REVELATION CHAPTER 4

NOW WE FIND OURSELVES ENTERING INTO THE FINAL PHASE OF REVELATION'S ORDER: Things which must be hereafter!

1. 
   
   Several things happen here: First John has an experience which very closely matches the events foretold in the Rapture of the Church (1 Thess 4:16). He hears a voice like a trumpet telling him to come up - into heaven. Since this also follows the seven letters to the churches and begins those things which are still future, we may hazard an educated guess that this is a reference to the Rapture within the order of Revelation. Also, John is told that these following events are taking place "hereafter," or future. Future to what? Future to the organized congregations we find in Revelation 2 & 3.


2. 
   
   John is immediately taken into the spiritual realm into the Third Heaven. There he finds a magnificent throne established.


3. 
   
   We find various colors in play in the appearance of God upon His throne.


4. 
   
   The elders mentioned here, appear to represent the church in heaven - Why? First of all, they sit upon minor thrones with authority under God as the church is promised to be kings and priests of God and co-govern in the millenial kingdom. Secondly, they cast crowns, (stephanos) like those given in competition during ancient olympian games. The church is said to recieve such for our faithfulness and service. Thirdly and most important is a Rev 5:9 where these elders identify themselves as the REDEEMED.


5. 
   
   We find displays of power and a symbolic manifestation of the complete Spirit of God - seven lamps of fire.


6. 
   
   The sea of glass is unclear though there are thoughts on its meaning.


7. 
   
   The living creatures or "beasts" have appearance which may represent Christ in his ministry: The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the son of man as a servant, the sacrifice as the calf, and as a Heavenly King in the Eagle. This of course is speculative.


8. 
   
   Notice their role and of those in Heaven, is to praise the Lord...these in fact appear to have that sole purpose...Holy, holy, holy, perhaps representative of the Father, Son (Word), and HOly Spirit.


9. 
   
   These beasts appear to lead the worship...


10. 
    
    The elders, representing the redeemed, follow in their adoration and cast their reward crowns at the feet of the Lord. We would have earned nothing in service to God had he not had mercy on sinners in the first place and then motivated us to action in His service.


11. 
    
    Notice the entire creation has a purpose...the please the Lord who created it!

REVELATION CHAPTER 3

Hello everyone! I hope you are enjoying our continuing journey through the Book of Revelation. This is one of my favorite books in the bible as it deals so much with that which is still to come. Today as we study chapter 3 we find ourselves seeing "things which are" concerning the ORDER of the prophecy. Christ continues his dealings with the seven churches in Asia Minor which are meant to be representative of his churches in all locations. The encouragement as well as rebukes that Christ delivers unto the churches serve as potent warnings to those of us alive today as to how we conduct ourselves in the work of God.

We will take a look at verses and groups of verses:

1. (1-6) Here Christ admonishes the Church at Sardis that they aren't walking right before the Lord. In fact they "have a name that they live, but are dead." It would appear that either many unbelievers were involved here or that the church had taken up a worldly stance..."there is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." Folks, it is sad to say that many churches claim to be doing God's work, but rather than following the biblical mandate to preach the gospel and win souls, they are watering down the word and giving lost people anything they want in order to provide entertainment or psychological coddling to get them to come to church! Entertainment is not the job of the church! We have a job to do - a great commission to fulfill and we can't do that our way. It must be done God's way or it is dead!


2. The warning, again, is to repent or turn from the identified wrong-doing to right-doing...in other words, obeying the Lord's commands regarding the work and our conduct before man and God.


3. (7-13) Here we find Encouragement and praise from the Lord to the Church at Philidelphia. This is one of two (Smyrna) churches that receives no rebuke from the Lord. Oh how we need to be like this Church today! This church had little strength in appearance, but they held fast to God's word and to his name! Folks, its not about big buildings and campuses and all of the glitz and glam we see taking place in churches today...it is about holding fast to God's Word and to His Name, period!!


4. Finally we find Christ's admonishment to the lukewarm Church at Laodicea. This church appears to have it all...but their spiritual condition is completely opposite of the appearance! They appear rich and increased with goods, having need of nothing...but nothing could be further from the truth. Before the Lord, they are poor, blind, wretched, miserable and naked! WOW! How often we think things are going well in a church...I wonder how surprised we would be if we understood how Jesus sees our condition?!


5. There is a startling example shown here: Christ on the outside of the Church knocking for admittance. There are many churches that are so far away from scriptural service unto the Lord that he's not even in it at all!!

From Revelation 3 we depart the here and now of the Church Age to journey into "things which shall be hereafter," or the future! Stay with us as we'll soon find ourselves surveying God upon the throne in Heaven and then the opening of the Tribulation period!

REVELATION CHAPTER 2

In this chapter we find Christ's admonition and praise for Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos and Thyatira. It must be noted that the characteristics found in the Seven Churches are still found in the churches today. Thus we have the warning: "He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear what the spirit saith unto the seven churches."

While there is a teaching which traces the historical connection between the main characteristics of the seven churches, we will not deal with it now due to the lack of biblical evidence to support such a teaching. (Although it remains an interesting study)

Christ's Message to Ephesus:

1. He first praises them for their dedication and hard work


2. He then warns them that they have left their first love. The Bride of Christ's (Church) first love can be no other than the Bridegroom, Jesus Christ. Now, clearly the believer cannot be separated from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Rom 8) but the intimacy of that relationship can grow cold. We ought never to replace our closeness with our savior for the work he has left us to do. Christ makes it clear that this problem overrode all of their hard work and they were in danger of having their candlestick removed. For the local congregation, we have an opportunity to be a "light" to the community around us. Surely they were in danger of losing that opportunity should they not repent and return to the intimate fellowship with Christ.


3. Christ also praises them for avoiding the Doctrine of the Nicolatians, which He himself hates. While some point to the hierarchy among clerics in some faiths like the Catholic church, it seems more likely that this refers to the teaching which allowed for Christians to go on willfully in sinful behavior claiming the grace of God gave them safe passage to do as they desired. Once again, Christ hated the teaching! The liberty of a Christian is not to go on in willful sin, but to be freed from sin and live unto God!

Christ's Message to Smyrna: This church was heavily persecuted and Christ encourages them to endure the persecution faithfully even unto death. They already had a promised reward waiting for them. They are one of two out of the seven that do not receive any rebuke from the Lord Jesus.

Christ's Message to Pergamos: located in a city noted for its worship of the Roman Emperor and Zeus who's altar was located at the Acropolis. (Satan's Seat?)

1. Christ admonishes them concerning doctrine they allowed in their midst promoting fornication among believers and the doctrine of the Nicolatians, promising a license to willfully sin.


2. Repentance was the key to avoiding a harsh judgment from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ's Message to Thyatira: Once again we find a congregation which had allowed someone in their midst who promoted fornication among believers and idol worship. Christ calls it the "depths of Satan" and promises swift judgment except for those who had not participated in this teaching. It should be noted that fornication is rampant among our churches today along with the idea that one may truly become born again and then go on living life simply to fulfill their own desires and appetites without the Lord doing anything about it. We find here as well as Hebrews 12 that God, as a Father to His Children, disciplines them to the measure necessary, even to the point of physical death (1 cor 5). A truly saved individual belongs to the Lord and we are not our own any longer!