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January 10 - January 25, 2021
Grace is God’s attitude toward believers, coupled with His loving gifts—which will never change. Peace refers to our relationship with God—which includes both the peace made with God at salvation and our ongoing relationship with Him, which we can enjoy, or fail to enjoy, as we walk or fail to walk in obedience to God.
Just as Christ has the right to rule, though He has not yet taken His throne as King, so believers have been made both a kingdom and a priesthood (cf. Rev. 5:10). As akingdom, we are under Christ’s sovereign rule (Col. 1:13), and as a priesthood we have the privilege of direct access to God (1 Pet. 2:9). The only proper response to such a glorious reality is to offer a doxology of praise to God, as John does at the end of verse 6, sealing it with “Amen” (“So be it”). 1:7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth
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His title, “son of man,” frequently appears in the Gospels, but only twice in Revelation (here and in 14:14). The title emphasizes Jesus’ humanity and Messianic character, and He used it more than any other term to refer to Himself.
The Greek word hades is commonly translated “hell” in older versions of the Bible. But it is rightly translated here because Hades refers to the intermediate state and is distinguished in Scripture from the lake of fire, or gehenna, which refers to the eternal state.
The letter to the church at Ephesus reminds us how easily the church’s early days of passionate love for Christ can grow cold as the years go by. But Christ never meant for our duty to Him, even faithful duty, to replace our love for Him. The church’s “first love” for Jesus Christ has to be continually nurtured, and serve as the genuine motivation for service to our Lord.
First, “Do not fear what you are about to suffer,” which literally translated is, “Stop being afraid.” They had nothing really to fear in this persecution because it could not rob them of their priceless eternal blessings in Christ. They were in the hands of God, and no one could snatch them from Him (cf. John 10:28–29). Whatever was permitted was by His wise design.
Second, Christ exhorts them, “Be faithful unto death,” which translated literally is, “Become faithful even unto death.” Up to this time, apparently no believer had died. But even though their lives might be sacrificed, their real riches could not be touched because they were heavenly. Faithfulness to death would result in the crown of life. This is not to be understood as a crown or a reward accompanying eternal life, but eternal life itself—“the crown which is life.” This promise had to be encouraging to John also in his own bleak circumstances on Patmos.
What God hates the Christian ought to hate as well. The modern tendency to compromise on issues of morality and theology and to downplay their importance had its counterpart in the early church of Pergamum.
Thus Christ is introduced to the church at Sardis as the Possessor of the sevenfold Spirit of God, insuring His righteous judgment of the wicked. Christ also has the star, or the messenger of this church in His possession, making the message being delivered all the more authoritative.
The implication of the passage is that those who put their trust in Christ and thus conquer by faith have the privilege of being recognized as the saints of God throughout eternity—even saints from the church at Sardis where so much was offensive to their holy Lord.
Peter wrote, “But as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct” (1 Pet. 1:15).
for Christ must be invited to come in and become the center of worship, adoration, and love. But it is also true of the human heart. No one is saved against his will. No one is compelled to obedience who wants to be rebellious. The gracious invitation is extended, however, that if one opens the door—the door of faith, the door of worship, the door of love—Christ will enter and close fellowship will result.
Some have found in this imagery a parallel to the scene in the Song of Solomon chapter 5 where the bridegroom stands outside the door and knocks in the middle of the night, attempting to awaken the bride so she will open the door to him. A similar idea is found in Luke 12:35–36 relative to the second coming of Christ: “Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks.”
following the divinely inspired outline of 1:19: “the things that you have seen [chapter 1], the things that are [chapters 2–3] and those that are to take place after this [chapters 4–22].”
As the lion, He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah, represented as the King of Matthew. As the calf or ox, He is the Servant of Jehovah, the faithful One of Mark. As man, He is the human Jesus, presented in the Gospel of Luke. As the eagle, He is the divine Son of God presented in the Gospel of John.
The living creatures and elders also sing a new song praising Christ for His work of redemption and for making His people a kingdom of priests (“a royal priesthood,” 1 Pet. 2:9).
There is a remarkable parallel between the progress of chapter 6 as a whole and the description given by our Lord of the end of the age in Matthew 24:4–31 (see accompanying chart). In both passages the order is (1) war (Matt. 24:6–7; Rev. 6:3–4); (2) famine (Matt. 24:7; Rev. 6:5–6); (3) death (Matt. 24:7–9; Rev. 6:7–8); (4) martyrdom (Matt. 24:9–10, 16–22; Rev. 6:9–11); (5) the sun darkened, the moon darkened, and the stars falling (Matt. 24:29; Rev. 6:12–14); and (6) a time of divine judgment (Matt. 24:32–25:26; Rev. 6:15–17).
God will never leave Himself without a witness as long as it is possible for people to be saved.
Further, the torment is said to extend for five months. The best interpretation is to take this literally as a period of five months, which is the normal life span of locusts from May to September.2 Although the time of the suffering is limited, the pain is so intense that people will seek death to escape it—but death will escape them.
the beast out of the pit referring to Satan, “the beast rising out of the sea” (13:1) to the world dictator, “the beast rising out of the earth” (13:11) to the false religious leader of that day. This unholy trinity is the satanic counterfeit of the divine Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
seven primary characters are introduced: (1) the woman, representing Israel, (2) the dragon, representing Satan, (3) a male child, referring to Christ, (4) Michael, representing the angels, (5) Israel, the remnant of the woman’s seed, (6) the beast out of the sea, the world dictator, and (7) the beast out of the earth, the false prophet and religious leader of the world.
for they loved not their lives even unto death.
because he knows that his time is short!”
It is worth noting that in John’s vision these three animals are mentioned in reverse order from Daniel’s vision. Daniel was looking forward in time and so he saw the three kingdoms in chronological order, while John was looking back in time.4
beatitude of 16:15b. (For previous beatitudes in Revelation, see 1:3 and 14:13.)
The interpretation that this is a reference to pagan political Rome, as advanced by the historical school of interpretation, or that it refers to a future literal city of Babylon, is wrong. According to verse 5, the city is a mystery, not a literal city. The entire context of chapter 17 supports this interpretation, distinguishing between the city identified with the woman and the political power referred to as the beast and the ten horns.
Unsaved people who die prior to this time are cast into Hades, a place of torment, but not into the lake of fire, which is reserved for those who have been finally judged as unworthy of eternal life in God’s presence.
Their ultimate destiny of eternal punishment is not, in the last analysis, because God wished it, but because they would not come to God for the grace that He freely offered.
