End Time Insights

The first vision centers on Jesus in his role as the High Priest who oversees the congregations of Asia. The vision begins in Chapter 1 and continues to the end of Chapter 3. It consists of the image of the Risen Christ walking among “ Seven Golden Lampstands ,” and the seven messages that he sends to the seven “ Messengers ” of the Asian congregations.

The relevance of Revelation for today is lost if we ignore its historical context and read it with incorrect presuppositions . The Book of Revelation presents a sweeping picture of the church age that highlights the cosmic “ war ” that is being waged behind the scenes of History with individual “battles” that manifest in the daily struggles of the Assembly. Its visions show God working through the “ Lamb ” to implement His Kingdom, and it begins in the first century with the “ Seven Assemblies of Asia .”

From start to finish, the Book of Revelation is addressed to the “ Seven Assemblies of Asia .” These congregations do not fade from the picture in the later sections of the Book. While it may include a larger target audience, Revelation is first and foremost a message for those Seven Assemblies, and the significance of its visions cannot be understood apart from them.

In the Book of Revelation , God is the “ Almighty ,” the “ One Who sits on the Throne ,” the “ Alpha and Omega ,” the “ One Who is and Who was and Who is coming .” This last phrase is more than a declaration about His nature, and the appellation is modified at key points in Revelation to mark progress towards the consummation of the present age. This description of God recalls the self-designation that Yahweh declared to Moses: I AM WHO I AM .

Through a series of seven beatitudes, Revelation summons believers to faithfulness despite hostility, tribulation, and persecution . The Book of Revelation is not a tool of divination for deciphering future mysteries and events. Instead, it is a summons for God’s people to become vigilant, live righteously, and persevere in testimony during persecution and other trials. Its concern is not when certain events will occur, but how the Assembly of God must “ overcome ” and thus arrive at the city of “ New Jerusalem .”

The first paragraph of  Revelation  presents us with its purpose, key themes, main characters, how it communicates, and its chronological outlook. The  Book of Revelation  reveals rather than mystifies. It is “ THE prophecy ,” singular, sent to the Assemblies of Jesus to “ show them what things must come to pass ,” a declaration that provides the timeframe of these coming “ things ,” namely, “ Soon .” Above all, it is a revelation about “ Jesus Christ .”

The Book of Revelation ’s first paragraph declares its purpose is to show God’s servants “ what things must come to pass ,” and it specifies the timing of those “ things ,” namely, “ soon ” and the “ season is near .” The “ things ” referred to are detailed in John’s visions, including information about Satan’s war against Jesus and his “ saints ” that is waged through his earthly agents, the “ Beast ,” the “ False Prophet ,” and “ Babylon, the Great Whore .”

Pergamos receives praise for remaining faithful to his name, but correction for tolerating the teachings of Balaam – Revelation 2:12-17.  P ergamos is some sixty kilometers to the north of Smyrna and twenty kilometers from the sea. Though not a major commercial center, on occasion, it serves as the seat of the Roman provincial government and the center for the imperial cult. The first temple dedicated to Augustus Caesar in Asia was built at Pergamos, making it “ground zero” for the veneration of the emperor.

Deceivers within the seven congregations are encouraging disciples of Jesus to compromise with the idolatrous rites of pagan society .  One of the chief concerns in the seven letters is with deceivers working in the congregations. While several groups and one individual are named, the net effect of their efforts is to cause believers to “ commit fornication and eat food offered to idols .” In short, to induce idolatry and accommodation to the surrounding pagan society.

The church of Smyrna is only one of two of the seven Asian churches that received no correction, the other being Philadelphia. What set this congregation apart was the level of persecution that it endured because of its “ testimony ,” and its steadfast refusal to “ eat meat offered to idols ” and otherwise compromise with the Greco-Roman culture. Its members stood firm in their refusal to participate in the imperial idolatry of Rome, and consequently, they suffered “ tribulation ” and persecution due to false accusations against them made by Satan’s agents.

The messenger at Ephesus is commended for rejecting false apostles, chastised for leaving his first love, and summoned to return to his first works . In his exhortation to the “ messenger ” at Ephesus, Jesus begins by stressing his intimate knowledge of all the churches. He is “ grasping ” the seven messengers tightly in his right hand, and “ walking ” continuously among the seven assemblies. Therefore, he knows their “ works and labor and endurance ” – (Revelation 2:1-7).

The visitation of Jesus to the churches of Asia prepares the reader for the visions that follow the seven letters .  In his vision, John sees a glorious figure “ like a Son of Man…in the midst of seven golden lampstands .” In the interpretation, it becomes clear that this is Jesus (“ I was dead, and I am alive forevermore ”), and the “ lampstands ” are identified as the “ seven churches of Asia ” that are under his ever-watchful care.

In the three synoptic gospels, the term “ Son of Man ” is the self-designation found most often on the lips of Jesus. It is derived from Daniel’s vision of the one “ like a Son of Man ” who received the “ dominion and kingdom ” from the “ Ancient of Days .” According to Jesus, “ All the tribes of the Earth ” will mourn when “ they see the Son of man coming on the clouds of Heaven .”

The next paragraph in the Book of Revelation presents greetings to the “ Seven Assemblies of Asia ” from the “ Throne ,” namely, from God, Jesus, and the “ Seven Spirits of God .” The greetings stress the current reign of the Son of God over the affairs of the Earth, but his sovereignty is based on his past sacrificial death and resurrection. The recipients of the Book are identified as the “ Seven Assemblies ” located in key cities of the province.

The church and its “ messenger ” in Laodicea received no words of praise from the Risen “ Son of Man .” Apparently, this congregation was in poor spiritual condition, and the letter indicates apathy had replaced its original zeal for the Lord. The best if not only hope for this church was to become purified like gold is refined in fire, presumably, by undergoing trials, impoverishment, and persecution.

Philadelphia was located fifty kilometers southeast of Sardis and straddled a major road into the interior, making commerce and trade with the other cities of the province vital to its economy. It was established in 189 B.C. by the king of  Pergamos  and came under Roman rule when the last Pergamene king bequeathed the kingdom to Rome in 133 B.C.

The city of Sardis was situated approximately sixty kilometers south of Thyatira, near the crossroads between Smyrna and Pergamos, and commerce was vital to its economic and cultural life. Sardis is mentioned in Obadiah, with the name “ Sepharad ” being its Hebrew form (“ They of the captivity of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad shall possess the cities of the South ”).

In the letter to the “ messenger ” in Thyatira, a structural change occurs. In the first three letters, the call to heed the Spirit’s voice preceded the promises to overcomers. From this point forward, it follows the promises and concludes each letter. This serves to emphasize the need to “ hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches ” through the seven letters sent by the risen Son of Man.

In the third chapter of  Revelation , Jesus promises to “ keep ” overcoming saints in the city of Philadelphia “ from the hour of trial ” that is coming upon the “ whole habitable the earth .” A comparison with similar passages demonstrates that this ominous “ hour ” is nothing less than the time of judgment and condemnation for all those whose names “ are not written in the Lamb’s book of life ” when they will experience the “ second death ” in the “ Lake of Fire .”

In his letter to the “ messenger ” of Laodicea, the Risen “ Son of Man ” is called the “ Beginning of the Creation of God .” In his death and resurrection, he inaugurated the New Creation. In the same sentence, and in the present tense, he also is called the “ Amen, the faithful and true witness ,” appellations applied to him previously in the Book’s prologue.