Revelation (1-3)

By
{CHAPTERS 1 - 3}

[Click on the title below to open an article]


{BACKGROUND AND STRUCTURE}
  1. Introduction to Revelation - {PDF Copy} - (An introduction to and overview of the book)
  2. Isle of Patmos - {PDF Copy} - (John was exiled to Patmos for his testimony – A fellow participant in the Tribulation and Perseverance in Jesus)
  3. Fourfold Structure - {PDF Copy} - (The major literary divisions of the book are each marked by John finding himself "in the spirit")
  4. Revelation's Recipients - {PDF Copy} - (The book is addressed to seven real churches that existed in the province of Asia in the first century A.D.)

{INTERPRETATION}
  1. Common Errors Interpreting Revelation - {PDF Copy} - (The real-life relevance of Revelation is easily lost if we approach the book with incorrect presuppositions)
  2. Provided Interpretations - {PDF Copy} - (Revelation communicates symbolically, and it provides the reader with many key interpretations of its images)
  3. Literal and Nonliteral Language - {PDF Copy} - (Revelation informs the reader from the very first verse of the book that it communicates symbolically)
  4. Linear Chronological Sequence? - {PDF Copy} - (Are Revelation’s visions presented in chronological sequence? If so, how do we explain the many parallel descriptions that link them?)

{SEVEN CHURCHES}
  1. Prologue to Revelation - {PDF Copy} - (Revelation 1:1-3 - The opening paragraph presents the key themes of the book and introduces its intended audience)
  2. Greetings from the Throne - {PDF Copy} - (The salutations from the throne highlight key themes of the book, especially the victory and present reign of Jesus)
  3. Ruler of Kings - {PDF Copy} - (The faithful witness, Jesus, now reigns supreme over the Kings of the Earth and even over his enemies, and he is shepherding the nations)
  4. First Vision - Son of Man - {PDF Copy} - (The first vision presents the image of Jesus as one like a Son of Man who walks among the churches of Asia – Revelation 1:9-20)
  5. Seven Churches - Overview - {PDF Copy} - (The visitation of Jesus to the churches of Asia prepares the reader for the visions that follow the seven letters)
  6. Tree of Life - Ephesus - {PDF Copy} - (The messenger at Ephesus is commended for rejecting false apostles, chastised for leaving his first love, and summoned to return to his first works)
  7. Faithful Until Death - Smyrna - {PDF Copy} - (After persevering through persecution, the ever-faithful church at Smyrna was promised even more tribulation but also great rewards)
  8. Hold Fast My Name - Pergamos - {PDF Copy} - (Pergamos receives praise for remaining faithful to his name, but correction for tolerating the teachings of “Balaam”)
  9. The Nicolaitans - {PDF Copy} - (Deceivers within the seven congregations are encouraging disciples of Jesus to compromise with the idolatrous rites of pagan society)
  10. Thyatira - {PDF Copy} - (The call to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches begins to intensify after the warning about the teachings of Jezebel – Revelation 2:18-29)
  11. Food Offered to Idols - (Daniel and his three companions refused to participate in the religious rituals of the Babylonian Empire – Daniel 1:14) - {PDF Copy}
  12. Sardis - {PDF Copy} - (The church in Sardis receives no commendation, only warnings, and is summoned to repent while time remains – Revelation 3:1-6)
  13. Faithful Philadelphia - {PDF Copy} - (Philadelphia receives no correction since she has remained faithful, and therefore, she will be kept from the hour of trial)
  14. Kept from the Hour - {PDF Copy} - (The hour of trial will come upon the whole habitable earth, but overcoming saints will not experience this final judicial act – Revelation 3:10)
  15. Laodicea - {PDF Copy} - (The messenger in Laodicea receives no commendation, only corrections and warnings. The only hope is refinement in fire – Revelation 3:14-22)
  16. Beginning of the Creation - (Revelation looks forward to the reign of Jesus in the New Creation, a reality inaugurated by his Death and Resurrection) - {PDF Copy}

{RELATED TOPICS}
  1. End-Time People - (The church is the battlefield where the final war is being waged between the Lamb and the Ancient Serpent, Satan) - {PDF Copy}
  2. The Shepherd King - {PDF Copy} - (The Lamb’s reign commenced with his death and resurrection, and since then, he has been shepherding the nations toward New Jerusalem)
  3. Tribulation of the Church - {PDF Copy} - (In Revelation, faithful saints experience tribulation, whereas, the unrepentant undergo wrath)
  4. Time of Tribulation - (The “tribulation” is coming upon the saints such as the people of God had never experienced - Daniel 12:1-13) - {PDF Copy}

POPULAR POSTS

Language of the New Testament

By
What was the original language of the documents that became the New Testament? For centuries, the scholarly consensus has been that it was written in the  Koiné  Greek dialect of the Eastern Roman Empire in the first century. However, there is a growing minority within the church that claims the New Testament was composed in the Hebrew or Aramaic language.
Read more

Two Little Horns?

By
The figure called the “ Little Horn ” figures prominently in the visions of the  Book of Daniel . It is explicitly named in the visions of the “ four beasts from the sea ” and of the “ Ram and the Goat .” It is reasonable to assume both visions portray the same figure. The historical references in the first vision are enigmatic, and in the second, they become explicit. But to understand the larger picture, we must begin with the dream of Nebuchadnezzar recorded in Chapter 2 since it provides the fourfold structure underlying the later visions.
Read more