Revelation Chapter 5 Verses 9-10

9 and they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy art thou to take the scroll and to open its seals, for thou wast slain and by thy blood didst ransom men for God from every tribe and tongue and people and nation, 10 and hast made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on earth.”

In these verses, “Heaven is revealed to earth as the homeland of music.” We find here the greatest chorus of praise the universe can ever hear. This new song is a song of redemption. It is a song about Jesus and about his church, the ransomed from the earth.

Think for a moment about the songs we sing. Which ones would we choose were we to find ourselves worshipping before the throne of God? (Certainly “Worthy Art Thou” should be on the list!) Are there any of those songs we would not sing on such a grand occasion? If so, then why would we ever sing them at all? Aren’t we worshipping before the throne of God when we gather each week in our worship assembly? Aren’t we the royal priesthood right here and right now? Just because we, unlike John, cannot see the throne of God doesn’t mean it’s not here. We know it’s here! God is (present tense!) dwelling with his people! Christ opened the door! Hebrews 4:16 — “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace!” (I could go further and ask not only what we would be singing in such a situation but also what we would be wearing and how we would be acting in such a situation, but I’ve probably said too much already.)

One more comment about singing: Do angels sing? Most of us would likely answer yes. But interestingly there is a not a single example anywhere in the Bible of an angel singing. The closest we get is in Job 38:7 — “The morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy.” (Hark the Herald Angels Say? It just doesn’t have the same ring to it!) Also, did you know that God sings? See Zephaniah 3:17. And, in my opinion, angels also sing. How could they not?

In 4:11, God was worthy of glory, honor, and power because of his creation. Here in 5:9-10, Christ is worthy because of his new creation, the church.

In 15:3, we will see the Song of Moses and the Song of the Lamb. The song of Moses is also found in Exodus 15, where we find another song about deliverance and about the goodness of God.

Why do we need a new song? Because a greater deliverance required a new and greater song. Also, this new song depicts a new expression of God’s love. Recall, for example, Psalm 98:1 —

O sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have gotten him victory.

And recall Isaiah 42:10 —

Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise from the end of the earth! Let the sea roar and all that fills it, the coastlands and their inhabitants.

Who are the ransomed in verse 9? Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 2:6 that Jesus “gave Himself a ransom for all.” And yet not all are ransomed because those outside of Christ remain under a yoke of bondage (Galatians 5:1). The ransomed in verse 9 are the church. We belong to Christ.

1 Corinthians 6:20 You were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

1 Corinthians 7:23 You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men.

Mark 10:45 For the Son of man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

1 Peter 1:18-19 You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your fathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

And who are the kingdom and priests in verse 10? Once again, we see the church. We are a kingdom and priests to our God.

Exodus 19:6 You shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation.

The kingdom and the priesthood were taken from Israel and given to the church. Recall Matthew 21:43 —

Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing the fruits of it.

The RSV in verse 10 says that they shall reign on earth. The KJV has the same translation. The ASV says that they reign on earth. Neither translation contradicts the fact that we are reigning now (Romans 5:17, Revelation 3:11, Ephesians 2:5-7), although the use of the future “shall” would indicate that the church’s reign would be renewed and strengthened by Jesus’ judgment against Rome. For example, in Revelation 20:6 we read that we “shall be priests,” yet in Revelation 1:6 we find that we already are priests. The promise is that these Christians would continue to reign with Christ and would continue to be priests. If they were faithful, that relation would not end regardless of what Rome did.

Please visit ThyWordIsTruth.com for free audio lessons on Revelation, for a unique daily Bible reading calendar, to read about God's plan of salvation, to read the answers to hundreds of questions submitted by our readers, and for much, much more.

Revelation Chapter 5 Verses 6-8

6 And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders, I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth; 7 and he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. 8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and with golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints;

John looks over expecting to see a lion, but what does he see? He sees a lamb. In fact, he sees a lamb standing as though it had been slain. Where is the power in that? Again, things are not always as they seem.

What is meant by the phrase “as though it had been slain”? It means that the Lamb had the marks of slaughter upon it. It does not mean that the Lamb merely looked like it had been slain; it means that the Lamb had been slain. And the marks of that event were still evident upon it. And this slain lamb is standing — a vision of victory through sacrifice and suffering.

Three words in the New Testament are translated lamb: aren, amnos, and arnion. The first occurs only in Luke 10:3, the second occurs four times in John, Acts, and 1 Peter. The third word for lamb occurs once in John’s gospel (21:15) and 29 times in Revelation, 28 of which in reference to Jesus. (The other use is in 13:11.)

This Lamb, of course, is Jesus who overcame the world through his perfect sacrifice. He had overcome the world (John 16:33) and defeated his foes not as a lion but as a lamb, and by this his subjects must also now conquer. Recall:

John 1:29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

1 Corinthians 5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us.

1 Peter 1:18–19 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.

Isaiah 53:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.

We tend to see a lamb as a docile and helpless creature, but we will find that this Lamb is very different. Later, we will read about the “wrath of the Lamb,” which is one of the most remarkable and striking phrases in all of the Bible.

One of the songs we sing quite often is “Lamb of God.” And while the song has some worthy sentiments, it includes the following line that has always bothered me: “Your gift of love they crucified, They laughed and scorned Him as He died, The humble King they named a fraud And sacrificed the Lamb of God.” Neither the Romans nor the angry mob sacrificed the Son of God; they murdered the son of God! (Acts 5:30 “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree.”) Jesus gave himself as a sacrifice on our behalf. (Hebrews 9:26 “but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.”) See also John 10:18; Galatians 1:4; Ephesians 5:2; Titus 2:14; and 1 Corinthians 5:7. Sacrifice is an act of worship, and neither the Jews nor the Romans were worshiping God on that day! (I suppose it is just poetic license, but some poets need to have their licenses revoked!)

Why does this lamb have seven horns? Horns were used by the Hebrews to depict power. (Deuteronomy 33:17; 1 Samuel 2:10) The seven horns here represent Jesus’ complete and perfect power and wisdom. Later in Revelation (and also in Daniel) we will see that horns are used to depict kings. Thus, these seven horns likely depict the royalty of Christ and his complete sovereignty over all things.

The Lamb also has seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God. Recall our earlier discussion on the seven spirits where we identified them with the Holy Spirit. (2 Chronicles 16:9; Zechariah 3:9, 4:10)

The bowls of incense are the prayers of the saints. We will see later that everything in this book came about as a result of the prayers of the saints. While despised on earth, these prayers are brought to God in golden bowls. The picture reminds us of Psalm 141:2 — “Let my prayer be counted as incense before thee, and the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice.”

A major theme of this book is the power of prayer. We will soon see that this judgment against Rome is happening because of the prayers by God’s people. Yes, we are to love our enemies and pray for them, but sometimes that prayer can be that God will judge them, and perhaps in that judgment they will finally see the errors of their ways.

Notice that each of the elders is holding a harp. So, I guess that means harps can be used in our worship service, right? Wrong! We know from elsewhere in the New Testament that God’s chosen instrument for worship in the new kingdom is the human voice and the use of anything else is contrary to the pattern he left for us to follow. (See much more on this subject at www.ThyWordIstruth.com.)

Why then do we see harps in these verses? Remember that what we are seeing here are symbols. This language is figurative. For example, only in a vision could a lamb with 7 horns and 7 eyes take a book from someone’s hand. These harps are symbols for praise, just as the incense is a symbol for prayer. We will see a similar symbol in 14:2 — “the voice I heard was like the sound of harpers playing on their harps.”

The Lamb takes the scroll from the right hand of God. Jesus is worthy to open to the scroll and do what is contained therein. What follows next has been called “one of the greatest scenes of universal adoration anywhere recorded.”

Please visit ThyWordIsTruth.com for free audio lessons on Revelation, for a unique daily Bible reading calendar, to read about God's plan of salvation, to read the answers to hundreds of questions submitted by our readers, and for much, much more.

Revelation Chapter 5 Verses 2-5

2 and I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” 3 And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, 4 and I wept much that no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. 5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Weep not; lo, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

The question is not who is able to open the scroll and breaks its seals, but rather who is worthy to do those things. Whoever opens the scroll will be responsible for what follows. The word “worthy” (axios) literally means “of sufficient weight.” The word occurs 7 times in Revelation.

We will see this (or perhaps another) strong angel again in 10:1 and 18:21. In Chapter 10, the strong angel will lift his right to Heaven and swear there will be no more delay, so when we see this strong angel we should remember the time frame of this book.

Even this “strong angel” was not worthy to open the scroll. In fact, no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was worthy. The phrase “under the earth” likely denotes the grave or the place of the dead. (See Ephesians 4:9 and Romans 10:7.)

Taken together, the phrase “in heaven or on earth or under the earth” denotes the entire universe of created beings. Recall, for example, Philippians 2:10 — “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.” We also see similar language in the command of Exodus 20:4 — “You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.”

No one in all of God’s creation was worthy to open the scroll and loosen the seals. And John wept. Why? If the scrolls were not opened then there would be no protection for God’s people, there would be no judgments against the enemies of God’s people, there would be no ultimate triumph for believers, and there would be no new heaven and new earth. John wept at the delay! And how would John have reacted had he been forced to read a modern commentary that says nothing in the book has yet been fulfilled even to this very day? How would he have reacted to that delay?

And what was John told to do? He was told to quit crying and look at Jesus, and that is good advice in any circumstances! Swete, reminding us of the recurring theme that we must view things from God’s perspective, said: “Higher natures see that human grief is often needless, springing from insufficient knowledge.” Barclay: “If we had patience to wait and trust, we would see that God has his own solutions for the situations that bring us tears.”

We see here three descriptions of Jesus: (1) the Lion of the tribe of Judah, (2) the Root of David, (3) and we are told that he has conquered.

The lion of the tribe of Judah is a Messianic title. Jesus is from the tribe of Judah (Hebrews 7:14). Recall Genesis 49:9–10 —

Judah is a lion’s whelp; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as a lioness; who dares rouse him up? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

The Root of David is also a Messianic title. We know that Jesus descended from David according to the flesh (Romans 1:3). Recall Isaiah 11:1, 10 speaking of David’s father, Jesse —

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. ... In that day the root of Jesse shall stand as an ensign to the peoples; him shall the nations seek, and his dwellings shall be glorious.

Finally, Jesus is described as the one who has (past tense) conquered. Not that he is about to conquer, but that he has already conquered. Jesus conquered Rome at the cross! In fact, Jesus was conquering Rome at the very point that Rome thought it was conquering Jesus. Once again, things are not always what they seem!

What is the purpose of this beautiful picture of Christ? This picture emphasizes how great a thing it is to which Christ is here called. He will sustain the kingdom he died to create — and he will sustain us today. Jesus loves his church!

Finally, it is self evident that God did not need to search for someone to open the scroll. God did not need to search for Christ. The searching, the waiting, and the weeping are presented for dramatic effect. The angel in verse 2 knew the answer to his question before he asked it!

Please visit ThyWordIsTruth.com for free audio lessons on Revelation, for a unique daily Bible reading calendar, to read about God's plan of salvation, to read the answers to hundreds of questions submitted by our readers, and for much, much more.

Revelation Chapter 5 Verse 1

1 And I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals;

The contents of this scroll will be revealed in the chapters that follow, but here we get a description of the scroll. It is written within and on the back, and it is sealed with seven seals.

What we sometimes call a “book” was really a scroll. Scrolls of that day were typically made of single papyrus sheets about ten by eight inches. The sheets were joined together horizontally when a long scroll was needed. The writing was in narrow columns about three inches long. The roll commonly had a wooden roller at each end. It was held in the left hand, unrolled with the right, and, as the reading went on, the part in the left hand was rolled up again. The book of Revelation, for example, would have required a scroll that was about 15 feet long.

This scroll was written on the front and on the back. In making papyrus paper, a row of papyrus strips was laid vertically with another row of strips laid horizontally on top of them. The whole thing was then moistened with water and glued and pressed together. The side that ran horizontally was known as the recto, and on that side the writing was done because the lines of the writing ran with the lines of the fibers. The other side was called the verso and it was not commonly used for writing.

But papyrus was expensive. So, if you had a lot to write, you would write both on the front and on the back. A sheet written on the back, the verso, was called an opisthograph.

That the scroll in God’s hand was an opisthograph (written within and on the back) tells us that it contained the extensive and comprehensive decrees of God. It contained the full will of God for his people and for the enemies of his people. That it is written tells us that God’s will in this matter has been determined, and it will happen. It has been decided. There will be no deliberation and no delay.

We see similar language in the description of Ezekiel’s book of lamentations in Ezekiel 2:10 — “It had writing on the front and on the back, and there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe.” And Rome will soon find that for them the comparison with Ezekiel’s scroll goes beyond how it was written. For them, this scroll will also contain words of lamentation and mourning and woe.

The seven seals on the scroll indicate that the scroll was perfectly and completely sealed. At this point, God’s plan had not yet been put into effect and had not yet been revealed. The judgments within the scroll had not yet been executed. But that is all about to change as the seals are removed.   

The use of a seal reminds us of Daniel 8:26, where Daniel was told to “seal up the vision, for it pertains to many days hence.” The period called “many days hence” in Daniel 8:26 was in fact about 400 years. By contrast, the seals are about to come off of this scroll, and in 22:10, John will be told not to seal up his book for the time is near! Again, we must ask on what basis some people argue that the events in this scroll have not happened even to this very day — 2000 years after the seals were removed!

Please visit ThyWordIsTruth.com for free audio lessons on Revelation, for a unique daily Bible reading calendar, to read about God's plan of salvation, to read the answers to hundreds of questions submitted by our readers, and for much, much more.

Revelation Chapter 4 Verses 9-11

9 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives for ever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever; they cast their crowns before the throne, singing, 11 “Worthy art thou, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for thou didst create all things, and by thy will they existed and were created.”

The elders fall down before God and cast their crowns before the throne and worship God. This shows that their authority is a delegated authority. They owe their existence and present status to God’s power and will.

Twice we see see the phrase “who lives for ever and ever.” This description emphasizes the eternal nature of God, which stands in stark contrast to the supposed Roman deities who had been created and who had an appointment with death. It reminds me of Psalm 22:29 — “All those who go down to the dust shall bow before Him, even he who cannot keep himself alive.”

The word translated “worship” is a Greek word meaning to prostrate oneself before deity and to kiss the feet or hem of the garment. Verse 10, in fact, explicitly tells us that the elders fell down before God and worshipped him. If we had more time, there is a great deal we could say here about the proper worship of God and the improper worship of God. (For more on that topic, see the materials and sermons on www.ThyWordIsTruth.com.)

Notice that verse 10 in the Revised Standard Version tells us that these 24 elders were singing while worshipping before the throne of God. Other translations tell us that these elders were simply saying these words. Which is correct? The Greek word used here denotes speaking, and particularly denotes the content of the speech. Ephesians 5:19 does say, “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,” but the Greek word for “speaking” used there is different and denotes the sound of the speech. Thus, it’s not clear at all why the RSV used “singing” in this verse, and it appears to be incorrect. In any event, we will hear the elders singing later in 5:9, and we will have more to say about music at that time.

The phrases “worthy art thou” and “our Lord and God” were also used in the worship of the emperor. The emperor Domitian took “Lord and God” as his official title and required all government announcements and proclamations to begin with the phrase “Our Lord and God Domitian commands.”

The phrase “they existed and were created” in verse 11 is interesting. Some suggest that this verse indicates we somehow existed before we were created, perhaps, as one puts it, “we existed in the will of god and were then created at the appointed time.”

All of creation is the product of God’s will. Before anything was created, it had its existence in the mind of God. As Psalm 148:5 reminds us, “For he commanded and they were created.” When we study God’s creation we are thinking God’s thoughts after him.   

The scene of this chapter is one of unending worship of God by the cherubim and by the church. The creatures worship their Creator. By contrast, Romans 1:25 depicts sinful men worshipping the creature rather than the Creator — and that verse from Romans described Rome perfectly!

Please visit ThyWordIsTruth.com for free audio lessons on Revelation, for a unique daily Bible reading calendar, to read about God's plan of salvation, to read the answers to hundreds of questions submitted by our readers, and for much, much more.

Revelation Chapter 4 Verses 6b-8

6b And round the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: 7 the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like a flying eagle. 8 And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all round and within, and day and night they never cease to sing, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”

As with the 24 elders, the four living creatures that we meet here will also reappear later in the book. We will see them again in chapters 5, 6, 7, 14, 15, and 19.

Who are the four living creatures? They may be the cherubim. In the Old Testament, God was pictured as sitting enthroned above the cherubim that sat atop the ark of the covenant, and he was often addressed that way in prayer. (2 Kings 19:15, Psalm 80:1, Psalm 99:1, Isaiah 37:16)

We are also told that the cherubim are God’s chariot on which he rides swiftly to judgment.

Ezekiel 10:16 And when the cherubim went, the wheels went beside them; and when the cherubim lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth, the wheels did not turn from beside them.

Psalm 18:10 He rode on a cherub, and flew; he came swiftly upon the wings of the wind.

We are also reminded of the seraphim from Isaiah 6:2-3.

Above him stood the seraphim; each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.”

The seraphim are mentioned only by Isaiah. They may be the same as the cherubim, with the name “seraphim” being used by Isaiah to describe their dazzling appearance.

There are differences among the descriptions of the seraphim in Isaiah, the cherubim in Ezekiel, and the creatures in Revelation, but they may nevertheless be different symbolic descriptions of the same beings. (Remember one of our interpretive principles: Dissimilarity of symbols does not necessarily imply distinctness of subjects.) Isaiah’s seraphim have six wings; Ezekiel’s cherubim have four; John’s living creatures have six. Ezekiel’s cherubim have four faces each; John’s living creatures have one face each.

The purpose of the cherubim is to defend God’s holiness. They kept Adam from the tree of life. They were woven into the veil that stood between man and the presence of God in the temple. They stood over the ark of the covenant looking down upon the law of God. They would have demanded immediate justice were it not for the mercy seat that covered the transgressions because of the blood that was sprinkled there.

These creatures are the judge of all who enter the presence of God. They are endlessly concerned with God’s reputation and the vindication of his character. They never cease to say, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty.” Think of these creatures the next time you hear someone use the name of God in vain. They are watching!

What about the lion, the ox, the man, and the eagle? Some suggest they depict nobility (the lion), swiftness (the eagle), strength (the ox), and wisdom (the man). Barclay says, “the four living creatures stand for everything that is noblest, strongest, wisest, and swiftest in nature. Each has the pre-eminence in his own particular sphere.”

These creatures likely depict all of nature, including man. That is, they depict all of God’s creation worshiping God. “The ceaseless activity of nature under the hand of God is a ceaseless tribute of praise.” Recall Psalm 19:1-2:

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.

We are also reminded of Psalm 148, which has been called a magnificent summons for the entire creation to join together in worship of God:

Praise the LORD from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps: Fire, and hail; snow, and vapour; stormy wind fulfilling his word: Mountains, and all hills; fruitful trees, and all cedars: Beasts, and all cattle; creeping things, and flying fowl: Kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and all judges of the earth: Both young men, and maidens; old men, and children: Let them praise the name of the LORD: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven.

Barclay: “There is a tremendous truth here. The basic idea behind this is that anything which is fulfilling the function for which it was created is praising God. ... Cannot an earthworm serve God? Do you suppose that it is only a general who is a good soldier? Cannot the lowest private fight his best? Happy are you, if you are serving God and carrying out his purpose as faithfully as an earthworm.”

Why are there four creatures? The number four confirms our understanding that we see here all of God’s creation worshipping him. The number four denotes the created world — the four elements (earth, air, fire, water), the four seasons, the four directions. Compare Mark 13:27 — “And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.” Some say that 4 being 3+1 denotes the creative works (1) that come from God (3).

If you have seen many stained glass windows or other religious artwork, then you have seen these four living creatures representing the four gospel writers. The first such identification dates all the way back to A.D. 170 with Irenaeus. Augustine identified Matthew with the lion because he depicted Jesus as the Lion of Judah, Mark with the man because he showed the humanity of Christ, Luke with the ox because he showed Jesus as the perfect sacrifice for all, and John with the eagle because the eagle is the only creature that can look straight into the sun. Others identify Matthew with the man and Mark with the lion. (See, for example, the painting of the four gospel writers by Rubens below.)

These four living creatures are full of eyes: They miss nothing. They proclaim God’s holiness, his separateness, his transcendence, and his unlimited might and power.

Here is the message of these verses in a nutshell: You think Rome is powerful and impressive? Just look at who we have on our side! Rome does not stand a chance!

Please visit ThyWordIsTruth.com for free audio lessons on Revelation, for a unique daily Bible reading calendar, to read about God's plan of salvation, to read the answers to hundreds of questions submitted by our readers, and for much, much more.

Revelation Chapter 4 Verses 5-6a

5 From the throne issue flashes of lightning, and voices and peals of thunder, and before the throne burn seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God; 6a and before the throne there is as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.

Thunder and lightning are commonly used to depict God’s wrath and power to judge. Recall, for example:

Exodus 19:16 On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.

Psalm 18:12-14 Out of the brightness before him there broke through his clouds hailstones and coals of fire. The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered his voice, hailstones and coals of fire. And he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; he flashed forth lightnings, and routed them.

Psalm 77:18 The crash of thy thunder was in the whirlwind; thy lightnings lighted up the world; the earth trembled and shook.

In this book, thunder and lightning always precede something of unusual importance. For example, thunder and lightning precede:

The breaking of seventh seal in 8:5.

The blowing of seventh trumpet in 11:19.

The pouring of seventh bowl of wrath in 16:18.

The seven torches of fire are the seven spirits of God, which, as we saw before, most likely represent the Holy Spirit, with “seven” being used to denote the perfection of the Spirit.

A torch of fire is a particularly good symbol for the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit appeared as “cloven tongues like as of fire” in Acts 2:3. Like a torch of fire, the Holy Spirit is a revealer; he makes all things clear.

This sea stresses separation. (We will see this symbol again later in this book.) In Solomon’s temple a sea stood between the priest and the holy place where God dwelt (2 Chronicles 4:2-6). God is transcendent. He is separate from his creation, and his creation is called upon to remember that! Swete wrote of “the vast distance which, even in the case of one who stood in the door of heaven, intervened between himself and the throne of God.” And yet, with Jesus as our Savior, we can boldly approach that throne! (Hebrews 4:16)

John in particular knew what a separating sea meant! He was in exile on an island. In 21:1, we will find that the sea is no more!

Please visit ThyWordIsTruth.com for free audio lessons on Revelation, for a unique daily Bible reading calendar, to read about God's plan of salvation, to read the answers to hundreds of questions submitted by our readers, and for much, much more.

Revelation Chapter 4 Verse 4

4:4 Round the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clad in white garments, with golden crowns upon their heads.

These 24 elders appear in a number of places in Revelation. Here in chapter 4 and later in chapter 14 they sit around the throne of God. In chapters 4, 5, 7, 11, 14, and 19, they worship and praise God. Who are they? Let’s consider the clues.

The 24 elders wearing golden crowns and sitting on 24 thrones before the Great Throne represent royalty in the presence of supreme royalty. They sit on thrones surrounding God’s throne, which indicates that their power is given them by God. Their white garments may represent the righteous deeds of the Saints as it does later in 19:8. The crowns remind us of the victory crowns we saw in 2:10.

These 24 elders also represent a priesthood. Recall from 1st Chronicles 24:1–19 that there were 24 orders in the Levitical priesthood. Each of these orders had an elder who was sometimes called a prince or a governor (1 Chronicles 24:5). The Levites sometimes praised God with harps (1 Chronicles 25:6), and we will see harps later in 5:8, where we will see the 24 elders performing priestly duties.

Thus, what we have in these 24 elders is a royal priesthood. Where have we seen that before? 1 Peter 2:9 describes the church as a royal priesthood. What we are seeing here is the church. Their white robes are the white robes promised to the faithful in 3:4. Their crowns are the crowns promised in 2:10. Their thrones are the thrones promised in Matthew 19:27-29. These elders are the faithful people of God!

The church of Christ is a royal priesthood, just as Christ himself is both our King and our High Priest. Zechariah 6:9–15 depicts the High Priest being crowned with a crown, which could only happen after the Old Law had passed away since under the Old Law the priests were from the tribe of Levi and the kings were from the tribe of Judah. Psalm 110 also tells us that Jesus is both king and priest.

Why 24? One reason we have already mentioned is that 24 points us to the priesthood in 1 Chronicles. Others see 24 as combining the Old Testament (12 patriarchs) with the New Testament (12 apostles), which would thus depict all of God’s people from every age.

The crowns remind us of:

1 Peter 5:4 “And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.”

James 1:12 “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.”

Jesus crowns us — not vice versa! Let’s remember that the next time we are asked to sing a song (such as #577) that pictures us as placing a crown on Jesus’ head! The only crown that man ever placed on Jesus’ head was a crown of thorns. The idea that we make Jesus Lord and we crown Jesus king is a denominational idea and is foreign to the Bible. (As for who made Jesus Lord, read Acts 2:36.)

Please visit ThyWordIsTruth.com for free audio lessons on Revelation, for a unique daily Bible reading calendar, to read about God's plan of salvation, to read the answers to hundreds of questions submitted by our readers, and for much, much more.

Revelation Chapter 4 Verses 2-3

2 At once I was in the Spirit, and lo, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne! 3 And he who sat there appeared like jasper and carnelian, and round the throne was a rainbow that looked like an emerald.

In John 1:18, the apostle wrote: “No one has seen God at any time.” In Exodus 33:20, God said to Moses: “You cannot see My face; for no man can see Me and live.” In 1 Timothy 6:16 we read of the one “who alone has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has ever seen or can see.”

How then could John have seen God? The answer is given in the opening part of verse 2 – John “was in the Spirit.” He was experiencing a spiritual vision just as had been experienced by Isaiah and Ezekiel, just to name two other examples. John was not seeing God with his physical eyes but rather with his spiritual eyes.

John not only sees the throne, but he sees the one seated upon the throne. Ezekiel described the occupant of the throne in Ezekiel 1:26 as having “a likeness as the appearance of man,” but John portrays no form.

The throne of God is mentioned 40 times in this book (17 times in Chapters 4 and 5), and the message is clear — the throne that rules the world is not in Rome. This vision begins with a clear depiction of the absolute sovereignty of God. All things must be viewed with regard to their relation to the throne of God.

What about the stones mentioned in verse 3? Jasper is a translucent rock crystal. Carnelian is a blood red stone that is also called sardius after the city of Sardis where it is found. In Exodus 28:17, these stones are in the breastplate of the high priest. Perhaps the white jasper represents God’s holiness and righteousness, while the red sardius denotes his judgments. This view would fit nicely with Psalm 89:14, where we read that righteousness and judgment are the foundation of God’s throne.

Many commentators get bogged down trying to find elaborate meanings in details of this book such as the choice of stones. And, without denying there may very well be an elaborate meaning to some or all of these details, we need to remember that this book is an oil painting from God. Revelation is intended to have an emotional impact on the reader. That impact is obscured when we focus unduly on the brush strokes. Listen to what Hailey says on this point:

To the literalistic mind, lacking the power of imagination, Revelation will forever be a sealed book; to the speculative and visionary mind the book will provide fuel to inflame far-fetched assumptions and conjectures which totally miss the truth. But to the mind prepared by the rest of the Bible for reality in picture and action, impressions of truth will be made that give strength for victory in every conflict of life.

As in the parables, many of the minor details are likely merely descriptive and are not intended to carry a special significance of their own. Here the details serve to paint a picture of beauty and majesty. Later we will find pictures of horror and death.

Remember that John was standing before the throne of God! Do we really think he was puzzling over why the stones were white?

The rainbow reminds us of God’s mercy and that he keeps his covenants. A similar description is used in Ezekiel 1:28.

Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.

We are also reminded of Psalm 104:2 — “who coverest thyself with light as with a garment, who hast stretched out the heavens like a tent.”

Please visit ThyWordIsTruth.com for free audio lessons on Revelation, for a unique daily Bible reading calendar, to read about God's plan of salvation, to read the answers to hundreds of questions submitted by our readers, and for much, much more.

Revelation Chapter 4 Verse 1

1 After this I looked, and lo, in heaven an open door! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up hither, and I will show you what must take place after this.”

We should all pause for just a moment to thank God that Heaven has a door and that Heaven’s door is an open door! Jesus Christ opened that door for us!

In this chapter, God draws aside the curtain of Heaven and gives to John a vision of the majestic throne of the Ruler of the Universe.

This voice in verse 1 is the same voice that John heard in the first vision, which means that this is possibly the voice of Christ (which John heard in 1:17-20), although others say it is the voice of the angel that they contend was the one speaking in 1:11.

John is invited not just to look in through the door but to enter through the door. John was not the last person to be presented by Christ with an open door. We are given open doors of opportunity every day, and we need to follow John’s example.

We have already been told that the things that “must take place” would occur soon (see 1:1 and 1:3). So once again, at the very beginning of this second vision, we are reminded of the all important time frame for this book.

The phrase “after this” is similar to what we saw in 1:19 where John was told to “write what you see, what is and what is to take place hereafter.” “This” refers to what John had just seen, and “after this” refers to what he was about to see.

What we are about to see is that these events on earth have their origin in Heaven! The true view of history is the view from the throne of God, and that is the view that John is about to see. (For those keeping track, here again is a reminder of a major theme in this book — we must try to see things from God’s perspective.)

Please visit ThyWordIsTruth.com for free audio lessons on Revelation, for a unique daily Bible reading calendar, to read about God's plan of salvation, to read the answers to hundreds of questions submitted by our readers, and for much, much more.

Conclusion to Chapters 2-3

So where are we at the end of Chapters 2 and 3? What is next for John?

The letters to the seven churches are complete. Each was challenged to overcome. The situation looks bleak at this point in history. The church seems unable to resist the hostile worldly powers that surround it. But, history is not determined by political powers. As we are about to see, history is determined by God.

The question now is, what will be the fate of God’s enemies and what will be the fate of God’s people?

Satan, as usual, will try to thwart God’s will, and Satan’s goal as always is to extinguish the church. But with regard to Rome his time is short!

Revelation 12:12 Rejoice then, O heaven and you that dwell therein! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!

The book of Revelation is a book of judgment. In the first part of the book, Christ pronounces judgments against the church’s enemies from within. In the second part of the book, Christ will pronounce judgments against the church’s enemies from without. What comparisons can we see between these two judgments?

In each case, Jesus tells his listeners that the way they see themselves is really the opposite of the way they really are! One church thought it was rich, Jesus said they were poor. One church thought it was poor, Jesus said they were rich. Rome thought it had all the power, Jesus will tell them that they are powerless. Rome thought the church was of no consequence, Jesus will tell them that the church is infinitely more important than Rome.

There is a message in here for us as well. To see ourselves correctly, we must see ourselves as God sees us, and the best way to do that is it see ourselves through the word of God.

As scarce as truth is, the supply has always exceeded the demand. Jesus likely gave some of these people more truth than they wanted! They no doubt did not enjoy seeing themselves through God’s eyes. They would much rather have heard pleasant things from Christ, but Christ told them the truth, which is what they desperately needed to hear.

This situation is not new. Consider:

Jeremiah 5:30–31 An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land: the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule at their direction; my people love to have it so, but what will you do when the end comes?

Isaiah 5:20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

Isaiah 30:9–11 For they are a rebellious people, lying sons, sons who will not hear the instruction of the LORD; who say to the seers, “See not”; and to the prophets, “Prophesy not to us what is right; speak to us smooth things, prophesy illusions, leave the way, turn aside from the path, let us hear no more of the Holy One of Israel.”

How do we find out today what we need to hear? We quit listening to man and the world, and we start reading God’s word. He has told us all that we need to hear. Our job is to listen to that message and then to heed that message.

One final comment about the seven letters — each of them begins with the same phrase: “I know.” We understand that Jesus is the head of the church, but sometimes we act like he is a distant monarch. These letters paint a very different portrait of our king.

Jesus is intimately concerned about his church. Indeed, the Bible describes the church as the body of Christ and as the bride of Christ. Jesus knows what is going on in his church, and he cares very deeply about what is going on in his church – and that should be a great source of comfort for us today when the church seems to be in such turmoil all around the world. Does Jesus care? Yes, he cares. I know he cares. Jesus knows what is happening in his church.

Please visit ThyWordIsTruth.com for free audio lessons on Revelation, for a unique daily Bible reading calendar, to read about God's plan of salvation, to read the answers to hundreds of questions submitted by our readers, and for much, much more.

The Letter to Laodicea (3:14-22)

Revelation Chapter 3 Verses 14-22

14 “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation. 15 “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth. 17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing; not knowing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 18 Therefore I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, that you may be rich, and white garments to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see. 19 Those whom I love, I reprove and chasten; so be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. 21 He who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I myself conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”

Laodicea was the only congregation about which Jesus had nothing good to say about their present condition (although he did say in 1:19 that he loves them and he suggested in 1:21 that they could still conquer if they repented).

Doesn’t it tell us a lot about our Savior that he saved this letter for last? He had nothing good to say, and so he was not in any hurry to get to them. He wanted to have something good to say about them! Some teachers love to give failing grades, and others hate to do so. Jesus is in the second category.

Ezekiel 33:11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

The city was founded in 250 BC by Antiochus and named after his wife. It was positioned on the most important road in Asia, which connected Ephesus to Syria. This road made the city a great commercial and strategic center. The peace provided by Rome allowed Laodicea to flourish.

Laodicea was proud and felt that it had need of nothing. When the city was destroyed by an earthquake in AD 61, the people refused Roman help and rebuilt the city on their own.

It was one of the wealthiest cities in the world and was a center of banking and finance – yet Jesus told them they were poor.

The city was a center of clothing manufacture and was famous for its soft, violet-black, glossy wool – yet Jesus told them they were naked.

The city was a medical center and housed a medical school that was famous for its ointment for the eyes and ears – and yet Jesus told them they were blind.

This congregation was proud and contented – and Jesus did not have a single good thing to say about them.

Those in Smyrna were destitute, and Jesus told them in 2:9 that they were rich. These people in Laodicea were rich, and yet Jesus tells them that they are destitute. How often is the truth just the opposite of what men believe?

Proverbs 13:7 There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches.

Once again we see a familiar theme of this book. We must see things as God sees them, and to him sometimes the poor are rich and the rich are poor!

One commentator writes: “Perhaps none of the seven letters is more appropriate to the 20th century church than this. It describes vividly the respectable, sentimental, nominal, skin-deep religiosity that is so widespread among us today. Our Christianity is flabby and anemic. We appear to have taken a lukewarm bath of religion.”

The beginning of the creation in verse 14 is the source of the creation. Jesus is God. He was not created. Nowhere in the Bible are we ever told to worship any part of God’s creation, yet we are told to worship Christ. Jesus is the source of all creation. See Hebrews 1:2, John 1:1–3, and Colossians 1:16.

In verse 16, Jesus says he will spew these lukewarm Christians out of his mouth! They deeply offended Christ!

Some suggest that this metaphor comes from the water supply of the city, which was lukewarm, in contrast to the hot springs at nearby Hierapolis and the pure water of Colossae. The archaeology shows Laodicea had an aqueduct that probably carried water from hot mineral springs some five miles south, which would have become lukewarm before entering the city. Other suggest that the imagery of the Laodicean aqueduct suggests not that “hot” is good and “cold” is bad, but that both hot and cold water are useful, whereas lukewarm water is useless. Perhaps (even though I can think of some uses for lukewarm water), but the Greek word used for “hot” (which occurs only here) is zestos, which has the same root (zeo) as the Greek word for “fervent.” We are told elsewhere of those who were fervent in spirit (Acts 18:25, Romans 12:11), which suggests to some (and to me) that the word “hot” is used here to denote a spiritual condition. Similarly, the use of “cold” reminds of Matthew 24:12 — “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold,” although the Greek word used here is different and appears elsewhere only in Matthew 10:42 where it describes a cup of cold water. In short, if “hot” denotes a spiritual condition, then it would seem that “cold” must also denote a spiritual condition, and a cold spirit would seem to be the opposite of a fervent spirit.

Verses 15-16 tell us that Jesus prefers hot or cold to lukewarm! We might be tempted to think that a cold Christian would be worse than a lukewarm Christian, but not according to Jesus. At least the cold Christian has made a decision – it was the wrong decision, but at least he has acted. The cold Christian has left the church. But not so with the lukewarm Christian. They hang around and cause all sorts of trouble.

The lukewarm Christian was then and is now the curse of the church. How often has the “hypocrites in the church” argument been used as an excuse against the gospel call. A lukewarm Christian is not actively against Christ — instead, his carefree attitude shows no concern for Christ, and he does great damage to the Lord’s body.

Were these people without hope? Not at all. Verse 19 tells us that Jesus wanted them to repent. Verse 20 pictures Jesus as standing at the door of his own church and knocking. He wanted to be let back in to his own church!

We can look to the denominational world for an example of hot, cold, and lukewarm. In the recent vote to ordain a gay bishop in the Episcopalian religious group, some voted yes and some voted no. But did you notice that there were also two abstentions? I have more respect for those that voted yes!

Listen to what the Scottish theologian George MacDonald (1824-1905) had to say about the Laodiceans. (George MacDonald was a Scottish preacher, and C.S. Lewis said he never wrote a book in which he did not quote MacDonald.) The following quote is from the book Proving the Unseen, Chapter 7:

You must note that in this last message to the Laodiceans, he has not a word of praise for them—not a word of praise. Almost all the rest have some praise given them, but there is not a word of praise for these halfhearted Laodiceans. They want to go comfortably on, and not to be troubled much, and they will get into heaven as they please, in some sleepy way or other. They won’t find themselves comfortable there. It is not the halfhearted, simmering kind of hearts that the kingdom of God and His Christ is for. Had God been halfhearted you would never have had a chance of life eternal. It is because God is true-hearted, unselfish, out and out devoted to His creatures that there is any world at all.

And He won’t have you as you are! If you correspond at all to this description of those that made up the church of the Laodiceans, God won’t have you—you won’t do! What a word of indignation this is!

Oh! you are quite wrong if you have the fancy that Jesus Christ is one who is always speaking soft words. He is indignant sometimes, He is angry sometimes, but there is not one atom in that indignation, in that anger that is not love. But His love will not make His blow lighter, and you are afraid of that kind of love because it demands so much. It demands that you shall be fit to come into His very arms, to His very heart, and less than that will not do. It cannot be that He shall embrace evil things; He will have us free, cost what it may; if it takes an eternity to clean us, we must be clean.

Neither cold nor hot: What a word almost of contempt! Only there is no contempt in Him. Using our language it sounds like it, but I call it “indignation,” and the strong effort of His heart of love to make them feel what a low condition they are in. “Neither cold nor hot—I won’t have you; I will spew you out of my mouth.” That Christ should speak like that to us and we deserve it—who will endure it? But, oh! it is of the mercy of God that He speaks to us like that.

He speaks very plainly what He thinks of them, and He shows very clearly how His thought about them ran counter altogether to their own judgment of themselves. “Oh, we are all right! We accept this and that doctrine; we believe so-and-so; we are all right.” Or, on the other hand: “We have broken free from the traditions of the elders; we have got a better way, and so we are all right.” Are you doing the things that Jesus Christ tells you? If not, you are all wrong. Your ideas, your opinions, your systems, let them be as correct as astronomy, and you are no better, but probably much the worse for them.

Does the Lord say this for the sake of abuse? No; He wants to rouse us—“I counsel thee”—He wants to rouse us up, to open our treasure houses that He may fill them, to open doors and windows that the breath of God may blow through our souls. That is why He says the hard words, but hard words in the right places are the kindest thing.

What is the lesson to the church from Christ’s letter to Laodicea? Look at verse 15. The lesson for the church today is that Christ will not have us if we care nothing for him or for his church. He would rather us be actively opposed to him than for us to say we are on his side and yet live a life of total indifference to his will.

His message to this congregation was to get off the fence! Make a decision one way or the other! Don’t just sit there! Act!

Please visit ThyWordIsTruth.com for free audio lessons on Revelation, for a unique daily Bible reading calendar, to read about God's plan of salvation, to read the answers to hundreds of questions submitted by our readers, and for much, much more.

The Letter to Philadelphia (3:7-13)

Revelation Chapter 3 Verses 7-13

7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one shall shut, who shuts and no one opens. 8 “‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut; I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 9 Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and learn that I have loved you. 10 Because you have kept my word of patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial which is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell upon the earth. 11 I am coming soon; hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. 12 He who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God; never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. 13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

Philadelphia was the youngest of the seven cities. The city was founded by colonists from Pergamum sometime between 159 and 138 BC to be a missionary city of Greek culture to the Lydia. And it worked! By AD 19, the Lydians had forgotten their own language and were all but Greek.

For a time, the city was constantly beset by earthquakes and tremors, and most of the people lived outside the city in huts. Jesus tells them in verse 12 that they would go out no more.

The name of the city was changed to Neocaesarea and later to Flavia, but neither name lasted and the name Philadelphia was eventually restored. Jesus tells them in verse 12 that they would receive a new name.

In verse 8, Jesus says that an open door had been set before them. In the Bible, an “open door” is an opportunity for service and evangelism.

1 Corinthians 16:9 For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.

Colossians 4:3 Meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word.

2 Corinthians 2:12 Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ’s gospel, and a door was opened to me by the Lord.

Jesus’ promise in verse 10 to keep these Christians did not necessarily mean they would be spared from suffering. In Ezekiel 9:1–8 God promised to keep his people, yet in Ezekiel 21:3–4 they experienced suffering and death. God provides spiritual deliverance. Once again we need to see things the way God sees things — we need spiritual eyes and a spiritual perspective.

In 2 Chronicles 7:16 God said he would put his name on the literal Jerusalem forever yet here in verse 12 he puts his name on the new Jerusalem. The words “forever” and “everlasting” must be read in context and carefully studied to determine their proper subject. Many “everlasting” promises are conditioned on faith, and thus will be everlasting only so long as the condition is satisfied. Other eternal promises are directed to the faithful whether it be the faithful people of God in the Old Testament or the faithful people of God in the New Testament, the new Jerusalem.

Consider for example Genesis 17:8 —

And I will give to you, and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.

Yet in Matthew 21:43 Jesus said that the unbelieving Jews no longer had an inheritance.

Consider also Genesis 17:13 —

Both he that is born in your house and he that is bought with your money, shall be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant.

Yes in Philippians 3:3 we find that true circumcision is not of the flesh.

Consider Exodus 40:15 —

And their anointing shall admit them to a perpetual priesthood throughout their generations.

Yet in Hebrews we find that Jesus is our perfect high priest.

Finally, consider Leviticus 16:34 —

And this shall be an everlasting statute for you, that atonement may be made for the people of Israel once in the year because of all their sins.

Yet Hebrews tells us that Christ is now our once for all time, prefect atonement.

What does it mean in verse 12 to write these three names on a Christian (the name of God, the name of the city of God, and the name of Christ)? Christians belong to God. Christians are citizens of the church (the new Jerusalem). Christians belong to Christ. They have a special relation with Christ. God claims us as his own special people when he writes his name on us. Later in this book we will see people with someone else’s name written on them. We will also find that Christians are pictured as having the name of the Lamb and of the Father written on them to distinguish them from those opposed to Christ.

I have made the point before that the “church of Christ” is our description, not our name. That is why we write “church” with a lower case “c” (despite the ridicule and the scorn that often accompany it). We are the church that belongs to Christ – the church of Christ. He has written his name on us!

The story was told of a large, prominent denomination in town that was raising money from community businesses to build a new building. They approached a business man who was a Christian, and he made them an offer. “I will give you $1000 if you put up a sign in front saying ‘This is a church of Christ.’” “We can’t do that,” they said, “this is a ___ church” (where the blank was filled in with the name of a local denomination). “Well,” the Christian business man responded, “I’ll still give you a $1000 if you will put up a sign saying ‘This is NOT a church of Christ.’” When you understand that story, you understand the non-denominational nature of the church! It’s really not that hard. We belong to Christ Jesus, and Christ Jesus has written his name on us!

Verse 8 tells us that they were very weak, and verse 9 tells us they faced fierce opposition – and yet Jesus himself had opened a door for them – and he expected them to go through it! Woe to us when Jesus opens a door and we fail to go through it — and we are surrounded by open doors!

The church was weak in influence compared to its Jewish opposition. The synagogue of Satan is mentioned again in verse 9. We need to understand that Satan is real and he is actively working against us.

Satan is mentioned six times in these two chapters. That alone should tell us something important. Jesus knows that Satan is real and that Satan is active. Jesus recognizes that his church is facing a vicious adversary, and he is giving us a warning.

2 Corinthians 2:11 Lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.

1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.

The New Jerusalem in verse 12 is the church. In place of the old city of Jerusalem where the people of God once dwelled, there is now a new Jerusalem where the people of God now dwell – and that New Jerusalem is the church.

Notice that the New Jerusalem comes down out of Heaven from God. As Daniel told us in Daniel 2, Jesus tells us here that the church is not a product of man. It is the eternal kingdom not made with human hands. It was created and established by God.

What is the lesson to the church from Christ’s letter to Philadelphia? Look at verse 8. The lesson for the church today is that we need to look for open doors for service and evangelism. We need to pray for such opportunities, and then we need to take advantage of those opportunities when our prayers are answered.

John will find himself standing before an open door in 4:1!

Please visit ThyWordIsTruth.com for free audio lessons on Revelation, for a unique daily Bible reading calendar, to read about God's plan of salvation, to read the answers to hundreds of questions submitted by our readers, and for much, much more.

The Letter to Sardis (3:1-6)

Revelation Chapter 3 Verses 1-6

1 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. “‘I know your works; you have the name of being alive, and you are dead. 2 Awake, and strengthen what remains and is on the point of death, for I have not found your works perfect in the sight of my God. 3 Remember then what you received and heard; keep that, and repent. If you will not awake, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come upon you. 4 Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy. 5 He who conquers shall be clad thus in white garments, and I will not blot his name out of the book of life; I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. 6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

Sardis was really two cities. The original city stood 1500 feet up on a hill in a position that was almost impregnable. Later, the city spread to the foot of the hill as well. Thus, Sardis was really two cities – one on the hill and one at the foot of the hill.

Sardis has been called the greatest example of the contrast between past splendor and present decay. Sardis was now a city of degeneration, but 700 years before John, Sardis was one of the greatest cities in the world. The city, as had the church within, had by the time of Revelation lost its life and its spirit. The city had been destroyed by an earthquake in AD 17, but was rebuilt by Tiberius.

The congregation in Sardis had a reputation. It had a reputation among men of being alive. No doubt it was considered very progressive and contemporary. It was most likely very well regarded in the community. It may have been very fashionable to be a member of the congregation in Sardis.

But where men saw a thriving church, God saw an empty shell. In verse 2, Jesus told them that their works were not right in the sight of God. And if your works are not right in the sight of God, it does not matter how your works look in the sight of man. In fact, when the world has nothing but good things to say about you, it should be a warning that you have become too much like the world.

Luke 6:26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you, For so did their fathers to the false prophets.

Jesus had a message for Sardis. He told them in verse 2 to “Wake up and watch!” and in verse 3 he said he would come as a thief. This message had some historical significance to the city of Sardis. Cyrus of Persia has once besieged the city and had offered a reward to anyone who could find a way to enter the city. A soldier, who had seen a Sardian soldier climb partially down the hill to retrieve a lost helmet, led a group up the hill following the same fault line at night. They discovered the battlements completely unguarded, and they took the city.

The city slipped into obscurity under Persian rule and later surrendered to Alexander, under whom it became a center of Greek culture. But history repeated itself, when Antiochus besieged the city after Alexander’s death and took the city using the same trick that had been used by Cyrus. Again, Sardis fell because there was no one there to watch. It is to these people that Jesus says “Wake up and watch!”

The church in Smyrna was at peace and that peace had allowed them to drift into a coma and nearly die. They were resting in peace! And that is a danger we must avoid today as well. Christ brought us peace with God — not peace with the world. We are never told to be at peace with worldliness. 1 Peter 2:11 says that a Christian is always at war. In Ephesians 6:14–17 we find that a Christian is always dressed for battle. Too many Christians have made peace with the world!

In verse 1, Jesus says, “I know your works.” Jesus is not only interested in our works, he knows our works. We are not saved by our good works (Ephesians 2:8-9), but neither will we be saved if we have no good works (Ephesians 2:10). “Every good tree bears good fruit” (Matthew 7:17), which means that if we are not bearing good fruit, then we are not a good tree.

In verse 5 we find that one’s name can be blotted out of the book of life. What does that say about the doctrine of “once saved—always saved”? It tells us it is a false doctrine. If my name can be in the book of life and then be blotted out of that book, then I can be saved and later lost if I fail to be faithful to Christ.

What is the lesson to the church from Christ’s letter to Sardis? Look at verse 2. The lesson for the church today is that we must remain watchful. As soon as we say that such and such would never happen to us, Satan sees his opportunity. We have just announced to him a part of our defenses where we have no guards, and he will seek to take advantage of that weakness.

1 Corinthians 10:12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.

Satan will always attack us at our weakest point, and our weakest point is usually the point where have no defenses, such as the unguarded battlements of Sardis. Watch!

Please visit ThyWordIsTruth.com for free audio lessons on Revelation, for a unique daily Bible reading calendar, to read about God's plan of salvation, to read the answers to hundreds of questions submitted by our readers, and for much, much more.

The Letter to Thyatira (2:18-29)

Revelation Chapter 2 Verses 18-29

18 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze. 19 “‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. 20 But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and beguiling my servants to practice immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 21 I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her immorality. 22 Behold, I will throw her on a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her doings; 23 and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches shall know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you as your works deserve. 24 But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay upon you any other burden; 25 only hold fast what you have, until I come. 26 He who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, I will give him power over the nations, 27 and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received power from my Father; 28 and I will give him the morning star. 29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

The least important city got the longest letter. What little importance Thyatira had came from its location. It was on a road connecting Pergamum, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Smyrna. This location made Thyatira a great commercial town. It was also strategically important because it was a gateway to Pergamum, the capital of the province.

The city had no particular religious significance. It was not a center of persecution of the church.

Thyatira was a center of trade for dye and wool. Lydia, the seller of purple in Acts 16:14, came from Thyatira.

The city had a large number of trade guilds. These guilds held meals in the temples, where meat that had been offered to idols was served. Those at the meals often engaged in drunkenness and immorality. The Christians refused to participate and thus suffered commercially.

Here we have a very important lesson for modern business men and women. It is often tempting to follow a crowd to do evil when that crowd offers a great deal of “client development.” We must remain true to our Lord, even if doing so causes us to suffer commercially.

Thyatira had what Ephesus lacked. Verse 19 tells us that Thyatira rivaled Ephesus in busy Christian service, but it also tells us that Thyatira had the love that the Ephesians were lacking. In fact, Jesus tells them that their latest works exceeded their first works, which means that while Ephesus was backsliding, Thyatira was growing and maturing.

And yet verse 20 tells us that they had a serious problem. There was a malignant cancer growing in the body and they were permitting it to continue unchecked. Verse 19 tells us that they had been patient. Verse 20 tells us that perhaps they had been too patient!

The Ephesians could not bear false prophets, and yet they lacked love. Thyatira had love, but they tolerated false prophets. We must seek both love and truth, or we will eventually end up having neither.

The threat against the church in Thyatira came from within. There was always a temptation to put business interests ahead of Christ’s interests, and apparently there was a group within the church led by a false prophetess referred to as Jezebel that wanted to compromise with the trade guilds by participating in their immorality and idolatry.

The confession that Caesar is lord was often required before one could buy or sell. Some, no doubt, would compromise and make this confession for business reasons. Historians tells us that the slogan of those who compromised was “A man must live.” You can imagine the rationalizations that must have gone on with some.

And yet the text implies that these compromisers saw themselves as deeply spiritual people. The “deep things of Satan” in verse 24 is thought by many to refer to those who felt they had a duty to experience every kind of sin. Their goal was to wallow in sin yet keep their soul unaffected. And they could accomplish this feat, no doubt, because of their deep, deep spirituality.

Jesus told them in verse 24 that were deep alright, but they were experiencing the deep things of Satan. Their spiritual depth was really spiritual death.

For a modern example, have you ever noticed the outward display of deep spirituality among those who promote the homosexual agenda in the denominational world? They are so much more enlightened, so much more mature, and so much more knowledgeable than the rest of us. That is the same attitude that Jesus is referring to in this letter. These people think they are spiritually deep, but in reality they are spiritually dead. They have cast God behind their backs!

Ezekiel 23:35 “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Because you have forgotten Me and cast Me behind your back, Therefore you shall bear the penalty of your lewdness and your harlotry.’” (Compare Romans 1:27.)

Luke 16:15 And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.

Jesus’ judgment of this Jezebel is described in verses 22-23. The children in verse 23 are most likely her disciples. (Isaiah 57:3-8 uses the term in a similar way.)

In verse 20, Jesus says, “But I have this against you, that you tolerate... .” The modern reader recoils at that sentence — how, they ask, can anyone be too tolerant? Tolerance, after all, has become the greatest virtue in our society. Leslie Armour, a philosophy professor at the University of Ottawa, has said that “a virtuous citizen is one who tolerates everything except intolerance.” The United Nations Declaration on the Principles of Tolerance states that tolerance involves the rejection of dogmatism and absolutism. Thus, according to the UN, if you believe dogmatically in anything or if you believe anything is absolute, then you are by definition intolerant and worthy of rebuke.

The world may see tolerance as the greatest virtue, but God does not see it that way. We must never tolerate sin or those who teach others to sin. If we do, then we fall under the condemnation of verse 20. As Alexander Chase said, “the peak of tolerance is most readily achieved by those who are not burdened with convictions.” Chesterton said something very similar — “Tolerance is a virtue of a man without convictions.”

We see in these verses how Jesus views tolerance, and not surprisingly it is quite different from how tolerance is viewed by the world. The church of Christ must be intolerant whenever Christ is intolerant, and the Bible tells us what we must never tolerate.

Note that verse 23 says that Jesus’ message is a warning to all the churches. The messages in these letters apply to all congregations.

Jesus says in verses 26-27 that at this time he possesses power and authority over the nations. Verse 26 says that we will share this power. When? When will we share in that power? We already do! 1st Corinthians 3:21–23 says that the world and all things are ours. Romans 5:17 tells us that we are now reigning in life through Jesus. This book is evidence that the early Christians already had power over nations because (as we will see later in the book) it was their prayers for vindication that caused God to topple the mountain of Rome.

Why then did Jesus promise them something they already had? Often a promise is simply an assurance that a present blessing will continue. Jesus’ promise here means that the blessing will continue, be renewed, and be strengthened. This idea is also indicated by the promise of the morning star in verse 28, which symbolizes a fresh start, a renewal of peace, a resurrection. Although they were reigning with Christ now, that reign with Christ would be clear to all after their victory over Rome. They would soon experience new circumstances, something we will see beautifully unfolded as we progress toward the end of this book.

What is the lesson to the church from Christ’s letter to Thyatira? Look at verse 20. The lesson for the church today is that we must not be tolerant with regard to departures from the word of God. The world may see tolerance as the greatest virtue, but Jesus does not share the world’s opinion. His first criticism of this congregation was that they tolerated a false prophetess.

We, of course, should be very tolerant on matters of opinion as discussed in Romans 14, but on matters of the faith, we must never be tolerant of departures. We must never tolerate sin. Toleration is no virtue when we tolerate that which Jesus hates!

Please visit ThyWordIsTruth.com for free audio lessons on Revelation, for a unique daily Bible reading calendar, to read about God's plan of salvation, to read the answers to hundreds of questions submitted by our readers, and for much, much more.

The Letter to Pergamum (2:12-17)

Revelation Chapter 2 Verses 12-17

12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword. 13 “‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is; you hold fast my name and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my witness, my faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 14 But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice immorality. 15 So you also have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Repent then. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. 17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone which no one knows except him who receives it.’

Historically, Pergamum was the most famous city in Asia. It had been a capital city for 400 years. First, it was the capital of the Seleucid kingdom that appeared after Alexander the Great. Next, it was the capital of the province of Asia formed by the Romans. It was situated on a hilltop from which the Mediterranean Sea could be seen 15 miles away.

Pergamum was a center of culture surpassing even Ephesus and Smyrna. It had a library that was second only to that in Alexandria. (200,000 volumes copied by hand!)

The word “parchment” is derived from “Pergamum.” In the third century BC, a Pergamene king attempted to lure away the librarian at Alexandria. The Egyptians imprisoned the librarian and banned the export of papyrus to Pergamum. Pergamum, in response, invented parchment (or vellum) from animal skins.

Pergamum was also a great religious center. The city contained a great altar to Zeus that was set 800 feet up on the side of a hill. The altar looked very much like a large throne. This altar is most likely what is called “Satan’s throne” in verse 13. The city was also a center of Caesar worship.

Roman governors were divided into two groups – those with the right of the sword and those without. The governor of Pergamum had that right, which meant he could execute Christians for any reason. And yet Christ in verse 12 refers to himself as the one with the “sharp two-edged sword.”

The word “witness” in verse 13 in Greek is “martus” from which we get martyr. The Greek word did not mean “martyr” until New Testament times.

In verse 16, we have yet another figurative coming in judgment.

Jesus promises them a white stone in verse 17. What does that mean? Stones were given to indicate a verdict at a trial, with a white stone denoting an innocent vote and a black stone denoting a guilty vote. Stones were also given as a reward for heroism or victory, as passes to enter the games, and sometimes exchanged between friends. Here it seems to indicate a reward or an indication of innocence or acquittal.

Also, in verse 17, Jesus says that there will be “a new name written on the stone which no one knows except him who receives it.” What does that mean? Later in 19:12, we will be told that Jesus has a name that no one knows, and yet that name is given in verses 13 and 16. Names in the Bible have a special significance. We know that names were often changed to indicate a change in status or circumstances, as for example with Abram and Jacob. To have a name that no one else knows means that you have a status or a relation that no one else can share. That is true of those who conquer.

Pergamum was locked in a battle between truth and error. As one commentator reminds us: “Christ is deeply concerned about the preservation and propagation of the truth. This whole letter is devoted to that theme. ... Jesus came into the world to bear witness to the truth. He loves the truth. He speaks the truth. He is the truth. How can we be indifferent to it?”

The Pergamum congregation had some within it who held to the doctrine of Balaam and the doctrine of the Nicolaitans. It is worthwhile noting that what was hated in Ephesus was being tolerated in Pergamum.

Many commentators believe that the teaching of Balaam and the teaching of the Nicolaitans were one and the same. It is generally identified with the group mentioned in Jude 1:4, 11 and alluded to in Romans 6:1. (See our website for notes on Romans and on Jude.)

Jude 1:4 For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. … 11 Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.

Romans 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?

We have already discussed the Nicolaitans. But why also the reference here to Balaam? In Numbers 25, the Israelites played the harlot with the daughters of Moab, who then caused the Israelites to turn to false gods. Later in Numbers 31:16 we learn that these women along with the Moabite king Balak acted under the influence of Balaam.

One commentator wrote that “pagan women and pagan food were his weapons against the rigid Mosaic code.” Balaam is a prototype of all corupt teachers who betray believers into a fatal comprise with the world. Balaam worked from within to do what had not been possible to do from without. (Recall our comments about Constantine.)

As we study the entire book of Revelation, we will discover that a major theme of this book is a warning against compromise with the world.

Listen to what Martin Luther said about compromise:

If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the Devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved, and to be steady on all the battle front besides, is merely flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point.

What is the lesson to the church from Christ’s letter to Pergamum? Look at verse 15. The lesson for us today is that Jesus cares very deeply about the doctrine that is taught and proclaimed by his church.

Jesus tells us in verse 15 that he hates this false doctrine that was being tolerated in Pergamum. The servant is not greater than his master. (John 15:20) If Jesus hates this false doctrine, then so must his church. We must not tolerate that which our Master hates.

Please visit ThyWordIsTruth.com for free audio lessons on Revelation, for a unique daily Bible reading calendar, to read about God's plan of salvation, to read the answers to hundreds of questions submitted by our readers, and for much, much more.

The Letter to Smyrna (2:8-11)

Revelation Chapter 2 Verses 8-11

8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life. 9 “’I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. 11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who conquers shall not be hurt by the second death.’

Smyrna was the loveliest city in Asia. It was called the ornament of Asia, the crown of Asia, and the flower of Asia. It stood at a crossroads and was a great trading city, and its harbor was Asia’s safest and most convenient.

Smyrna was a center of culture housing a large library and many famous temples. It claimed to be the birthplace of Homer.

In a sense, Smyrna had also “died and come to life” as Jesus says of himself in verse 8. Smyrna was founded in 1000 BC as a Greek colony, but it was destroyed in 600 BC by the Lydians. It was rebuilt as a planned city around 200 BC.

Smyrna, like Ephesus, was a free city. It was self-governing and had no Roman troops. The city had cast its lot with Rome long before Rome became the undisputed leader of the world. Smyrna had erected a temple to the goddess Roma as far back as 195 BC.

Having a temple to the emperor was a matter of great pride to the city of Smyrna, and a refusal by any citizen of the city to pay tribute in that temple was seen as a disgraceful lack of patriotism.

The Jews in Smyrna were very influential and numerous, and verse 9 tells us they were slandering the Christians there.

We are willing to suffer for those who we love, and the congregation at Smyrna was willing to suffer for Jesus Christ. As one commentator said: “It was a dangerous thing to be a Christian in Smyrna. There was no knowing what might happen to you.” Indeed, Jesus tells them that they could expect poverty, slander, prison, and death.

It was in Smyrna that Polycarp was martyred. When he was commanded to “sacrifice to Caesar or be burned,” he responded, “86 years have I served Christ, and he has never done me wrong. How can I blaspheme my king who saved me?”

To receive a certificate to conduct business, you were required to burn incense on an altar to Caesar once a year. The Jews had received an exemption, but the Christians had not. The persecution against the Christians was apparently being fanned into flames by the local Jewish population, who would throw the Christians out of the synagogue and then inform on them to the local authorities.

Who are the Jews that are not really Jews in verse 9? We find similar descriptions elsewhere.

In John 8:39 Jesus told some Jews that they were not truly Abraham’s children.

In Romans 9 Paul explained that all Israel is not Israel.   

In Romans 2:28–29 Paul explained that to be a true Jew one must believe in Jesus Christ.

The Jews of that day who called themselves Jews yet were not faithful to God were no more Jews than are the Christians of today who call themselves Christians and yet are not faithful to God really Christians. God’s people are faithful people, or else they are not God’s people no matter what they may call themselves.

Very strong language is used in verse 9 to describe these slandering Jews who were not really Jews. “I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.”

Synagogue of Satan? Who was the mean-spirited, divisive, unloving, hatemonger who came up with that phrase? Oh. What do you know? It was Jesus. And this was not the first time he had used this description. Listen to what he said to the Jewish leaders in John 8:44.

You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.

It doesn’t sound much like Jesus thought the Jewish leaders were just on another path to God. But that message does not go over very well in today’s modern world. As an example, compare Jesus’ description with the following quote from a modern religious scholar:

[Saying that] ‘We believe that we know God, and we are right; you believe that you know God, and you are totally wrong,’ … is intolerable from merely human standards. It is doubly so from Christian ones. Any position that antagonizes and alienates rather than reconciles … is unlovely, is un-Christian. ... I rather feel that the final doctrine on this matter may perhaps run along the lines of affirming that a Buddhist who is saved, or a Hindu or a Muslim or whoever, is saved because God is the kind of God whom Jesus Christ has revealed him to be.

According to this fellow, Christ himself is un-Christ-like!

This author believes that the Muslims and the Buddhists are saved because “God is the kind of God whom Jesus Christ has revealed him to be.” But if I can be saved apart from the blood of Christ, then Christ died for no reason. If there is a path to God around Jesus Christ, then his death was not necessary. What would that tell us about the God revealed to us in scripture? What kind of God would he be if he sent his son to suffer and die for no reason?

There is one way to God, and only one way to God, and we do no one any favors when we teach or suggest otherwise.

1 John 2:22-23 — Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either.

1 Corinthians 3:11 — For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Acts 4:12 — Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

John 14:6 — Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

And what does the world say in response to that? Rita Gross has written a book entitled “Buddhists Talk about Jesus.” She describes Jesus’ statement in John 14:6 as “dangerous, destructive, and degraded” and “one of the most immoral ideas that humans have ever created.”

And she’s not finished. Here is what her book says about Christ’s miracles: “Most, and perhaps all, of the extraordinary feats performed by Jesus would be classified by Buddhists as common accomplishments ... requiring a certain degree of meditative competence, but no real degree of permanent spiritual maturity.”

That’s a strong claim – particularly given the fact that Jesus is alive and Buddha is dead and buried!

I have news for these Buddhists. Buddha can meditate all he wants to, but he’s not coming out of that tomb until Jesus commands him to, and when he does come out of that tomb, Buddha will bend his knee and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. That’s true for Buddha, that’s true for Mohammed, and that’s true for every other person who has ever walked on this earth.

The Bible proclaims peace between Jew and Gentile – but that peace exists in the church. It is in the church that the middle wall of partition has been broken down. For those outside of the church to come to the Father – whether they be Jew or Greek – they must find salvation in Jesus Christ. There is no other way. To say otherwise is to call Jesus Christ a liar. (John 14:6)

A few years ago, Mel Gibson produced a movie about the life of Christ. Some at the time expressed worry that the film might somehow suggest that the Jews were responsible for the death of Christ. But, of course, if they weren’t responsible, then who was? The Romans certainly did not wish to see Jesus dead, as Pilate himself stated at the time. That the Jews killed Jesus is a fact of history that cannot be changed by modern day denials.

Speaking to fellow Jews in Acts 2:23, Peter said: “Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death.”

And again, speaking to fellow Jews, Peter said in Acts 5:30, “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree.”

Did the Jews murder Jesus? Yes. But here we need to be very careful that we do not judge someone while having a beam in our own eye.

We also had a hand in the death of Christ. How? Because of our sin. We crucified the Son of God by our sin. Hebrews 6:6 tells us that if some fall away and return to their former sins then they “crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.”

Since all men have sinned, all men had a hand in the murder of the Son of God. We should not deny our role in that event – and neither should the Jews deny their role.

The phrase “synagogue of Satan” is strong, but it was fitting. The Jews of that day stirred up a lot of trouble for the early Christians. But the history of anti-semitism shows us that people calling themselves Christians have over the years also stirred up a lot of trouble (and, indeed, a lot more trouble) for the Jews. Both sides are wrong.

When it comes to salvation and the great commission, the Gospel of Jesus Christ divides people into two groups and only two groups: those in Christ and those out of Christ. Galatians 3:28 could not be any clearer on this issue. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.”

God wanted peace between the Jew and the Gentile in the first century, and he still wants it today, but that peace is found only in Christ. No man cometh to the Father except by him.

Since there was a “synagogue of Satan” somewhere in the first century, might there be a “church of Satan” somewhere today?

What if there were a religious group somewhere that called themselves a Christian church, and assume that they not only approved of homosexual conduct, but they elected as one of their leaders a practicing homosexual who had left his wife and children to move in with his gay lover. Then assume that after he was elected, a fellow church leader was quoted in the newspaper as saying that this leader’s “consecration would bring in new, youthful members” and that “We have here a wonderful evangelistic tool to strengthen the life of the church.” And then, finally, assume that after he was elected, the homosexual leader himself was quoted as saying “God has once again brought an Easter out of Good Friday.” If that group is not a church of Satan, then I submit that there is no church of Satan.

Verse 9 tells us that these Christians were in poverty yet were rich. Without that certificate we talked about, it was very hard to find work. There are two Greek words for poverty, one that means destitution and another that means having nothing extra. The one used here means destitution. Their homes may have been plundered as well. Recall Hebrews 10:34 —

For you had compassion on the prisoners, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.

And yet they were rich! Again, we are called upon to view the situation through God’s eyes rather than through our own. We have all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus. Recall Ephesians 1:3 —

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.

What is the 10 day tribulation in verse 10? It may simply refer to a short period of trial. Recall Daniel 1:12 —

Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink.

This period preceded Daniel’s vision as this one precedes John’s vision. Recall also Genesis 31:7 regarding Jacob and Laban —

Yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times, but God did not permit him to harm me.

It could be a literal 10 days. The language in these letters is not all apocalyptic. The churches and all or most of the names are literal. The main vision does not begin until chapter 4. Interestingly, Walvoord says the 10 days here is figurative and yet the 1000 years in Chapter 20 is literal!

What about the second death in verse 11? Stay tuned! We will discuss that when we get to Chapter 20.

What is the lesson to the church from Christ’s letter to Smyrna? Look at verse 9. The lesson for the church today is that Christ is not just a way – Christ is the way. The modern world gnashes its teeth and recoils at the idea that there is one and only one path to the Father – but we must never cease to proclaim it, no matter the cost.

Please visit ThyWordIsTruth.com for free audio lessons on Revelation, for a unique daily Bible reading calendar, to read about God's plan of salvation, to read the answers to hundreds of questions submitted by our readers, and for much, much more.