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Revelation Study 6. Rev 2:1-17 (Letters to Thyatira and Sardis)

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 For Thought and Discussion:  a. What do Jesus' "eyes ... Iike blazing fire" (2:18) have to do with Thyatira? Consider 2:23. We said that this means that Christ comes in cleansing, purifying judgment. He will deal with the false prophetess who seduced people to sexual immorality and idolatry (cf. 1 Kings 16:31; 2 Kings 9:22,30-37) and her followers. b. How are His "feet ... like burnished bronze" (2:18) relevant? We said that feet represent purity and stability. Optional Application: The Ephesian church was strong on resisting false doctrine and immorality but weak on love (2:2-4). The Thyatiran church was strong on love but weak on resisting false doctrine and immorality (2:19-20). Which of these, if either, are you more like? What can you do about this? Perhaps some of us are not strong in either aspect! We cannot emphasize relational aspects of faith over doctrine, nor doctrine over relationship. The impetus to love must come from Biblical views of people and...
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Good Friday 2026 cell outing

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Revelation Study 5. Rev 2:1-17 (Letters to Ephesus, Smyrna and Pergamum)

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For Thought and Discussion: Consider the repeated refrain that ends (or almost ends) Jesus' word to each church (such as 2:29). Does this suggest that these prophetic words are meant only for the specific church addressed, or for others? Why? Does this refrain prove that the words are not for specific churches? Why or why not? "  He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churche s" (2:7,n11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22) suggests that the message to each church forms a part of an overall message to every church, of every age. 1. The rebuke Jesus has for the Ephesian church is "You have forsaken your first love" (2:4). What do you think this means? (Optional: See Jeremiah 2:2, Matthew 22:37-38.) The first devotion to the Lord. "Abandoned" may speak of a more deliberate step to emphasize certain things instead of others.   But isn't this normal? Can we sustain devotion? Shouldn't love grow with greater knowledge of God? We can never love...
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Revelation Study 4. 1:9-20

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6. When "a voice like a trumpet" commands John to "Write ... what you see," John turns to see the voice (1:10-12). What John sees recalls visions that the prophet Daniel had centuries earlier. What do the following passages help you understand about John's vision in Revelation 1: 12-16? Da 7:9-10. The vision of Jesus recalls the vision of God ("the Ancient of Days"): white hair, fire Da 7:13-14. "The Son of Man" is presnted to the Ancient of Days to receive a kingdom Da 10:4-6. This angelic being has a belt of gold,  his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude.   7. What does the "sharp double-edged sword" (1:16) seem to signify? (Consider Isaiah 49:2; Hebrews 4:12; Revelation 2:16; 19:15,21.)   The power/authority of words/the Word to strike down and rule nations. A  double-edged tool comfort...
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Revelation Study 3. Introduction and Rev 1:1-8

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How is your situation like the first-century situation in which John wrote Revelation? How is it different?  Similarities: a secular world, with different opposition. Pressure to conform, apathy Differences: non violent persecution in our location,  the immediacy of apostolic authority then but  dependency on completed Scripture now.  Secularism vs. pluralism, different non-centralised political systems (not just Rome).  A clearer hope of Christ's return then  What do you think people need to know about biblical prophecy? (Is it strictly foretelling the future?) What features mark Revelation as a prophecy?  Prophecy is both 'forthtelling' of God's view of a current or past situations as well as 'foretelling' of the future.  Why is it important that Revelation is an epistle (a letter)?  It is meant for real people at the time it was written, by a real author. The book was meant to be understood at the time it was written. It spoke to particula...
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Revelation Study 2: Book structure and main themes

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4. The next step in an overview is to break the book into major sections, then break those sections into parts. This gives you a working outline to see how the book is put together. To save you time, we have suggested some divisions on the following pages. Go back through the book, and make up a title for each major and secondary section. (Feel free to alter the divisions; they are arbitrary in some places.) If you have trouble making up titles for all of these passages now, do only the main sections and fill in the subsections as you study each lesson.   1:1-20. Prologue and the vision of Jesus, Introduction      1:1-8 Prologue and introduction to letter       1:9-20 Jesus among the lampstands, John’s assignment    2:1-3:22 Letters to the seven churches       2:1-7 to Ephesus       2:8-11 to Smyrna       2:12-17 to Pergamum      2:18-29 to Thyatira    ...
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Revelation Study 1. Video introduction, preliminary questions

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 1. What are your first impressions about John's style of writing? (Does it seem more like a documentary, a theater production, cartoon animation, a logical essay? Is it fun or difficult? Why?) What are your impressions of his tone or mood (optimistic, pessimistic, angry, joyful, fearful, calm, cynical, excited ...)?  John seems objective in his account, and yet he is clearly greatly affected by what he sees. He falls at Jesus' feet though dead (1:17), weeps (5:5), and worships the mediating angel (19:10, 22:8). He “marvels”. “Like a movie” “with soundtrack”  “A lot of repeated structures” “very descriptive” “Action packed” “plot twists” “good ending”  There are tough times for Christians and non Christians. “Like a play with acts”. There is scene change. There are protagonist and antagonists  “Like dreams” with scene changes. “Hard to keep up” “Acid trip” “How big God is”   2. Repetition is a clue to the ideas an author wants to emphasize. What words and p...
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