Revelation 1-3

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"The seven stars are the messengers of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches."

{SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA}
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  1. Revelation's Recipients - (Revelation is addressed to seven real churches that resided in the Roman province of Asia) - {PDF Copy}
  2. 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”)
  3. The Prologue to Revelation - {PDF Copy} - (Revelation 1:1-3 - The first paragraph introduces the key themes, characters, and the addressees of the book)
  4. The Season is at Hand - {PDF Copy} - (In Revelation, the “last days,” the “season of the end” began with the Death and Resurrection of Jesus)
  5. Greetings to the Seven Churches - {PDF Copy} - (Revelation 1:4-8 - The salutation to the seven churches of Asia highlights the main themes of the book, especially the present reign of Jesus)
  6. The Faithful Witness - {PDF Copy} - (In the salutation to the seven churches, Jesus is identified as the “Faithful Witness” because of his self-sacrificial death)
  7. 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)
  8. Supreme Sovereign over the Earth - {PDF Copy} - (Because of his faithful witness, Jesus reigns supreme over the kings of the earth and even over his vilest enemies)
  9. THAT Son of Man - (The “one like a Son of Man” from Daniel is the source of Christ’s self-designation, the “Son of Man”) - {PDF Copy}
  10. He Who Is - {PDF Copy} - (God is the One who is and who was and who is coming, the Almighty Creator of all things who now sits on the throne at the center of the Cosmos)
  11. 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)
  12. Kings and Priests - {PDF Copy} - (Christians reign with Jesus and fulfill their royal role as “priests” who render service to God in His “Tabernacle”)
  13. Tribulation, Kingdom, Endurance - (Exiled on Patmos, John is a “fellow-participant” in the tribulation, kingdom, and endurance - “In Jesus”) - {PDF Copy}
  14. The Seven Churches - (The visitation of Jesus to the Seven Churches prepares the reader for the visions that follow the letters to the churches of Asia) - {PDF Copy}
  15. False Apostles and Nicolaitans - (Deceivers within the churches were encouraging believers to compromise with the idolatrous rites of pagan society) - {PDF Copy}
  16. Call to Action - Seven Beatitudes - {PDF Copy} - (Through a series of seven “beatitudes,” Revelation summons believers to faithfulness despite hostility and persecution)
  17. 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}
  18. First Vision - Son of Man - (Revelation 1:9-20 - John's vision of Jesus walking among the seven golden lampstands) - {PDF Copy}
  19. The Church at Ephesus - (Revelation 2:1-7 - The messenger of the assembly at Ephesus is commended for rejecting false apostles but chastised for losing his “first love") - {PDF Copy}
  20. False Apostles and First Works - (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}
  21. The Church at Smyrna - (Revelation 2:8-11 - The church at Smyrna is promised more tribulation based on its past faithfulness in persecution) - {PDF Copy}
  22. The Church at Pergamos - (Revelation 2:12-17 - The church at Pergamos is corrected for tolerating the teachings of “Balaam”) - {PDF Copy}
  23. The Church at Thyatira - (Revelation 2:18-29 - The prophetess, “Jezebel,” deceived many saints at Thyatira into accommodating idolatrous practices ) - {PDF Copy}
  24. The Church at Sardis - (Revelation 3:1-6 - The church in the city of Sardis receives no commendation, only warnings, and a summons to repent) - {PDF Copy}
  25. The Church at Philadelphia - (Revelation 3:7-13 - Like the church at Smyrna, Philadelphia receives no correction. She is faithful and, therefore, will be kept from the hour of trial ) - {PDF Copy}
  26. The Church at Laodicea - (Revelation 3:14-22 - The church at Laodicea receives no commendation, only correction) - {PDF Copy}
{INDIVIDUAL TOPICS}
  1. The Lordly Day - (On the isle of Patmos, suddenly, John found himself “in the Spirit,” and projected into the “Day of the Lord” – Revelation 1:9-10) - {PDF Copy}
  2. The Isle of Patmos - {PDF Copy} - (John was exiled on Patmos for the testimony of Jesus)
  3. Saints and the Tribulation - (In Revelation, faithful saints experience tribulation, but the unrepentant inhabitants of the earth undergo wrath)  - {PDF Copy}
  4. The Beginning of the Creation of God - (Revelation 3:14 - In his Death and Resurrection, Jesus inaugurated the New Creation) - {PDF Copy}
  5. Kept from the Hour - (Revelation 3:10 - Did Jesus promise to remove the first-century church of Philadelphia from the earth?) - {PDF Copy}
  6. End-Time People of Jesus - {PDF Copy} - (The church is the battlefield where the final war is being waged between the Lamb and that Ancient Serpent, Satan)
{ONLINE COMMENTARIES ON THE SEVEN CHURHCES}

Iceland Beach by Luca Micheli on Unsplash
Iceland Beach Sunrise - by Luca Micheli on Unsplash