Each week we take fifteen minutes to explain, illustrate, and apply God’s Word to your everyday life. Thank you for listening!
Revelation 3:7-13
This is the loyal church, and how we should wish to be characterized this way. This church was not impressive—they had little strength, were little in number, relatively out on their own, and misunderstood by those around them—but they are directed by God, reliant upon His strength, and assured of the destruction of the wicked. Some of the encouragements we can glean from this section are (1) God opens and close...
Revelation 3:1-6
The church at Sardis teaches us lessons about formalism or dead ritualism. Perhaps this comes out most frequently in some interpretations of end times. Christ tells us to watch for His appearing and not defile our garments, and to those who do this, he promises white raiment when we are with Him in heaven. That is to be our hope in this life!
Sardis: the Lifeless church
I. The Location (literal local church)
...Revelation 2:18-29
The church at Thyatira represents an age in history when the Christian church became mandatory, and that is not a good thing. In the letter to this church, Christ instructs them that He is the true Son of God, that they should not tolerate false teaching, and that we can look forward to the coming kingdom when the world will be made right. All of these things should encourage us today as we strive to live for t...
Revelation 2:14-17
The goal was to spend one week per church, but we are taking a week to catch up. Pergamos teaches us that we should not grow comfortable in the world or begin to tolerate ungodliness. The world uses harsh persecution, false teaching, subtle enticement, and many other tactics to draw us away from Christ, but we must allow the truth of God’s Word to cut through the lies of society. If we stay faithful to God, we ...
Revelation 2:12-17
In some ways, persecution is easier to bear than the invitation to join the world because persecution is direct opposition, whereas compromise can seem inviting. One of the greatest dangers of the Pergamos mentality is the subtle lie that if you live your life totally devoted to God, it will be a waste. But if we follow after Christ, find clarity in His World, and look at the godly role models around us, we can...
Revelation 2:8-11
The church at Smyrna was intensely persecuted because they did not conform to the idolatry that was required of them. And they suffered for it. Some of the main lessons from this church are that we have the strongest fragrance for Christ when we are pressured by persecution, riches are only found in Christ, and we have a different perspective than the world—an eternal perspective—that allows us to be faithful ev...
Revelation 2:1-7
We left off discussing the various views of these churches, and today we jump into the letter to the first of these churches. Christ presents Himself to the church at Ephesus—who had been given premier teaching on the church from Paul and the qualifications for church leaders through Paul’s letter to Timothy—as the One who cares for the messengers of the church and walks in the midst of His body. Most of the cont...
Revelation 2-3
This is a really important part of Revelation because this is where we are living right now. This is the things which “are” so we should take note because it is written to our current time frame. In this first episode on these two chapters, we are introducing the seven churches and the three aspects of these churches as (1) literal local churches, (2) symbolic or types of churches, and (3) historic representative c...
Revelation 1:17-20
John is here given the outline for the revelation he would record (1) the things which he had seen, (2) the things which were, and (3) the things which would be hereafter. When these last remaining things begin to happen, they will take place suddenly and in rapid succession (1:1). May we meditate on these things of eternal value and long to see the Lord face to face.
Revelation 1:13-16
These verses give us a glimpse of Jesus, as He will be in the day of the Lord. For now, we can see Jesus as we study the truth of His Word, watch prophecy line up for His return, interact with other believers who are part of His Bride, and meditate upon Him personally. We need but to listen and turn and look as John did. And one day we will see—not just a glimpse of Jesus—but we will see Him as He is. That is w...
Revelation 1:11-16
At the beginning of John’s vision, he hears the voice of God telling him to record the things he would see (beginning with a vision of Jesus Himself) to spread to the churches in the region. We then get a window into the voice and description of Jesus here. These verses remind us of how we have come to possess the Word of God and the privilege of being the church of God. Next week, we will pick up with this sev...
Revelation 1:9-10
In these two verses, we get a window into the life of John and what he was experiencing after his imprisonment and exile to the Isle of Patmos. But even there, his mind was on the Lord’s Day. They can imprison our bodies, but they cannot capture our hearts and minds. The important truth for us is that even when we feel exiled in this world and on an island spiritually, we can meditate on the culmination of God’s...
Revelation 1:7-8
We will all see Christ return to earth, the question is how will we respond. Some will mourn over not believing Christ sooner, others will be angry that God is coming to crush wickedness, and those of us who are saved right now will actually return with Him and watch Him set up His kingdom. So how should we live right now? We should live with trust in God, believing that His way is best and that He will keep His ...
Revelation 1:4-7
This closing book of prophecy was written in response to the question the disciples repeatedly asked Jesus while He was here. What mercy from God! And yet, how much time do we spend reading and analyzing our Lord’s long-awaited response? We pick up with some information on the Author, the audience, and the announcement in the next few verses. I'm really looking forward to getting deeper into this study!
Revelation 1:1-3
I am excited to go through the book of Revelation relying on my education at Christian college and great commentaries such as the one by Clarance Larkin. The purpose of this book is to reveal to us Jesus through His letters to the churches and His revelation to John. There is an unequivocal blessing to those who read, hear and keep these things… if you want it.
Inter-testamental Period
I have these four statements written in my Bible between the books of Malachi and Matthew. These truths are mine! Whatever your silent period might be and however long it might last, you can cling to these four things relentlessly! If this has been a help to you, consider sharing this episode.
Malachi 4:5-6
In John the Baptist, we learn the encouraging lesson of how to deal with our struggles and doubts. And he may not be the entire fulfillment of this prophecy, the tribulation will tell whether Elijah will be one of the two witnesses in the final days. The alternative to heeding the message of repentance and the hope of the gospel is the curse, which is the last word of the Old Testament. May we heed the law spoken by...
Malachi 4:5-6
John the Baptist came up back in Episode #97, or Part 13 of this study, where we mentioned his birth, life and ministry, and message of judgment. Today we see him mentioned again (as a type of Elijah) at the end of Malachi. This brings us to Matthew 11:1-15, where we see his doubts of Christ. Jesus lovingly responds by telling the people about John the Baptist and how he fulfilled the prophecy of the coming of Elija...
Malachi 4:1-3
The day is coming when we will be tried by fire to see what will really last. And at that time, all that we will have done in this life will be over. The opportunities past. Time will be up. There will be only two outcomes—being consumed away by God’s holiness, or being cherished as a tender calf. The wicked have their day coming, but those who follow God will be refreshed with the healing presence of the Son of Rig...
Malachi 3:16-18
We didn’t quite get to these final verses last time, but that’s okay because I would love to spend the whole episode today looking at them! This is an interesting passage that mentions such things as God’s book on the righteous and important matters related to end times doctrine, but the greatest reward is being with God. Be mindful of Christ’s imminent return throughout this week. We are trophies!
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