Philadelphia is complemented only for her patient endurance. Ephesus and Thyatira also have patient endurance, but those two churches are complemented for other things as well. Hence, by the time we get to Philadelphia, faithful endurance is all that remains - which is enough.

The parables of the mustard seed and the leaven both speak of the bureaucratic church; organizations that have grow so large that there are lots of places where evil can dwell. These parables correlate with the letters to Pergamum and Thyatira in Revelation and with Paul's letters to the Corinthians and Galatians.

In Parsha Noah, God says, before the flood, that the human heart is only evil continually. After the flood, He says essentially the same thing. In other words, Noah and his family were not preserved during the flood because of the perfection of their hearts. So, what's going on with the heart?

Sardis, the church that believes that it is alive but is dead in the eyes of God. From the world's perspective, this church is doing fine, but lacks the fruits of the Spirit.

The parable of the weeds in Mat 13 describes a church having both sons of the Kingdom and sons of the evil one mixed in the same field. It is only during the harvest that the two are separated. This correlates with the letter to Smyrna in Rev 2 where the believers are persecuted by members of the Synagogue of Satan. It also correlates with Paul's letter to the Thessalonians.

When God created the first couple, scripture says that they were naked and unashamed. After eating of the forbidden fruit, they covered themselves and hid in their shame. Why shame? Why not guilt?

Thyatira is a church divided over sexuality and dabbling with idols. Those on the side that have learned the 'deep things of Satan' and will be lost.

The seven Kingdom Parables in Matthew 13 correlate with the letters to the churches in Revelation. They also correlate with Paul's letters to seven churches. This introduction also includes the Parable of the Sower.

We are commanded to rejoice during the Feast of Succot. Since the world is a difficult place, we must be reminded frequently to rejoice. Biblically, there is a straight path from a lack of joy to idolatry. The Feast reminds us to avoid that trap.

Pergamum, the church where Satan dwells, has compromised with the world. It has taken in pagans without doing a thorough job of changing their beliefs. Hence, there are those who espouse sexual immorality.