WHAT DOES IT SAY?
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO ME?
The Revelation of Jesus Christ
Revelation 1:1, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and [a]communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, verse 2,who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, everything that he saw. Verse 3. Blessed is the one who reads, and those who hear the words of the prophecy and keep the things which are written in it; for the time is near.
Message to the Seven Churches
Verse 4. “John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before His throne, verse 5, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood— 6and He made us into a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. Verse 7. BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.
Verse 8. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
The Patmos Vision
Verse 9. “I, John, your brother and fellow participant in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. Verse 10. I was in the [i]Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet, verse 11, saying, “Write on a scroll what you see, and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”
Verse 12. “Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And after turning I saw seven golden lampstands; Verse 13. and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and wrapped around the chest with a golden sash. Verse 14. His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. Verse 15. His feet were like burnished bronze when it has been heated to a glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. Verse 16. In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun [m]shining in its strength.”
Verse 17. “When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, verse 18, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.
Verse 19. “Therefore, write the things which you have seen, [o]and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things. Verse 20. As for the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
The Message to the Church at Ephesus
Revelation 2:1. “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:
“The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this:
Verse 2. ‘I know your deeds and your labor and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil people, and you have put those who call themselves apostles to the test, and they are not, and you found them to be false; verse 3, and you have perseverance and have endured on account of My name, and have not become weary. Verse 4. But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Verse 5. Therefore, remember from where you have fallen, and repent, and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and I will remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. Verse 6. But you have this, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. Verse 7. The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will grant to eat from the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.’
Pastor Alistair Begg, in his opening remarks when preaching on Revelation 3:1-6 & 3:14-22, correctly said,
“In the material that was sent to me and to the other speakers—but the passage that relates directly to my task—I was directed as follows: “The Bible reader will expound the text but will also focus on Christ as revealed in the text.” “The Bible reader will expound the text and focus on Christ as he is revealed in the text.” What an immense privilege, to have the opportunity to take the Bible, to study it, and then to be able to share it with others, and in all of that to have our gaze turned again and again to the Lord Jesus! “I love to tell the story of unseen things above, of Jesus and his glory, of Jesus and his love.”[2] Therefore, it is an immense privilege for us. For of all the places we could be on this morning, all the circumstances that we might face, in the providence of God, he has ordered our steps—none of us is here by chance—in order that we might hear from the risen Lord Jesus Christ himself.
“Now, I used that little chorus purposefully in prayer, asking that God would show himself to us in the reading of the Word. There is an inherent danger in it though. If you know it, or if you listened carefully as I said it, it says, “Make the Book live to me.” And the great, inherent danger in the study of the Bible is that we want to move immediately from our reading of the text to personal application.
“And so, from time to time, especially in a small group context, after you’ve read a portion of Scripture like this, it’s not long before somebody in the group will say, “Let me tell you what this means to me”—which, of course, is of interest but is of secondary importance. Because what the individual may be about to say may actually be true to the text, may be actually helpful to the rest of the group, and in actual fact, it may be completely bizarre. And the only antidote, then, is to come to the text of Scripture not saying, “Let me tell you what this means to me,” initially, but coming to the Scripture saying, “Let me find out what this means.” And once I understand what it means in the context in which it has been delivered, then and only then may I begin to make points of personal application.
“So, it’s important for us this morning to recognize that what we’re dealing with here is history and geography, as real as any history and geography that we may have done for our GCSEs. We’re dealing with real churches in real places, real men and women, real families, living at a certain point in time. And from the passages we know that Jesus understands their condition, he understands their circumstances, and he writes to them expressly in the awareness of the context in which they’re living.”
What I appreciate in Jesus’ message and Alistair’s remarks, is that The Revelation is about real churches in real places, real men and women, real families, living at a certain point in time. And from the passages we know that Jesus understands their condition, he understands their circumstances, and he writes to them expressly in the awareness of the context in which they’re living.” I will go on to say that people don’t change. People may be different, one from another, but people do not change. So, in a very real and accurate way, Jesus is talking to, not just those people in those churches in Revelation chapter 3, but He is talking to all people, everywhere, of all times. He is talking to you and to me.
I will leave it to you, the reader, to satisfactorily study and come to understand WHAT THESE VERSES ARE SAYING, and WHAT THEY MEAN, which is no easy task. Reading various commentaries will give you as many opinions, which are varied and complex. But the one I like for brevity and accuracy is found at GotQuestions.Org, “What are the Seven Candlesticks – Lampstands of Revelation?”
However, I will move on to the application of these verses – WHAT DO THEY MEAN TO ME (or, what Am I To Do with What I Know?).
It has always been a difficult task to apply these verses since there are so many differing views of what they say and what they mean. We know that God speaks in a language unique to the hearer, one thing we can discern is the characteristics of the churches and the people receiving these letters. Read and decide which attributes, characteristics and personalities you possess.
Revelation 2:1. “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:
“The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this:
Verse 2. ‘I know your deeds and your labor and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil people, and you have put those who call themselves apostles to the test, and they are not, and you found them to be false; verse 3, and you have perseverance and have endured on account of My name, and have not become weary. Verse 4. But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Verse 5. Therefore, remember from where you have fallen, and repent, and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and I will remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. Verse 6. But you have this, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. Verse 7. The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will grant to eat from the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.’ “
Those in the church in Ephesus, like some other people,
(1). Are known by their good deeds, labors and their perseverance, (endurance);
(2). Cannot tolerate evil people, and
(3). They have put those, who call themselves apostles, to the test,
(4). and have found them to be false;
(5). The Ephesians have perseverance and have endured on account of Jesus’ name, and have not become weary.
(6). But they have left their ‘first love’ of Jesus and the things of God.
(7). They have fallen, from the deeds they did at first;
So, I will suggest a more novel approach. Let’s assume that God has written these letters, not only to real churches in real places, and to real men and women with real families, living at a certain point in time, but He has also written to you and to me.
You and I would do well to decide which of these characteristics describe us, and to describe those characteristics in greater detail. (I.e., “What is meant by ‘good deeds’ and which have I done? Etc.)
Let’s begin…
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, addressed to: (YOUR NAME GOES HERE).
Revelation 1:1 “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servant, (YOUR NAME GOES HERE), the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, verse 2, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, everything that he saw. Verse 3. Blessed are you (INSERT YOUR NAME), when you and others read, and hear the words of the prophecy and when YOU keep the things which are written in it; for the time is near.
Message to you and the Seven Churches
Verse 4. John to (INSERT YOUR NAME), and the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before His throne, verse 5, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood— verse 6. and He made us into a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Verse 7. BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So, it is to be. Amen.
Verse 8. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
The Patmos Vision
Verse 9. “I, John, your brother and fellow participant in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. Verse 10. I was in the [i]Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet, Verse 11, saying, “Write on a scroll what you see, and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”
Verse 12. “Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And after turning I saw seven golden lampstands; Verse 13, and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and wrapped around the chest with a golden sash. Verse 14. His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. Verse 15. His feet were like burnished bronze when it has been heated to a glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. Verse 16. In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength.
Verse 17. “When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, Verse 18, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades. Verse 19. Therefore, write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things. Verse 20. As for the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.”
Message to you and to the Church in Ephesus
Revelation 2:1 “To: The angel of the church in Ephesus, write:
The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this:
2 ‘(INSERT YOUR NAME), I know your deeds (which are?), and your labor (which is?), and your perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil people, and you have put those who call themselves apostles to the test, and they are not, and you found them to be false; 3 and, (INSERT YOUR NAME), you have perseverance and have endured on account of My name, and have not become weary.
Verse 4. “But, (INSERT YOUR NAME), I have this against you, that you have left your first love.
Verse 5. “Therefore, remember from where you have fallen, and repent, and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and I will remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.
Verse 6.But you have this, (YOUR NAME), that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
To the one who overcomes, I will grant to eat from the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.’
((NOW, ASK YOURELF (INSERT YOUR NAME):
1. What are my deeds Jesus is referring to? (If you cannot answer this, beware.)
2. What are my labors Jesus is referring to? (If you cannot answer this, beware.)
3. What is my perseverance Jesus is referring to? (If you cannot answer this, beware.)
4. What is it I cannot tolerate (about evil people) Jesus is referring to? What have I done about that evil? (If you cannot answer this, beware.)
5. How did I test those who call themselves Apostles? How did I find them false? (If you cannot answer this, beware.)
6. What is it I hate about the Nicolaitans? (Do you even know about the Nicolaitans? If you cannot answer this, honestly, beware.)
7. How did I not become weary? (You never will weary if you are not doing anything. Right?)
8. From where have I fallen? (If you cannot answer this, beware.)
What were my ‘first deeds’? (If you cannot answer this, beware.)
This is a ‘reality check’. The postmodern church in America is unfortuatley striving to keep us comfortable while we wait on the rapture. (Big mistake). Jesus said we are to be found doing what He commanded us to do when He returns, or?
Your Brother and Friend,
Mike Young
NEXT: THE CHURCHES AT SMYRNA AND PERGAMUM.
More Reading: What Does It Say? What Does it Mean?
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