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 17, John writes what happened when he saw the risen Jesus. “When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.”

John, the disciple who had walked and served alongside of Jesus for years in His earthly ministry is unable to stand after seeing the risen Jesus. Jesus places his right hand on John and tells him not to be afraid. Throughout the Bible, the right hand symbolizes protection, blessing, authority, and favor. Jesus also sits at the right hand of God the Father with all power and authority, (see Psalm 110:1 and Matthew 22:41-45).

Jesus explains to John all the reasons why he should not be afraid. Jesus is the First and the Last. He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end and everything in-between. Jesus is the past, the present and the future, He was, is and will always be (Hebrews 13:8). In other words, all things were created through Jesus and for Him. Jesus holds all of creation together. Colossians 1:16 says, “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. ¹⁷ He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

In Revelation chapter 1, verse 18, Jesus tells John, “I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! ” Jesus is reassuring John, who saw Jesus die on the cross, that He is indeed alive. After Jesus died on the cross, He was the firstborn from among the dead, (Colossians 1:18 – 20). In other words, Jesus was raised to eternal life after his human death. Once our human lives on earth end, we are raised to eternal life in heaven if we believe in Jesus. For ever and ever is a hard concept for humans to visualize. Even though we cannot truly grasp what eternal life feels like, we are wise to choose where we will spend it. If forever exists, would you want to spend it covered with worms eating your flesh and surrounded by fire that never goes out (Mark 9:47-49) or in a place with no more hurt, crying, or pain and no more sorrow (Revelation 21:4)? Every human on earth makes their own choice as to where they will spend forever. Nobody can choose for you, once you die it is too late to choose, and not making a choice is a choice.

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 16, John describes Jesus. “In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword.” In verse 20, Jesus explains to John what the seven stars are. “The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.” We reviewed the seven lampstands and the seven churches in prior posts; we are going to focus on the seven stars in this study.

It is important to note that the seven stars that Jesus holds in His hand represent human leaders for each of the seven churches. The seven church leaders that Jesus told John to write to in verse 11 of Chapter 1, are Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.

We can conclude the seven stars are the church leaders for three reasons. First, while it can be confusing because the word “angels” is used in many translations, the original word “angelos” means messenger. This is the word that was used at the time of the writing of Revelation to describe a human messenger, such as a pastor or elder, who carried an important message. The important message the angel of each church in Revelation would deliver was the letters that John was writing from Jesus. The pastor was to read the letter to the entire congregation of the church.

The second reason the term angels refers to the church pastor is that portions of the letters are addressed to an individual. When Jesus is speaking to the pastor of the church, the grammar is singular. There are some instances where the pastor either causes or allows things to occur in the church that Jesus does not like. When Jesus addresses the entire congregation of the church, the grammar is plural. His tone and grammar changes to convey whether the pastor or the congregation is allowing problems in the church.

The third reason we can conclude that angel means pastor is that there are several verses written to an individual that call for repentance. Angels who are the heavenly beings have no need to repent. If they committed sin; they would not be beings in heaven, sin cannot be in the presence of God. Jesus did not die so angels could repent and inherit eternal life, He only died for humans. The heavenly angels have already had their eternity decided based on their choice to follow God or Satan (see 2 Peter 2:4 and Jude 1:6). We will cover the calls to repentance for specific individuals in future posts as we study each letter in detail.

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.

The voice speaking to John is the risen Jesus. He is walking among seven golden lampstands. In verse 20 of Chapter 1, Jesus reveals to John what the mystery of the seven lampstands is. A mystery is something that was hidden, waiting to be revealed. Jesus does not want us to be confused about the things that He is showing John. Jesus wants us to understand what has happened, is happening and will happen. One of the reasons why we should study the book of Revelation is because Jesus reveals to us things that were once hidden.

Verse 20 says, ^“The mystery of the . . . seven golden lampstands is this: . . . the seven lampstands are the seven churches.” The seven churches that Jesus tells John to write letters to were actual churches at that time, (see the prior post where we dug into the details).

Do not be confused and think that these lampstands only represent churches from a long time ago. This portion of Revelation represents the Church Age or the current time we are living in. The Church Age began at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came upon the group of believers (Acts 2). The current period we are living in is called the Church Age because believers are still on the earth. When those who believe in Jesus Christ are taken up to heaven, the church will have left the earth and that will be the end of the Church Age. The believers are the body of Christ also called the church on earth (Ephesians 3:6, 1 Corinthians 12:27, Ephesians 4:1, Colossians 1:24). The seven lampstands symbolize all churches throughout history, from the church’s inception to the present day.

What is John supposed to write in the letters to the churches? Jesus instructs John to record all that he sees and hears. Jesus is about to dictate to John seven letters to seven different churches. Each letter John writes corresponds to a type of church that has existed, exists now, and will exist. While these letters are addressed to specific churches, we must consider our own church as we read them. Which of the seven churches could be your church? What message would Jesus send to your church, and what changes might He want your church to make?

What do the seven letters and lampstands mean for us today? These letters should be treated as if Jesus was telling your church what to do. James 4:17 says that if we know what to do and we do not do it, it is sin. While these letters may seem irrelevant, they are anything but. Jesus is the Head of the church, every single church that exists fits into one of the seven letters. Jesus is telling His church what to do. If we read these letters and do nothing in our own churches to obey what Jesus said, then we have ignored Jesus and are guilty of sin.

It is important to note that Jesus is walking among the lampstands, He is not far off somewhere observing the churches. He is a God of details and is closely involved with His churches. Jesus knows every church then and now; He knows the heart and desire of every congregation. Jesus also has the power to remove a lampstand or allow a church to shutter their doors if there is sin or the church has become lukewarm in their love for Him.

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.

“From 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.”

There are seven letters written to seven churches. There are seven spirits before the throne of God, which represent the Holy Spirit. We studied these details in a prior post.

The seven churches that Jesus told John to write to are listed in verse 11 of Chapter 1.

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

In a prior post, we studied the seven churches.

As we continue our study next week, John will describe Jesus walking among seven golden lampstands and holding seven stars in His hand. In verse 20 of Chapter 1, Jesus tells John what the seven lampstands represent, ^“The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.”

In future chapters of Revelation, we will see the pain and suffering of the people on earth who refuse to believe that Jesus is the Son of God. This suffering is unleashed by seven seals on seven scrolls (Chapters 5 and 6). There are also seven horns and seven eyes representing the seven spirits of God (Revelation 5:6).

As the period of suffering begins, there are seven angels (Chapters 8, 15, 16, 17 and 21) that are given direction to blow seven trumpets (Chapter 8). The seven trumpets unleash a time on earth full of tremendous suffering unlike anything ever seen before that includes seven plagues (Chapters 15 and 21) and seven bowls of pain (Chapters 15, 16, 17 and 21). There is also a beast that is destroying life and inflicting unimaginable terror. The beast has seven heads representing seven hills and seven kings (Chapters 12, 13 and 17).

The number seven in the Bible means completion. As we will study next week, the seven letters, the seven lampstands, the seven angels of the churches and the seven churches represent every church from the past, present and future, so it is a complete set. The period of suffering that we will study in future chapters brings about the completion of an earth that has evil in it. For those who do not believe in Jesus, there will be no second chances. The time of suffering will be the completion of their opportunity to choose Jesus and have eternal life.

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.