The Test of Commitment
Revelation 3:14-22
The Test of Commitment
rEVELATION 3:14-22
Ephesus: zealous for theological purity and yet growing coldly indifferent to one another
Smyrna: wracked with poverty due to persecution and suffering, yet standing firm
Pergamum: full of love and compassion but in danger of theological and moral compromise
Thyatira: the epitome of growth and development but overly tolerant of false teaching
Sardis: known throughout the world for life, but spiritually dead in reality
Philadelphia: small and seemingly insignificant, yet faithful and patient in the face of a hostile world
Main Idea: Jesus calls the apathetic to repent and become zealous again.
I. The Amen Speaks (3:14)
Revelation 3:14: And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.
The Amen (2 Cor. 1:20)
The Faithful and True Witness (Rev. 19:11)
The Beginning of God’s Creation (Col. 1:15-18)
II. The Lukewarm Confronted (3:15-17)
Revelation 3:15-17: I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.
Five Indictments:
Wretched
Pitiable
Poor
Blind
Naked
III. The Loving Reproof (3:18-20)
Revelation 3:18-19: I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.
How do the apathetic become zealous again?
The Riches of Christ (Is. 55:1-3)
The Wardrobe of Christ (Rom. 13:14, Col. 3:12-17)
The Healing of Christ (2 Cor. 3:16:)
The Discipline of Christ (Heb. 12:5–6)
The Renewal of Christ (Song of Sol. 5:2)
IV. Jesus Clothes, Comforts, and Calls the Church (3:5:6)
Revelation 3:21-22: The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Matthew 19:28-30: Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.
The Test of Witness
Revelation 3:7-13
The Test of witness
rEVELATION 3:7-13
Main Idea: Despite our surroundings, the Church must endure as a faithful gospel witness.
I. The Witness of Works (3:7-8)
Revelation 3:7-8: And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens. I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.
Christ and the Key
Christ and the Door
Isaiah 22:22: I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David. He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
The Christian does not find himself, after being accepted by God, in a comfortable luxury hotel, smoking big cigars and reading the newspapers. He is a missile, a man destined to be sent through the open door into the society of the world to share the meaning of love and grace
~ Eugene Peterson, This Hallelujah Banquet
II. The Witness of Words (3:9-10)
Revelation 3:9-10: Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you. Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.
Unseen realities
Bold endurance
Worldliness is what any particular culture does to make sin seem normal and righteousness seem strange.
~ David Wells
We need to be familiar with the Bible to realize we are the normal ones, but we have to know what is normal in God’s eyes, so we don’t lapse into thinking that the sinful ways of the world are normal. This ought to give us a unique confidence and bold witness while enduring whatever is to come our way.
III. The Witness of Wonder
Revelation 3:11-13: I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Gospel Opportunities
Gospel Confidence
Gospel Conviction
It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak.
~ C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory
Revelation 14:4: “We follow the lamb wherever he goes.”
The Test of Reality
Revelation 3:1-6
The Test of REality
rEVELATION 3:1-6
Main Idea: Jesus brings dead things to life.
I. Jesus Knows the Church (3:1)
Revelation 3:1: And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.
Seven Spirits of God (Isaiah 11)
The Seven Stars (Revelation 1:20)
We must pray in the Spirit, preach in the Spirit, worship in the Spirit, live in the Spirit, and walk in the Spirit. A stale church can be refreshed by him, a sleepy church awakened, a weak church strengthened, and a dead church made alive.
~ John Stott, What Christ Thinks of the Church
II. Jesus Evaluates the Church (3:1b)
Revelation 3:1: I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.
A God without wrath brought men without sin into a Kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a Cross. ~ H. Richard Niebuhr
Matthew 23:27-28: Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
What are the marks of a dead church?
Pride
Spiritually lethargic
A loss of wonder over the gospel
Lack of missional engagement
What are the marks of a healthy church?
Humble before Christ
Spiritually Awake
Wonder over the gospel
Faithful to bear witness.
III. Jesus Challenges the Church (3:2-4)
Ephesus - to love
Smyrna - to be faithful
Pergamum - to discern
Thyatira - to think
Sardis - to wake up
Revelation 3:2-3: Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent.
Wake up
Strengthen what remains
Remember what you have heard
Keep it
Repent
Revelation 3:3: If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you.
IV. Jesus Clothes, Comforts, and Calls the Church (3:5:6)
Revelation 3:4-6: The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Revelation 12:11: And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.
Clothed in white (Isaiah 61:10)
I will never blot out your name (Luke 10:20)
Confess our name before the Father (Matthew 10:32-33)
The Test of Holiness
Revelation 2:18-29
The Test of HOliness
rEVELATION 2:12-17
Main Idea: Jesus reveals what is truly in our hearts, which either leads to our hardened defiance or repentant faithfulness
I. The Evil We Tolerate (2:18-20)
Three movements of Jesus:
The Revealing Look
The Affirmation of Works
The Loving Confrontation.
Performing: minimizing God’s holiness by reducing His standard to something we can meet, thereby meriting His favor
Pretending: minimizing sin by making ourselves out to be something we are not
II. The Rewiring We Need (2:21-25)
Three Rewirings We Need:
Rewired Understanding of Immorality
Rewired Understanding of Sin's Consequences
Rewired View of Freedom
I have to wonder: when encouraging them to go ahead and participate, did she perhaps add, “Jesus knows your heart,” suggesting that Jesus would judge their hearts to be in the right place even when their bodies were invested in sexual immorality? If so, in a way she was right. Jesus did know their hearts. His eyes like a flame of fire saw into their souls to see exactly what their hearts were like. And what he saw was not innocence and good intentions but spiritual adultery worthy of eternal punishment. Sexual sin is spiritual adultery. Idolatry is spiritual adultery. No one can persist in sexual sin and adultery, excusing it as either unchosen orientation or basic human need, assuming that “God knows my heart and will forgive me” and expect that he or she will not be burned by the fire of God’s anger.
-Nancy Guthrie, Blessed
Ephesians 2:1-6: And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus…
The Gaze of Christ is:
Sympathetic
Loving
Freeing
III. The Reward We Are Promised (2:21-25)
Three rewards that are promised to those who conquer:
Authority Over All Nations.
Rule with a Rod of Iron
The Morning Star
The Test of Truth
Revelation 2:12-17
The Test of Truth
rEVELATION 2:12-17
Main Idea: Christ calls us to faithfully hold onto the truth that leads to eternal reward.
I. What are you holding on to? (2:13-15)
A. Holding onto Christ (v. 13)
Satan’s Attack Plan
Persecution
Seduction
Deception
B. Holding onto Christ and… (v.14-15)
Jesus + Nothing = Everything
Jesus + Anything = Nothing
II. Where does it lead? (2:12, 16-17)
Revelation 1:16: […from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword…]
Hebrews 4:12-13: For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
2 Timothy 3:16: All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness…
Ephesians 6:16-17: In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God…
Revelation 1:16,20:In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword...As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
A. Hidden Manna
Psalm 78:23-25: Yet he commanded the skies above
and opened the doors of heaven,
and he rained down on them manna to eat
and gave them the grain of heaven.
Man ate of the bread of the angels;
he sent them food in abundance.
John 6:31-15: Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
B. A White Stone
Those who triumphed in games were given white stones for entry into celebratory banquets. Such stones were used also in court cases to signify acquittal. Those who overcome will enjoy the messianic banquet and stand clean before God forever.
-Tom Schreiner
C. New Name
Revelation 19-11:12: Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself.
The Test of Our Suffering
Revelation 2:8-11
The Test of Our Suffering
rEVELATION 2:8-11
Main Idea: Christ calls us to enduring faithfulness in suffering by looking to him who has overcome death.
I. The Form of Suffering
The suffering and persecution in Smyrna was marked by:
Tribulation (2:9a): they faced the constant ‘pressure’ of living in Smyrna, one of the centers of the cult of Roman emperor worship.
Poverty (2:9a; cf. Rev. 13:17, James 2:5): though they are impoverished physically because of their commitment to Christ, they are rich in the things that matter eternally.
Slander (2:9b): they were encountering false accusations and skepticism, being viewed as disloyal citizens to Rome.
Implication: Do not be surprised by trials and suffering (cf. John 15:18-21)
1 Peter 4:12–13: Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.
II. The Source of Suffering
There are “layers” to the suffering and persecution the church in Smyrna was facing:
Some of the Jewish people (“Synagogue of Satan”) were reporting the Christians to the Romans
“The devil” is instigating their imprisonment in order to “test” them
The true saint should not be afraid of the devil’s attempts to bring about compromise in the church through persecution. Indeed, Jesus employs the devil’s efforts for the purpose (‘that you may be tested’) of strengthening His people through these tests… Even the work of the devil is used by God for the furtherance of His plan. As the devil’s plans at the cross were used by God to bring salvation to the world, so the suffering of the Smyrneans will result in blessing and ultimate deliverance for them.
~ G.K. Beale, Revelation: A Shorter Commentary
The triune God is ultimately the all-sovereign one who is overseeing all of history (2:8), including the devil’s activity
Implication: Do not fear what you are about to suffer
III. The End of Suffering
The risen, glorified Jesus assures the church that their tribulation will be brief; it will be “10 days” (likely symbolic; cf. Dan. 1:12-15). All suffering in this life is but “a little while” (1 Pet. 1:6, 5:9-10) compared to the eternal joys that await us.
2 Corinthians 4:16–18a: The risen, glorified Jesus assures the church that their tribulation will be brief; it will be “10 days” (likely symbolic; cf. Dan. 1:12-15). All suffering in this life is but “a little while” (1 Pet. 1:6, 5:9-10) compared to the eternal joys that await us.
God’s people are called to look to Christ in the midst of their suffering, because he is the one who “died and came to life” (2:8). He promises those who “conquer:”
The “crown of life” (cf. James 1:12, 1 Tim. 4:8, 1 Pet. 5:4)
Escape from the “second death” (cf. Rev. 20:6, 14, 21:8)
Implication: We can be “faithful unto death” because Christ knows our suffering firsthand and is with us even through death.
Are you willing to die for your faith? And are you willing to give up anything along the way in order to pursue it – those little deaths that sometimes seem as difficult as the final one, dying to impulses of ambition, of lust, of pride, of security, of comfort?... Until we pass the martyr test, we live neither deeply nor widely. Until we are ready to die for Christ, we can’t live for him freely, openly, and exuberantly. If we spend all our energies trying to protect our interests, to preserve our safety, and to negotiate and compromise with the opposition in order to keep what we have at all costs, we will live meagerly. But if we live at risk, giving up all in witness and commitment and love, we are released from death to live in the power of the resurrection.
~ Eugene Peterson, This Hallelujah Banquet
The Test of Our Love
Revelation 2:1-7
The Test of Our love
rEVELATION 2:1-7
Main Idea: Christ calls us to hold fast to orthodoxy without neglecting our first love.
I. The Concern of Christ (2:1 | cf. 1:20)
Because Jesus dwells in the midst of the lampstands that represent the church (1:13, 20), he knows intimately their true situation (seen and unseen), and gives a report to each church. The words to these 7 churches are addressed to particular Christians in the 1st century, while also having a universal, timeless application to the church in all times and all places.
The same pattern is (typically) repeated from Jesus through the Spirit to the churches:
An identification with an aspect of his glory in chapter 1, applicable to the specific issues in each church
A commendation and encouragement
A confrontation and challenge (cf. 3:19)
A promise to those who ‘conquer’ (cf. 21:7) and endure faithfully to the end
Ephesus was a major port city in the Roman Empire, steeped in idolatry and the cult worship of Caesar. The church faced social and economic pressure from Rome as a result of their faith in Jesus.
II. The Commendation of Orthodoxy (2:2-3, 6)
The church in Ephesus is commended by Jesus for their:
Toil, patience endurance, and “bearing up” for the name of Christ
Doctrinal faithfulness; they had an intolerance for evil and rejected false teachers & teachings (‘apostles’ and ‘Nicolaitans’; cf. 2:15)
Ephesus had a rich legacy of holding fast to orthodoxy (Acts 20:28-32) and was well-taught under apostolic leadership; Apollos, Paul, Timothy, and John all ministered in Ephesus. Their doctrinal discernment and commitment to the “faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3) was the foundation for their faithful endurance in a chaotic and confused world.
III. The Correction of Love (2:4-5, 7)
Christ warns that he has something against them: “you have abandoned the love you had at first.” This “first love” is likely holistic, entailing a love for God (vertically), a love for one another in the church (horizontally), and a love for those outside the church (outwardly). A true love for God necessarily results in a love for others (cf. 1 Jn. 4:20-21, Mk. 12:29-31, 2 Cor. 5:14ff).
It’s possible to have the body of orthodoxy and yet not the beating heart… There is a pseudo-orthodoxy that masquerades under doctrinal precision and theological certainty but lacks vibrancy and power. Saying the right things can hide a heart unwilling to perform the right actions. The problem, of course, is not in what we say, or the pursuit of doctrinal precision or the deepening of theological conviction. The problem is not what is there, but what’s not: an experience with the living God, a heart set on fire by the gospel.
~ Trevin Wax, The Thrill of Orthodoxy
Matthew 5:14–16: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
Jesus urges the church in Ephesus to “remember from where you have fallen” (cf. Acts 19:10, 21ff) and to “repent, and do the works you did at first,” or their lampstand will be removed from its place.
Removing the lampstand means the church will lose its status as a Christian church; the light of Christ will no longer shine, and the message of the gospel will no longer resound from a church that has lost its first love. It will harden into a parody of a Christian church, for a church without love is a church without the gospel – a church animated by the gospel is full of love, as the continued need for mercy and grace echoes throughout the church.
~ Tom Schreiner, ESV Expository Commentary: Revelation
Jesus promises that those who “conquer” will be granted to eat of the “tree of life” (Gen. 2:9, Ex. 25:31-36, Rev. 22:1-5), which represents the presence of God dwelling with his people in eternal joy and love.
The Apocalypse of Jesus Christ
Revelation 1:1-20
The Apocalypse of Jesus cHRIST
rEVELATION 1:1-20
Though St. John the Evangelist saw many strange monsters in his vision, he saw no creature so wild as one of his own commentators.
~ G.K. Chesterton, OrthodoxyRevelation shows us:
- The opposition we can expect to escalate
- The endurance we need to cultivate
- The judgment we will celebrate
- The victory in which we will participate
- The enemy Jesus will annihilate
- The sorrow he will alleviate
- The creation he will regenerate
- The marriage he will consummate
- The home we can anticipate
~ Nancy Guthrie, Blessed: Experiencing the Promise of the Book of Revelation
Main Idea: The revelation of Jesus Christ comforts the afflicted and exhorts the faithful as we await his return.
I. Hearing the Revelation of Jesus (1:1-8)
‘Revelation’ (Gk: ‘apokalypsis’) means an “unveiling” and a “pulling back of the curtain” to reveal what was previously hidden and unseen (cf. Isa. 6, 2 Ki. 6, Acts 9). The ‘revelation’ given to John is “of Jesus Christ,” who is both the object and the means of this unveiling to his ‘servants’ of what must ‘soon take place’ (cf. Acts 2:16-17, 1 Jn. 2:18, Heb. 1:2)
The revelation given to John to the seven churches is thoroughly Trinitarian:
God the Father: “from him who is and who was and who is to come” (1:4b; cf. Ex. 3:14)
God the Holy Spirit: “the seven spirits who are before his throne”(1:4c; cf. Isa. 11:2)
God the Son: “the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings on earth.” (1:5; cf. Col. 1:18)
Though these seven churches in Asia were under the mighty shadow of the Roman Empire, they have been made a “kingdom” and “priests to his God and Father” (cf. Ex. 19:6); they may be hated by Rome but they are loved by Christ who is the true King who has come and is coming again (cf. Zech. 12:10).
II. Seeing the Radiance of Jesus (1:9-20)
Jesus is presented as the “Son of Man” (cf. Dan. 7:13-14), and the one fulfilling the role of:
Prophet (“the voice speaking to me”)
Priest (“clothed with a long robe”)
King (“golden sash around his chest”)
Jesus was not standing off at a distance while his followers suffered for him. He was right there with them, walking in the midst of them, keeping their fire for the gospel burning, correcting them, watching over them, strengthening them. Some people in this world today are so suspect of the church. They’ve seen too much of what they’ve labeled as hypocrisy, and even though they might be interested in Jesus, the last place they want to be found is in the church. But Jesus is not ashamed to be found in the midst of his imperfect church. It is his preferred place to be. He chooses to be in and among his imperfect people who follow him and serve him in imperfect ways. What a relief.
~ Nancy Guthrie, Blessed
John describes seven things he sees about Jesus’ glorified, bodily appearance:
White hair: eternal wisdom (cf. Dan. 7:9)
Eyes like a flame of fire: penetrating discernment (cf. Dan. 10:6)
Feet like burnished bronze: strength and stability
Voice like the roar of many waters: power and majesty (cf. Psalm 29:3; 93:4)
Right hand holding seven stars: sovereign care for his people (cf. Dan. 12:3)
Mouth: a sharp two-edged sword: cutting words of judgment or salvation (cf. Isa. 49:2, Heb. 4:12)
Face radiant and shining like the sun: divine glory (cf. Ex. 34:29ff, Num. 6:25, Mt. 17:2)
St. John, away from his churches, fretting from lack of intimate knowledge of his people, sees the penetrating, attentive eyes of his Savior. St. John, weak from confinement, sees the strong, burnished feet of his Lord. St. John, used to speaking with authority to his apt-to-stray sheep but now without voice, hears the authoritative voice of the Ruler of church and world. St. John, homesick for his congregations, sees them held in the right hand of the Shepherd of Israel. St. John at the mercy of the political sword of Rome, sees the word of God proceeding swordlike and not returning void. St. John, nearing the end of his days, the energy of his countenance in eclipse, sees the presence of a radiating Christ throwing blessing on all. By virtue of the vision, the crushed exile becomes a vigorous prophet.
~ Eugene Peterson, Reversed Thunder: The Revelation of John and the Praying Imagination
The message of Revelation to the church in every age is “fear not.” Though we live in the midst of suffering, hardships, persecutions, and calamities, we are invited to hear and see Jesus in all his glory, the one who has died but yet is “alive forevermore” and who victoriously holds the “keys of Death and Hades.”