Revelation 2:1-11

Churches are not perfect.  There are some good and some bad.  As imperfect as it is Jesus loves the church.  He wants us to love it, too.  Who is the church?  All Christians make up the church and we are to love the church universal.  Wherever your local church is, you need to be committed to it and serve there.

How are you committed to your church?

Where do you serve in your church?

At the end of the first century Christians in Asia were being persecuted because of their belief in Jesus Christ.  There were lots of other dangers during that time, including earthquakes and wars.  Rome had destroyed the temple, which affected the churches.  These 7 churches in Revelation are in modern day Turkey were not without problems.  There were false teachers and prophets and even sexual sins in these churches.  Some people had given up and turned away from Jesus. 

John wrote letters to theses churches as directed by God as we saw in chapter 1.  To each of the 7 churches God praised them for their good deeds and rebuked them for their bad ones.  He always started with praise, then gave a warning and ended with a promise.

Revelation 2:1-7 – Ephesus, The Church That Left Their First Love

Ephesus was the most important of the 7.  It was large, nearest to Patmos, and a center of worship of the goddess Artemis (Diana).  There was a lot of false religion and a lot of idol worship there.  Ephesus was a rich business center.  When people came from Asia to Rome, they would travel through Ephesus. 

John wrote to the angel of the church in Ephesus as God instructed telling them that his words were the words of Jesus who holds 7 stars in His right hand and walks among the 7 golden lampstands.  Remember in Revelation 1 we learned the 7 stars are to 7 angels and the 7 lampstands are the 7 churches.  His right hand represents Jesus’ position of power, authority, and safety.

Jesus told them He knows about the things they do.  He knows their deeds, their hard work, their perseverance, and that they cannot tolerate wicked men (Rev.2:2).  He praised them for their hard work and perseverance.  Rome opposed them and even the non-Christian Jews opposed them so life was hard.  He knows they cannot tolerate wickedness.  They tested evil men and proved they were false prophets.  The real followers of Jesus had passed the test and lived faithful lives.

Then Jesus rebukes them telling them they have forsaken their first love.  They had stopped loving one another.  They had stopped loving Jesus as they once did.  They were not as eager and excited about Jesus as they once were.  He wanted them to remember the things they did at first.  If they don’t repent, their lampstand will be removed.  Jesus was in the middle of the churches and by removing their lampstand, He would leave them and not protect them anymore and there would suffer God’s judgment.  They did however hate the practices of the Nicholaitans who followed the teaching of Balaam (Rev. 2:4-6).

To repent is to admit that you are wrong and change your ways and live differently.  You should turn to God, admit your sin, and ask for forgiveness. 

Are you doing all the right things spiritually and yet something seems missing?

Have you left your first love?

Where do you need to repent and rededicate yourself to God?

There will always be people who oppose the Bible and its teaching.  They think they know how to do things better and try to influence Christians today.  If it doesn’t stand up to Bible standards, it is false teaching.  The Bible is the source of all truth.  It will never be outdated.  It is always relevant.  It never changes.  Some people accuse Christians of being intolerant.  Our culture is changing, but the Bible does not.  Anything that contradicts the Bible is false teaching.  We are to know what it teaches so we can discern if any teaching is true or false.

There are many things that draw us away from God:

Serving 2 masters – Matt. 6:26

Love of position – Matt. 23:6-6

Not loving our enemies – Luke 6:27, 35

Getting caught up in the letter of the Law and missing its intent – Luke 11:40

Our profession – John 21

Our convenience and pleasure – Rom. 14:15

A love of self – 1 John 3:16-18, 2 Cor. 5:14-15

Dishonesty, hurt, unwillingness to forgive – Eph 4:30; 5:2, Col. 3:12-14, 1 Thess. 4:9-10

Hatred of others – 1 John 4:20

Failing to witness – 2 Cor. 5

Trials

Sin – 1 John 2:5

The world – 1 John 2:15

Do you know your Bible?

Can your knowledge of the Bible discern truth from lies?

What would your instructions be to someone who has left their first love?

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.  To Him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” – Rev. 2:7.  This phrase “he who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says” appears in each of the letters to the 7 churches.  It means everyone should always listen to the Holy Spirit.  Jesus speaks to Christians in His churches through the Holy Spirit.  If you want to stand on truth, let the Holy Spirit lead you.  We need to have truth, but show it with love.

What is an overcomer?  An overcomer is a faithful believer who has overcome the world.  A born-again believer is an overcomer.  Live in the spiritual power of the Holy Spirit and you will be able to be an overcomer.  Then as overcomers you will sit with Jesus on the day of the Great White Throne Judgment and escape God’s punishment, the second death in the Lake of Fire. 

Are you an overcomer?

How are you living in the power of the Holy Spirit?

What is this tree of life mentioned in Rev. 2:7?  We learned about the tree of life in Genesis.  God allowed Adam and Eve to eat the fruit from the tree of life in the garden except the tree of good and evil.  Once they sinned they were banned from the garden and didn’t have the right to eat from the tree of life.  Now through Jesus we have access to the tree of life – a life with God.

Revelation 2:8-11 – Smyrna, The Suffering Church

Smyrna was about 35 miles away from Ephesus.  It was a beautiful city and competed with Ephesus as the best city.  It was a pagan city.  It was the home of the temple of the Emperor Tiberius, the temple of Cybele, and the temple of Zeus.  The Jewish people joined with Rome to persecute Christians.  Smyrna was known as the suffering church.

John wrote to the church at Smyrna telling them these words are of Him who is First and Last and who died and came to life again.  This is a picture of the gospel.  Jesus knows their afflictions and poverty, yet He told them they were rich.  He knows the slander told about them.  He called the slanders “a synagogue of Satan”.  The Devil will put some of them in prison for 10 days, which will be a test.  This is the period of Daniel’s testing (Dan. 1:12-15).  They are not to be afraid.  They are to be faithful and God will give them the crown of life (Rev. 2:8-10).  Christians are imprisoned today for their faith, which is the work of Satan.  God will give them the crown of life, which means victory over death

How can they be rich?  “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” - 2 Cor. 8:9.  They are rich because they were in Christ.  They have all the wealth of the heavenly Father.  They are blessed because of their being persecuted.   The Bible tells us when you are a follower of Jesus, expect persecution.

How faithful are you?  There is a crown of life waiting for you.

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.  He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.” – Rev. 2:11.  Jesus is encouraging them.  When going through hard time, we all need encouragement.  We are to continue to be faithful.  God will take care of us.

“In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”-  1 Tim. 3:12.

Christians are being persecuted all over the world.  We are seeing a new wave of persecution in our world today.  Many countries are being affected by persecution.  The leader of the persecution is Isis.  There is imprisonment, rape, and murder.  It is everywhere.  How can we think America will be spared?  We will wake up some morning and it will be here.  It is starting to happen within our country.  Christians are losing their rights.  We can believe what we want, but we can’t act on it.  There are battles to come.  We are too passive and don’t want to fight.  This is not a fight.  It is a stand on the truth.  We are to stand up for what we believe and be faithful.  God will take care of us.

What do you need to do when and remember when you are going through a hard situation?

You can find the answer in Scriptures like - “I can do everything through hi who give me strength.” – Phil. 4:13.  Also see 1 Thess. 3:2-5 and 2 Tim. 1:7-8.

Next week we will study Revelation 2:12-29; 3:1-6 – the church in Pergamum, Thyatira, and Sardis.  Hope to see you here.

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Revelation 1

 The book of Revelation is written by the John.  Who was John?  He was a faithful friend and disciple of Jesus.  He was a servant of Jesus.  He wrote 5 books of the Bible – John, 1 & 2 & 3 John, and Revelation.  He suffered because of his beliefs and his boldness in speaking of Jesus Christ.  He was exiled on the island of Patmos and left there to die.  There on Patmos he had a vision of Christ and was told to write the book of Revelation.  He is an eye witness to these things told in Revelation.  This book is the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

Revelation is when God shows His truth to us.  In Revelation God shows us what we must do and say.  He shows Himself through Jesus Christ.  It’s all about Jesus.  The Bible is full of God’s prophecy.  It reveals His redemptive story and its final chapter, Revelation.  This book describes the glorious fulfillment of God’s eternal plan.  It tells us about the future climax of world history with God’s final judgment.  He will judge those who don’t believe in Him.  For those who do believe it is a book of joy.

Revelation is apocalyptic literature, full of symbolism.  Each image represents something literal.  People interpret it differently so we are focusing on the themes of the book.

Themes in Revelation:

Fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan. 

Jesus is coming soon, which gives us hope.

We are not to be afraid, but stay faithful.

Satan will try to accuse us before God, but Christ defeats him.

God will create a New Heaven and a New Earth.

Revelation reveals that John and other fellow Christians suffered, but patiently endured.  They worked hard for God and suffered many hardships, but persevered through and were faithful.  Some lived in poverty, yet they were rich.  There are similarities in the church today.  Christians are suffering around the world.  There is persecution and even death because of their beliefs.  Many have lost their first love like the church in Ephesus.

Attributes of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are revealed:

God is holy.  He is sovereign.  He is the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come.  He is to be worshiped and will be continually worshiped in Heaven by all, because He is creator of all things. 

Jesus is the only one worthy to open the scroll because He was slain.  The Holy Spirit speaks to all who will hear Him.  All make up the Trinity.  Each is an entity, but are the same.

Revelation 1 – The Things You Have Seen

The Revelation begins from God to Jesus to His angel to John and then to us.  John is to tell all he saw and be a testimony of Jesus Christ.  The Revelation is that Jesus Christ is Lord of all.  It is the Revelation of God’s power and glory.  “Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near”. - Rev. 1:3.  Revelation is the only book in the Bible that says you will be blessed when you hear, read, and put in practice what it says. 

I hope this verse convinces you to read this book.  Don’t be afraid that you won’t understand, because none of us completely understand it all and never will until we are in heaven.  God will reveal to you exactly what you need to know.

The early church read the entire book of Revelation each time they met.  The reader and the congregation that read, hear and heed the teaching taught here will be blessed.  In other words your life will be changed.  You will live your life differently.  You will realize the collision course the world is on and the terrible times that are coming for those who are not saved.  You will have a clearer picture of God’s plan for the saved and the unsaved.  You will know “the end of the story”.  Keep these things in your mind and remember them.  You will know the truth when trials and temptations come.

“The time is near” is true more so for us today than people thousands of years ago.  We are closer to the end.  The rapture of the church is imminent.  We don’t know when, because God’s timing is different from ours.  It may be in a 100 years or it may be tomorrow.  We must know the truth and be ready.  Are you ready?

John began by writing to the 7 churches in Asia that existed at that time.  7 actually signifies completeness in the Bible.  He was actually writing to all the churches and even to the churches today.  You will see what they were doing, what God expected, and where they were falling short.  Hopefully we will see where we too are not living up to God’s standards.

He started by giving grace and peace from Jesus Himself, which is comforting because in Revelation we will see a lot of judgments, earthquakes, and destruction of the earth and its people.  He also mentioned the 7 spirits before His throne.  What are these 7 spirits?   “And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.” – Isaiah. 11:2.  These spirits of God are the Holy Spirit in His completeness.  Jesus is described as being a faithful witness, the first born of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. 

“Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him.  So shall it be! Amen.” – Rev. 1:7.  John praised Jesus and told of His return when He will come in the clouds and that every eye will see His returning.  Everyone will mourn over Him.  It will be a day of judgment when Jesus will pour out His wrath on the earth.  The Lord said, “I am the Alpha and the Omega… who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” – Rev. 1:8.  God declared that He existed in the beginning, now and at the end.  I love this verse!

How will you be ready when Jesus returns?

John was exiled on the island of Patmos because of His testimony of Jesus.  John was filled with the Spirit and heard a voice like a trumpet which told him to, “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches:  to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.”  - Rev. 1:11. 

John saw Jesus and described His hair, eyes, feet, voice, hand, mouth, and face.  Jesus was walking in the middle of the 7 lampstands.  The 7 lampstands represent the 7 churches.  They are lamps that hold the light of Christ.  They must show His light to the world.  Jesus was holding 7 stars in His right hand, which are the angels of the 7 churches. (Rev. 1:20)  These angels are probably angels who watched over the churches.  Some believe these stars are the pastors of the churches who lead and watch over the people.

John was in awe of Jesus.  Can you image?  How wonderful it will be when we see Him for the first time?  John fell to his feet in worship of Jesus.  Jesus told him not to be afraid.  He was the First and the Last, the Living One, was dead and now alive for ever and ever, and that He held the keys of death and Hades. (Rev. 1:17-18)  Having the keys to death and Hades means He has the power over them.  He proved that because He rose from the dead.  John was told to write down everything and not leave anything out.  “Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later.” – Rev. 1:19.  This is the key verse that unlocks the door to the entire outline of the book.

What will you do when you see Jesus?

Will you be afraid or will you be in awe of Him?

How are you ready to meet Him?

Will your life be pleasing to Him?

Next week we will study Revelation 2 – the churches in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, and Thyatira.  Hope to see you here.

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God's Prophecy - Introduction to Revelation

Revelation is a book of prophecy.  God wants to bless us through prophecy and anchor us with a firm foundation.  “Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.” – Rev. 1:3.  Revelation is when God shows His truth to us.  God shows us what we must do and say.  He shows Himself through Jesus Christ.  It’s all about Jesus.  It tells us about the future climax of world history with God’s final judgment.  He will judge those who don’t believe in Him.  For those who do believe it is a book of joy.

Prophecy is from God.  God speaks through prophets.  True prophecy is not manipulated by man.  Bible prophecy is always fulfilled, because God is sovereign and controls history.  We can know when a prophecy is true when it doesn’t contradict scripture, when it keeps God in the center, and when it’s confirmed by events in history.  There are a lot of false prophets and prophecies today so how do we know it they are true?  “For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive the elect…”  No one knows when Jesus will return. (Matthew 24:24-29).  So we need to be discerning, prayerful and ready when He does come.  We can know by false prophets by their fruit or their actions.  Their actions speak much louder than their words. 

The book of Daniel is a book of prophecy and talks about the End Times.  In Daniel 12:4 Daniel is told to close up and seal the words of the scroll or the book until the time of the end.  This was done because it could not be understood until more prophesied events were unfolded.  Then as events predicted would be unfolded, it would be clearer and we could understand the prophecy, the Book of Revelation.  Jesus said He told the future before it happened so when it does happen we will believe.  (John 13:19; 14:29).

There are many, many prophecies that have been fulfilled.  In Isaiah7:14 we see Isaiah’s prophecy of the birth of a Savior, Jesus by a virgin.  In Micah 5:2 we see Jesus birth place of Bethlehem foretold.  In Isaiah 53:3-6 we see that Jesus will be rejected and hated, but will still die for all mankind.

It is important to know that Bible records fulfilled prophecies, because it reveals God’s sovereignty.  It brings us comfort and hope.  It takes away our fears and builds our faith.

The purpose of Revelation is to reveal the full identity of Christ and to give warnings and hope and encouragement to believers.  It shows God’s servants things that will take place in the future.  It is for all of us, because we are all His servants.  It shows all the events leading up to the “Day of the Lord” referenced many times throughout the Bible.  Jesus speaks through John.  He says these things will take place soon.  It may be today, tomorrow or next week.  In God’s timing “…with the Lord a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day” - 2 Peter 3:8.  Whenever this happens, we can see He is giving us a warning to be watchful and expectant and be ready for what is to come.

The outline of Revelation is found in Rev. 1:19 -“Write therefore the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall take place after these things.”  The events in Revelation were prophesied in the book of Daniel.  These prophesies have been and are being fulfilled and others will be fulfilled.  This vision of John will unfold in the following chapters.

God promises His blessings on us 7 times in Revelation.  Rev. 1:3 is considered to be the key verse in Revelation.  This is the only book that promises a blessing to those who read and hear its message.  The blessing is for everyone.  You however must do what it says.  It tells you what to expect and what to do when the wonderful as well as terrible times come.  During the last 7 years Satan will reign over the earth.  This is called the Great Tribulation.  We need to know all the things that will happen and how to handle all the events that follow those 7 years.

People today want to know the future in many ways.  They go to fortune tellers, use tarot cards, use crystals, read palms, read books on End Times, and even use astrology.  The only future we need to know is what the Bible tells us.  The Bible gives us many prophesies.  2 Peter 2:19-20 tells us true prophecy doesn’t originate with man, but that the prophets spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.  In John 13 Jesus says He is telling us the future before it happens so when it happens we will believe.  God is the only one to know and foretells the future.

Jesus through John writes to 7 churches.  These churches represent all the churches of God, now and throughout history.  He also writes to the angels of the 7 churches.  They are responsible for getting the message to the churches, just as we are responsible to get the message of Jesus to others.

Do you tell others about your Jesus?

Do you tell them how He has blessed your life?

Revelation tells of the “second coming” of Jesus.  “Look, he is coming with the clouds and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him.  So shall it be!  Amen.” – Rev. 1:7.  In 1 Thess. 4:16-17 there is more about His return.  This is hope for all believers!  We will see throughout Revelation more and more details of His coming.

He gives warnings to the churches and the consequences that will come to those who continue in disobedience and unbelief.  Then Jesus will open 7 seals and judgments for mankind and earth.  Then there will be Jesus’ second coming and His 1,000 year reign called the Millennium with Satan being bound.  Then Satan will be released for a short time after which he and his followers will be destroyed in the Lake of Fire.  Then we will see the Great White Throne judgment, which is the final judgment and then there will be a new heaven, a new earth, and a New Jerusalem.  God is then finished with His work.

What do you need to do to make yourself ready?

Do you trust God's Word?

Who else is more worthy of your faith?

Revelation is divided into 3 sections:

Rev. 1 - the things John had seen in his vision of Christ. 

Rev. 2-3 - the things which are, what is now – the situations of the 7 churches. 

Rev. 4-5 -the things that are to take place in heaven after these things – the future events. 

Rev. 6-22 - the things which will take place on earth after these things – the future events.

Principles:  

God's people can follow Him with confidence, because He controls the future. 

Prophecy is God confiding in His people for their good.

“Behold, I am coming soon!  Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book.” – Rev. 22:7.

As you begin to study God’s Word, remember the truth is being revealed.  Do your part.  Study and allow God to do His part so He can guide you to His truth.  Always begin with prayer.

Now get ready to be amazed and enlightened by what you are going to read and learn.  Join me next week when we will study Revelation 1.  Hope to see you here.

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