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 […]
Among the Lampstands
Read: Revelation 2:1; Matthew 18:18-20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them. (Matt. 18:20) Each of Jesus’ seven letters is addressed to the “angel” of the church. The word angelos could also be translated “messenger,” so it’s likely that the addressee is the pastor of each of […]