The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his
servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant
John,
who testifies to everything he saw- that is, the word of God and
the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and
blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written
in it, because the
time is near.
John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and
peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits
before his throne,
and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the
firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves
us and has freed us from our sins by his blood,
and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God
and Father- to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So
shall it be! Amen.
"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God,
"who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."
I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and
kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos
because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind
me a loud voice like a trumpet,
which said: "Write on a scroll what you see and send it to
the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and
Laodicea."
vrs 9 companion in the suffering… and patient
endurance
"We must go through many hardships to enter the
kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22)
True persecution, imprisonment, martyrdom. These are far
removed from us as Christians today, but we do suffer. Who can witness the breakup of
families, the death of innocent children, and the dilemma of the poor, without crying out
"Come, Lord Jesus"?
Following Jesus brings many benefits. It also causes new
pressures and struggles. In what ways have you found being a Christian difficult?
vrs. 5 Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness1,
the firstborn from the dead2, and the ruler of the kings of the earth…
loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood,
vrs. 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests3
to serve his God
1
see Isaiah 55:4, 2 see Acts
26:23, 3 see 1 Peter 2:5, also see Phil 1:6
How can these verses comfort and encourage us when we are
struggling to be faithful?
vrs. 10 I heard behind me a loud voice
like a trumpet,
vrs. 11 which said: "Write on a scroll what you see
and send it to the seven churches"
Imagine you are a member of one of the seven
churches.
How would you feel when you
discovered that Christ himself had asked John to send YOU this letter?
To what extent do you have the same feeling
today, knowing the letter is also addressed to you?
vrs. 3 Blessed is the one who reads
the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is
written
In what ways do you think he expects us to take this
message to heart?
