In Revelation, Jesus gave John letters to seven churches of the day. In this daily devotional, Pastor Steve starts with an overview on those letters.
Devotions in the Pastor Steve Sermon Series
In this devotion, I (Pastor Steve) am beginning a series of sermons on the Seven Churches in the book of Revelation. It is based on a series of sermons I recently did at our church, and I wanted to write is in a more detailed format to post on my wonderful wife Elaine’s blog.
Today’s sermon is intended to serve as an introduction, of sorts. The main text for the seven churches occurs in Revelation chapter two and three. I am going to be writing from Revelation 1: 1-8 in this post.
Let's Put It into Context
Here is some interesting background to help us get our minds situated to how this all fits together. The book of Revelation was written down by the Apostle John. This would be the same John that whose Mother Salome had approached Jesus on behalf of her two sons, James, and John, asking that her sons be allowed to sit one on his left and the other on his right when he came into his kingdom (Mt. 20:21).
The other disciples weren’t thrilled with them asking for such a thing. And if you think about it, how many grown guys would want their mommy coming up to their boss to ask such a thing?
That said, Salome properly approached Jesus when she asked and gave Him the respect He is due, so she knew full well what she was doing. I’ve always found it interesting that she felt comfortable enough to approach Jesus with that kind of a request.
Let's Put It into Context #2
I thought it would be interesting to provide some “fun facts” about John to make this study a bit more interesting:
- John the Apostle is traditionally believed to be one of two disciples (the other being Andrew) recounted in John 1:35-39, who upon hearing the Baptist point out Jesus as the “Lamb of God,” followed Jesus and spent the day with him. Thus, some traditions believe that he was first a disciple of John the Baptist, even though he is not named in this episode.
- James and John are listed among the Twelve Apostles. Jesus referred to the pair as “Boanerges” (translated “sons of thunder”). A Gospel story relates how the brothers wanted to call down heavenly fire on an unhospitable Samaritan town, but Jesus rebuked them. John lived on for another generation after the martyrdom of James, who was the first Apostle to die a martyr’s death.
- According to a Roman Historian (in The Prescription of Heretics), John was banished (presumably to Patmos) after being plunged into boiling oil in Rome and suffering nothing from it. It is said that all in the audience of Colosseum were converted to Christianity upon witnessing this miracle. This event would have occurred in the late 1st century, during the reign of the Emperor Domitian, who was known for his persecution of Christians.
- John was also the only Apostle to die of natural causes. All the others of the 12 were killed in some way.
So, let’s begin by reading at Revelation 1:1-3.
The Revelation
"The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near" (Rev. 1: 1-3 ESV)
We are told in this passage of Scripture, the reason that Revelation was written:
- He wanted to show us, his servants, the things that must soon take place. (vs 1-2)
- Those who read it aloud and hear and keep the words of this prophecy are blessed.
- There must be something to that “read aloud” part. The Bible says in Romans 10:17: “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (ESV).
- Not only are those who read it aloud blessed, but also are those who hear, and keep what is written in it, for the time is near.
Have you ever thought about being blessed simply because you heard something? Now, that doesn’t include gossip, of course, because the Bible is plain about not gossiping.
Take another look at number 3 above. It says that faith comes from hearing.
Whenever we hear something that God intends us to hear, it is a blessing because we are building up our faith. This is especially true when we keep what we have heard.
James told us what is needed. “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves (Jas 1: 22 ESV).
It’s not enough for us to hear the Word of God and do nothing with it. It is no accident that you are given understanding of God’s Word when you hear it.
No, it’s meant for you to apply it to your life and grow in your faith. It’s also meant for you to share it with others. God has never intended for us to do nothing with what we’ve heard. Now, back to Revelation.
Who Is Writing the Letter?
"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, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. 'I am the Alpha and the Omega,' says the Lord God, 'who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty'" (Rev. 1: 4-8 ESV)
From verse 4 on, we see John greeting the seven churches that are referred to in this prophecy. There must have been something special about these churches for Jesus to take the time to have the Apostle John write this Book of Revelation to them specifically.
We don’t know what that reason is because we aren’t told. One thing I recognize though, and we will see this as we go through this series: there are many churches in existence today who have the same problems that are addressed about to each of these churches. I believe that we have much to learn from them all.
John starts out with a greeting from Jesus and the seven spirits. This greeting is addressed to all seven of the churches that he will be writing to. It is interesting how Jesus had John write this mass greeting to start off the letters to the churches, but later, He has him write an individual letter to each of the seven churches.
I think the significance of that, however, is that the greeting is giving Jesus all of the glory and praise due him, well before any of the pronouncements that Jesus gives to the seven churches are even made.
You see, He announces himself as “The Alpha and The Omega.” Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet and Omega is the last letter of the Greek alphabet. Him saying that would be likened to if He were to have said, “I am the A and the Z.” He literally means here that He is the beginning and the end of all things.
Making the Connections
If you read in the Gospel of John chapter one, you will see that it says: ‘”In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made” (Jn. 1: 1-3 ESV).
Jesus was here at the beginning, and He will be here at the end. Indeed, He is, “… the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come” (Rev. 4: 8 NIV).
So, as we delve into this study of the seven churches in Revelation, we are going to see what Jesus had to say to them and why He said it. We are going to cover one of the churches individually, until all of them are covered and we harvest all that we can from them.
How Do We Apply This?
It is my prayer that you grow and learn from what we study here and strive to be all that God is calling you to be.
Father, may Your Will be done in all that we strive to do for you, because we love You. May this study accomplish that which You will have it do and thank You for loving us so much. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
What do you think?
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