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 Chapters 2 and 3, we find letters to seven churches, with the sixth letter addressed to the church in Philadelphia. Located thirty miles southeast of Sardis on a busy trade route, Philadelphia was important for travelers heading to Pergamum and Sardis. The city’s fertile soil was famous for grape cultivation, and its patron god was Dionysus, the god of wine. Known as the gateway to the east, Philadelphia’s soil was fertile due to active volcanoes, but those same volcanoes caused earthquakes that made living there challenging. In addition to a Jewish population and synagogue, there were a number of temples and cults present.

Philadelphia and Smyrna were the only churches that received letters without any criticisms from Jesus. Would your church receive such a letter?

Jesus tells John in Chapter 3 verse 7, “To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:

These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.”

Jesus is referring to Isaiah 22:22 and 23 which reads, ^“I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. ²³ I will drive him like a peg into a firm place; he will become a seat of honor for the house of his father.”

In this Old Testament excerpt, the Lord replaced the chief of staff over Hilkiah’s house (Shebna) with Eliakim, son of Hilkiah. This act meant that Eliakim now held the key to the kingdom to include full access to the king. He could open any door and lock any door that he chose with the key of David. Jesus is declaring that He holds the key of David and is the way to the Father. In John 14:6 Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus is the gate or the way to the Father, He holds the key.

In verse 8, Jesus again confirms for all believers that He is aware of everything happening in His church. He tells the believers in Philadelphia, “I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.” Jesus provides the believers comfort that they cannot lose their salvation; He is the open door; once one places their faith in Jesus, salvation cannot be lost. Jesus is the way to the Father, eternal life, and to heaven. Jesus goes on to acknowledge that the church has little strength left but they have clung to the Truth. They have not denied the name of Jesus.

In verse 9, we learn more about why the believers in Philadelphia have little strength left. Jesus says, “I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. ¹⁰ Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.“

It is clear from Jesus’ words that the Jewish community there has been persecuting the believers in Philadelphia. Jesus is saying that there are people who call themselves Jewish but are puppets of Satan. They are both liars and reject that Jesus is the Messiah and possibly even reject God. Jesus is saying that He will lead these liars to come and fall down at the feet of the believers. This is not about worship, but submission. The group of liars will be made to confess that Jesus loved the believers because of their faith in Him.

In verse 10, Jesus talks about the future, described later in Revelation, where God’s anger falls on the world. In the upcoming weeks, we will examine this closely, but for now, Jesus reassures the believers in Philadelphia that they will not be on earth during this time. God’s wrath is to lead unbelievers to repentance. Since believers already trust in Jesus, we will not be on earth when the trial comes.

In verses 11 and 12, Jesus says, “I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. ¹² The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name.” 

In the letters to the other churches, the impending return of Jesus is seen as a warning. The other churches were running out of time to repent and change their ways before the return of Jesus. Whereas with Philadelphia, this letter is only one of two that does not contain a rebuke. The return of Jesus is a comfort and a vindication for the believers in Philadelphia. Jesus tells them to hold on to what they have, which is the open door to the Kingdom of God. The crown is a reward for faithfulness; it is not their salvation. Once a person has believed in Jesus as the Son of God, their salvation cannot be taken away – no matter what they say or do. Even if they renounce Jesus (Romans 8:31-39).

For those who are victorious or remain faithful during persecution, Jesus promises them a lasting place in God’s house, where they will always be in His presence and bear His name. It’s important to understand this in the context of Philadelphia, which frequently faced earthquakes that destroyed buildings and forced people to live outside the city. Jesus assures these believers that they will be strong pillars in God’s house and city. He mentions the new Jerusalem, God’s city that descends from heaven after the earth has gone. This future city, described in Revelation 21:2, signifies that those faithful to Jesus are citizens of that place with a permanent home. Additionally, Jesus will share new names with the victorious, as mentioned in Revelation 2:17 and throughout chapter 19. While the specific name isn’t crucial to know now, it highlights two points: Jesus will have a new name that believers will bear, and throughout Revelation, names signify belonging. Believers in Jesus are marked with His name (Revelation 14:1), while non-believers carry the mark of the beast (Revelation 14:11, 17:5).

Jesus concludes His letter to Philadelphia by commanding the church to listen and obey what the Spirit is saying to the church. “¹³ Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

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.

Chapter 3 starts with Jesus’ letter to the church in Sardis, located about 35 miles southeast of Thyatira. This wealthy city had a significant Jewish community, featuring one of the largest synagogues ever discovered. Sardis was one of the older cities mentioned in the seven letters of Revelation. Artemis was the city’s patron goddess, and the people were fascinated by nature and immortality, worshipping hot springs and other natural elements.

In Chapter 3 verse 1, Jesus says, “To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. ² Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. ³ Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.”

In prior posts, we analyzed the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. The title that Jesus uses for Himself is different with each letter. For Sardis, Jesus is reminding the church that He not only walks among the churches and knows everything about them, but He also holds the power to strengthen the churches that are dying inside. Sardis has a reputation for being alive, perhaps they put on a lot of events for the community, but they were struggling behind closed doors. Maybe only a few church members were volunteering for everything or maybe the church’s teaching had wandered from the Truth. It is hard to know exactly, but this is a great time to pause and reflect on your church. Is your church busy, but wandering from Jesus? Are there plenty of events, but only a few church members carrying the responsibilities?

Jesus says, “Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. ³ Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.”

Jesus’ call to action is clear, what few church members Sardis has that are spiritually alive are about to die. Perhaps they are burning out or are tired of the church wandering away from Jesus. He uses the descriptions of being alive and dead since the city of Sardis was obsessed with immortality to the point of worshipping nature.

Jesus also says their deeds are unfinished in the sight of God. This may mean that all of the activities or their worship is hollow – they are not pointing people to Jesus. In the city of Sardis, there was a large, unfinished temple to the goddess, Artemis. This description would resonate with the believers in Sardis. To keep the church from dying, Jesus tells them to remember what you have received, the power of the Holy Spirit. And to remember what they have heard, the Truth of Jesus and to repent; otherwise the church of Sardis will not be prepared when Jesus returns, He will come when least expected (1 Thessalonians 5:2, 2 Peter 3:10). If Jesus were to return today, would your church be ready?

In verse 4, Jesus provides a promise, “Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. ⁵ The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels.”

Those who have not stained their clothes with sin will walk with Jesus. White clothes are the symbol of holiness; in the New Testament, angels appeared in white and Jesus Himself wore white when He was transfigured (Matthew 17:2, Mark 9:3 and 16:5).  Here, Jesus is saying that the few people in Sardis who have remained faithful will walk with the victorious, those who are worthy.

Jesus also promises that the victorious, those who believe in Jesus and remain faithful to Him, will have their name written in the book of life or written in heaven (Psalm 69:8, Philippians 4:3 and Hebrews 12:23). Once you put your faith in Jesus as the Son of God, your name is written in heaven, your salvation cannot be taken away. Your name cannot be erased from the Lamb’s book of life.

Jesus’ final promise to those who are left faithful in Sardis is that He will acknowledge their name before His Father and the angels. This is the same promise Jesus gave to believers when He walked the earth in Matthew 10:32. “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.”

In verse 6, Jesus concludes His letter to Sardis by commanding the church to listen and obey what the Spirit is saying to the church.  “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

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 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.