Revelation 1-3

By David Maas
{TO THE CHURCHES}

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{BACKGROUND}
  1. Unsealing Daniel - (Daniel was commanded to seal the scroll, but John is told NOT to do so since the season is now at hand) - {PDF Copy}
  2. Introduction to Revelation - (A brief overview of the book of Revelation) - {PDF Copy}
  3. Fourfold Structure - {PDF Copy} - (The four major literary divisions are marked by John coming to be in spirit)
  4. Call to Action - {PDF Copy} - (Through a series of seven beatitudes, Revelation summons believers to faithfulness despite hostility and persecution)
  5. Isle of Patmos - {PDF Copy} - (John was exiled to Patmos for his testimony – A fellow participant in the Tribulation and Perseverance in Jesus)
  6. Unlocking Prophecy - (Jesus, the Word become flesh, is the interpretive key that opens the Hebrew scriptures and the book of Revelation) - {PDF Copy}
  7. Common Errors of Interpretation - (The real-life relevance of Revelation for today is lost if we begin to interpret it with incorrect presuppositions) - {PDF Copy}
  8. Provided Interpretations - (Revelation communicates symbolically, and it provides the reader with many key interpretations of its images) - {PDF Copy}
  9. Revelation's Recipients - (Revelation is addressed to seven real churches that resided in the Roman province of Asia) - {PDF Copy}
  10. People of the Last Days - {PDF Copy} - (The church is the battlefield where the final war is being waged between the Lamb and that Ancient Serpent, Satan)
  11. The Missing Seventy Weeks of Daniel - {PDF Copy} - (The book of Revelation never refers or alludes to the "Seventy Weeks" prophecy of Daniel)
  12. Linear Chronological Sequence? - (Are Revelation’s visions presented in chronological sequence?) - {PDF Copy}
  13. Literal and Nonliteral Language - {PDF Copy} - (From its opening verse, the book of Revelation demonstrates that it communicates via symbolism)
  14. The Wrath of God - (Wrath refers to the final judicial sentence of God on His enemies. Tribulation is what the church endures) - {PDF Copy}

{FIRST VISION}
  1. What Must Come to Pass - {PDF Copy} - (Revelation states that its purpose is to show God’s servants “what things must soon come to pass”)
  2. Prologue to Revelation - {PDF Copy} - (Revelation 1:1-3 - The first paragraph introduces the key themes, characters, and the addressees of the book)
  3. The Season is at Hand - {PDF Copy} - (In Revelation, the period known as the last days began following the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth)
  4. Greetings from the Throne - {PDF Copy} - (The salutations from the throne highlight key themes of the book, especially the victory and present reign of Jesus)
  5. The Faithful Witness - {PDF Copy} - (In the salutation to the seven churches, Jesus is called the Faithful Witness because of his self-sacrificial death)
  6. The Firstborn of the Dead - {PDF Copy} - (Jesus is the Firstborn of the Dead, a reference to his past resurrection and the basis for the future resurrection of the saints)
  7. Supreme Sovereign - {PDF Copy} - (The faithful witness, Jesus, now reigns supreme over the kings of the earth and even his enemies)
  8. He Who Is - {PDF Copy} - (God is the One who is and who was and who is coming, the Almighty who sits on the throne at the center of Creation)
  9. The Seven Spirits of God - {PDF Copy} - (Greetings are sent to the seven churches of Asia from God, Jesus, and the seven spirits of God that are before the throne)
  10. Kings and Priests - {PDF Copy} - (Disciples reign with Jesus as priests that render service in his Tabernacle and mediate his light in the world)
  11. Tribulation, Kingdom, Endurance - (Exiled on Patmos, John is a “fellow-participant” in the tribulation, kingdom, and endurance - “In Jesus”) - {PDF Copy}
  12. The Lordly Day - (On Patmos, John found himself “in the Spirit,” and projected to the “Day of the Lord” – Revelation 1:9-10) - {PDF Copy}
  13. Call to Action - {PDF Copy} - (Through a series of seven “beatitudes,” Revelation summons believers to faithfulness despite hostility and persecution)
  14. King of ALL Kings, and Ruler of the Kings of the Earth - (Revelation 1:4-6 - Jesus was exalted to rule the nations because of his Death and Resurrection) - {PDF Copy}
  15. First Vision - Son of Man - (Revelation 1:9-20 - John's vision of the Son of Man walking among the seven golden lampstands) - {PDF Copy}

{SEVEN LETTERS}
  1. Seven Churches - Overview - (The visitation of Jesus to the churches of Asia prepares the reader for the visions that follow the seven letters) - {PDF Copy}
  2. Tree of Life - Ephesus - (The messenger at Ephesus is commended for rejecting false apostles, chastised for leaving his first love, and summoned to return to his first works) - {PDF Copy}
  3. Faithful Until Death - (After persevering through persecution, the ever-faithful church at Smyrna was promised even more tribulation but also exceeding great rewards) - {PDF Copy}
  4. Hold Fast My Name - (Pergamos receives praise for remaining faithful to his name, but correction for tolerating the teachings of “Balaam”) - {PDF Copy}
  5. Martyrs and Overcomers - (In Revelation, overcoming saints persevere in the testimony of Jesus no matter the cost, “even unto death”) - {PDF Copy}
  6. Inhabitants of the Earth - (The “inhabitants of the earth” represent the men excluded from the “book of life” for aligning with the "beast")  - {PDF Copy}
  7. Hear the Spirit! - (The call to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches begins to intensify after the warning about the teachings of “Jezebel”) - {PDF Copy}
  8. The Nicolaitans - (Deceivers within the churches were encouraging believers to compromise with the idolatrous rites of pagan society) - {PDF Copy}
  9. Arrayed in White Garments - Sardis - (The church in the city of Sardis receives no commendation, only warnings, and a summons to repent) - {PDF Copy}
  10. Pillar in the Temple - Philadelphia - (Philadelphia receives no correction since she has remained faithful, and therefore, she will be kept from the hour of trial ) - {PDF Copy}
  11. Kept from the Hour - (Revelation 3:10 - Did Jesus promise to remove the first-century church of Philadelphia from the earth?) - {PDF Copy}
  12. Gold Refined by Fire - Laodicea - (Laodicea receives no commendation, only corrections, and warnings. Its hope lies in becoming “gold refined by fire”) - {PDF Copy}
  13. Beginning of the Creation - (Revelation looks forward to the reign of Jesus in the New Creation, a reality inaugurated by his Death and Resurrection) - {PDF Copy}

{RELATED TOPICS}
  1. The Isle of Patmos - {PDF Copy} - (John was exiled on Patmos for the testimony of Jesus)
  2. Tribulation of the Saints - (In Revelation, faithful saints experience tribulation, but the unrepentant inhabitants of the earth undergo wrath)  - {PDF Copy}
  3. Why do the Nations Rage? - (The conspiracy by the earth’s kings to unseat God’s Son is applied by the New Testament to the plot to destroy Jesus) - {PDF Copy}

{ONLINE COMMENTARIES}