December 22, 2014
Revelation 1-3
These last ten days of 2014, as we read the Revelation to John... we might be tempted toward fear. What sort of fear, you ask? The fear of the tough stuff of judgment connected with the Second Coming! The tough stuff John saw in this vision! The tough stuff of tribulation!
Before we begin, think back to 1 John 4:18, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”
The judgments and trials described in Revelation were not designed to cast Christians into a fearful state, but rather to encourage Christians who were already in a fearful state. The message of Revelation is simple: God is sovereign; Jesus is on the throne; the battle is won; persevere through praise!
In chapter one, John is surprised by a powerful and symbolic vision of Jesus. Have fun trying to figure out what everything means before you look it up in a commentary. Jesus speaks and identifies Himself for John; look at the Names with which He does this (vv. 17-18), then introduces John’s first task: “John, take down some dictation!”
In chapters two and three, Jesus dictates seven letters to seven special churches, not the only churches in the world at that time, just seven, which held a particularly high place in John’s heart. They were, perhaps, seven churches he had helped grow and where he had held oversight. Some say that Jesus' description of these seven churches forms an outline of church history, with Ephesus as a picture of the earliest church, and Laodicea as a picture of the church today. This is possible. Regardless, Jesus’ words to these churches are applicable to any church of any age or place.
It’s fun and easy to graph out these letters, for Jesus uses the same general format for each one. By doing this, you can see, for example, which two of the churches do not receive corrective words and which five are called to some sort of repentance! Read each one with your church in mind. Where does the shoe fit? Wear it!
Tomorrow, we visit God’s throne room in heaven!
Your fellow traveler through the New Testament,
Pastor Gary
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