Learn the Revelation

This letter is a strong rebuke to the church that has departed from the faith. There is no praise, no mentioning of good works, and no apparent remnant of true believers in the congregation. At the same time, however, the picture of Jesus standing and knocking at the door of a heart He has deemed repugnant is also one of the most remarkable evidences of the love and mercy of God found anywhere in the Bible.

3:14 “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write,

1. Which of the following do NOT correctly describe the format that Jesus uses in writing to the seven congregations: (vs. 1-4)

• a. He addresses each letter to the pastor
• b. He includes a title of Himself to underscore His message
• c. Jesus always condemns before He commends
• d. Jesus always commends before He condemns

2. The theme of the EPHESIAN letter is that they had left their “_________________.” It might be summarized this way: They were going through the ____________ with many good works, but had lost the _____________ of a love relationship with Jesus Christ. (v.4)

3. To arouse the Ephesians into considering their spiritual state, Jesus told them to “___________________ therefore from where you have

1. John makes it clear in the first two verses that the Revelation originated this way:

• a. God the ____________revealed the vision to God the _________.
• b. Jesus then sent His angel to reveal it to __________.
• c. John was commissioned to record what was revealed to him so that he could in turn reveal it to the _______________ of Jesus Christ.

2. God’s purpose for this vision is to:

• a. Scare unbelievers into repentance
• b. Set the date for the Second Coming of Jesus
• c. Help Christians identify the Antichrist
• d. Show Christians how He plans to accomplish his plans and works in Jesus Christ the Son

3. True or False. John the Apostle was literally taken in the Spirit into the future and

Philadelphia had not turned its back to the Word of God, nor denied the Deity of Jesus Christ. So the letter contains no rebuke and no suggestion of judgment. It’s to this persevering, spiritually awakened, faithful church at Philadelphia that Jesus alludes to the Rapture.

3:7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, ‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens:

In stark contrast to those in Sardis, whom

This letter is a call to the congregation to wake up to the person of the Holy Spirit, and thereby be made alive to the things of God. It’s the first church to which Jesus has nothing good to say.

3:1 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, ‘These things says He who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.

The great but tragic problem with Sardis lay in the fact that they had the name