Revelation - Week 2

Day 1

Exiled

READ

Revelation 1:9

9 I, John, am your brother and your partner in suffering and in God’s Kingdom and in the patient endurance to which Jesus calls us. I was exiled to the island of Patmos for preaching the word of God and for my testimony about Jesus.

John now describes himself and where he was and why he was there. He was suffering as other believers were and was in patient endurance. Those statements together are significant. His location was the Island of Patmos. This was located in the Aegean Sea. This was southwest of Ephesus between Asia Minor (western Turkey) and Greece. He was exiled there because of preaching the gospel and telling about Jesus.

REFLECT

Have you suffered for the gospel and had others push you aside? If so, may God use you eventually to use your testimony for Jesus in even a greater way.

RESPOND

With a friend, try to imagine what it must have been like for the apostle John. He was one of the closest disciples to the Lord Jesus and a Christian leader now exiled to an island. Early church fathers think this was in the rule of Domitian (about A.D. 96). The Roman Empire was not a friend of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Day 2

To the Seven Churches

READ

Revelation 1:10-11

10 It was the Lord’s Day, and I was worshiping in the Spirit. Suddenly, I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet blast. 11 It said, “Write in a book everything you see, and send it to the seven churches in the cities of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”

John records what he was doing when suddenly he heard a voice like a trumpet blast telling him what to do.  In John’s day they wrote on scrolls, although the Greek word involved is biblion, from which the word “book” is derived. John was to write everything he will see and is to send it to the seven churches in Asia Minor. The churches are specified so there is no mistaking the target audience of the original message in Revelation. It is now available for all believers to read.

REFLECT

Think of the privilege now of having a book to hold in your hands instead of a scroll that would need to be unrolled as you read. Also think of the advancement now to see books electronically. There are many ways for believers to proclaim the gospel that the early believers did not have.

RESPOND

Help your disciple to find a map that will show the location of these seven churches in Revelation. If you have access to a Bible dictionary, see what it says about these churches as each one is referred to in future verses.

Day 3

The Son of Man

READ

Revelation 1:12-13

12 When I turned to see who was speaking to me, I saw seven gold lampstands. 13 And standing in the middle of the lampstands was someone like the Son of Man. He was wearing a long robe with a gold sash across his chest.

There are many symbols in the book of Revelation. If one keeps reading, however, those symbols are sometimes explained, and that it true of the “gold lampstands.” At this point it leaves one wondering. The “Son of Man” is an expression that Jesus used of Himself. It is used six times in Matthew 24 and 25 that tell about the great time of trouble to come on the earth and will be told about in Revelation 4 through 19.

REFLECT

What do you think was John’s reaction when he saw this vision of the Lord Jesus Christ? You will be told later in the text. This is another indication to keep reading when you have questions.

RESPOND

With your friend, read Isaiah 11:1-5 that tells about the return of Jesus to set up His kingdom on earth. If you do not think this refers to His kingdom on earth, read verses 6-9.

Day 4

In All His Glory

READ

Revelation 1:14-16

14 His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow. And his eyes were like flames of fire. 15 His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and his voice thundered like mighty ocean waves. 16 He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp two-edged sword came from his mouth. And his face was like the sun in all its brilliance.            

The apostle John continued to describe the appearance of the Son of Man. Some see His hair to picture the Ancient of Days, prophesied by Daniel (see Daniel 7:9). He held “seven stars” in his right hand. To whom does this refer? Again, the same answer: keep reading. Hebrews 4:12 tells about the two-edged sword, which is the Word of God. Jesus was able to speak worlds into existence and, as seen later in Revelation, He will be able to speak armies out of existence.

REFLECT

By having a copy of the Bible, you have a two-edged sword, which is the Word of God. In John 1:1 and 1:14 you see that Jesus is the Word who took on human flesh to dwell among mankind. As the Word, He is the expression of God.

RESPOND

Talk with your disciple about the spiritual warfare believers are engaged in today and the need to put on the armor of God mentioned in Ephesians 6:13-17. Notice especially the need to take the “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

Day 5

The First and the Last

READ

Revelation 1:17-18

17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead. But he laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.

You no longer have to wonder how John reacted when he saw the vision of the Lord Jesus Christ. He prostrated himself at the feet of Jesus as if he were dead. Jesus told him not to be afraid and referred to Himself as “the First and the Last.” This is the title of Jehovah (God), and reveals Jesus is Jehovah. Those who deny this do not accept the Word of God by what it says and means.

REFLECT

Is it new to you to consider Jesus is Jehovah? Modern English translations usually put LORD in all caps to show it refers to Jehovah.  Compare Isaiah 44:6 and 48:12 with Revelation 1:17-18.

RESPOND

The two of you should study more about references to Jehovah and Jesus. Compare Isaiah 40:3 with John 1:23. John the Baptist referred to Isaiah 40:3 for what he was doing for Jesus.