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Verses 1-8:

Verses 9-13:

Verses 14-20:

Verses 21-28

Verses 29-35

Verses 36-45

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The people of Sardis were spiritually apathetic, as a result of their luxurious, loose way of life.  This statement about hypocrites describes people. [Jews, Crisitans, other] who support charitable works but have no spiritual connection with the living God [Isaiah64:5[6]]; people who feel close to God or have correct theological doctrine but produce no evangelistic or social action [Ya 2:17]; people whose lack of faith in God and ignorance or rejection of Yeshua produce dead religious formalism, social clubbiness, fortress mentality defensiveness, and or/or pride in self-accomplishment; and people who try to fill their spiritual vacuum with sensual gratification.

2 - 5  The Sardis congregation was severley backslidden; Yehsua prescribes the only possible cure: spiritual revival.

3 I am coming like a thief, that is suddenly & unexpectedly.  The way to be prepared for it is to be ready and alert always - always leading a godly life.

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The revelation of yeshua, which god gave unto Him, to show unto his sevants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his sevent john:
of whom? "...of yeshua, which god gave unto him." Can yeshua "learn"? Can the Father reveal to the son?[Lk 2:52; Mk 13:32; Acts 1:6,7.] "servants"= doulos: yilded bondslave [Ex 21:6; Deut15:17]. "show"= This is not a sealed book [rev 22:10]  It is real and tangible.
shortly =en taxei: rapidly in execution [tachometer]. "what I begin I will also end" [ 1 sam 3:12; Lk 18:8].
signified = render into signs [coades]. symalic of reality; no prophecy is of private interpretation [2 Pet 1:20]. "angel" = angelos: a mssenger.

"Who bore witness" [90x in john's writing]. Epistolary aorist tense: he's projected to where we are, looking back... His frame of reference is from our time frame looking back.

Blessed is he that readeth, and  they that hear the words of his prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

John to the seven churches which are in asia: grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven spirits which are before his throne "john" : no title. He was well-know to these churches

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-Caitlin

It was estimated that this was written around 96 AD, all the other apostles had been martyred leaving John to be the only one left. According to Usibius in his book on church history, as had records of violent death of all of the other apostles, according to his book, there was an attempt to boil john in oil, he survived the experience of being boiled in oil. So they exiled him to the island of Patmos.

God wasn't through with him yet. God had one final word for man. The book of Revelation needed to be written and John was the one that was qualified and ultimately chosen to write the book. So on the island of Patmos, John received this vision of the future.

In the bible Jesus isn't often given a physical description of what he looks like. A few examples would be the book of Revelations  where John briefly describes his appearance in Revelations 1: 13-16

(And he had in His right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword (Rev 1:16): )
The word of God is like a twoedged sword, the word of God is alive and powerful, it is able to cut through the soul and spirit, and discerner the thoughts and intents of mans heart.

And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last [I am the Alpha and the omega. I am the first and the last. I am the beginning and the ending.]: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, so be it; and have the keys of hell and of death (Rev 1:17-18).

When it says "and have the keys of hell and of death" Its saying Jesus descended into hell and preached to the souls that were in prison. And when he ascended He lead those captives from their captivity for He had the keys of death and hell and He concords over death and hell.

Before Jesus died for our sins, we were unable to be received into heaven. This is because we are unclean, until Jesus provided the sacrifice lamb, the blood of atonement washing away our sins. Because we were unclean and unable to be received into heaven, anyone who died (who was a believer) from the time of Adam to the time of Jesus's crucifixion entered into Abraham's bosom. This place is a part of Hell, there are three parts of hell. The abyss, which is where Satan and his fallen angels will go for a thousand years, and where he will be sent forever. The second part is hell which is where the unbelievers will go for eternity. And finally Abraham's bosom, which was for all the believers. It was described as a paradise. Once Jesus died for our sins, his blood covered our sins and ultimately paid the price allowing us believers to be received into heaven.

Next in Rev 1:19 God tell John “Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this." So John is writing the things which he has seen, the things in the present, and the future.

Now, the Lord explains to John a little bit of the vision that he saw. Remember he turned and he saw Him walking in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks.

The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the [messengers] of the seven churches (Rev 1:20): The word "aggelos" in Greek is literally "messengers". It is usually used of a heavenly messenger, but also used of earthly messengers as well.

The seven stars are the messengers of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which you saw are the seven churches (Rev 1:20). God is holding these messengers in his right hand. So Christ is walking in the midst of His churches.

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The destination of the first letter is Ephesus. Ephesus, which means desired represents the period of the Apostolic church which began in A.D. 30 and ended in A.D. 100 around the time of the death of the last apostle John, who was the author of the book of Revelation. The are first commended for two things,

One. For condemning false teachers
Two. For hating the work of the Nicolaitans.

The church was originally warned by Paul that false teachers would come. By the time he had written the books of I and II Timothy the false teachers where already at the church. The false teachers created havoc within the church causing Timothy to become some what discouraged. Paul then gave him some advice on how to handle the situation but by the time the first letter was written the church had over come the false teachers and the issue was cleared up.

The Greek meaning for the word Nicolaitan is "rulers of the people. The is no record in church history or mention of this group but the name may give some clues to what had happened. The definition of the Nicolaitans may imply that there was an attempt to split the clergy and the laity causing a distinction between the two. That would mean the clergy would have authority over the laity. This said authority would not only affect the local church but may have possible extended to peoples personal lives. Therefor the Church is commended for hatting the works of the Nicolaitans.

The church is the condemned. The second generation had become laxed and lost their first love resulting in a condemnation.

The church is then urged to fix their mistake and return to God. Their failure would result in the removal of their candle meaning the removal of their witness.

Then there is a promise to anyone in the church who overcomes the problem of the church as a whole. They are promised the honor of eating the fruit of the Tree of Life. Eating with someone means fellowship meaning they will have fellowship with God.

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Chapter 1
Verses 1-3: Jeff

Verses 4-8: Allison

Verses 9-14: Tarah

Verses 15-20: Caitlin

Chapter 2
Verses 1-7:  Katherine

Verses 8-11: Lauren

Verses 12-17: Malaika

Verses 18-23: Joshua

Verses 14-29: Ethan

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Chapter 3
Verses 1-3: Jeff

Verses 4-8: Allison

Verses 9-14: Caitlin

Verses 15-20:  Katherine

Verses 21-22: Lauren

Chapter 4

Verses 1-3: Lauren

Verses 4-9: Malaika

Verses 10-11: Joshua

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Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie—indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you.

Tools

Rev 3:10 - “Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.

Tools

Rev 3:11 - “Behold,[fn] I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.

Tools

Rev 3:12 - “He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. 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 out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.

Tools

Rev 3:13 - “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’

The Lukewarm Church

Tools

Rev 3:14 - “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans[fn] write, ‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God:

There will be a day when the Jews will recognize yeshua as their Messiah, their eyes were blinded and do not except him as their Messiah. Us as gentils who have excepted him have a obligation to share the gospel to the Jewish people.

In rev 3:10 because we have kept God's word and given our lives to him, and did not except the mark of the beast. We will be kept from the Great Tribulation.

Rev 3:11-12
God will come quickly, this is talking about the rapture. Thy crown is saying you already have your crown, so hold fast to it. Your reward in heaven is a crown which you will receive in heaven based on your works on earth.  This is basically saying let no man rob you.  For example Moses was robbed from the promise land because he sinned against God, Saul was robbed by David because he sinned and offered a offering to God when he was not supposed to there for God took the throne and gave it to David. Through these verses he is talking to the 7 churches, they were real churches in real places. He is telling them they are doing a good job, but not to let their crowns be stolen. We can also apply this verse to our selves as individuals, we should not let our crowns be stolen. A thing to note is the church Smyrina and Philadelphia is they are the only churches without criticism from the Lord. There as well the only cities remaining today. Each of these churches had a different idea of them selves then what the Lord had. We can apply this to our lives as we as individuals may have a different idea on what we have done right or wrong, the lord may have a different idea.

Ephesus. Devotion is not just doctrine, Ephesus neglected their priorities, (God) so even though they knew their doctrine they did not have a relationship with the lord. We as people can make the same mistake, for overcoming this sin we are rewarded by being able to eat from the tree of life.

Smyrna. 🤬 opposition, they had a lot of replacement theology around them at that time, such as Sunday is the Sabbath day is a example of replacement theology. Smyrna was being persecuted at that time, and the synagogue of Satan was around them. Because they did not follow Satan and resisted him having 🤬 opposition they were rewarded with not having the second death, they went to heaven instead of hell. Us as people can apply this to our lives, no matter the influences around us we should resist the evil around us and God will reward us.

Pergamos. Spiritual compromising. They are compromising sexually, holding on to corrupted teaching, and participating in these sins which violates God's law.  Pergamos was the center of 🤬 worship. By overcoming this you will receive manna, which is being ommited to the marriage supper of the lamb in heaven. The stone, a white stone in the ancient time is a ticket to the ancient festivals, this is omitting us to the feast in heaven. A name, on the stone is either your name or the name of the Messiah which shows identifications with Messiah.

Thyatira. Pagan practices. This includes tollarating jezebel who committed sexual sins she supported idolatry and tried to inject a occultism and other demonic practices into the messianic community and the church. Thoes who join in this sin are in turmoil they struggle with how to be loyal to God and their punishment is death. For over coming this there is the blessing of power over nations, he will rule with them over a staff of iron.

Sardis. Watchfulness and diligence. Reputation for being alive but are dead. This is talking about hypnotics they participate in church activities but produce no fruit. Such as a feel good church, or even people who say they are close to God but in reality show none of the fruits of the spirit. By overcoming this there is the blessing of walking with God and your name will be blotted out of the book of life, you will be acknowledged before God individually. When you give your life to God and follow him your name is written in the book of life which saves you from the second death.

Philidalphia. Loyal ambassadorship. They had a healthy condition with God, the blessing for this is a new name, God will also keep you from the time of trial which is pre rapture. They will be victory pillors, God will be the temple and it's believers will be the pillars this is ofc symbolical.

Laodicea. They were neither with God nor against him, they were Luke warm, this church was placed where the waters around them were hot and cold which combined to luke warm water such as the physical church spiritually. They have a spiritual pride and have a dangerous sense of self suficancy. They think they do not need a thing, us as people can also think the same way, assuming we are doing no wrong and having pride. Where in reality we are still sinners and can improve. Lao means people
Diceans means rulers. So laodicea means re of the people, or the self satisfied church.

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Rev 3:4
“You[fn] have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.

Rev 3:5

“He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.

Rev 3:6

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’

The Faithful Church

Rev 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”:[fn

Rev 3:8

“I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it;[fn] for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.

So in Rev 3:4 Jesus is talking about the people within the Protestant Reformation who didn't defile their garment, and walk with Him in purity, are worthy.

In Rev 3:5, He talks about people who overcome. Basically Jesus said, "he that denies me before men, I will deny before my Father, but if you confess Me before my men, I will confess you before my Father which is in heaven." I'm sure everyone looks forward to the Lord confessing their name before His Father. That is my only hope. If that doesn't happen, I have had it. I will confess his name before the Father.

In Rev 3:6 it talks about he who hath an ear.....
We have now, the church of Philadelphia, the faithful remnant. Those who are holding to the word of God. Those who gather on Sunday evening to study the Word of God. Just because it says they gather on Sunday does not mean it is the Lord's day, the Lord's day is Saturday the day He chose. They are just saying that they don't just study His Word on Saturday, but also on Sunday, or possibly every other day of the week too.

In Rev 3:7 He is now borrowing a description not out of chapter one in this. The rest of the description is out of chapter one. He is going back to Isaiah 22 for this description. And in the twenty-second chapter of Isaiah in verse twenty-two, and twenty-one we read a prophecy concerning the Messiah, "I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand: he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder, so he shall open, and none shall shut: and he shall shut and none shall open." So Jesus is here laying claim to that prophecy of the Messiah in Isaiah 22:22. I have the key of David. I open and no man can shut. I shut and no man can open.

In Rev 3:8  The Lord sets before us an open door of opportunity and no man can shut it. I believe that that open door will be open to us until the Lord comes. No man can shut it.

When He says, ''for thou hast a little strength.''  I don't see a super church, or super saints. There is a doctrine known as the manifested sons of God that advocates the super sainthood. They believe one of these days we are going to go into the phone booth and change our clothes and we are going to come out with super power and we are going to just point at the Russians and they will just shrivel and die. And all of the enemies of God we are just going to subdue when we are manifested finally as the sons of God before the world. Balderdash. You have a little strength.

We are not very strong. You know it is true that God is doing a wonderful work here and it is exciting to see what God is doing, but we have hardly touched the county. There are so many out there who need Jesus Christ. We can't really sit back and say, "Look, how many we have got coming here." There are so many more to be reached. We have a little strength. Thank God we have a little strength. Thank God that He has set before us the open door.