WHAT DOES IT SAY?
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO ME?
The Revelation of Jesus Christ – PART 2.
These messages are from God, given to Jesus to show His bond-servants the things which must soon take place. Jesus sent and communicated these messages by His angel to His bond-servant, John the Revelator. John then gave these messages to the seven churches in Asia.
Please, for your own sake and for the sake of those around you, DO NOT diminish the importance, the accuracy nor the profound impact these messages and these Words of God will have on you and your life.
They are describing what is coming soon, how you will be affected and how you are to respond to escape the Day of His Wrath. Please heed the instruction of these messages to the Church.
If these messages were solely and exclusively to and for the churches in Asia, the message would have ended there. However, God’s Word is eternal and these messages in particular are prophetic and are therefore written to all people who call themselves Christians, of all the ages as a warning, a teaching and as instruction.
These messages were written to you.
Revelation 1:1, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, verse 2,who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, everything that he saw. Verse 3. Blessed is the one who reads, and those who hear the words of the prophecy and keep the things which are written in it; for the time is near.
Message to the Seven Churches
Verse 4. “John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before His throne, verse 5, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood— verse 6, and He made us into a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. Verse 7. BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.
Verse 8. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Message to you and to the Church at Smyrna
Revelation 2:8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write:
The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this:
Verse 9. “‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the slander by those who say they are Jews, and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Verse 10. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. Verse 11. The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.’
Those in the Church at Smyrna,
(1). Are suffering tribulation and poverty, but are rich (also see 1 Peter 1:3-8).
(2). Are slandered by Jews what are ‘a synagogue of Satan’.
(3). Are to suffer prison, more tribulation and death.
(4). They will get the crown of life from Jesus.
(5). They will overcome and will not be hurt by the second death.
((NOW, ASK YOURSELF, (INSERT YOUR NAME HERE):
Are you, (YOUR NAME HERE), suffering tribulation and poverty, but are rich because of Jesus?
Are you slandered by ‘Christians’ for your commitment to Christ Jesus and His Gospel?
Is your service to God bringing a threat of prison, tribulation and even death?
Message to you and to the Church at Pergamum
Revelation 2:12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write:
The One who has the sharp two-edged sword says this:
Verse 13. ‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is; and you hold firmly to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. Verse 14. But I have a few things against you, because you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality. Verse 15. So you, too, have some who in the same way hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Verse 16. Therefore, repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will wage war against them with the sword of My mouth. Verse 17. The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows except the one who receives it.’ “
We can know that the Church at Pergamum,
(1). Dwells where Satan’s throne is yet holds firmly to God’s Name and do not deny faith in God. (I.e., The Pergamene believers lived in a difficult place, surrounded by pagan influences, yet they held fast to Christ’s name and did not deny Him during difficult times.)
(2). Held to the teachings of Balak, eating things sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality.
(3). Held the teachings of the Nicolaitans, (eating things sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality).
Some in the Church at Pergamum denied what Biblical prohibitions against sexual immorality, (homosexuality, fornication, adultery), to their own harm and judgment, much like many professing Christians, today.
Your Brother and Friend,
Mike Young
NEXT: The Message to the Church at Thyatira
PREVIOUS: The Message to the Church at Ephesus.
More Reading: What Does It Say? What Does it Mean?
Whitestone Fellowship 