We have been working through a series on the book of Revelation. This book of the Bible can be difficult to understand for a variety of reasons, so we are taking it slow and studying it bit by bit together.

As we continue through the book of Revelation, in Chapter 1, verse 12, John writes, “I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, ¹³ and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest.”

This description of what Jesus is wearing reflects what the Old Testament priests would wear. Exodus 28, verse 2 says, “Make sacred garments for your brother Aaron to give him dignity and honor. ³ Tell all the skilled workers to whom I have given wisdom in such matters that they are to make garments for Aaron, for his consecration, so he may serve me as priest. ⁴ These are the garments they are to make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a woven tunic, a turban and a sash. They are to make these sacred garments for your brother Aaron and his sons, so they may serve me as priests. ⁵ Have them use gold, and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and fine linen.”

In verse 40 of Exodus 28, we read why Old Testament priests were to wear robes and sashes. “Make tunics, sashes and caps for Aaron’s sons to give them dignity and honor.” Jesus does not need a robe and a sash to give Him dignity and honor. So why does He wear something similar?

While the robe and sash that John saw the risen Jesus wearing is similar to that of the Old Testament priests, they are not the same. Jesus’ robe and golden sash represent the supreme authority over all priests. Jesus deserves all honor and praise and glory. Jesus reigns supreme over all priests, pastors, popes, bishops, and any other title that church leaders may have.

When we pray to Jesus, how do we approach Him? Do we approach Him as we do a priest or Pastor? Or do we approach Jesus as the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings Who has supreme authority over all church leaders?

Let’s pray. Father in heaven, thank You for Jesus. Thank You for the wisdom that we have in the Bible. Lord, help us to apply Your Word in our everyday lives. Lord, help us to study Revelation and give us understanding. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

We have been working through a series on the book of Revelation. This book of the Bible can be difficult to understand for a variety of reasons, so we are taking it slow and studying it bit by bit together.

As we continue through the book of Revelation, in Chapter 1, verse 12, we see the risen Jesus through the eyes of John. Jesus shows John Who He is in heaven, John sees Him in all His glory. And He sure looks different!

In verse 12, John writes, “I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, ¹³ and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest.”

John describes the risen Jesus as “someone like a son of man”. John had heard Jesus call Himself the Son of Man during His earthly ministry. This is a title that Jesus uses to refer to Himself documented throughout the New Testament.

The title Son of Man means that when Jesus walked the earth and was born of Mary, He was both fully human and fully God. How can this be? John 1:14 explains, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” Jesus existed in heaven with God before the Word (Jesus) became flesh. He chose to become a human. How do we know this? In John chapter 1, verse 1 we read, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was with God in the beginning.” The Word is Jesus, He was with God in the beginning and He is God. Jesus chose to become a human to be the perfect sacrifice for our sins, once and for all.

Let’s pray. Father in heaven, thank You for Jesus. Thank You for the wisdom that we have in the Bible. Lord, help us to apply Your Word in our everyday lives. Lord, help us to study Revelation and give us understanding. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

We have been working through a series on the book of Revelation. This book of the Bible can be difficult to understand for a variety of reasons, so we are taking it slow and studying it bit by bit together.

Today, we are continuing with Revelation Chapter 1, verses 10 and 11. John writes, “On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.”

These verses pose a number of questions. Who was speaking to John? Why does someone want John to document what he sees? Why are those churches specifically named?

Let’s start with what we know. John tells us that it was the Lord’s Day or the Sabbath. John was in the Spirit or in other words, he was worshipping God. He may have been praying or singing hymns or quietly listening for the Spirit. Even though John was exiled to the island of Patmos for his belief in Jesus, he was continuing to worship the Lord and keep the Sabbath holy. While we do not know exactly how John was worshipping God, we know that God showed up on that island in a big way. Do you expect God to show up when you worship Him?

Why did Jesus tell John to “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.”

The church in Ephesus was the closest church to where John was at the time, exiled to the island of Patmos. The church in Ephesus was also John’s home church. Each of these churches are in order of a missionary journey, the way that one would walk if they were out sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. All seven churches are in Asia on the western side.

The Church, (with a capital C), is the global body of believers, and the church, (lower case c), is the local church. While there are churches all over the world, together they all make up the Church or the global body of believers. In the local church, there may be a Pastor or someone who leads that particular church, but Jesus knows every one of his churches, no matter how small or large they are. He knows every heart and mind in every church.

Jesus is Head of the global Church and the local church. He tells John to write the letters and dictates what needs to be in the letters. Within the seven letters, we will read that Jesus describes each church and their different levels of commitment and love for Jesus. Some things are good and some things are not good.

Every church today fits into one of the seven letters that Jesus tells John to write. Part of the lesson in the seven letters is to honestly reflect on your local church and see what kind of letter Jesus might write to your church. In the upcoming weeks, as we study the seven letters, we need to hear what Jesus is saying and ask ourselves the following question. Is your church passionately following Jesus or has your church grown lukewarm or complacent?

Let’s pray. Father in heaven, thank You for Jesus. Thank You for the wisdom that we have in the Bible. Lord, help us to apply Your Word in our everyday lives. Lord, help us to study Revelation and give us understanding. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

We have been working through a series on the book of Revelation. This book of the Bible can be difficult to understand for a variety of reasons, so we are taking it slow and studying it bit by bit together.

Today, we are continuing with Revelation Chapter 1, verse 9.

“I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.”

We know from our prior analysis that John is one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. He authored the books of John, 1 John, 2 John, and 3 John. He calls himself our brother as the book of Revelation was written by John for believers. Thus, when this book is read, it is from John the disciple that Jesus loved, our brother in Jesus.

John also calls himself a companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus. At that time in history, there was great persecution of those who proclaimed their belief in Jesus. Many followers of Jesus had been sawed in half, crucified, burned, or thrown in prison. The believers at this time were no strangers to suffering. But, John is also reminding the reader that the kingdom of God is ours in Jesus. While we suffer on earth and endure many trials, we will be with Jesus in heaven, His kingdom. Until that time when we are welcomed into heaven, we must have patient endurance. Jesus provides us love, grace, peace and He also provides us with patience and endurance, (Colossians 1:10-12). 

In this same verse, John also tells us where he is and why. He was exiled to the island of Patmos, a penal colony off the coast in proximity to Ephesus in the Aegean Sea. John was exiled to Patmos because at the time of this writing, about 95 A.D., Emperor Domitian was persecuting believers in Jesus. We know that John was released from Patmos and he lived to write the book of John, after the book of Revelation. Jesus gave John the strength to patiently endure trials, to include the exile. As we continue in Revelation, we will read that while John was exiled, he began to worship the Lord and the Lord showed up. Despite your situation, never stop worshipping the Lord.

Let’s pray. Father in heaven, thank You for Jesus. Thank You for the wisdom that we have in the Bible. Lord, help us to apply Your Word in our everyday lives. Lord, help us to study Revelation and give us understanding. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

We have been working through a series on the book of Revelation. This book of the Bible can be difficult to understand for a variety of reasons, so we are taking it slow and studying it bit by bit together.

Today, we are continuing with Chapter 1, verse 4. “ John to the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, ⁵ and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.”

John is writing to churches, he is writing to believers, like you and me. As believers in Jesus Christ, we are blessed with grace and peace. Once you profess your belief in Jesus, He gives us His peace that surpasses all understanding, (Romans 5:1). We are saved by the gift of grace from Jesus, there is nothing that we can do to earn grace, Jesus freely gives it, (Ephesians 2:8).

John’s greeting to us of grace and peace is from the Holy Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. John first names God Himself. John describes God using His name revealed to Moses, “I AM” (Exodus 3:14). God is, was and is to come, He is the great “I AM”. He has always existed, He exists now and He will always exist.

The greeting of grace and peace also comes from the seven spirits before God’s throne. This is the Holy Spirit, which is represented by seven lamps of fire burning before God’s throne. The seven flames do not mean that the Holy Spirit is seven separate flames, instead the seven lamps of fire represent one Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has also been represented by a dove descending on Jesus when He was baptized, (Luke 3:22).

The greeting of grace and peace also comes “from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.” John uses several descriptions of Jesus taken from both the Old and New Testaments. In John 8:18, Jesus calls Himself a witness to the Father. In Psalm 89:27 and Colossians 1:18, Jesus is referred to as the firstborn from the dead. Jesus is referred to as a king throughout Scriptures, in Zechariah 9:9, Matthew 2:2, Matthew 21:5, Mark 15:2, and Luke 23:3, to name a few examples.

John continues writing in verse 5, “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, ⁶ and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.” John was an eyewitness to the cross, where he saw Jesus bleed to death for our sins. John saw the blood flow from Jesus’ body as a perfect offering to God on our behalf, for our sins. Because of the love that Jesus has for all people, He chose to bleed for us. Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins, (Hebrews 9:22).

Through the sacrifice of Jesus, those who believe in Him are ushered into the kingdom of priests to serve God, the Father of Jesus. We are freed by the blood of Jesus to become His servants. To Him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

The book of Revelation can be difficult to understand for a variety of reasons. So why spend the time trying to understand it? This book of the Bible comes with a clear and specific blessing right up front.

Revelation chapter 1, verse 1 reads, “The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, ² who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. ³ Blessed is the one who reads aloud 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.”

If we read aloud the words of Revelation, we are blessed. If we hear the words of the book of Revelation and take it to heart, we are blessed. What does it mean to take it to heart? To believe it and obey what it says. If we believe what Jesus is telling us and we live our lives based on God’s Word, we will be blessed.

Throughout the Bible, there are blessings that are a result of obeying God’s Word. We are blessed by confessing with our mouth that Jesus is Lord because we are saved (Romans 10:9). What are we saved from? If we believe that Jesus is the Son of God, we will not perish. Instead, we will have everlasting life, (John 3:16). In other words, instead of suffering in hell and through the future described in the book of Revelation, we will instead be in heaven when the unspeakable suffering arrives on earth. Revelation is a very scary book for those who do not believe in Jesus as the Son of God.

Jesus tells us in Revelation chapter 22 and verse 7, “Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll.” But what does it mean to keep the words of this prophecy? Again, we are promised a blessing for believing and obeying the words in the book of Revelation.

Revelation is also important because Jesus is telling us that we are running out of time. For people who do not believe in Jesus, there is only so much time left before it is too late. When Jesus returns or you die, it is too late. Revelation unfolds for us what happens when time runs out. Jesus wants us to know what is going to happen and how to be ready for it. There is a time that is coming on earth that will be horrible and unspeakable. The pain and suffering will be so bad that people will want to die, but even death will be removed as an option, leaving only suffering beyond what you or I can possibly imagine.

Why else should we read Revelation? Certainly for the 2 blessings mentioned above, and there are 5 more we will cover as we make our way through the chapters. We should also read and study Revelation because Jesus wanted us to know this information and to live our lives based on it. Investing time into Revelation blesses us and protects us from the terror that lies ahead for those who do not believe in Jesus. We are told what will happen so that we may tell people about Jesus so that they can avoid the fate that lies ahead.

Let’s pray. Father in heaven, thank You for Jesus. Thank You for the wisdom that we have in the Bible. Lord, help us to apply Your Word in our everyday lives. Lord, help us to study Revelation and give us understanding. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.