Eyes like Flame
Read: Revelation 2:18; Matthew 17:1-8 . . . the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire. (Rev. 2:18) When I was a pastor, my church had to fill out an annual report to our classis. In Reformed churches, the classis is the local assembly to which each congregation is accountable. So […]
A White Stone
Read: Revelation 2:17; Isaiah 43:1-7 I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it. (Rev. 2:17) My older sister told me that my parents thought about naming me James. It’s weird to think that I might have gone through […]
Pergamum: Where Satan Has His Throne
Read: Revelation 2:13-16 I know where you dwell. (v. 13) On the acropolis of ancient Pergamum stood the magnificent Temple of Zeus. Alongside it was another temple dedicated to Caesar—the first-ever building formally built for the worship of the Roman emperor. That hill and its temples dominated the skyline of Pergamum; you couldn’t escape the […]
The Sharp Two-edged Sword
Read: Revelation 2:12; Hebrews 4:11-13; Revelation 19:11-16 The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword. (Rev. 2:12) In Revelation, as throughout the Bible, the two-edged sword is the Word of God. The key is that it issues from the mouth of the Lord Jesus. God does what he does by speaking. It’s how […]
The Second Death
Read: Revelation 2:11; 20:11-15 The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death. (2:11) “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life,” Jesus told the church of Smyrna (Rev. 2:10). Here the death is physical and the life is eternal. Jesus knew how these Christians would have […]
Smyrna: Facing Suffering
Read: Revelation 2:9-10 You will have tribulation. (v. 10) “I didn’t go to religion to make me happy. I always knew a bottle of Port would do that,” quipped C. S. Lewis. “If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly don’t recommend Christianity” (God in the Dock, p. 48). Jesus […]
The Living One
Read: Revelation 2:8; Mark 16:1-8 The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life. (Rev. 2:8) We have already heard God call himself the Alpha and Omega, the first and last (Rev. 1:8). Now Jesus does the same. His second letter, addressed to the church of Smyrna, is introduced as, […]
The Tree of Life
Read: Revelation 2:7; 22:1-5 To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. (2:7) The original Tree of Life was in the Garden of Eden, along with the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. After Adam and Eve ate the […]
Ephesus: Lost Love
Read: Revelation 2:2-6; Luke 7:36-50 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. (Rev. 2:4) In Fiddler on the Roof, Tevye, beset by the uncertainties swirling around his life and family, asks his wife, “Do you love me?” Golde replies, “Do I what? Look what I’ve been […]