REVELATION 4

This is probably the shortest chapter in the New Testament, with only eleven verses. Yet I have given much thought as to what to say about it, and what I will say is by no means exhaustive.

Verse 1 of the Amplified Bible begins with the following expression. "After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven!" John is then invited to go through that door in the vision, and since he is sharing the vision with us, we all are being given at least a description of what he sees there, and I believe there is an implicit invitation for all of us to literally go through that door at some point in time. When we read this, we tend to take for granted that the door is open to John and to us. But we should pause for a moment to think about why that door is open. This is really an extension of Christ's redeeming work on the cross, and it reminds me of the scene in the gospels immediately after Jesus dies where the curtain of the temple to the holy of holies is torn in two from top to bottom. This is found in each of the synoptic gospels, Matthew 27:51, Mark 15:38 and Luke 23:45. Clearly the door is open because of God's mercy, not because any of us are worthy to have it open, and this should be our motivation to join the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders mentioned later in worshiping the God who sits on the throne.

John is told, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place in the future." Yet this chapter does not tell us anything about the future. Rather, this chapter presents a scene of worship in heaven without a beginning we know of (though there may have been a beginning) and without an end. John sees God seated on his throne, he sees the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures, he sees seven torches which symbolize the Holy Spirit, and he see something which looks like a sea of glass or a crystal. He makes some attempt to describe each of the things he sees to us, but he makes no attempt to describe God on his throne. This could be for any or all of the following reasons. It may be that the Holy Spirit instructed him not to describe God in the vision, so that men would not try to make any image like it. It is also possible that God's appearance was so awesome that John felt he had no ability to describe it. It may also be that the splendor around the throne was such that just as Moses did not see God's face, John did not see God well because of the brightness of his surroundings. In any event, it seems noteworthy that John does not attempt to describe the Lord himself, who is the most important part of this scene.

John sees the twenty-four elders sitting on smaller thrones, dressed in white, with gold crowns on their heads. We are not told who the elders are, and there is some dispute about this, but it seems likely to me that they represent in some way the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles. If the twelve apostles are among the elders, John himself would be among them, but he doesn't give us any specific reason to believe he is among them. But if John is among them, consider the irony that he is now part of this heavenly Sanhedrin, though he had been beaten by orders of the earthly Sanhedrin. Of course, Stephen, Paul and Jesus himself had unpleasant experiences with the Sanhedrin, and Paul certainly could not have expected to be on trial before them when he was approving of Stephen's death.

We really don't know who the twenty-four elders are, nor do we know precisely what role they play in God's kingdon (though there is an indication in Matthew 5:21-22 that they play a role in judging mankind), but we do know something about their worship. They fall on their faces and throw their crowns down before the throne saying, "Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive the glory and the honor and dominion, for you created all things; By your will they were brought into being and were created."

The elders are led in worship by the four living creatures John sees. John does not tell us whether these living creatures are angelic beings, or if they are created beings we simply have no description for. It is very possible that these are the same creatures Ezekiel saw in Ezekiel 1, 3 and 10, though John and Ezekiel describe them somewhat differently. John says the first had a face like a lion, the second had a face like an ox or a young bull, the third had a face like a man and the fourth had a face like an eagle. Ezekiel 1:10 says the living creatures each had four faces, with a human face in front, a lion's face to the right of it, an ox's face to the left of it and an eagle's face in the back. It is possible that Ezekiel saw all four of their faces and John saw only one of their four faces, or perhaps they are different creatures. John says each of the four living creatures had six wings (similar to the seraphim in Isaiah 6), but Ezekiel says he saw four living creatures with four wings, and he refers to them as cherubim in Ezekiel 10:20. John does not describe the whirling wheels Ezekiel saw. The face of a lion is probably symbolic of royalty, since we refer to the lion as the king of beasts and Jesus is referred to as the lion of the tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5). The face of the ox represents strength, the human face represents intelligence, and the face of the eagle represents swiftness. These are not only characteristics of the four living creatures, but they are characteristics of God, and they describe his ability to answer our prayers and to intervene in human affairs.

In any case, what's important is that these creatures (who appear to be angelic beings) are leading the twenty-four elders (who are probably human) in worship, giving glory, honor and thanksgiving to God and saying, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come." This reminds me of the portion of the Lord's prayer which says, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:9-10, Luke 11:2) This chapter gives us a glimpse of how completely God's will is done in heaven, and what we are to pray for in our own lives.

REVELATION 3

Though only the churches of Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea are actually described in chapter 3, I am going to go one by one through some comments regarding each of the seven churches, beginning with Ephesus.

Acts 18 tells us that both Paul and Apollos taught at Ephesus. When Paul visited Ephesus for the second time in Acts 19, he found a small group of twelve disciples who had received the baptism of John the Baptist. At Paul's instruction, they are baptized again in the name of Jesus, they receive the Holy Spirit, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. Paul stayed in Ephesus for about two years, which was an extraordinaily long period for him to be in one place. Paul was empowered to do extraordinary miracles at Ephesus, including healing and casting out demons. It was at Ephesus that seven sons of Sceva who were not Christians tried to use the name of Jesus for exorcism, but the demons left them naked and wounded. Ephesus was a pagan city, known for the temple of the goddess Artemis (or Diana), the disciples burn their books about magic, and Paul is eventually forced to leave Ephesus after a riot regarding the temple of Artemis. Paul did not return to Ephesus, but he summoned the church's elders, and in Acts 20:17-38 he tells them he has given them the whole counsel of God. Paul later asks Timothy to remain at Ephesus "to prevent certain individuals from teaching any other doctrine", and Paul wrote the letter to the Ephesians, which among other things, includes a description of what Christ's atonement has done for us (Ephesians 2), discussion about church leadership and mission (Ephesians 4) and the instruction to put on the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6).

The church at Ephesus is the only one which is associated at various times with Paul, Apollos, Timothy, Tychicus and John, a virtual honor roll among first century Christians. These men clearly had an effect in terms of the steadfastness with which the church at Ephesus clung to the doctrines of Christ and hated evil. Yet Jesus rebukes them for having lost their first love, warns them that if they do not repent their church will be removed, and their church no longer exists. The implications for us are obvious. Our love for the Lord and for each other must come first, above all other obligations. Some Bible translations, including the new King James version, which is generally an excellent translation, refers to the church at Ephesus as "the loveless church". But we should be very careful about such labels, not only for the sake of accuracy (Jesus does not say they are loveless, but only that their love has diminished), but also for the sake of humility. The church at Ephesus was probably doing better than many of our churches today.

Before I go on to the other churches, I want to mention that Jesus gives the Ephesians a formula for reconciliation with him. Remember, repent and rediscover your first love. Remember, repent and rediscover is a pretty good motto for all of us.

Smyrna is not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible, except in the book of Revelation. Smyrna is now called Izmir, and it is located about 35 miles north of Ephesus, on the Aegean coast of Turkey. Polycarp was martyred in Smyrna in the first century. Jesus contrasts the circumstances of the Christians who lived in Smyrna with his opinion of them. "I know your poverty, but you are rich." "I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan." Yet Jesus has no rebuke for them at all, and he encourages them to remain faithful until death, so he may give them the crown of life. He tells them they are about to suffer persecution for ten days. He might be referring to ten literal days, but more likely he is referring to the ten periods of Roman persecution of Christians. We are to be faithful to Christ, even to the point of death, following the example of what he did for us, so that we might become like him. There is still a small church in Izmir today.

Like Smyrna, Pergamum is not mentioned anywhere in scripture, except in Revelation. Today it is called Bergama, and it is located about 45 miles northeast of Smyrna. Jesus commends the Christians at Pergamum for their endurance and faithfulness, even when Antipas was martyred, but he also rebukes some of them for their compromises with the pagan culture around them. Pergamum had many temples to other gods, including one for the God Asclepius, who was a serpent god of healing. This is why Jesus says, "I know where you live--a place where Satan sits enthroned." The references here to sexual immorality and to eating food sacrificed to idols are probably quite literal, but they may also symbolize other problems. Jesus offers them hidden manna, perhaps as a substitute for the food sacrificed to idols.

Thyatira is called Akhisar today, and it is located about 40 miles southeast of Pergamum. Thyatira is menitoned in Acts 16 in connection with a woman named Lydia, who sold purple fabrics, which were probably purchased by wealthy people. Thyatira was a city of guilds and crafts including woodworkers, linen workers, leather workers, tanners, potters, bakers, slave dealers, bronzesmiths and seamstresses. This may explain why Jesus introduces himself to them as one who has eyes like blazing fire and feet like burnished bronze. Thyatira is perhaps the most puzzling of all of the churches because on the one hand, Jesus commends them for their deeds, their love, faith, service and perseverance, and he says their current deeds are greater than their earlier ones. Perhaps greater praise is given to the Christians in Thyatira than to any of the other churches. But then Jesus rebukes them for tolerating Jezebel, who is leading some of them into sexual immorality and into eating food sacrificed to idols. These are probably literal problems, but they may also be symbolic of other problems, since Jesus says that some in Thyatira have learned the "deep things of Satan". So there may be many other occult practices in Thyatira which some Christians are indulting in, but which we are not told about specifically. It seems that Ephesian Christians had held onto the truth, but had lost some of their love. But the Christians in Thyatira may not have lost their love for Christ or for each other, but they have lost some of their love for the truth and have in some cases, included pagan customs in their practice of Christianity. Yet Jesus only asks the faithful at Thyatira to hold onto the faith they have until the end, and he promises them they will rule over the nations and they will possess the morning star, which he himself is.

Sardis is not mentioned anywhere in the Bible except in Revelation. It is located approximately fifty miles east of Smyrna and thirty miles southeast of Thyatira. It was a fairly wealthy city, particularly during the time of Croesus in the sixth century b.c. It was supposedly impenetrable to invasion, yet it had been successfully captured twice by invaders, first by Cyrus of Persia and later by Antiochus. The church at Sardis had a reputation of being alive, but Jesus tells them they are either dead or sleeping, and God is not pleased with their work. Jesus tells them to wake up, remember what they received and repent, or else he will come like a thief in the night, which is how he is coming to the unbelievers throughout the world, and it may also be meant to remind the people of Sardis of their earlier invaders. Yet Jesus also say there are a few people in Sardis who are worthy to walk with him in white, and he promises not to blot their names out of the book of life and to confess their names before his Father. White garments here probably represent holiness, purity, joy, victory and resurrection. So even in this very bleak setting, there is hope for some. We can only assume that most of the Christians in Sardis believed in their human reputation as a vibrant church, and they were at least partially surprised by the rebuke in this letter. There is no church in Sardis today, so many of them may not have accepted this message. The churches of Sardis and Laodicea make it quite clear that Jesus is not pleased with the mere form of religion, rather than the substance of it.

Philadelphia is not mentioned anywhere in the Bible, except in the book of Revelation. Philadelphia, as most of us know, means brotherly love. This Philadelphia is now called Alasehir, and it is located about thirty miles southeast of Sardis. Yet the two churches could hardly be more different. Jesus says that in spite of their limited power, he has opened a door for them (probably for evangelism and missionary work) which no one can shut. He credits the Philadelphians for keeping his word and not denying him, in spite of persecution. He goes even farther, saying that the Jews who are persecuting them are a synagogue of Satan, and he will make them come and bow down at the feet of these Philadelphian Christians and learn and acknowledge that Christ has loved them. This is reminiscent of Proverbs 16:7 which says, "When a mans ways please the Lord, He makes his enemies to be at peace with him." This is a rare and unusual blessing, which most of us have probably never fully experienced. To this blessing Jesus adds that he will protect the disciples in Philadelphia from the time of trouble which is coming on the whole world. This may refer to the time of trouble spoken of in Daniel 12:1 and Mark 13:19. The Lord does not find it necessary to rebuke the church in Philadelphia for anything.

Laodicea is mentioned four times in Paul's letter to the Colossians. It is not clear whether or not Paul ever personally visited Laodicea, but it is very likely that Epaphras and some of Paul's co-workers did. The Colossians were instructed to have their letter from Paul read at the church in Laodicea. Laodicea is located about forty miles southeast of Philadelphia and about eighty miles east of Ephesus.

There appears to be a great deal of irony in what Jesus says to the church at Laodicea. Some of the irony is because the Laodiceans said, "I am rich, I have prospered and grown wealthy, and I am in need of nothing;", whereas Jesus calls them wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked. Jesus advises them to buy from him gold which has been refined and tested by fire, the gold of faith, rather than the gold they already possess. He tells them to buy white garments from him to keep the shame of their nakedness from being seen, though Laodicea was a place where textiles were manufactured, and they were not lacking in clothing in a literal sense. Eye ointment was also made at Laodicea, yet Jesus asks them to buy it from him so that they may see spiritually. The concept of the Laodiceans being lukewarm is also drawn from their water supply, which came from hot springs in Hierapolis, which became lukewarm by the time the water reached Laodicea.

Yet as harsh as the rebuke sounds and though Jesus says he will spew them out of his mouth and he offers them no commendation, there is still some encouragement the Laodiceans can take from this letter. Jesus says, "Those whom I love, I reprove and chasten.", and he then tells them that he is standing at the door of their hearts knocking continually, and he promises to dine with anyone among them who will open the door to him. Corporately, the Laodicean church is gone, but it is at least possible, though far from certain, that some individuals heeded his warnings.

We cannot conclude the discussion about the seven churches without some comment about what these churches mean to us today. Certainly these were literal churches, and each of them was given a word from the Lord which was applicable to them at the time of John's vision. But there are many other interpretations of these two chapters. I heard a man on the radio once who claimed that the seven churches each represent the condition of the church on a separate continent just prior to the tribulation. It's an interesting theory, but the scriptures themselves don't give us any reason to apply these two chapters that way. So my response to that is, "Nice try, but probably not."

A more common theory is a dispensational theory which holds that these seven churches represent the overall state of the church during seven time periods between the time of John's vision and the great tribulation. This theory has some merit, because of the chronological nature of Christ's promises to the seven churches. For example, "To him who overcomes, I will grant him to eat from the tree of life." is the promise to the church at Ephesus. The promises to each of the seven churches are in a historical order from the tree of life (originally in the garden of Eden in Genesis), the second death is ultimately the result of the fall of Adam and Eve, the hidden manna to the manna in the wilderness, the white stone is similar to the engraved stones worn by priests on their shoulder and breastplate, the rod of iron is similar to Moses holding the rod of God for the defeat of Amalek, the white garments to the garments of the priests and the pillar in the temple is similar to the pillars in the temple of Solomon. The major problem with this, however, is that no one can agree precisely when these seven periods in church history begin and end, if they do in fact exist.

That leaves us with the possibility that the seven churches may exist in some form in unspecified locations in the last days, but there isn't any specific scriptural basis for interpreting these two chapters that way. My belief is that these seven prophetic words applied specifically to the seven churches at the time of John's vision. Though there are things we can learn from these prophecies which may cause us to ask questions about our own churches and our individual spiritual conditions, I suspect that they're not specifically symbolic of anything in succeeding generations, and the word to our local churches and to us individually would be much more personal than anything we read here.

Even so, we can't just ignore these chapters as someone else's business. Certainly the call to the Ephesians to return to their first love has significance for all of us, and the words Jesus speaks to the seven churches should give us some indication as to what Jesus expects from us.

REVELATION 2

The Bible was divided into chapters by a man named Stephen Langton, but not until about 1228 a.d. Division by verses came later. One of the things I would have done differently (if it had been my job) is that I would have combined Revelation's second and third chapters into a single unit. So I'm going to deviate from the normal convention of dealing with each chapter independently. Each of the messages to the seven churches in these chapters follows essentially the same pattern, with an introductory greeting, followed by a description of the risen Christ, a word of commendation, a word of reproof, a warning if disobedience continues, a blessing for the faithful, and an instruction to listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.

I live in a world of relational databases and spreadsheets, and I could easily put these chapters into a relational database, which, in this case, will consist of only one table with rows and columns. Let's imagine that the members of these seven churches are all seated in a theater. The first row contains the church of Ephesus, the second row contains the church of Smyrna, the third row contains the church of Pergamum, the fourth row contains the church of Thyatira, the fifth row contains the church of Sardis, the sixth row contains the church of Philadelphia and the seventh row contains the church of Laodicea.

Normally, when someone reads Revelation 2 and 3, they read row by row everything Jesus said to each of the churches. Relational databases are useful because they also allow us to compare columns. So before we talk about the individual churches, let's go through the columns of our table and see what we can learn about the greeting, Christ the messenger, the commendations, the reproofs, the warnings, the blessings and the instructions. I'll talk about the columns of our table here and discuss the rows in chapter 3, though only the churches of Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea are actually discussed in chapter 3.

We don't learn much from the greetings, "to the angel of the church at Ephesus", "to the angel of the church at Smyrna", etc., since they just identify the seven churches. But let's see what we learn about Christ by looking at how he described himself to each of the seven churches.

Ephesus: "The one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven golden lampstands."

Smyrna: "The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life."

Pergamum: "The one who has the sharp two-edged sword."

Thyatira: "The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and his feet are like burnished bronze."

Sardis: "He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars."

Philadelphia: "He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens."

Laodicea: "The Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God."

Without going into great detail, we are reminded that Christ is holy, faithful and true, that he is eternal in nature, existing before time began and after time ends, which is fairly unfathomable to us, since I can't really understand what being outside of time really means. We also learn here that Jesus died and rose from the dead, and he has authority over both men and angels, as well as all of the circumstances we face. As the Word of God, those he blesses are blessed, and those he condemns are condemned.

Now let's take a look at the Lord's commendations for the seven churches:

Ephesus: "I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured for my name's sake, and have not grown weary." Also, "you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate."

Smyrna: "I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich)."

Pergamum: "You hold fast my name, and did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas, my witness, my faithful one."

Thyatira: "I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first."

Sardis: No commendation, except "You have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy."

Philadelphia: "I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have kept my word, and have not denied my name. Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie--I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and make them know that I have loved you."

Laodicea: No commendation except "Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline." That's not really a commendation, but it's the only encouragement the Laodiceans can take from this message, which is basically, "I love you, and I'm giving you a little longer to repent." I can't help but wonder how this message was received by the Laodicean church.

Without looking at the rebukes, knowing nothing but the above commendations, perhaps the most interest things to notice here are that the Lord is looking at our deeds which we do because of our faith in and love for him, and also how he has called us to endurance as Christians. Certainly there must be rewards for these things, but one also gets the sense here of the obligation bond-servants have to be faithful to the Master, rather than a sense of heroism from a human perspective.

Now let's go through the rebukes given to each of the seven churches:

Ephesus: "I have this against you, that you have left your first love."

Smyrna: No rebuke at all.

Pergamum: "I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling-block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality. So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans."

Thyatira: "I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads my bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols."

Sardis: The Message Bible says, "You have a reputation for vigor and zest but you are stone dead." Most other versions say something like, "You have the name of being alive, but are dead."

Philadelphia: no rebuke.

Laodicea: "You are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. Because you say, "I am rich and have become wealthy and have need of nothing," and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked."

What is most striking about these rebukes is how different Christ's judgments are from human wisdom and understanding. The heaviest blows go to Sardis and to Laodicea, churches with good reputations among themselves, and perhaps the outside world, churches who feel little discomfort about where they are and feel they're doing well. On the other hand, Smyrna and Philadelphia get no rebuke at all, though Jesus acknowledges that they are poor, powerless and viciously persecuted. My immediate reaction to this would be to try to find a church which meets in a mud hut rather than a crystal cathedral. But I think this goes far deeper than material issues and speaks about the willingness of the best churches to be uncomfortable, to be willing to take up their cross individually and consider it an honor to suffer for the Savior who suffered for us, to rely on God, to continually try to develop a deeper relationship with him, and never to feel complacent. When we read in Luke 2:34-35 Simeon's prophecy about Jesus where he says, "This child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against...that the thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed.", we usually think of this passage as having to do with who is saved and who is lost, but the rebukes here make it clear that Jesus continues to turn the social order upside down, even among Christians. The call to accountability is always with us.

Now we come to the warnings to each of the seven churches.

Ephesus: "Remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place--unless you repent."

Smyrna: "Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death and I will give you the crown of life."

Pergamum: "Repent, or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war with them (the unrepentant) with the sword of my mouth."

Thyatira: "I will throw her (Jezebel) on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds. And I will kill her children with pestilence, and all the churches will know that I am he who searches minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds."

Sardis: "Remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore, if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you."

Philadelphia: "I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown."

Laodicea: "I advise you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see."

There are probably many things which could be said about these warnings. But the one thing which stands out to me is the warning to the Ephesians that if they do not regain their first love for the Lord and for each other, their lampstand (which is their church) will be removed. This warning is given in spite of the fact that the Ephesian church hated evil and wouldn't listen to false prophets and teachers, as some of the other churches did. In fact, there is no church at Ephesus anymore, and this part of the world is almost exclusively Islamic, which makes it appear that the Ephesians did not get the message, and I suspect that many of today's churches are not getting the message either.

Now here's a quick look at Christ's promises to the seven churches.

Ephesus: "To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God."

Smyrna: "He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death."

Pergamum: "To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it."

Thyatira: "He who overcomes and he who keeps my deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces, as I also have received authority from my Father; and I will give him the morning star."

Sardis: ""He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels."

Philadelphia: "He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will not go out from it anymore;" and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God, and my new name."

Laodicea: "He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with me on my throne, as I also overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne."

My assumption is that these are not really seven different blessings for seven different churches, but this is one blessing for all Christians from all generations who are considered worthy of it. Because of his redemptive work on the cross, Jesus himself is our tree of life, prevents us from being hurt by the second death, he is the bread of life or the hidden manna, he is the morning star, the one who writes our name in the Lamb's book of life, confesses our name before the Father and allows us to rule with him.

It is also interesting to me that Jesus frequently refers to the Father as his God, as indeed he is our God. It would be an interesting Bible study of its own to see how each member of the trinity honors the others.

The instruction "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." is given to each one of the seven churches. It could have been given only once, but was probably given seven times to emphasize how important it is for us to pay attention to the meaning of these passages.

When I post my comments about Revelation chapter 3, I'll give additional details about each of the seven churches and discuss how the prophecies to the seven churches have been interpreted and what I believe all Christians should learn from them.

REVELATION 1

Because Jesus said, "The first shall be last and the last first" (Matthew 19:30), I have chosen the rather daunting task of writing about the book of Revelation first. Neither Martin Luther nor John Calvin ever attempted to write a commentary about Revelation, but I will boldly (boldly, not foolishly, I hope) go where they dared not go. When I first read the Bible in 1973, I read it from cover to cover, except that Revelation is the only book I made a special point of reading before I was even done with Deuteronomy. To some extent, when I first read it, I was looking for clues to the world's future as I saw it. How would the cold war end, will there be a nuclear war, etc? From a purely short-term human perspective, Revelation is a bit disappointing, because it doesn't tell us when the Berlin wall would go up or come down, and it doesn't even give us any information as to whether the United States is a prominent nation during the tribulation, or whether the United States no longer even exists. It doesn't address the short-term concerns of the world, which seem so significant to us as we're living through them, but are actually little more than footnotes to other generations, and Revelation leaves us with many unanswered questions about the future.

During my years as a Christian, reading and studying the book of Revelation has gone from being very much in fashion, at a time when many Christians expected Jesus to return almost immediately, to a point today when it is largely and dangerously ignored. There are three primary reasons why Revelation sometimes seems out of favor with Christians themselves. One is the delay, from a human perspective, of Christ's return, obviously a delay in our plans, not God's. The second reason is because disputes about the chronology of eschatological events and the precise meaning of some of the symbolic language have created nearly as many interpretations of Revelation as it has readers, and many of the disputes can't be resolved with certainty. The final reason, I believe, is that Revelation is a book of stark contrasts. The good news is very, very good, and the bad news is very, very bad, and we're in a time where people really don't like to hear very, very bad news, whether it applies to them or not.

I have not taken a firm and complete eschatological position about the events described in Revelation and elsewhere, or the church's precise role in those events, and I can't even claim to be well-versed regarding all of the schools of thought about Revelation. But I can at least make a pretty good case about why Revelation is fascinating, and why it shouldn't be neglected. Reading Revelation is sort of like visiting the White House in comparison with visiting the houses in our own neighborhood. It is a very memorable and enriching experience.

Based on commentaries I have read about Revelation, there are four general approaches to the book, with many variations on each one of them. Futurists believe most of the events described in Revelation have not yet occurred. Preterists believe most of the prophecies in Revelatoin were fulfilled in a.d. 70 with the fall of Jerusalem. Idealists believe the language of the book is symbolic and the book is supposed to be encouraging, with very little literal fulfillment. Historicists believe much of the prophecy is symbolic of the entire church age, so they dismiss literal interpretations, particularly of passages which include numbers like 144,000 sealed, 42 months or 1,260 days. We all have biases, and none of us exist outside of space and time, as God does, so we are subject to the limitations of our own generation and experience.

I tend to regard Revelation from a futurist standpoint. However, I also believe there may be multiple fulfillments or meanings to some passages, and there may be some value in viewing Revelation from differing perspectives. Though Revelation clearly uses symbolic language at times, I don't have much sympathy for the view that Revelation is purely a poetic abstraction, much fury which signifies nothing. I tend to interpret the book as literally as the text seems to allow.

Other eschatological camps include premillennialists, who believe in a literal thousand year reign of Christ on earth, postmillennialists, who believe Christ will not come to reign for a thousand years until the church has brought God's kingdom to earth, and amillennialists, who do not believe in a literal thousand year reign of Christ. I am a premillennialist.

The most well-known eschatological controversy is between those who believe in a pre-tribulation rapture, a mid-tribulation rapture or a post-tribulation rapture. I do not have a hard and fast position about this, but I will try to explain the strengths and weaknesses of each position, as I understand them.

In spite of interpretational differences, Revelation has three indisputable underlying themes, upon which all Christians should agree. First, in John 4:23, Jesus says that God's true worshipers will worship him in Spirit and in truth, and the Father is seeking such people to worship him. Revelation chapters 4, 5, 7, 14, 15 and 19 teach that the Father and the Son are to be worshiped by men, as they are worshiped by the angels in heaven, and no one should study Revelation without pausing to think about the content of the worshipful passages in it.

Secondly, Revelation calls for the faithfulness and endurance of the saints. Jesus acknowledges the suffering of the church, but he also insists on faithfulness, even in the face of death. He does not call us to a shallow faith, but to a deep pervasive commitment of our lives to him. He promises rewards to those who remain faithful to him, and he promises that our faithfulness and good deeds will be remembered, e.g., Revelation 14:12-13.

Finally, no one should read Revelation without coming away with an overwhelming sense of God's holiness, his call for repentance, and an understanding that all sin will be dealt with. Revelation 1:5 tells us he loves us and has freed us from our sins by his own blood, yet he rebukes most of the seven churches for their failures. Revelation is also a powerful warning to the unsaved, culminating in Revelation 21:8 which says the faithless, murderers, the sexually immoral, idolators, sorcerers and all liars are destined for the lake of fire. Though the plagues in this book are grim and terrifying, God seems to plead with men to repent, so he might be merciful to them instead.

Jesus gave us signs to watch for prior to his return, and he told us all to watch. Even if we never agree about the interpretation of this book or the chronology of prophetic events, we can be certain this prophecy will be fulfilled and we can all benefit from this book's call for endurance, faithfulness and commitment to Christ.

Revelation is about the events which culminate in Jesus being revealed to the entire world as God, and it describes in some detail the blessings for those who accept Christ, and the consequences for those who don't. So although it doesn't answer many of the questions we might want to ask about the future of the world, it does have a personal significance to each of us, because Revelation states emphatically that we are each headed toward a personal meeting with Jesus Christ for judgment, resulting in eternal blessings for some and in eternal separation from God for others. If "every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess Jesus as Lord" (Romans 14:11), Jesus is the central figure in the future for each one of us.

In Acts 1:7, Jesus says, "It is not for you to know times or seasons, which the Father has fixed by his own authority." But Revelation 1:1 says, "The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his bond-servants the things which must soon take place;", So although we may not know times or seasons, we do know there is a sense of urgency and suddenness about the events described later, and that alone should get our attention.

Revelation 1:3 says, "Blessed is he who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written therein; for the time is near." The Amplified Bible indicates that reading aloud refers to reading the book in church. The real significance here though is that this is the only place in scripture where a special blessing is pronounced on those who read the book aloud, those who hear and those who keep the word, presumably both in their hearts and in practice. That also should help convince us Revelation shouldn't be ignored.

Revelation 1:4-5 says in part, "Grace to you and peace from his who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits (or sevenfold Holy Spirit) who is before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the first-born of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth." It seems to me that each member of the trinity is offering grace and peace to us here, and the him who is, who was and who is to come refers, in this case, to God the Father, though the scripture makes it clear that Christ also existed before time, as we know it.

The other interesting thing about this passage, though, is the reference to the seven spirits of God or alternately, in the Amplified Bible, the sevenfold Holy Spirit. It does not mean that there are nine members of the trinity. Rather, it means that the Holy Spirit has a sevenfold ministry, or perhaps even two sevenfold ministries. Isaiah 11:2 says: ""And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest on Him--the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the reverential and obedient fear of the Lord." John 14 also tells us that the Spirit gives us comfort, is our Counselor, is the Spirit of truth, lives in us, manifests both Jesus and the Father to us, teaches us and gives us peace. Although there isn't any conflict between their writings, it is interesting to note in passing that John writes about the Holy Spirit's ministry without speaking about spiritual gifts such as speaking in tongues, whereas Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14:5, "I wish you all spoke in tongues, but even more that you would prophesy." John's emphasis is on the Spirit's ministry to us, and Paul's is on the Spirit ministering through us to others.

Revelation 1:5-6 reads in part, "To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his own blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever, Amen." The phrase "To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his own blood" seems particularly significant to me, because it reveals God's will and motivation toward his people, as well as the price Jesus willingly paid for our redemption. It not only reminds us that God loved us while we were still sinners, but also how unfortunate the judgments of God later in this book are for those who have rejected the lordship of Christ in their lives.

Matthew 24:30 says, "Then the sign of the Son of man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and beat their breasts and lament in anguish, and they will see the Son of man coming coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." Revelation 1:7 says, "Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over him. Even so, Amen." This may be the most memorable verse in this chapter, because it states first that Christ shall return, "every eye shall see him, even those who pierced him" implies that his return is personal for the men of all generations, from the generation of those who crucified him to those who are alive at his return. "All the tribes of the earth shall mourn over him" may have a special significance to the people of Israel, or to Jews generally, as Zechariah 12:10 says, but it is also one of the most compelling claims of Revelation regarding the general condition of mankind. When I first read this on January 6, 1973, I tried to imagine how a wide range of politicians, entertainers, athletes, personal acquaintances, and my own family, would react to the literal return of Christ, if it happened right then, and I was convinced that most people would feel a great sense of grief, rather than joy, about having lived lives pursuing many other things without looking eagerly for Christ's return. My sense that men will mourn when Christ returns is much greater today than it was then. The accurate perception of human nature is one of the most compelling and convincing proofs of the inspiration of scripture.

Revelation 1:8 says, "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." This verse speaks about the eternal nature of God, in stark contrast to the widespread human belief that everything is about us. There was a time when farmers would look toward heaven and pray for whatever weather they needed at a particular time of the year. Today most of what we hear about the weather (particularly with regard to global warming) implies that the weather is something we have created, rather than the providence of God. I don't know to what extent human activity affects weather patterns, yet it does seem to me that we are ridiculously arrogant when we blame each other or give each other credit for the weather. "The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof", including the weather.

Both Revelation and the gospel of John imply that Jesus had a special relationship with John, perhaps the closest relationship Jesus had with any of the apostles. Unlike the other apostles, John was apparently blessed with a long life and exile on the island of Patmos, rather than the martyrdom the others suffered. John is the only man who saw Jesus in human form, on the mount of transfiguration, after the resurrection and also in this vision. So it seems that he would be as prepared as anyone could be to see Christ in this vision. Yet Revelation 1:17 says that when John saw Jesus, his appearance was so startling that he fell at his feet, as though he was dead, and Jesus had to touch him and encourage him before he could stand up. Remember that Jesus referred to John and his brother James as sons of thunder (Mark 3:17), and it is unlikely that sons of thunder would be intimidated by very many things. That gives us an idea of how far we are from deity, it reminds us of a similar vision in Daniel 10, and also that Moses could not even look at the face of God and live. If those things apply to the patriarchs of our faith, how much more to the rest of us!

Jesus reminds us in both verses 5 and 18 that he was dead and he has returned to life, and verse 18 says he has the keys of death and Hades. Verse 5 says he is the first-born of the dead, implying resurrection for others, and agreeing with Daniel 12:2 that there will be resurrection of some to everlasting life and a resurrection of others to everlasting shame and contempt.

There is always some debate about what should be taken literally in Revelation and what is symbolic. My view is that when Revelation uses symbols, it generally explains what those symbols mean, as it does with the seven stars and the seven lampstands. It is fairly obvious that when John says he saw seven stars in his right hand that the seven stars refer to seven angels under Christ's authority, not that he carries angels around in his right hand. Much of the language of Revelation is symbolic, and some of it we won't know how to interpret until the events describe take place, but that shouldn't cause us to ignore the entire book, as some do, or to read it as essentially meaningless. Anyone who reads it honestly understands that it is far from meaningless.

Finally, though I don't want to spend much time on numerological considerations, it is hard not to notice that we have already seen seven spirits, seven stars and seven lampstands, and we shall go on to seven churches, seven seals, seven trumpets, seven bowl judgments, seven thunders, etc. Most Christians also believe Revelation speaks of the great tribulation, a seven year period at the end of the age, a time of completion of God's plan. As Adam and Eve were separated from God in the garden of Eden, the end of this book reunites God and man in a way even Adam and Eve probably could not have imagined.

In chapters 2 and 3, John will be given messages for seven churches, Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. Paul also wrote to seven churches, to the Colossians, Corinthians, Ephesians, Galatians, Philippians, Romans and Thesalonians.

Another interesting point is that there are seven different beatitudes or blessings in Revelation, shown in the NKJV as follows:

1:3 "Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near."

14:13 "Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’”
“Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.”"

16:15 "“Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.”"

19:9 "Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.""

20:6 "Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God
and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years."

22:7 "“Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”"

14 "Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city."

I hope this is enough information to interest anyone who reads this, not only to reading and studying the book of Revelation, but all scripture in general.