REVELATION 1-3
{BACKGROUND}
[Click on the title below to open an article]
- Unsealing Daniel - (Daniel was commanded to “seal the scroll,” whereas, in Revelation, John was commanded NOT to seal the scroll, “for the season is at hand”) - {PDF Copy}
- A Brief Introduction to the Book of Revelation - {PDF Copy}
- The Fourfold Division of Revelation - {PDF Copy} - (The four major literary divisions marked by John coming to be "in spirit")
- Call to Action - {PDF Copy} - (Through a series of seven “beatitudes,” Revelation summons believers to faithfulness despite hostility and persecution)
- The Isle of Patmos - {PDF Copy} - (Revelation 1:9 - John was exiled to the island of Patmos for the testimony of Jesus)
- Unlocking Prophecy - (The interpretive key to understanding Revelation is Jesus, the sacrificial Lamb) - {PDF Copy}
- Common Errors Interpreting Revelation - (The real-life relevance of Revelation for today is lost if we begin to interpret it with incorrect presuppositions) - {PDF Copy}
- Provided Interpretations in Revelation - (The book of Revelation itself provides numerous interpretations of its visions) - {PDF Copy}
- 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)
- The Missing Seventy Weeks of Daniel - {PDF Copy} - (The book of Revelation never refers or alludes to the "Seventy Weeks" prophecy of Daniel)
- Revelation's Recipients - (Revelation is addressed to seven real churches that resided in the Roman province of Asia) - {PDF Copy}
- Linear Chronological Sequence? - (Are Revelation’s visions presented in chronological sequence?) - {PDF Copy}
- Literal and Nonliteral Language - {PDF Copy} - (From its opening verse, the book of Revelation demonstrates that it communicates via symbolism)
- The Wrath of God in the book of Revelation - ("Wrath" in Revelation refers to God's punishment of the wicked at the end of the age) - {PDF Copy}
{SEVEN CHURCHES}
- Revelation's Recipients - (Revelation is addressed to seven real churches that resided in the Roman province of Asia) - {PDF Copy}
- 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”)
- Prologue to Revelation - {PDF Copy} - (Revelation 1:1-3 - The first paragraph introduces the key themes, characters, and the addressees of the book)
- 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)
- Greetings from the Throne - {PDF Copy} - (Revelation 1:4-8 - The salutation to the seven churches of Asia highlights the main themes of the book)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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 enemies)
- 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}
- 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)
- 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)
- Kings and Priests - {PDF Copy} - (Christians reign with Jesus and fulfill their royal role as “priests” who render service to God in His “Tabernacle”)
- Tribulation, Kingdom, Endurance - (Exiled on Patmos, John is a “fellow-participant” in the tribulation, kingdom, and endurance - “In Jesus”) - {PDF Copy}
- 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}
- Seven Churches - Overview - (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}
- Call to Action - {PDF Copy} - (Through a series of seven “beatitudes,” Revelation summons believers to faithfulness despite hostility and persecution)
- 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}
- 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}
- 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}
- Become 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}
- Holding Fast My Name - (Pergamos receives praise for remaining faithful to his name, but correction for tolerating the teachings of “Balaam”) - {PDF Copy}
- 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}
- The Nicolaitans - (Deceivers within the churches were encouraging believers to compromise with the idolatrous rites of pagan society) - {PDF Copy}
- Arrayed in White Garments - Sardis - (The church in the city of Sardis receives no commendation, only warnings, and a summons to repent) - {PDF Copy}
- Hold Fast What You Have - Philadelphia - (Philadelphia receives no correction. She is faithful and, therefore, will be kept from the hour of trial ) - {PDF Copy}
- Kept from the Hour - (Revelation 3:10 - Did Jesus promise to remove the first-century church of Philadelphia from the earth?) - {PDF Copy}
- Gold Refined by Fire - Laodicea - (Laodicea receives no commendation, only corrections, and warnings. Its hope lies in becoming “gold refined by fire”) - {PDF Copy}
- 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}
{INDIVIDUAL TOPICS}
- The Isle of Patmos - {PDF Copy} - (John was exiled on Patmos for the testimony of Jesus)
- Saints and the Tribulation - (In Revelation, faithful saints experience tribulation, but the unrepentant inhabitants of the earth undergo wrath) - {PDF Copy}
- 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}
- The Epistles to the Seven Churches, (By Richard Trench. PDF - Read online or download [public domain])
- Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia, (By William Ramsay. Read online or download PDF [Christian Classics Ethereal Library - ccel.org]).
