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Bob Kaiser brings a message from God’s word.

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Let’s give our mothers the honor they deserve.

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Now we will begin the more symbolic part of revelation. These two chapters are setting the stage, however, with the actual prophetic part beginning in chapter six.

It is interesting to observe that, even though we encounter some striking imagery, most of it was already described hundreds of years earlier, in the Old Testament.

While Revelation is intended to reveal God’s thoughts, the only ones who will really understand are those who diligently study the Word of God. When Jesus was on earth, He often spoke in parables that nobody understood — not even His disciples. All they had to do was ask, though, and He would explain what the parables really meant.

The same is true for us today. All we have to do is ask, and then listen for His answer as He speaks through His word, the Bible. I you won’t study the entire Bible, you may end up among the clueless — especially when it comes to Revelation!

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In this chapter we read Jesus’ messages to the churches in Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodecia. Sardis is a nearly dead church, yet Jesus is still giving them a chance. Because of its faithfulness, Philadelphia will be spared from the time of increased tribulation. And God is so nauseated with Laodecia’s lukewarm attitude that He feels like vomiting them out of His mouth!

Yet even Laodecia is given another chance. They need only heed Christ’s warning. When He says He stands at the door and knocks, He is speaking to backslidden Christians — asking them to repent. This is not the verse to use to show an unbeliever how to be saved.

Again, in each case, Jesus promises to reward those who overcome the trials they face. He will not reward those who fail the test.

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In this chapter, we read Jesus’ messages to the churches at Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, and Thyatira. Ephesus, Peragamum and Thyatria have some problems that Jesus is not happy about: Ephesus has lost its first love, and Pergamum and Thyatira have become tolerant of sin.

Many Christians today will tell you that good deeds automatically flow from you just because you are a Christian; that, if they don’t, it’s because you never really were a Christian to begin with. If this were true, than how did Ephesus and Thyratira end up being out of favor with Christ?

We need to stop putting the cart before the horse. You do good deeds when you decide to obey God, and that results in a saving faith. When your faith is healthy, good deeds do flow naturally. But if you neglect your faith and are no longer spiritually healthy, then they won’t. The solution is this: in obedience to Jesus, start doing those good deeds again, in order to be restored to spiritual health!

As for Smyrna: faithful though they have been, they are about to undergo an increase in tribulation, and some of them will die for their faith.

In each case, Jesus promises to reward those who overcome the times of tribulation.

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The title, Revelation, shows that this book is not intended to be an unfathomable mystery. It is a revealing of the thoughts of God. But to understand its message takes open-minded study Bible — especially the Old Testament.

A prophecy is an unveiling of the the thoughts of God. It need not be a prediction of the future: Jesus called John the Baptist the greatest of prophets, but he predicted no future events; his message was simply that Jesus was the Messiah. Nor do books of prophecy necessarily present events in a sequential order. We can look at known fulfilled prophecies in Isaiah to demonstrate this fact beyond a shadow of a doubt.

So let’s look into this often-misunderstood book carefully and prayerfully. We may not understand every detail, but we can certainly establish some anchor points, and grow in our understanding through dedicated study of the entire Bible.

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John is writing to instill confidence in the hearts of the readers. One of the assurances he offers is that God will answer prayers that are according to His will. But what exactly is His will? The answer may surprise you!

One of the things that is according to His will is to pray for a brother or sister caught in sin — as long as it is not a sin leading to death. This refers to true believers who fall away and ultimately reject the Holy Spirit. This is in perfect accordance with Hebrews’ teaching of true believers who fall away to the point that they cannot be restored.

We also read one last time of antichrists. These are people who wear the name of Christ, but deny He is the Son of God (and that He is also Diety).

The whole message of John focuses on abiding in Christ, of continuing in our faith. Just as faith without works is dead, so too, faith that doesn’t perservere is dead.

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John has been encouraging the readers of his letter to guard against sin. The way that sin gets a foothold in our lives is through deception. Since Adam and Eve, every thinking person should realize that you can’t believe everything you hear. So we are told to carefully discern what is true and what is false. Sadly, a minority of professing Christians really take this instruction to heart, make a clear distinction between truth and lies, and steadfastly practice the truth.

We read more about antichrists in these verses. They began coming out from within the Church, 2,000 years ago. They called themselves Christians, but denied that Jesus is the Son of God. Nonetheless, strong Christians of that day had stood firm in the truth and had overcome those antichrists.

Finally, we are reminded that the Christian life requires that we abide in Christ and He in us. To abide is to continue in an ongoing relationship. It is not a one-time event, like winning a lottery. It is an ongoing life-long relationship with God that saves us. That is what walking in faith is all about.

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As we study this first letter from John, it is important to remember who the recipients are. He’s writing to Christians. So the advice he gives about dealing with sin is for those who are already saved, and he isn’t telling them how to be saved.

The encouragement John gives centers around the nature of our Christian life: is our commitment to Jesus ongoing? Does any sin in our lives continue unabated? The answers to questions like these will let us know where we stand with God — either to reassure us, or to let us know that we’d better take immediate action to get right with Him.

Even though we as Christians find that there is still sin in our lives, that does not mean we cannot be righteous in this life, because “he who practices righeousnes is righteous.”

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Pay attention to who the recipients of this letter are: Christians. These Christians are admonished to walk in the light instead of turning to darkness. Our continued forgiveness of sins depends on our continuing to walk in the light — on our abiding in Him.

John also speaks of antichrist: not one, but many — and they were already causing trouble 2,000 years ago. He is the only biblical writer to use the term, found only here and in 2 John. It’s not even mentioned in Revelation! And nowhere does John speak of an antichrist being a wickedly powerful political figure. He simply says that an antichrist is one who denies Christ (and thereby, denies the Father who sent Him). It’s important to read this letter carefully and not jump to any wrong conclusions.

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