2,456 bytes added,
20:47, 26 September 2015 {{DOD-December}}
Revelation is a book that has been misunderstood and therefore closed to most [[Christians]]. This was not [[God]]'s purpose for this great book, because He has written it and given the contents thereof to Christ. Christ, in turn, gave it to the angels to give to the Apostle [[John]], who was to write it for all mankind. [[John]] wrote the Book of Revelation in approximately a.d. 96.
As we begin the Book of Revelation we should read it primarily to find out what it says about the [[Lord]] [[Jesus]] Christ and not for what it says about the future. The key phrase is found in the very first verse, "The Revelation of [[Jesus]] Christ." This book unveils the [[Lord]] [[Jesus]] throughout its 22 chapters. You may ask, "What is revelation?" It is the unveiling of [[Jesus]] Christ. It is not a mystery. You may ask, "From where did it come?" It came by revelation given by [[God]] to His Son, [[Jesus]] Christ. And why was it given? To show the things that were to come to pass.
[[John]], who had been banished to the Isle of Patmos, actually saw the contents of this book unfold before his eyes, as [[God]] transported him to [[heaven]] (chapter 4:1), to the wilderness (chapter 17:3), and to the mountain (chapter 21:10) to witness these events and record them for us. In chapter 1 we see the characteristics of the book and how it came to be written. Verse 3 promises a blessing to those who read it, for those who hear it, and for those who keep the things written therein.
Chapter 2 begins the messages to the seven churches. Verses 1-7 are written to the church at Ephesus, which was the backsliding church. This church had works but was without [[love]]. To the general public the church was successful, but to Christ it had lost its first [[love]]. The counsel of Christ to the church at Ephesus was for them to remember, repent, and then repeat the first works. Today, the works we do without [[love]] are for naught. The new commandment [[God]] has given us is that we should [[love]] one another, even as Christ has loved us ([[John]] 13:34).
In verses 8-11 we see Smyrna, the suffering church; then in verses 12-17, Pergamos, the worldly church; and in verses 18-29, Thyatira, the unrepentant church. In chapter 3 [[John]] writes to the church at Sardis, the dying church (verses 1-6); to the church at Philadelphia, the serving church (verses 7-13); and to the church at Laodicea, the apostate church (verses 14- 22).