53-1 John 1 – Revelation 11
Dec. 26, 2009
We will begin our study this week in the Book of 1 John. Last week we finished up the Book of Hebrews and looked at the Book of James and the two letters of Peter. This week we will start with the first of the Apostle John’s three letters. The Book of 1 John was written by the Apostle John from the city of Ephesus during 90-95 AD. John wrote his letter as an old man to help stem the tide of the growing heresy of Gnosticism that threatened the early church. The theme of this first letter of John could be viewed as getting back to Christian basics. John began this letter in Chapter 1 as he began his gospel account. He describes Jesus Christ as the Living Word of God and that He was from the beginning. Mankind knows who Jesus is because they have examined Him with all their senses, ears, eyes, and touch. Jesus Christ is fully God and also fully man. The Gnostics wanted to deny these facts. John then reminded the reader that God is light and when we walk in that light we have fellowship with Him. To know and love God is to obey Him. We all have sinned, but the blood of Christ has cleansed us of sin. If anyone says they have not sinned they are a liar. In Chapter 2 John reveals that he has written his letter to encourage people not to sin. He does though say that if we do sin Jesus is our advocate to the Father who pleads our case for us. He is able to remind His Father that we are covered by the blood of His ultimate sacrifice. To know the Lord is to keep His commandments. John used a play on words to let readers know that the Word of God has not changed. The old commandments were only brought to life through Jesus. The new commandment of Jesus is love which is the end result of following the original commandments of God. John then spoke on the three stages of believers, little children, young men, and fathers. We are told to not love the world. We have been set apart from the world and all the worldly lusts. This world system will give rise to the antichrist who will deny the Father and the Son. We though, who abide in the Father and Son are promised eternal life. In the beginning of Chapter 3 John wrote about a marvelous promise of God to those who love Him and keep His commandments. We will be children of God and when Jesus returns for His church we will be raised up and changed to be like Him. Our minds will be opened and our senses will be sharpened to finally understand the true majesty of our Lord and King. John then divided the human race into two kinds of people, the people who practice lawlessness and are of the Devil, and those who love one another and are of God. John then warned us not to be deceived and turn out as Abel’s brother Cain from the Book of Genesis. We should not be surprised when the world hates us, because we are not of the world. God’s will for us is recorded in verse 23 “This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us.” In Chapter 4 John wrote to us that we are to test the spirits to see whether they are from God. If any come to you with new information and ideas first see if they hold to the teachings of Christ, His death, burial, and resurrection before you attribute their words to God. Many false teachers or antichrists will come and attempt to deceive the church. We must be careful to avoid such men. God is love and those who belong to Him exhibit that love for one another. In Chapter 5 John wrote about our Christian victory. Through our faith in Jesus Christ we have overcome the world. For the one who lives by faith the commandments of God is not a burden. We who have recognized the testimony of God have our own testimony of what Jesus Christ has done in our lives. John then revealed why he wrote this letter and who he wrote it for. This letter was to remind those people who believe in Jesus Christ that they have obtained eternal life. John also clears up any questions about our requests to God in verse 14-15 “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.” John’s final topic in this letter is sin that leads to death. A Christian can commit certain sins that will cause God to remove them early from the earth. These sins are not specific sins. I believe they are sins that could cause irreparable damage to the church. At the end of the letter John warns us to beware of idols. This ends the Book of 1 John. We will now turn to the Book of 2 John. The Book of 2 John was the Apostle John’s second letter from Ephesus. The letter was personal and addressed to a prominent woman that John knew to warn her against the false teachers that had made inroads in the church. He wished to tell her personally but believed this information was too urgent to await a visit to her home. This letter was also written during 90-95 AD. In the beginning of this letter John called himself the Elder indicating his advanced age and status in the Ephesian church. The letter then named the recipient as a prominent lady and her children in the church. John commended the woman on how some of her children had responded to her teaching and care. He reminded her about the old and now new commandment that we need to love one another. This love is made evident in our walk with the Lord and how we have kept His commandments. John then warned the woman about the deceivers that were around that denied that Jesus was one hundred percent God and one hundred percent man. The woman was told to stay true to what she had believed in the beginning so that she would not lose any of the reward she had gained for her service through her faithfulness. She was told to not allow entry to her home of any false teachers who wished to steer her from true faith. She was not even to give them a greeting. John said to end the letter he would visit her soon. This ends the Book of 2 John. We will now move into the Book of 3 John. The Book of 3 John was the Apostle John’s third letter from Ephesus in 90-95 AD. John in his old age wrote this short personal letter to a believer named Gaius in a nearby church. He wrote the letter to personally commend Gaius on his Christian hospitality towards the traveling workers John had sent out from Ephesus. John reminded that these men were sent out with nothing and told not to accept help from unbelievers. John then spoke of a leader in the church of Gaius named Diotrephes who thought much of himself and refused to offer the visitors hospitality and threw those who did from the church. John said he would address this man when he comes in person to the church. Gaius was instructed to stay as he was and not to imitate Diotrephes. He was then told that Demetrius was a worthy visitor and needed to be received properly. John had much else to say to Gaius but wished to say it in person, and not with pen and ink. This ends the Book of 3 John. We will now begin the Book of Jude. The Book of Jude was written by the half-brother of Jesus, and the brother of James. Jude became a believer along with his siblings after the resurrection of their brother Jesus Christ and became prominent in the early church. The Book of Jude was written in 70AD shortly after the Book of 2 Peter. Jude had originally wanted to write a “feel good” letter about their common salvation but became compelled to write against the appearance of false teachers in the church. He told his readers to earnestly contend for the faith. False teachers had crept into the church and attempted to include doctrines that Jesus and the apostles had not taught. These new doctrines were false and needed to be avoided. Jude then spoke of several incidences in the Word of God where gross immorality was punished. The first was the Israelites who disbelieved perished in the wilderness during the forty years of wandering, the second the fallen angels of the Book of Genesis Chapter 6 that sinned were placed in chains and the third, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah which were destroyed on the plain for their sin. The Lord is longsuffering but also just. Jude then warned about turning to the ways of Cain who killed his brother, or committing the error of Balaam who turned Israel to other gods, or the rebellion of Korah in the wilderness. All people such as this have a place prepared for them in darkness. Jude then brought up a story from the Book of Enoch that said in verse 14-16 “Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.” This is about the coming day of the Lord when Jesus will come to judge the earth. In the end Jude reminds us to keep ourselves in the love of God and not cause divisions in the body. This ends the Book of Jude. We will now begin the final book of the Bible, the Book of Revelation. The Book of Revelation is not only the last book in the Bible, it was the last book written in the Bible. The Apostle John wrote the Book of Revelation from exile on the Island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea off the coast of Asia Minor. John was an old man, all the other apostles had been martyred years before and only the disciple Jesus loved remained to write the Lord’s final prophecy for the earth. The book was written about 94-96 AD and is divided into three parts as revealed by Jesus himself in Chapter 1 verse 19 “Therefore write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things.” In Chapter 1 it is recorded that this book is the revelation of Jesus Christ communicated to His servant John. There is a blessing attached to those who read and heed the prophecy of this book. Revelation was addressed to seven specific churches in western Asia Minor and contains the final words of the risen Christ to creation. Jesus refers to Himself in verse 8 as “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” This title indicates His eternal nature. John was then told to write the sights he saw down in a book and send it to the churches of Asia Minor. This ends the portion of the book which is “the things which you have seen.” In Chapter 2 the first letter of “the things which are” was written to the church at Ephesus where John was last Pastor. The church was able to discern false teachers, but they had lost their first love. They were going through the motions of work but had forgotten who they worked for. They were told to regain their love for Jesus that they had in the beginning. The letters have impact on the churches today. Many have also lost the love for Jesus as they go about their programs and activities. The second letter was to the church in Smyrna. This church was persecuted and in deep poverty. Jesus let the faithful know that although they were financially poor they were spiritually rich and their reward was waiting for them in heaven. Today’s church in Iran, the Sudan, and China are like the church in Smyrna. The third letter was to the church at Pergamum, the throne of Satan. People there held to the teachings of Balaam and of the Nicolaitans in their false gods and immorality. We also have different gods today that we can be deceived into following. The fourth letter was to the church at Thyatira whose people followed a woman that was like Jezebel of the Old Testament who turned Israel to other gods and committed acts of immorality. The believers of this Jezebel will be judged according to their deeds in the end. In Chapter 3 the fifth letter was written to the church at Sardis who thought they were alive, but were really dead. We have churches today that have professed faith in Jesus but have never accepted Him in their lives and experienced rebirth. They have been deceived into a false sense of conversion and are believers in name only. The sixth letter is to the church at Philadelphia. This church was persecuted but remained true to the faith. They were promised to be kept out of the time of tribulation that was to come upon the earth described in the last section of this book known as the seventieth week of Daniel and the time of Jacob’s trouble, the tribulation period of God’s wrath on the unbelieving earth. The seventh letter was written to the church at Laodicea, the lukewarm church. The people there were as lackluster as their water supply. Jesus wanted nothing to do with them until they made up their minds. He wanted them to regain the heat they had for God when they were first saved. There are a lot of lukewarm churches today that will be surprised when Jesus returns. In each of the letters the people who overcome the world are promised a place with Jesus in eternity. Chapter 4 began the third period covered in the Book of Revelation, “the things which will take place after these things.” The scene shifts to heaven and the throne of God. The cherubim are present around the Father and cry out in verse 8 “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, WHO WAS AND WHO IS AND WHO IS TO COME.” There are twenty four elders around the throne who cast their crowns before the throne and say in verse 11 “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”
In Chapter 5 the Father on the throne held a scroll that has seven seals and asked who was worthy to take the scroll and break the seals? The people around the throne wept because no one worthy could be found. The Father said His Son was worthy to open the Book. Jesus appeared as a lamb that had been slain and took the scroll. The elders fell down with the bowls of incense that held the prayers of the saints and sang a new song in verse 9 “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.” All in heaven then worshipped the Lamb and said in verse 12-13 “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.” And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, “To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.”
The seals to the scroll were broken in Chapter 6. The first four seals loosed the horsemen of the apocalypse. The first seal loosed the white horse that held a conqueror. The second seal loosed the red horse which brought war on the earth. The third seal loosed the black horse that brought scarcity and want. Then the forth seal loosed the pale horse that brought death through famine and pestilence. The fifth seal was the souls of those of those that had been slain for the Word of God under the altar crying out for vengeance. They were told to wait for a little while for the rest of their brethren to be killed. The sixth seal brought about terror on the earth through a great earthquake that changed the face of the earth and the sky. People tried to flee from the wrath of the Lamb. In Chapter 7 before the seventh and last seal of the scroll was opened, a pause occurred to allow time for one hundred forty four thousand Jews to be sealed on their foreheads the seal of the Living God to evangelize the Jewish nation during this time of tribulation. There was a multitude from all nations and tongues before the throne and the Lamb with palm branches clothed in white, worshipping the Lord. When asked, the angel said they were the ones that came out from great tribulation and washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb. They were told in verse 15-17 “For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them. “They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.” In Chapter 8 the seventh seal was broken and there was a quiet time of half an hour in heaven. Seven angels were given seven trumpets to blow the next judgments on the earth and the remaining people. An angel stood with a censer of incense to add to the prayers of the saints before the throne. After the smoke of the prayers went up before God the angel took coals from the altar and rained fire on the earth. That was followed by lightning, thunder and an earthquake. An angel sounded the first trumpet that caused hail with fire mixed with blood to destroy a third of the earth including a third of the trees and a third of the grass was burned up. The second trumpet sound caused a large mountain to fall from the sky into the sea and kill a third of the fish and destroy a third of the ships of men. The third trumpet sound caused a large star named Wormwood to fall from the sky and poison a third of the rivers and the springs of the earth. Many died from the waters. The fourth trumpet caused a third of the sun, moon, and stars to be darkened that changed the night and the day. In Chapter 9 the fifth trumpet sounded and the bottomless pit was opened. Creatures came out like locusts to torment those that did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. The locusts were strange in appearance. They were like battle horses with crowns and the faces of men. They had a woman’s hair and tails like scorpions. Those that were stung longed for death but it would not come. Their king was in Hebrew Abaddon and in Greek Apollyon. This was the first of three woes to come. The sixth trumpet sound released four angels that were bound at the River Euphrates that had been prepared to kill a third of mankind. The armies of horsemen numbered was two hundred million. Mankind still did not repent. After this in Chapter 10 a strong angel came down from heaven with a little book in his hand. He landed with one foot on land and the other in the sea. The angel preached from his position. John was then told to take the book and eat it. The book was sweet as honey, but bitter in his stomach. He was then told in verse 11 “You must prophesy again concerning many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.” In Chapter 11 God sent two witnesses to earth to prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days clothed in sackcloth. Some believe that these two witnesses are Moses and Elijah returned to earth for a time. The witnesses had been given supernatural power to protect themselves during their time of witness. The beast that will come from the abyss will make war with the two and kill them. Their bodies will lie in the street of Jerusalem for three and one half days while the tormented people rejoice over their death. The Lord will then call them back to life and they will rise up to heaven while the terrified people watch. An earthquake will then destroy a tenth of the city and kill seven thousand. The remaining people will then glorify the Lord. The second woe had passed and the final woe quickly approached. When the seventh trumpet sounded, loud voices from heaven said in verse 15-18 “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.” And the twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, “We give You thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who are and who were, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign.“And the nations were enraged, and Your wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.” Again there came, lightning, thunder and an earthquake on the earth. This ends our study for this week. Next week we will finish the Book of Revelation and our yearlong study through God’s Word.