Season 3 Podcast 51 Letters of John to the Seven Churches Pt VIII Introduction
Letters of John to the Seven Churches Pt VII: Introduction
Is there any book in Holy Scriptures more talked about than the Book of Revelation? Is there any book that has more disturbing images than the Book of Revelation? And is there any book more puzzling than the Book of Revelation?
The Book of Revelation is unique in many ways. For one thing, the scope of the book is amazing. It speaks of the premortal existence of mankind and of the war in heaven. It speaks of the seven thousand years of the earth’s existence. It speaks of the Second Coming of Christ, of Armageddon, of the Millennium, of Gog and Magog and end time, of the final judgement and of the New Jerusalem. It speaks of death and of hell and of the resurrection. In addition, the imagery of the Book of Revelation is stunning, leaving Christians to ponder endlessly on the number 666 and the images of the beasts and the angels, the seven seals, and the plagues, and so on.
But those are not the most important parts of the book. Any complete work has three parts: a beginning, a middle, and an end. The most emphatic position is always the end, the next the beginning, and the least emphatic is the middle. The most important parts of the Book of Revelation are found in Chapters 1-3 and Chapters 19-22 as I hope to prove. As we know from all the writings of John, he was a master at his craft. Of course, being an apostle of Jesus Christ and a prophet, seer, and revelator receiving direct revelation from God comes in handy. In writing about the letters to the seven churches, I want to prove that the key to the Book of Revelation is found in the seven letters which are recorded in the first three chapters and repeated in the last four chapters.
First of all, there can be no question about the central focus of the Book of Revelation. The first chapter begins with Christ, and the last chapter ends with a call to come unto Christ.
17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. (Revelation 22:17)
The Book of Revelation is addressed to Seven Churches, the number seven being of great importance to the Hebrews, meaning whole or complete or holiness.
4 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;
5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, (Revelation 1:4-5)
It is Christ himself who dictates the letters.
10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. (Revelation 1:10-11)
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