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.

In Chapter 2, we encounter seven letters to seven churches. The fourth letter is to the church in Thyatira, the least influential of the seven cities in its time. Thyatira was about forty miles southeast of Pergamum on the road to Sardis. The order of the letters to the churches are the way a missionary would travel. Ephesus was the closest to John and the Isle of Patmos, then Smyrna and Pergamum and now, Thyatira.

There is less known about Thyatira because it is currently buried under the modern city of Akhisar. Nonetheless, shoemaking, dyed cloth, and bronze smithing were important trades there. Lydia, who was a seller of purple cloth, was from Thyatira (Acts 16:12-15). Craftspeople formed groups called guilds to meet, share ideas, and sell their products. Each guild had its own god or goddess they worshipped, which greatly influenced the religious environment at Thyatira.

Each guild had its own religious feasts in honor of its god or goddess. The Christians in Thyatira were pressured to join a guild, worship the respective god and partake in the religious feasts. Refusal to do so meant that the Christians were ostracized and suffered the loss of business. Thyatira itself also worshipped Apollo, the sun god and son of Zeus. In the city, there were temples to Apollo, Artemis, lesser known gods and the gods of the guilds.

In Chapter 2 of Revelation, starting in verse 18, Jesus tells John, “To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. ¹⁹ I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.”

This is the only instance in the book of Revelation where the title “Son of God” appears. This might be because the Christians in Thyatira were surrounded by the worship of Zeus’s son, Apollo. Jesus, the one true Son of God, is making His position clear. Previously, we analyzed Jesus’ eyes like fire and feet like bronze. As the Judge of all humanity, He sees the intentions of every human and His feet represent formidable strength of One Who cannot be knocked over. Jesus again reminds the church that He is among them; He knows their deeds. Much like today, Jesus is aware of what is occurring in His church down to the level of deeds. The church at Thyatira is doing more than they did before, they are growing in love, faith and service, would Jesus be able to say that about your church?

In verse 20, Jesus continues. “Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. ²¹ I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. ²² So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. ²³ I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.²⁴ Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets, ‘I will not impose any other burden on you, ²⁵ except to hold on to what you have until I come’.”

Jesus informs the church in Thyatira that they have an issue; they accept a woman who claims to be a prophet and has the mindset of Jezebel, the wife of Ahab (1 Kings 16:31-34, 21-25). Jezebel led Israel into many sins to include idolatry, adultery, murder and much more. It is critical to note that Jesus is saying that believers (my servants) are misled by this leader. Verse 20 is the only one in the book of Revelation where believers are deceived by evil, verses about nonbelievers being deceived are plentiful. The food sacrificed to idols is most likely associated with the feasts held by the guilds that were in honor of the gods of the guilds. Despite all that this woman has done, Jesus has given her time to repent. All who are sinners are given time to repent, until time runs out. In verse 22, Jesus will judge her by allowing her to reap what she has sown, suffering. He also provides a warning to the church that whoever commits adultery against God with her will suffer unless they repent.

In verse 23, Jesus says He will strike her children dead, these are the people that have fully committed themselves to her teachings against God and they refuse to repent. The group of people in verse 22 are warned, but there is still the chance they will repent. Why would Jesus cause suffering? To protect His people and warn other churches. Jesus wants “. . . all the churches to know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.” It is important for the church to refuse to tolerate sin and if the leader of a church is leading the church into sin, it is even more critical to address that evil. No person can earn their way to heaven; we can only enter by placing faith in Jesus as the Son of God. He is reminding believers that while we will be with Him in heaven, Jesus will look at our deeds and judge us (Revelation 20:11-13). There is much more to this topic, we will study it when we analyze Chapter 20.

In verse 24, Jesus continues, “Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets, ‘I will not impose any other burden on you, ²⁵ except to hold on to what you have until I come’.” When Jesus refers to the teachings of this sinful woman, he calls them “Satan’s so-called deep secrets”. This is the one place in the book of Revelation where a human is directly wielding the power of Satan and some believers are deceived. To those believers who have not followed the evil teachings and have not participated in idolatry, sexual immorality or other acts that are committing adultery against God, Jesus is telling them keep holding on as you have. Keep holding on to your beliefs that have kept you from participating in the evil until He returns.

Then Jesus issues a promise in verse 26. “To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations— ²⁷ that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’—just as I have received authority from my Father. ²⁸ I will also give that one the morning star. ²⁹ Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

Jesus quotes Psalm 2:7-9 in His promise. ^“I will proclaim the Lord’s decree: He said to me, “You are my son; today I have become your father. ⁸ Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. ⁹ You will break them with a rod of iron; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”

Notice the difference between the Psalm, which speaks of Jesus inheriting the nations, and the verse in Revelation stating He will grant authority over the nations. Since Jesus inherits the nations, He can give obedient believers authority over them. Believers will reign with Jesus and judge the nations, which includes the rebellious nations that will be shattered like pottery (2 Timothy 2:12 and 1 Corinthians 6:2-3). Jesus received the authority from His Father, which Jesus will then share with believers who remain faithful to the end. Jesus also promises to give the victorious believers the morning star. Jesus refers to Himself as the bright morning star (Revelation 22:16), meaning much like He will share the authority over the nations, He will allow overcomers to rule alongside of Him as the morning star.

Jesus concludes His letter to the believers in Thyatira with a command in verse 29 for “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” May we hear and obey! May we refuse to tolerate evil in the church and may we grow in love, faith, service and perseverance!

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.

In Chapter 2, we encounter seven letters to seven churches. The third letter is to the church in Pergamum, which was about seventy miles north of Smyrna. The order of the letters to the churches are reflective of the way a missionary would travel. Ephesus was the closest to John and the Isle of Patmos, then Smyrna and now Pergamum.

Pergamum had a history of being a powerful city under the control of Rome, yet at times declining in status then Ephesus would then reign as the powerful city in this region. Pergamum was a unique city that had many different aspects that created a nexus for religion, politics, intellectuals and medical arts. There were altars and shrines to various gods and goddesses. Pergamum had a temple to Athena, the goddess of victory, and a huge altar to the ‘king of the gods’ Zeus. An area of the city and a temple was dedicated to Asklepios, the god of healing who was represented by a serpent.

There was a large library with hundreds of thousands of books, making the city a major intellectual destination. Pergamum also became a religious center and a hub for the imperial cult in Asia. It had a temple for living rulers, which attracted visitors as some religious sects believed worshipping an emperor was a smart political choice. Christians in Pergamum faced persecution from emperor worshippers, as their refusal to worship the emperor was seen as treasonous. The Jewish population was protected by a Roman treaty, allowing their refusal to worship the emperor to be safer.

In Chapter 2 of Revelation, starting in verse 12, Jesus says to John, “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword.’ Jesus starts off His letter to Pergamum reminding them exactly Who He is. We closely studied this title of Jesus in a prior post. Jesus is the judge using the sharp sword of the Word of God to sort out the thoughts and intentions of every human heart. Those who have not turned toward Jesus will suffer, while those who have made the decision to accept Jesus will be with Him in heaven forever.

Jesus continues in verse 13, “I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.” Jesus reinforces that He is active among His churches. Jesus knows what is occurring and acknowledges the tribulation that the church in Pergamum is experiencing. While Pergamum certainly had shrines and temples to many false gods, so did the other churches, so why was Pergamum referred to as Satan’s throne?  Pergamum was the seat of the imperial cult; this was the only city with such an ‘honor’, which earned them the place where Satan dwells. We must keep in mind that Satan is not everywhere like God, he is one created being that can only be in one place at a time. In a prior post, we analyzed in detail Satan and his origin.

While there are no historical facts about who Antipas was, most likely he was a Christian who refused to participate in emperor worship and was killed. Jesus is commending the believers in the church at the city of Pergamum for holding fast to Jesus and not leaving the faith. No matter how hard life becomes, we must hold fast to Jesus and our faith in Him as the Son of God. Even though we do not know who Antipas was, Jesus knows and He knows you and every single thing you are going through.

In verse 14, Jesus begins to share where the church in Pergamum needs to place more focus. “But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. ¹⁵ So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. ¹⁶ Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.” 

The issue Jesus addresses is some of the believers in the Pergamum church are engaging in idolatry and wrongdoing. Following teachings that contradict the Bible harms both individuals and the church. As Jesus illustrated, even a little wrong can impact everyone (Matthew 6:6-12). The account of Balaam and Balak is found in Numbers chapters 22-24. Balak, the king of Moab, asked Balaam to curse God’s people, but God only allowed him to bless them. Yet, in Numbers 25:1-9, the Israelites hurt themselves by following Moabite teachings encouraging idol food and sexual immorality, despite God’s protection.

We also see the Nicolaitans mentioned in the letter to Ephesus. The key difference is that Pergamum accepts their teachings, while the church in Ephesus opposes them, just as Jesus does. The key problem that Jesus is pointing out to the church in Pergamum is that once you believe in Jesus as the Son of God, you are to separate yourself from the cults and practices that do not honor God.

In verse 16, Jesus tells His church what to do. “Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.” Notice who Jesus is speaking to in this verse. He first commands the church to repent and stop tolerating all of the non-Biblical practices. We are called to love everyone but hate sin. In Pergamum, the church allowed everyone to practice whatever they wanted. When Jesus says I will come to you, He is speaking to the church. Jesus is saying the church either needs to stop practicing the sinful teachings or He will come and judge the church and He will strike down all those who practice false teachings. In verse 12, Jesus reminded the church in Pergamum that He speaks judgment, and it is as piercing as a sharp, two-edged sword. If the church does not repent, then Jesus will discipline them.

In verse 17, Jesus commands the church to listen and obey what the Spirit is saying to the church. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.”

Jesus also provides a promise in verse 17. The one who conquers is the person who repents and turns away from sinful practices. Jesus will give the one who conquers two things, hidden manna and a white stone. When the Israelites were in the desert, God rained down bread from heaven or manna (Exodus 16:4). The manna was a test from God to see if His people would follow His instructions. In the letter to the church at Pergamum, Jesus has given them the instruction to repent, to refuse to allow believers in the church to keep practicing sinful teachings. He is telling us today, in our churches, to look around the pews and see if we are allowing ongoing sinful behavior into our church.

In Biblical times, when a person was invited to a feast, they were given a white stone that they would use to enter the feast. The white stone was a way for the servants to know who to allow into the feast. We know from Scriptures that there will be a feast in heaven for believers (Psalm 22:29, Isaiah 25:6, Matthew 8:11, Luke 13:29, Luke 14:15, 1 Corinthians 10:14). The new name written on the stone will be for the person who receives it. As we noted earlier, Jesus knows everything that you are going through and He will give you a new name “that no one knows except the one who receives it.” As you conquer things in your life through faith in Jesus, He knows; He will give you a new name, based on your faith and what you endured, that only He and you will know.

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, we encounter seven letters to seven churches. The second letter is to the church in Smyrna, which was about thirty-five miles north of Ephesus. The city had temples to goddesses, such as Roma, gods such as Zeus and temples to emperors to include Tiberias. From a religious standpoint, Smyrna had a large Jewish population which were highly opposed to Christianity. The Jews living in Smyrna saw Christianity as a threat to both their religious beliefs and their political freedom to practice Judaism. Smyrna was only one of two churches who did not receive a rebuke from Jesus.

Jesus’ letter to the church in Smyrna is found in Chapter 2, starting in verse 8.

 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life. ⁹ “‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. ¹⁰ Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. ¹¹ He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death’.”

In verse 8, Jesus describes Himself as the first and the last, who died and came to life. We studied this title of Jesus closely in a prior post.

In verse 9, Jesus reinforces that He is active among His churches. Jesus knows what is occurring and acknowledges the tribulation that the church in Smyrna is experiencing. The Jewish population in Smyrna was slandering the Christians to protect themselves from political persecution. It was more important to the Jewish people in Smyrna to stay in the good graces of the Roman government than to listen to the truth about the Son of God, Jesus. When Jesus says He knows the poverty of the church in Smyrna, He is referring to the persecution by the Jewish people and the pagans. Both groups would bring charges against the Christians, causing them to lose jobs, homes, land, and possessions. Jesus then goes on to say “I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich)”. Here, Jesus is referring to the spiritual riches of knowing Jesus as Lord and Savior. No amount of worldly wealth can ever bring the joy, peace and love found in Jesus.

Jesus continues to say He knows about “. . . the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.” These Jewish people pretend to love God, but instead are tools of Satan. Jesus then provides the church of Smyrna a picture of the future in verse 10. “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation.” Jesus is telling the church not to be afraid, some of them will go to prison and be tested, but the length of the test will be temporary. God remains in control, which is why they should not fear. God allows His children to be tested to refine us. It is more important to be close to God than to be comfortable. “Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction” (Isaiah 68:10).  

In verse 10, Jesus provides a promise. “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.” Jesus is telling the church that some of them will suffer to the point of death. How can one remain faithful to the point of death? Refusing to renounce belief in Jesus as the Son of God. The people persecuting the Christians would incite imprisonment and torture wherein they were threatened with death and killed if they did not renounce Jesus. The symbol of a crown or a wreath would have been common for the winners of athletic competitions. The crown of life is the entrance into paradise (heaven), even though the body will die, they should not fear. “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28).

In verse 11, Jesus concludes His letter to Smyrna by commanding the church to listen and obey what the Spirit is saying to the church.  Jesus also provides another promise, “The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.” A person’s physical death is known as the first death, which sends people either to be with Jesus in Paradise (Heaven) or to Hades (Luke 23:43, 2 Corinthians 12:14). Then as we are told in Revelation, Hades is ultimately thrown into the lake of fire or Hell. This is the second death, where all people who are in Hades because of their lack of belief in Jesus will then spend their eternity in Hell. The one who conquers sin and death is the one who believes in Jesus. He has already conquered death for us (Romans 6:23, Romans 8:2, 1 Corinthians 15:54 – 56, Hebrews 2:9).

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, we encounter seven letters to seven churches. The first letter is to the church in Ephesus, which was a major city and one of the most powerful in the Roman Empire. From a religious standpoint, Ephesus had many sacred temples but was best known for its temple to the fertility goddess, Artemis (Acts 19:23-24). There was also a widespread interest in magic and sorcery (Acts 19:19-20). Jesus’ letter to the church in Ephesus is found in Chapter 2, starting in verse 1.

Jesus says to John, “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.

² “I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. ³ I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. ⁴ But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. ⁵ Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. ⁶ Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. ⁷ He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’ “

In verse 1, Jesus describes Himself as holding the seven stars in his right hand and as the one who walks among the seven golden lampstands. We studied the seven stars previously. We also studied the seven golden lampstands (which are the churches) and how Jesus walks among His churches. He is not removed from what is happening in our churches today, He is among us.

In verses 2 and 3, Jesus commends the church for being patient, testing the spirits to know if their teaching is false and not growing weary. In verse 4, Jesus tells the church in Ephesus that they have abandoned the love they had at first for Jesus. When people first accept Jesus as their Lord, there is a deep joy and love that starts to grow in their hearts. If we allow the world to stamp out that love and joy for Jesus, we lose sight of Him. We start to act more like the world and those who do not know Jesus.  

Jesus continues in verse 5 to tell the church to repent and to remember the deeds and the love they had for Jesus. If the church does not put their love for Jesus before everything else, He will remove the church of Ephesus’ lampstand from its place. This is why Jesus describes Himself in verse 1 as the one who walks among the lampstands. He is not a far-off God who does not know the hearts and minds of His people, He walks among us.

In verse 6, Jesus notes that the church of Ephesus hates the works of the Nicolaitans, which He also hates. The Nicolaitans are mentioned here and in Chapter 2, verse 15. There is no definitive information on what specific beliefs the Nicolaitans held, but we are clear on their practices of immorality and idolatry. They are associated with the worship of Balaam (Revelation 2:14-15).

In verse 7, Jesus concludes His letter to Ephesus by commanding the church to listen and obey what the Spirit is saying to the church.  Jesus also provides a promise. “To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” The way to conquer is to remain faithful to the teaching of God, to live our lives in a way that shows the love of God to all people. The tree of life is first mentioned in Genesis 2:9; “The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” The paradise that Jesus refers to is the garden of Eden. Humans lost access to the garden of Eden when Adam and Eve sinned (see prior post series for a different view on this familiar Bible story). Jesus says He “will grant” the right to the tree of life for those who conquer sin by walking by faith. He will restore what God intended, which is for humans to be with Him in paradise (Luke 23:43).

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 begin our study of the seven letters to the seven churches, it is important to note that the current time we are living in is called the Church Age. The present time or Church Age is the period of time after Jesus ascended to heaven and before He returns to earth.

In Chapters 2 and 3, Jesus tells John to write seven letters to seven real churches that existed at that time. These churches symbolize all churches, meaning every church, past and future, fits into one of the seven types described by Jesus. As you read the letters, think about what type of church you belong to and what Jesus says to that church.

Each of the seven letters has a similar pattern. First, Jesus tells John which church to write to. Then, there is a descriptive title of Jesus that we have already studied from Chapter 1. The third item that Jesus includes in each letter to the seven churches is the commendation for the positive deeds that specific church has done. We pause here to note that only one church, Laodicea, did not have any positive deeds noted by Jesus. What positive deeds might Jesus highlight for your church?

After noting the positive deeds, Jesus then rebukes each church, (except two), for its negative deeds. Smyrna and Philadelphia do not have any negative deeds included in their letters. Again, we should reflect on what negative deeds Jesus may include in a letter to our church? The fifth section of each letter from Jesus contains a note about the future, the entire book of Revelation is about Jesus wanting His people to know what is going to happen. The futures for all seven churches are warnings to either repent before it is too late or prepare for upcoming persecution. The sixth section is a call for each church to listen and obey what the Spirit is telling the church. The seventh or last section of each letter is a promise to those who do listen and obey the Spirit, they are the overcomers. As we begin our study of each letter next week, we will use this pattern to help us understand.

Let’s pray. Father in heaven, thank You for Jesus. Thank you for our churches. 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.

Everything we have studied in this series so far in the book of Revelation has already occurred. Chapter 1 tells us about the past. How do we know this? The verses use verbs that are in the past tense, meaning the actions have already occurred. As we begin to study Chapters 2 and 3, starting next week, we will see the verb tense change to the present tense. How do we know the verb tense changes from past to present tense and why does this matter?

 The book of Revelation is Jesus telling us what has happened (Chapter1). What is happening (Chapters 2 and 3). And what will happen (Chapters 4 through 22). Let’s review a few examples from Chapter 1.

Chapter 1, verse 1, “The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him . . .”. The revelation or the vision was already provided to Jesus from God.

In Chapter 1, verse 5, “To him [Jesus] 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 . . .”. Jesus has already freed us by shedding His blood on the cross. For those that believe in Jesus, He has already made us a kingdom, we are citizens of heaven and just passing through on earth (Philippians 3:20, Ephesians 2:19, Hebrews 11:16, and 2 Corinthians 5:1). All believers are already priests to serve God (1 Peter 2:5 – 9). The tense of the verbs matters because the work on the cross is done, it is finished. Jesus already completed all that needs to be done for us to have eternal life. All we have to do is believe.

In Chapter 1, starting in verse 12, we see a number of past tense verbs. John ” . . .turned around” and “among the lampstands was someone. ¹⁴ The hair on his head was white . . .and his eyes were like blazing fire. ¹⁵ His feet were like bronze . . . and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. ¹⁶ He held seven stars, and His face was like the sun. ¹⁷ When I saw him, I fell at his feet . . . he placed his right hand on me.” 

Each of the actions in the verses we have studied so far are completed, they are past tense. In verse 19 of Chapter 1, Jesus confirms this for us by telling John, “Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later.” As we continue our journey through Revelation, we are about to enter the present and then the future.  

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.

In Chapter 1 verse 18, John writes what Jesus tells him. “I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.”

To understand what Jesus is telling us, we must travel back to the cross and understand while Jesus’ body was in the tomb and before God raised Him to life on the third day, what was He doing?

It is true the body of Jesus laid in a tomb, but His spirit was very busy.

We know from our study last week that Hades is the place of the dead. Hades is where everyone who died before the crucifixion of Jesus Christ was sent. Hades has two sides. One side is full of fire, torment and agony and the other side full of love, peace and joy. For those who die today and do not believe in Jesus as the Son of God, they go to the area of Hades filled with fire. They will spend eternity in Hell, but not quite yet. The book of Revelation and all of its prophesies must be fulfilled before the people in Hades will be judged for the rest of eternity and sent to Hell also called the lake of fire (Revelation 20:12-15).

It is important to note that once someone dies, they cannot change their mind and choose to believe in Jesus as the Son of God. They are sent to Hades and then Hell for eternity.

In order to obtain all authority over death and Hades, Jesus went to Hades and visited both sides. Why? Until Jesus was born, died, and then raised to life, Hades was the temporary holding place for everyone who died. The people who died before the crucifixion, but loved God, believed in the Word of God and looked toward the coming of Jesus, went to the area of Hades that was full of love, peace and joy (Luke 16:23-26).

In 1 Peter 3:19, we are told that Jesus went to the place of the dead and proclaimed that He had laid down His life to save sinners from eternal death (Hell). Jesus went to the area of Hades that was full of love, peace and joy, and led those people to heaven or Paradise.

Ephesians 4:8 says, “This is why it says: “When he [Jesus] ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people.” ⁹ What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.” Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth to include holding the keys to death and Hades.

Today, when someone dies, if they believe in Jesus as the Son of God, they immediately go to heaven or Paradise. If they do not believe in Jesus, they are sent to Hades to spend time in fire and agony until the book of Revelation has been fulfilled. Then, they will be sent to the lake of fire or Hell for all eternity.

What is our role in Revelation? We are to focus on sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ until He returns. We all have a job to do and that is telling as many people as possible the good news of Jesus.

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.