spiritual sea is the living space of powerful spirits, many of which are in opposition to God. But God is Lord of all of them, no matter their opposition to God and His creation. Genesis 1 is actually God’s way of separating the powerful spiritual creatures from God’s creation on the earth, so that the earth creatures might be ruled by humans. (Isaiah 51:9-11; Psalm 74:12-15; Eze 32:2)

Four living ones—Not “creatures” as most translations. The term is more generic than that. These are the beings found in both Ezekiel and Isaiah before the throne (Ezekiel 1:5-21; 10:1ff; Isaiah 6). They are called either “cherubim” (Ezekiel) or “seraphim” (Isaiah). They are represented in both the ark of the covenant (2 of them) and statues in the holy of holies of the temple (two of them) (Exodus 25:18ff, II Chron. 3)

Different traditions of the cherubim/seraphim—The number of wings vary (4 in Ezekiel, 2 pairs of three in Isaiah, 6 unpaired ones in Revelation); Their position varies (above the throne in Isaiah, the base of the throne in Ezekiel, “in the midst of the throne” in Revelation); Faces differ (4 faces of each in Ezekiel; one different face on each of the four in Rev.).

In the midst of the throne—The four living ones actually hold up the throne. This is the same in Ezekiel 10.

Four types of cherubim—In rabbinic writings, the lion, ox, eagle and human are the strongest beings, lords over the animal kingdoms. A late rabbinic saying is, “The mightiest of the birds is the eagle, the mightiest among the domestic animals is the ox, the mightiest among the wild animals is the lion and the mightiest of all of these is a human being. God has taken all these and secured them to his throne.”

Six wings—A detail from Isaiah 6.

Full of eyes, eyes all around the wings—Could represent omniscience. Not only do they represent the main groups of animals, they see all within their respective animal kingdoms?

Holy Holy Holy—The word “holy” means the separate, the uniquely pure. In Hebrew, when a word is repeated, it is increased. Thus a thrice repeated “holy” would mean “the most holy”. The congregation could stand in the Holy, the high priest alone could go into the Holy Holy, the presence of God is the Holy Holy Holy. Thrice repeated “holy” is also stated by the seraphim around the throne in Isaiah 6.

Lord God Almighty—Oft used title of God (e.g. Amos 3:13; Hosea 12:6; Nahum 3:5; Zech 10:3; Malachi 2:16). God’s sovereignty and power is emphasized. God is the unlimited ruler of the universe.

He who is and was and is coming—God is sovereign over all ages, past, present and future.

The Living One—The supreme living one, Lord over all other living ones.

Forever and ever—Literally, “to the One Living to the ages of ages” (See Daniel 4:34 and 12:7). Ultimately, this is actually a repeat of the earlier, longer praise.

Notes on Letters in Revelation 2-3 Intro

Pattern of the letters—
Command to write to an angel of a church
Christ’s self description
Commendation of a church’s good works (Except Laodikia)
Accusation due to sin (Except Smyrna and Philadelphia)
Exhortation to repent with a warning of judgment/or an encouragement
“He who has an ear…”
Promise to the victors

Chistic formula:
Ephesus-- Condemned
Smyrna—Approved
Pergamum—Some condemned, some approved
Thyatira—Some condemned, some approved
Sardis—Some condemned, some approved
Philadelphia—Approved
Laodikia-- Condemned

Themes in all the letters:
Angel: The letters are sent to the angel of the church. While “angel” could mean a human messenger, the word is never used in Revelation in this sense. It is always intended as the spirit that represents a particular entity. So the letters are sent to the representative of each city church/Christian synagogue that stands before Christ.

Church as a unit: Although each city church is spoken to as a unit, each individual within the church is judged individually. Most of the churches are of one mind to such a degree that they are either condemned or approved of as a unit. But Thyatira, especially, is divided between those who listen to false teachers and those who do not. While the former are roundly condemned, the latter are completely approved of.

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches”—This phrase is used in every letter. It is a phrase used to call attention to the significance of each letter. It is based on Jesus’ commonly used phrase, “He who has an ear, let him hear.” This means if one has the ability to physically hear then that one should pay attention because this is important. The addition, “what the Spirit says to the churches” makes it clear that this is a prophecy that John is receiving from the Spirit and it is being given to Jesus’ churches.

“Church”—The word used is “ekklesia” which literally means a congregation, and in the OT is often used of the congregation of Israel, namely those who are able to enter the temple. These are speaking of Jesus synagogues (synagogue is a synonym of ekklesia in Semetic Koine). It could be translated as “congregation.”

Notes on Revelation 1

“Revelation” or unveiling or opening—An opening, likely in vision form, of the Spirit world (Daniel 2)
Displaying the “reality behind reality”

Messiah Jesus—Christos is used among early Christians to be a title of the Messiah, the Jewish replacement of Caesar. Jesus, who died and rose again, is revealed in the writing to be that Messiah.

“Slaves”, servants of a king, those bound by a covenant to serve a greater one, although the freedom of that one, apart from the command of the king, is not limited.

“Quickness” or “nearness” Similar to Mark 1:15; Indicating an immediate fulfillment whose fruition might occur later: e.g. Jesus crucifixion -> destruction of Jerusalem.

God to angel to John to churches—This is the same pattern the law was given, with John taking Moses’ place and the churches taking the place of Israel.

John—Probably not John the apostle, certainly not John the elder (writer of John and epistles), nor John the Baptist. John was a common name, used of many leaders of the early church. Hebrew—Yohan. John is a prophet of Asia Minor.

Prophecy—John saw visions and wrote what he saw down. This was common work for a prophet. Often the visions of the spirit world were symbolic in nature (e.g. Jeremiah 1; Zechariah), and they sometimes related to the future. But the point of the visions and the sermons related to them was to re-focus the devotion and ethical behavior of the recipients.

“One who reads” is the one who is reciting the book to any particular church. Some reciters were in a church and would receive a text, more often they would travel from church to church, reciting the text in each church. These are blessed for continually reciting God’s word.

“Keep the words”—The point of prophecy is not so much to believe it, as to obey it. Those who hear it are only blessed if they obey the point of the prophecy.

“Grace and Peace”—Common introduction in Greek epistles to Jewish people. It uses both the common Greek greeting and the common Hebrew greeting.

Him who is and was and who is to come—There is a Greek problem with the grammar here. It indicates that a reference to Exodus 3, where God revealed himself as the “I Am” is in mind. The fact that God is also the God who was and who is to be indicates that all ages are ruled by God—He has never ceased to rule.

Seven Spirits—The seven spirits is a reference to the Holy Spirit, just as Zechariah 4:2-7 also refers to seven items which are really the one Spirit of God. The Spirit is probably seven here to indicate representation of the seven churches, even as there are seven angels and seven lampstands—all probably the same representation of the churches to God.

The Witness, the Faithful—In Greek, this might normally be understood as “the faithful witness”, but this title is repeated in 2:13 of Antipas, with the addition of “my” twice. This indicates that Jesus was faithful in His speaking of God’s word, even to the end, even facing persecution. This is important, as this is what the book insists that the churches do—be a faithful witness to Jesus in the midst of persecution.

Firstborn of the dead—As is stated elsewhere in the NT (such as I Corinthians 15), Jesus is the first one to have been permanently released from the clutches of death. As the “firstborn” He is also the primary inheritor of God’s kingdom, the Son of God—Psalm 88:27-37; II Samuel 7:13-16; Psalm 2:7-8.

King of kings—Also an important NT title. It means “emperor”, just as Caesar was. Jesus IS the ruler, because he sits as king at the right hand of God the Father (Hebrews 1). The kings of the earth are the enemies of the Messiah, as stated in Psalm 2.

All of these titles—“Faithful Witness” “Firstborn” and “Ruler of the Kings of the earth” can be found of David in Psalm 88: 27 and 37. “Faithful witness” is also found in Isaiah 43:10-13.

Doxology—Jesus loved us so much, he sacrificed himself for our sins. This makes him both priest and sacrifice. This self-sacrifice established the kingdom of God, which we may all enter in due to the forgiveness of our sins. The Passover lamb is alluded to.

Kingdom, priests—Due to Jesus’ work, His people make up a kingdom, specifically, THE kingdom of God. Jesus’ people function as priests, mediating for the world before God through the Spirit. Jesus’ people is elsewhere designated as a kingdom of priests (I Peter 2:5-10), as are the people of God in general (Exodus 19:6). Because we are sprinkled with His blood, we have become priests (Exodus 29:10-21), even as the ancient Israelites were (Exodus 24).

Glory and Power—Due to this work of redemption, God deserves all the respect and the authority over all the kingdom. Jesus did the footwork, but the Father offered the plan. Jesus, in the doxology, remains submitted to the Father throughout.

“Of the ages”—Meaning all the glory and power of all ages, thus for all eternity.

“He comes in clouds”—From Daniel 7:13, which is about the Messiah’s enthronement over all the nations after God’s judgment. “Who they have pierced”—From Zechariah 12:10, which speaks of God’s judgment over all nations after they rejected God and his messenger. The two passages were also used together in Matthew 24:30. Daniel 7:13 is also used in reference to Jesus in Mark 13:26 and 14:62. The fact that it is all the nations of the earth who rejected Jesus and not just Israel is emphasized here.

“Mourning”—This mourning could speak of a rejection of Jesus, i.e. mourning that Jesus has come to take over their nations. Or it could mean a process of repentance due to Jesus’ death, i.e. a realization that Jesus died for them and so weeping over their own sin. Probably the first, since that seems to be the context of Daniel, Matthew and Mark.

Alpha and Omega—In Jewish literature the whole of the law could be described as being from “aleph to tau”, the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. God’s complete authority is described by the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, probably since the lingua franca of rulers from Alexander’s time was Greek. This Greek phrase is also used in Greek magic literature to describe certain gods.

The Almighty—This phrase is used in Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi to describe God’s unending authority.

The suffering, the kingdom, the endurance—All three of these are connected, and John and those he was writing to share in all three.

Patmos—An island off the coast of Turkey. Tradition states that John was in exile there. There are a couple marks against that idea—first of all, the text doesn’t say it. All it says is that he was there due to his testimony of Jesus, but this may be because he was called to proclaim the gospel there. Secondly, Patmos wasn’t a place of exile. It is possible that other, smaller islands near Patmos were places of exile, but Patmos was a part of the Roman Empire. This is not to deny the tradition, but the tradition could be a misreading of the text.

The Lord’s Day—This phrase isn’t clear. It is used to refer to God’s judgment in the OT, but since the phrase is used as a temporal indicator, that meaning doesn’t do it. It might be the Sabbath (Friday night to Saturday), but we have no indication that Christians or Jews used this phrase for the Sabbath at that time. This could be Sunday, although the phrase wasn’t used for Sunday until long after Revelation, although the Epistle of Barnabas indicates that Sunday (“the eighth day”) was a day for Christian celebration. It just isn’t clear.

“In the Spirit”—This is a phrase used in Ezekiel to indicate a prophetic trance.

Seven—Seven, in Scripture, is a number of fulfillment or completeness.

Voice like a trumpet—A really loud voice. Possible allusion to Exodus 19.

The seven cities—There is no particular order to the cities, although all of them are in Asia Minor, modern-day Turkey. Seven churches of John’s ministry were chosen to indicate a complete number, which represents all churches in the world. There is nothing to indicate that they each represent a different church age.

Seven lampstands—Lampstands were part of the Temple’s “furniture”, representing the people of God before the throne in God’s court (Exodus 25, 37, Numbers 8). These lampstands are also the seven spirits in Rev. 1:4, which is the presence of the church before God. This is a reference to Zechariah 4:2-6. It might be that the light itself emanating from the lampstands is the Spirit. Lampstands as temple furniture: I Kings 7:49; I Chron 28:15; II Chron 4:7, 20; Jeremiah 52:19-- lampstands taken away along with other utensils;

Among the lampstands—Jesus is among the lampstands as a priest, tending the lamps so that the light doesn’t go out.

“One like the Son of Man”—This is a description used of two different people in Daniel. In Daniel 7, it describes the Messiah receiving authority from the Ancient of Days. In Daniel 10, it describes an archangel who struggled to visit Daniel. Both passages are used to describe Jesus.

White hair—This description is borrowed from Daniel 7:9-10, which is describing the Ancient of Days, God the Father, judging the world.

Feet, tunic, sash, eyes—These descriptions are that given to the archangel in Daniel 10: 5-9.

Feet of polished bronze—The kind of bronze indicates that they have been worked on. This could indicate purity or endurance through suffering.

Clothing—The white clothing with a golden sash could either be priestly or kingly clothing, perhaps highlighting the ambiguity between Jesus’ kingly and priestly functions over the church. This clothing is described in Zechariah 4:3, 11-14; I Maccabees 10:88-89; 14:30, 32-47. In all of these passages, the rulers are both authoritative as a king and has a priestly function.

Stars—Stars are often associated with spirits in the OT (e.g. Daniel 8:10). However, in Daniel 12, “stars” are used to describe the chosen of Israel who would be resurrected in God’s kingdom. These stars are used to describe the church, as represented by spiritual beings. Jesus has them in his hand to indicate his rule over them.

Sword from the mouth—This is based on Isaiah 11:4 and 49:2, and the image is repeated in Revelation 2:16 and 19:15. This indicates that Jesus’ weapon against his enemies is his words, and his words will destroy them completely.
Voice like many waters—This is based on Ezekiel 43:2, where God comes to judge the nations. This is a similar image to the previous one, where his voice is used as a weapon. “Many waters” is often used in the OT as a description of terrible wrath (Psalm 18:16; Psalm 93:4)

Face as the sun—This is somewhat described in Daniel 10 of the archangel, but it is an exact quote about the Israelite warrior of Judges 5:20. Thus, Jesus is seen as a victorious warrior.

Description of Jesus—Put together, the description of Jesus is that of an all-powerful spirit, similar to both God and the most powerful of angels. He is a king, ruling over the church. He is a priest, tending the church. And he is a warrior, victorious against the enemies of God.

Falling on his face—John follows Daniel’s pattern, falling in fear before the powerful being before him (Daniel 8 and 10). Even as Daniel, John is told to be strong and given further instructions.

“Do not fear”—Jesus speaks the words of all spirits, for the one gazing upon the spirit not to be afraid, because the spirit intends the one seeing him no harm. But more than this, Jesus tells John that he need not be afraid of death at all. Jesus himself passed through death, came out on the other side and is now in charge of death itself.

Death and Hades—Death and Hades (also called Sheol in Hebrew) are often personified in the Bible, and also a description of a place. It is the final authority over humanity, where complete justice is given, and separation from life is complete. Jesus, however, has taken authority over this god and this realm, determining himself who lives and who dies after death.

What you have seen…-- This statement is difficult to interpret, and many commentators have looked at it different ways. While “what is to come” is not best understood as “what is in the future”, it is still not clear. I prefer to simply understand it as the whole of the visions that John has and will experience.

The mystery—Jesus gives John an indication that what he is seeing is not all literal. The stars are not literally stars and the lampstands are not literally lampstands. Rather they represent other things. Some things in the visions are explained, while others are not. We are to be wise in making determinations about what means what, but we need to remember—what is seen is not always what is real.

Angels—Do angels mean spirits or messengers? Since “angel” in the book of Revelation means “heavenly spirit” in the other 60 uses of the word in the book, then it would make sense that it means so here. But what is the relationship between a church and their angel? The spirits are often rebuked for the actions of the churches in the next couple chapters. But this seems to be the identity responsibility of the mediator—the spirit represents God to the church and the church to God. Thus the church might often speak to the angel as God—not to worship the angel, but to bring to God the message—and Jesus might speak to the angel as the church—again, not to blame the angel, but as a representative of the church.

Turn The Other Cheek

To understand the principle Jesus is getting at, we must understand both the summary that He gives as well as all the examples:

Summary: "Do not resist an evil one"
The significant term here is "resist". It is used in different contexts, but often in the context of rebelling against an authority. Thus, it might be translated as "do not rebel" or "do not stand against the authority". It is used in this way in Ephesians 6 when we are told to "stand against" or "resist" the devil. Thus, we are told in one place to resist, but in another place not to. Of course, this fits Jesus' example who did not resist arrest, but constantly resisted Satan and the demonic authorities.

Examples:
Whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.
In the ancient world it is a common punishment for an authority to slap his underlings. Masters slapped slaves, fathers slapped children, guards slapped prisoners and magistrates slapped (or had slapped) anyone who was under their authority in a court situation. To "turn the other cheek" is to offer oneself to be slapped more. In the context of an authority, a single slap would be considered acceptable, even a just punishment. But if one was slapped again, it would be oppression and an acceptable situation for an appeal. Jesus, in the trial before Annas, was actually questioning the justice of being slapped at all. This is what the turning the other cheek is doing as well, questioning the righteous judgement of the authority. If they give into it and slap you again, they have proved their unrighteousness.

If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also.
Those whom were owed were considered the authority over those who were in debt. The one who is owed had the right to throw the other into prison (see Matt 18). According to the law, there were strict guidelines as to how much a debtee could receive from a debtor. The debtee could not put the debtor into danger, by, for instance, taking his coat overnight (Exodus 22:26-27). Should a debtee take too much so as to threaten the life of the debtor, then the debtor can cry out to God and God would judge the debtee. Thus, inviting a debtee to take one's only covering is to invite the debtee to display his unrighteousness and so be judged.

Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two.
In the ancient world, a Roman soldier had the right to "volunteer" any non-citizen of Rome to carry his pack for a mile. But the law is strict about it being only one mile. Should the Roman insist upon two miles, then he would be judged. This is offering a soldier to do injustice according to the law and so be judged by the law.

Give to him who asks of you,
and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.
Roman soldiers could also take possessions from non-citizens. These possessions are to be "borrowed", but often they never came back.

All of these examples are legal oppressions. A magistrate has the right to slap. A debtee has the right to take clothes from the debtor. The soldier has the right to have one carry his pack or to take the possessions of a non-citizen. These are all oppressions and they ar all legal, according to human law. The point here is to not only accept the legal oppression, but to go extra in creating a super-legal situation. The law covers a single slap, a coat, a single mile. But Jesus is saying that the oppression must be obvious, beyond recognition.

Why? Because if we resist the evil authority for the legal oppressions, then we are rebellious and we will deserve what punishments we get. But if we are in a place where we are being punished to the extreme and we don't deserve it, then God will step in. God is interested in justice and will step in if injustice is done. So Jesus is recommending creating a situation of obvious oppression to which we may appeal to God (as stated in Exodus 22), and God will step in, take away the oppressor and give us justice (Luke 18:1-7, and Mark 12:1-9)

Condemnation in Matthew

Jesus' basic message was that of repentance-- Matt. 4:17
The people of God who do not act like the people of God are only good to be cast out of the people of God-- Matthew 5:13
Those who insult will be thrown into hell-- Matthew 5:22
Those who do not reconcile with their brother will be thrown into prison (hell)-- Matthew 5:25
Those who do not separate from their body parts that cause them to sin will be thrown into hell--Matthew 5:29-30
The one who judges will be judged by God-- Matthew 7:1
However we judge, we will be judged by God-- Matthew 7:2
We must first repent ourselves, then we can assist others to repent-- Matthew 7:5
Those who judge others without correcting themselves is a hypocrite-- Matthew 7:3-5
Most people will be destroyed, only a few people will obtain life-- Matthew 7:13-14
False teachers are those who do evil in their lives, no matter what they teach-- Matthew 7:15-20
Jesus will eternally separate himself from those who ministered for Him, but did not do what He said-- Matthew 7:21-23
Those who hear Jesus' words but does not act on them are those facing destruction-- Matthew 7:24-27
Those who expect to receive God's blessing-- "the sons of the kingdom" will be thrown out of the kingdom into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth-- Matthew 8:11-12
Jesus calls a disciple's family, "dead"-- Matthew 8:22
Jesus casts evil spirits away, and they claimed that he was torturing them-- Matthew 8:28-32
Jesus offers forgiveness of sins to a crippled man and then heals him to display that forgiveness-- Matthew 9:1-8
Jesus eats with sinners to heal them and to welcome them into God's kingdom--Matthew 9:10-12
"Compassion" means giving people a second chance-- Matthew 9:13
"Compassion" means to heal the blind-- Matthew 9:27-29
Jewish households or towns are condemned as unworthy if they refuse to listen to or offer hospitality to apostles. These towns will have a worse judgment than Sodom-- Matthew 10:13-15
Those who deny Jesus will be rejected by him before the Father-- Matthew 10:33
Jesus came to create opportunities for the righteous to be persecuted-- Matthew 10:34-36
A person must reject their social obligations to their family if they conflict with Jesus' demands (which they will)-- Matthew 10:37; Luke 14:23
The OT judgment will be nothing compared to the judgment on Jewish towns who saw the miracles of Jesus but still rejected Jesus-- Matthew 11:20-24
Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (seeing the work of God and claiming it is evil) will not be forgiven.-- Matthew 12:32
One is made righteous or judged according to their thoughtless speech-- Matthew 12:36-37
Those who hear Jesus' words and reject it will be condemned by those who paid attention to God's words in the past-- Matthew 12:41-42
Jesus' family is not his physical one, but those who do God's will-- Matthew 12:46-50
Jesus spoke in parables as a judgment to the unbelieving, so that they would hear but not understand God's word-- Matthew 13:13-15
Only those who hear Jesus' word, receive it and endure in it through temptations and persecutions will obtain God's blessing-- Matthew 13:18-23
All of those who cause people to fall from faith in God, those who are lawless will be thrown into hell-- Matthew 13:41-42
A person is defiled by words and actions of evil, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, thefts, false witness, and slander-- Matthew 15:18-19
Jesus calls a Caananite woman a dog, and then heals her daughter-- Matthew 15:25-28
Those who cause people to fall from faith will be horribly punished; we need to separate ourselves from anyone or anything that causes us to fall from faith-- Matthew 18:6-9
God will seek out those who fall from faith-- Matthew 18:12-14
Confront a brother privately if he is sinning, forgive him if he repents-- Matthew 18:15; Luke 17:3-4
Prove a brother is sinning by two or three witnesses if he denies it-- Matthew 18:16
Separate the brother from the community of God if they refuse to repent of their sin-- Matthew 18:17
We are to forgive anyone who repents of their sin, no matter how many times they sin and repent--Matthew 18:21-22
Those who do not forgive their brothers when they repent will be condemned by God-- Matthew 18:23-35
Divorce is equal to adultery-- Matthew 19:9
It is very difficult for a wealthy person to enter into God's kingdom, because of how difficult it is to be rid of one's possessions-- Matthew 19:21-24
Jesus condemned the temple practice because moneychangers were in the worship area of the women and gentiles-- Matthew 20:12-13
The leaders of God's people who persecute God's prophets and Son will be destroyed by God-- Matthew 20:33-41
God will take the kingdom of God away from those unworthy to lead it and give it to those worthy, who do His will-- Matthew 20:42-43
Those originally invited to God's kingdom will be rejected as well as anyone not doing God's will-- Matthew 22:1-14
Hypocrites, those who do not do God's will but claim to be teaching God's will, who seek pride instead of humility, who offer excuses to those seeking to disobey God, who emphasize obedience in the lesser things of God (tithing) but neglect the greater things of God (justice, mercy, faithfulness); who focus on outward appearances instead of the heart; who persecute God's prophets-- these leaders will go to hell-- Matthew 23
The leader of Jesus people who use his position for personal excess will be given a place with the hypocrites where there will be weeping-- Matthew 24:48-51
The servant of Jesus who does not work with what Jesus gave them will be thrown out of God's kingdom-- Matthew 25:14-30
Those who refuse to offer hospitality and meet the needs of Jesus' disciples are sent to hell eternally-- Matthew 25:31-46
Jesus does not condemn either Peter or Judas, but allows them to determine their own fate according to their repentance-- Matthew 26


Systematized

A. The final judgment on the last day is the only physical punishment. This final judgment is based on one’s careless speech and actions.
B. Those who go to hell are those who claim to follow God, but are hypocrites, rejecters of God’s word, those who refuse to help disciples in need and those who cause others to fall away from God in deed or belief.
C. The church will only be pure after judgment, but those who commit blatant sins without repenting are to be treated as an outsider to the church.
D. Repentance/confession is the only requirement for forgiveness or acceptance in the church.
E. Those who sin and are separated are to be welcomed back and given another opportunity to repent.
F. Leaders of God’ people may not be hypocrites, persecutors, doers of evil, people who excuse other’s evil
G. The basis of condemnation is: hating, sexual immorality, unfaithfulness to one’s promise or marriage, slander, not giving to those in need, not forgiving those who repent, judging without repenting of one’s own sin, claiming God’s miracles are evil,

Three Kinds of Sin

Kinds of sin (Hebrew)

Pesha—“Transgression” Rebelling against God and casting off His authority
Avon—Intentional sin but out of weakness of will
Chayt—Unintentional sin (that which sacrifices are satisfactory for)

Poor in Spirit

Exact phrase "poor in spirit"
Proverbs 16:18-19 Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling. It is better to be humble in spirit with the lowly Than to divide the spoil with the proud.
(Those who are poor, socially lowly)

Similar phrases:
"Oppressed" or "hard" in spirit-- I Samual 1:15 (wife mocked for inability to conceive)

Anguish of my spirit/bitterness of my soul-- Job 7:11 (Disease, death of family, loss of riches)

Brokenhearted/crushed in spirit-- Psalm 34:18 (troubled, afflicted)

Forsaken and grieved in spirit-- Isaiah 54:6 (wife cast away)

Contrite and humble spirit-- Isaiah 57:15 (judged by God for sin)

Spirit of fainting-- Isaiah 61:3 (imprisoned for debt)

Spirit is troubled-- Lamentations 1:20; 2:11 (distress over destruction of Jerusalem)

Heat of my spirit-- Ezekiel 3:14 (confusion over vision of seeing God)

Spirit troubled-- Daniel 2:1-- (disturbing dream)

my spirit distressed-- Daniel 7:15-- (disturbing visions)

Conclusion: The use of a anguished state with the phrase "in spirit" or "my spirit is" is a way of communicating an inner response to an outer trouble or calamity. It is not just an emotional state, caused by one's own sense of unworthiness or "humility". To be "poor" or anawim in spirit is to be greatly distressed due to one's poverty.