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[Today's Comments]
Passage: Revelation 1-3

On Monday, December 17, 2018, Yujin wrote,
Chapter 1

It is both a revelation from Jesus Christ and about Jesus Christ. It is a prophecy of things that are imminent for every generation from the first to the last. There is a built-in blessing for reading it, hearing it, and obeying it.

As a prelude to the prophetic part (chs. 4-22), there is to seven representative churches messages that touch on truth, love, faith, perseverance, holiness, and humility (chs. 2-3). These are the instructions that believers of every generation must take to heart and obey. 

John is writing to believers as one who suffers with them and who with them also looks forward to the coming kingdom. Exiled to the Island of Patmos for his devotion to God's Word and specifically for His testimony about Jesus, John stands alongside them with patient endurance in Christ. 

The first chapter focuses on Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn (preeminent) from the dead (i.e. first in resurrection, alive from the dead, never to die again), and the ruler of the kings of the earth. The kingdom hope of John and the believers is rooted in what Jesus has done. He has loved them, freed them from their sins by His blood, and has made them a kingdom of priests. This priesthood of believers means every Christian has direct access to God, just as a priest would. 

Jesus is no longer the "suffering Servant" of Isaiah and the Gospels. Revelation 1 now presents Him as the glorified Lord. He wears a long robe with a golden sash. His hair is strikingly white. His feet a glowing bronze. His eyes firey. His voice piercing. His face the radiance of the sun. In his right hand are seven stars, representing the seven messengers to the seven churches. And He walks among the seven churches, represented as seven golden lampstands. The vision epitomizes Jesus' majesty, power and authority. 

It is this Jesus that ascended into the clouds after His crucifixion and resurrection and would return the same way. And when He comes again, every eye will see Him, the living and the dead, even those who crucified Him. And all peoples will mourn because of the guilt of their sin, because of the coming judgment, because of the One they crucified, who is none other than their Savior and Lord. 
 
Chapter 2

We've said that these were probably representative churches, which the Lord selected to address real issues that would plague the church for all time. Here's a possible description of the message to each church:
  1. To Ephesus - You're doctrinally sound, but you have forgotten to love and care for people. 
  2. To Smyrna - Remain faithful even though you are poor, afflicted and will face more persecution. 
  3. To Pergammum - Watch out for the deception of false teachers. 
  4. To Thyatira - You love and serve well, but you must not tolerate false teaching and immorality. 

Only Smyrna and Philadelphia (in ch. 4) have only positive things said about them. They are uniquely poor and weak relative to the other churches, yet they are commended for their faithfulness. It is notable that they are presented as the least among the churches as to their prosperity, fame and religous clout; however, they excel all the other churches for their unwavering faithfulness. They are the models we are to follow. 

Ephesus and Thyatira are almost polar opposites. While one was doctrinally sound and unloving, the other was loving but doctrinally weak.

Every reward is compatible with the instruction given. The tree of life, which gives healing from all diseases, is fitting in view of Jesus's command to the church in Ephesus to be more caring. Freedom from being hurt by the second death is fitting in view of Jesus' command for the church in Smyrna to remain faithful to the point of death. The manna and the white stone are fitting in view of Jesus' command for the church in Pergammum to stay clear of the enticements of the likes of Balaam and the Nicolaitans. Authority over of the nations is a fitting reward in view of Jesus' warning against following Jezebel, who in her day led nations into immorality and idolatry. So then, with every instruction from the Lord, there is a fitting reward.

Jesus' commands to the churches are just as relevant today as it was in John's day. We would do well to listen and take these instructions to heart (i.e. obey) (Rvelation 1:3). 

 

Passage: Revelation 1-3

On Saturday, January 4, 2014, Yujin wrote,

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches (Revelation 2:7 and cf. Revelation 2:11,17,29; 3:6,13,22). 

What is the meaning of this expression? Only Jesus uses it, and it is found only here in the Book of Revelation and in the Gospels. When Jesus uses it in the Gospels, this was the explanation associated with it:

He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12 so that,

“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
    and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’” (Mark 4:11-12)

Jesus cited Isaiah 6:9-10 and used it to explain the difference between the disciples and "those on the outside". Both the disciples and "those on the outside", presumably unbelievers, would hear, but only the disciples would be given understanding. It is not that they understood Jesus' parables any better than unbelievers; however, Jesus privately gave the disciples the explanations for them (cf. Mark 4:34).

Now, we can get a sense of what was meant by "He who has an ear. let him hear", an expression Jesus used in Mark 4:23. Jesus was indicating that only those who had been given understanding would understand, only those given "hearing ears" would hear. 

What is more, this understanding comes by way of the Spirit:

What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us...The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:12-14). 

Only those that have been given the Holy Spirit will understand spiritual truth from God. These are the ones with hearing ears. As Jesus would also tell Nicodemus,

Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again (John 3:3).

Only those who are born again by the Holy Spirit can perceive the kingdom of God. 

Friends, we are among those that have been given "ears to hear". We can both understand and accept the message of Christ to the churches because we have been enabled to do so by way of the Holy Spirit, who lives within us. This Spirit not only gives us understanding. He also applies to our account Christ's perfect fulfillment of all that Christ requires of us in these letters to the churches. Even as we do our utmost in His strength to obey His commands here, we do not strive in the fear of somehow losing our salvation, for we are already overcomers in Christ (cf. John 16:33; Romans 8:33-39).

Passage: Revelation 1-3

On Friday, January 4, 2013, Yujin wrote,

Friends, if you carefully read Jesus' words to the seven churches, you will notice that there appears to be some sort of pattern in His counsel to the churches, such that the strengths of some were the weakenesses of others. Could this suggest that rather than pigeon-holing ourselves as represented in one or another church, we can learn from all of them?

Ephesus was strong on keeping doctrinal purity but they lacked love (opposite of Thyatira).

Smyrna was materially poor and afflicted but spiritually rich (opposite of Laodicea).

Pergamum was generally faithful in a tough environment, but some embraced false teaching (opposite of Philadelphia).

Thyatira had a strong testimony of loving and faithful service, but they tolerated evil (opposite of Ephesus).

Sardis suffered a fruitless faith but some showed fruit (opposite of Philadelphia).

Philadelphia was physically weak but spiritually mighty (opposite of Pergamum and Sardis).

Laodicea was materially rich but spiritually poor (opposite of Smyrna).

Friends, when I think of our church and the members, I can see every weakness as well as every strength represented. I pray that in this new year, God may grant us the grace to strengthen our strengths and weaken our weaknesses. I pray that, on the one hand, we will praise God for those strengths, and on the other hand, we will humbly repent in light of our continuing weaknesses.

Passage: Revelation 1-3

On Thursday, January 5, 2012 (Last Updated on 1/3/2022), Yujin wrote,

Friends, we are now in the new year, yet we are at the end of the Bible rather than at the beginning. I know some of you had hoped to begin Genesis 1 on January 1; however, I'm happy to be a force to change that tradition. While there is nothing wrong with it, there is everything wrong with people breaking resolutions and people knowing so much more of how the Bible begins and so much less of how it will end. Many people never get past Genesis. And a lot of people find themselves stuck in the Pentateuch (i.e. the first five books of the OT). And lacking both perspective and perseverance, they give up on their reading. 

Therefore, I would rather not tie the Bible reading schedule to some arbitrary signpost of time, like January 1st. By starting it instead on January 10, perhaps I may indirectly encourage you in the significance of continuity over just starting over or starting anew. This is also the reason I always encourage people that fall behind not to first go back and try to catch up but to continue reading on schedule. When they find more time, then they can catch up; however, it is better to maintain continuity in the discipline of reading rather than trying to catch-up or fill-up holes in one's reading. 

I have found this true also in developing an exercise regimen. Some people wait till January 1st to begin. Why wait? And why base it on something so unreliable as a new year marker? Many emphasize starting "strong" or making up lost time, but this often causes excess fatigue, pain, and general discouragement. Both of these practices I have found to be unfruitful. Any day is a good day to begin, and consistency is more important than intensity, especially in the beginning. Therefore, I have found that doing whatever it takes to establish a consistent discipline of working out, say Monday-Friday, over time should be the priority for developing an exercise regimen. This applies also to Bible reading.

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Now, a comment about the Book of Revelation. First, I encourage you to read my Summary of this Book on this site. Second, I want to alert you to certain Online Articles pertinent this book.

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There is much to say about the first three chapters of Revelation; however, I want to draw your attention just to a few matters:

(1) As the book is a prophetic book, the time markers need to be kept in perspective. Therefore, when we read expressions like "things must shortly take place" (Revelation 1:1; 22:6), "the time is near" (Revelation 1:3), and "I am coming quickly" (Revelation 22:20), we must not assume that these things happened immediately in the context of the first century.

A persuasive case can be made that the apostles and prophets of the first century considered end-times events as always imminent, such that whether in their generation or in some future generation, all of these things could quickly transpire (See the article on "near" and "soon" on this site). The emphasis of both the apostles and Jesus seems not to be so much about the "day or hour" but about being ready always and at any time. After all, whether we speak of the past, the present, or the future, the extent of a person's opportunity to prepare or respond to impending judgment is no longer than the lifetimes they have been given. For as we learn in Hebrews 9:27, "As it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment."

To keep things further in perspective, what one should fear is not the limited scope of judgments in the Great Tribulation but rather the eternal judgment in the Lake of Fire, prepared for everyone whose names are not written in the Book of Life. 

(2) As you read about the seven churches in Revelation 2-3, it is easy to read a works-based salvation in these texts. In each case, after certain words of correction and/or encouragement, Jesus says, "To him who overcomes..." Then what follows are words that typically express the benefits of salvation. This might cause one to assume that one must overcome to be saved, and, therefore, salvation is based on the works involved in overcoming. However, this is not necessarily the case, and it would contradict the rest of Scripture that teaches salvation is by grace through faith.

Perhaps there is a better way to understand the expression "To him who overcomes" (or in some trans. "to him who is victorious"). Another repeated phrase is "He who has an ear..." In the Gospels Jesus associated this expression with those that have been given understanding of the meaning of His parables, namely, those followers that truly believed in Him. If Jesus in Revelation is using this expression in the same manner, then we can relate "he who has an ear" to "him who overcomes," such that as the first will indeed hear, so the latter will indeed overcome. In other words, the overcoming is not so much a work of man as it is a work of God. This is validated further in Revelation 21:6-7, where we read,

And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.

The "water of llife," which is consistently used to express eternal life in John is freely given by God. Here it is followed immediately by the expression "He who overcomes." This pattern is like the "He who has an ear" connected to "him who overcomes" in Revelation 2-3. The believers' overcoming is enabled by God's free grace, such that everyone that has received the grace of God is an overcomer. Also, from the same author we read this in 1 John 5:4-6,

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

Those who are "born of God" overcomes the world. Why? It is because this new birth by the Holy Spirit creates in us a life-giving faith, which finds its strength in its confession, namely, that "Jesus is the Son of God" (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:3). Thus, it is Jesus, the Son of God, who has overcome the world in us. For as John also wrote, "He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world" (1 John 4:4). 

(3) The message to the church of Ephesus is often misunderstood because of a popularized expression, namely, "you have left your first love" (Revelation 2:4). Preachers love expressions like this, because they can then give a fiery message on "Coming back to Christ, their first love." However, this is probably not the meaning of the expression. In fact, it is likely just the opposite. The church of Ephesus was not rebuked for any lack of devotion to Christ. To the contrary, they were repeatedly commended for their faithfulness to rebuke evildoers, ferret out false apostles, and their tireless perseverance in defending Jesus' reputation (Revelation 2:2-3,6). No, the rebuke was not in their doctrine but in their approach. It is not so much that they had left their "first love" (NKJV) but rather they had left the "love they had at first" (TNIV). In their zeal for truth, they had become unmerciful. In their righteous indignation, they had perhaps become cruel. They had allowed their "love" for God to eclipse their love for their brothers and sisters. In John's first epistle, he writes, "And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also" (1 John 4:21). Therefore, theirs was a serious sin, but it was not that they stopped being devoted to Christ but rather they stopped loving one another. And consistent to this failure is Jesus' warning that He would remove their lampstand from its place. As many commentators have noted, the lampstand represents the church's witness to the world. Jesus does not desire a loveless witness, for as He once told His disciples, "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:35).

(4) As you read the messages to the seven churches, did you notice that there were only two churches that were given only praises and no correctives? They were the church of Smyrna and the church of Philadelphia.

Beyond being faithful, what else was common to these churches? Notice that they were both relatively poor and weak and suffered intense persecution. "Okay. So what?!" you say. Sadly, this is how many people read this. But do they not stand very much in contrast to the churches of today, even churches that are held in esteem? As Jesus once taught His disciples, "For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God" (Luke 16:15). While this was principally referring to "unrighteous mammon" (i.e. money), it should, nevertheless, give us pause as we consider what is praised and rebuked by Jesus in these letters to the seven churches.