Remember your church
Read your church's letter together to remember what Jesus said to your church.
- Ephesus (Rev 2:1-7)
- Smyrna (Rev 2:8-11)
- Pergamum (Rev 2:12-17)
- Thyatira (Rev 2:18-29)
- Philadelphia (Rev 3:7-13)
- Sardis (Rev 2:1-6)
- Laodicea (Rev 3:14-21)
Our Big Questions
Who is Jesus?
Think about your Revelation church: What does Jesus say about himself to your church?
Things Jesus says about himself
- 1:7, the same Jesus who was crucified
- 1:8, Alpha/Omega
- 1:13-16, scary, divine appearance
- 1:17-18, First/Last, Living One, holds the keys of death and Hades
- 2:18, eyes like blazing fire, feet like burnished bronze
- 2:19, knows your deeds (cf. 3:1, 8), love, faith, service, perseverance
- 3:7, ultimate authority! Shuts/opens
- 3:11, coming soon
- 3:14, the “Amen”, faithful and true witness
Ways John sees Jesus in his visions
- 5:5, Lion of Judah, Root of David
- 5:6, Lamb looking as if it had been slain (with 7 horns and 7 eyes)
What does following Jesus look like in Revelation?
Think about your Revelation church: Does Jesus say anything about belonging to him, following him, being faithful to him in your letter?
Things Jesus said about those who follow him to the end (overcome):
- 2:27, receive authority over the nations (same authority Jesus has - “iron scepter”; cf. Rev 12:5)
- 3:5, dressed in white (sign of faithfulness)
- 3:9, vindication over enemies
- 3:10, kept from the hour of trial
- 3:12, made eternal ‘pillar' in God's temple; receive Jesus' new name
- 3:14-16, 20-23, don't do as the Romans do (they stand firm against their surrounding culture)
- 3:21, sit with Jesus on his throne
Things Revelation's “story” tells us about following Jesus
- 7:13-14, the great multitude of martyrs (overcomers) are those who “have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb”
- 12:1-6, 13-17, God's people must resist Satan, even if it results in death
Things we've encountered in Revelation so far
Prayer, Judgment, and Suffering
- Souls under the altar pray for vindication (6:9-11)
- Sixth Seal - earth is shattered, and everyone from slaves to kings are shaken with fear (6:12-17)
- The Trumpets - destruction throughout the earth (8:7-9:21)
- God acts on the martyrs' prayers and brings judgment (10:6; ch. 11)
Weird Characters
- Living Creatures with eyes all over (4:6-11)
- 24 Elders (4:4-5)
- Four Horsemen (6:1-8)
- Souls under the altar (6:9-11)
- Hot Legs the Angel (10:1-6)
- The Two Witnesses (ch. 11)
- The Dragon (ch. 12)
Numbers, Numbers, and More Numbers!
- 4 - living creatures, horsemen, winds of the earth
- 7 - lampstands, stars, churches, spirits of God, horns and eyes on the Lamb, thunders, trumpets, seals
- 10 - days Satan will persecute the Smyrnaeans
- 12 - 24 Elders (12x2), 144,000 (12x12x1000), stars around the woman's head in ch. 12
- 1,260 - days of judgment, “a time, times, and half a time”, 3.5 years, 42 months
Songs
- 5:9-10, Living Creatures and the Elders in response to the Lamb's worthiness
- 5:12, All the angels with the Creatures and Elders
- 5:13, All creation with the angels, Creatures, and Elders (everything that exists!)
- 7:10, martyrs sing praise as they face death
- 7:12, angels, Creatures, and Elders in response to the martyrs' song
- 11:15, the 7th angel's announcement of Jesus' supremacy
- 11:17-18, the 24 Elders respond to the 7th angel
- 12:10-12, voice from heaven declares Jesus' victory and the dragon's defeat
Revelation Reminiscence
Some ideas you might do as a group to remember Revelation together:
- Look through Revelation's songs and create one of your own that pieces together all the things Revelation ‘sings' about.
- Draw an epically apocalyptic mural of the “story” of Revelation or of your favourite parts.
- Turn one of Revelation's stories into a children's bedtime story for your 4-year-old cousin.
- While stroking your chin like a wiseman, give your best answers to our Big Questions:
- According to Revelation, 1) Who is Jesus? 2) What does it take to follow him?
