Episode 77
Revelation Chapter 2
Revelation Chapter 2
Welcome back for a bit of review of Revelation Chapter 1
If you were to share chapter 1 with a friend how would you tell them about it? Do you remember what or who the book of Revelation is revealing and how did this bit of History get to us?
It might help us remember if I repeat the step by step process. Actually just thinking of steps will help us burn an image in our minds eye.
The Apokolyspos (Apocolypse meaning Revelation)
Which came to us in steps throughout History began with:
- God to
- Jesus to
- The Angel to
- John to
- The seven churches to
- You and I today.
John then wrote down the things which he saw
Those who read, hear and keep the things that are written in the Book are blessed because…
THE TIME IS AT HAND.
Conveying the sense that nothing more has to happen before the next item on God’s calendar occurs, that being…..the RAPTURE.
Yes, I know the word Rapture is not in the Bible. But the word Harpotso (Snatching away) is, in the Greek, so instead another word in our language conveys the snatching away of the Church. I mean can you imagine people standing around wondering where so many people went. Yes, that will be a tragedy!
I can just see those that were left behind trying to remember that Greek word and trying to tell their neighbor, I think they were Harpooned, or Harpotzed, no Harpotsoed.
And their neighbor asking, what’s that?
Raptured will be something that those left behind have heard something about by this time in History. But more on that later.
John then continues to greet the churches in the Ephesus area, Asia Minor. Paul was now dead and Jeursalem had fallen by the hands of Rome in AD 70. So John, as he pastored the churches in that area, told them of the message he now had from the Angel of God, of the...
- Faithful witness
- The first born from the dead
- The Prince of Kings
- The One who loved enough to die to forgive sins and wash them away with His perfect sacrifice. ( Zechariah 12)
- The One that “ WILL BE COMING IN THE CLOUDS” and every eye will see Him, and all those who pierced Him, and all the Kindreds of the Earth will WAIL when they see Him.
Who? The Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending as described by the first and the last letter of the Greek Alphabet)
Jesus and the Outline of the Book:
- Which was
- Which is
- And which is to come.
Just in case you still don’t recognize who that is, John makes it clear again…..The Almighty!
Then John described a Vision of the Son Of Man…Jesus.
Remember John is using words in his vocabulary that attempt to describe things no one had ever seen before… and was told to write about it.
I know that when I am writing, whether it be a short story or a novel or a letter, I stumble over my words and struggle to find just the right ones to convey the message that needs to be etched into the readers mind or heart. So let’s give Pastor John a break as we read the things he shares in this book.
Revelation, like other books of the Bible, have a historical, geographical, time and place. However, these times and places span thousands of years of History. In the Old Testament the prophets tried so hard to understand the times in which it looks like we are living, but the words that were given them by God, did not allow for them to see the future clearly. Sometimes the time lines fo History overlapped, or stretched out beyond the days of Abraham and jumped ahead in History and yet the words that were shared seemed to cover both of those eras.
I remember standing on the mountains in Austria, like in the Sound of Music, where you could see the mountain tops from where you were standing all the way out as far as the eye could see, and even hear those big horns they would use to communicate with others in a different city. The mountains so green and lush with cows that wore bells as collars that dotted the mountain side. And yet, If you were to travel from that gorgeous spot to as far as the eye could see, it would take you through the valleys in between the mountain tops.
Just as the prophets of old could see the tip top tid bits, it would take time and other actual places to pull the prophecies together. Time and place is a sense we seem to be losing. I believe it began before our Covid age but has been accentuated because we live our lives before screens and have limited access to other people and other places. Even as I craft a story, I travel into the recesses of my memories of places and other times that bring to light emotions, aromas, sounds, flavors, and sights to my minds eye that help me describe an event that happened in History that I would like to share with you, but I have the benefit of using the vocabulary that is popular during my own life time, and neither am I attempting to describe a futuristic world so unlike my own, as John had the task of accomplishing.
Even though the descriptions we will read and hear through out this book may be real difficult to put into time and space, it is, it was, and it will be just that….REAL.
Seven golden candle sticks, a voice like rushing waters, and the Son of Man, a Messianic title from Daniel, standing in the midst of the seven golden candle sticks, and more.
Jesus was clothed in white with a golden sash, the robe and belt of a judge. (Previous Covenant studiers do you see the picture here?) The mystery mentioned in verse 20 is explained as Jesus standing in the midst of the Seven Churches.
So here we have a Judge, who bears the garment of a Covenant keeping Judge, come to speak to the Churches in the next few chapters.
REVELATION CHAPTER 2
The message that John received from the Angel was for the seven churches of Asia Minor. Ephesus was the first and main church in this group of local churches and was known as the Mother Church. The Letter that Pastor John wrote was what was known as a Circular Letter, one that would be read at Ephesus, and then make the rounds to all the sister churches in the area.
Revelation chapter 2 begins with what the Alpha and Omega has to say to these churches, and chapter 2 will cover four of the churches.
After reviewing this chapter and the next, I guess you could say that this letter is kind of like a report card for each of the Churches that comes with commendations, counsels or warnings, and promises to the overcomers.
Commentators have speculated as to the letters’ interpretation:
- Only historical with mo prophetic significance
- Historical/Prophetic where each church may represent a specific time in history
- Representative where each of the churches represents characteristics of churches throughout History or an individual believer.
- Representative of the outline we saw in Chapter with the seven churches being “the things which are” (which would have been present time for John when he received this message.
The Four Churches mentioned in Chapter 2 are
- Ephesus
- Smyrna
- Pergamos
- Thyatira
Ephesus was known as the "Mother Church" to all the others. It was also known for the Temple of the goddess Diana. It was the largest, most important city in Asia. The Temple columns were as large as a city block! The Pastors of this church were Paul, Timothy, and John! Now that’s some big guns as far as teachers or Pastors are concerned and you would think that with that kind of powerful teaching, that the people would be solid in their faith.
Well, let’s see what the Judge in His robe had to say to them.
Thanks for Listening! May you be blessed as you read, and listen to this Book of Revelation. May your heart and mind be renewed by the Water of the word of God. If you have any prayer requests or comments you would like to share with me, you can send them to:
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