TEACHING WITH EXCELLENCE Bible Study Lesson Schedule and Weekly Essentials con. t Summer Quarter, 2015 Revelation July Lesson Passage:

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1 TEACHING WITH EXCELLENCE Bible Study Lesson Schedule and Weekly Essentials con. t Summer Quarter, 2015 Revelation July Lesson Passage: Revelation 1:1-8 Context: Revelation 1:1-20 This is the first lesson on the Book of Revelation. TEACHERS PLEASE NOTE: the name of the book is Revelation NOT Revelations! The very first verse of the book starts with: The Revelation of Jesus Christ This is the title of the book! 1:1 notice that it is the Revelation of Jesus Christ not the Revelation of John, though 1:10 tells us that John heard it from Jesus Christ. Dr. John Walvoord, former President of Dallas Theological Seminary wrote, No other book of the New Testament evokes the same fascination as the book of Revelation. The message came from the Father to the Son to His Angel to John to Jesus bond servants (that s us as true believers). The Greek word for Revelation is where we get our word apocalypse which means a revelation; disclosure; disclosure of secrets belonging to the last days. [A Greek- English Lexicon of the New Testament, pages 91-92] It is a revealing of the Person of Jesus Christ. In the 4 Gospels Jesus was revealed in His humiliation; in Revelation He is revealed in His exaltation. 1:1 the things which must shortly take place. These words were written years ago how can he say shortly? Two part answer: (1) it is a short time in comparison with eternity and (2) the encouragement that these things including the Second Coming of Jesus Christ are imminent they will happen! This same message appears in verse 3 when he says, the time is near. 1:3 the blessing. This is the only Biblical book which comes with a blessing for the one who listens and obeys the things written in it. The blessing is given here in the beginning of the book as well as towards the end in Revelation 22:7. 1:4 the Seven churches of Asia Minor (modern day Turkey). These were literal churches in 7 key cities in that region. This verse refers to the Trinity in an unusual way. God the Father: Him who is and who was and who is to come. The seven Spirits probably refers to the Holy Spirit (see also Rev. 4:5; 5:6). 1:5-6 a wonderful description of Jesus Christ describing His past, present and future ministries. The faithful witness the source of the revelation given; the first-born of the dead His historic resurrection; the ruler of the kings of the earth His prophetic role after His second coming; who loves us and freed us from our sins by His blood of His dying on the cross for us; believers are now a kingdom of priests with the purpose of serving God. John ends verse 6 with a benediction of praise culminating with Amen. [in this section I leaned heavily on The Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament, pages written by Dr. John Walvoord. Other references to this work I will simply use the word Walvoord and the page number.]

2 1:7-8 Jesus is coming again and every eye will see Him. Jesus will be visible to the entire world including unbelievers. John closes with the reminder of Christ as the eternal One, the Alpha and the Omega, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet (see also Rev. 21:6 and 22:13). Verses 9-20 give an amazing description of Jesus Christ and the introductory dialogue between John and Jesus. July Lesson Passage: Revelation 2:1-7; 3:14-22 Context: Revelation 2:1-3:22 [TEACHERS PLEASE NOTE: The Lifeway curriculum for this week deals with the promises to 5 of the 7 churches. We believe a better approach is to look at the complete messages to 2 of the churches: Ephesus and Laodicea] Chapter 2 begins the letters to the churches the first being Ephesus, verse 1. The pattern for each of these letters is, (1) Address: To the angel of the church in ; (2) The title of the Lord: the One who ; (3) A commendation, something positive about that church; (4) A criticism something negative about the church; (5) A warning or threat; (6) An exhortation; (7) A promise. 2:1 the title of the Lord: He walks among the lampstands. We know from 1:20 that the lampstands are the churches. Jesus walking among the lampstands means that He knows what we are doing; He is not detached. APPLICATION: This fact is both encouraging and scary we need to be about His business because He knows what we are doing! 2:2-3 the commendation: (1) their deeds/toil; (2) their perseverance in the face of opposition; (3) their orthodox teaching and dealing with false teachers/doctrines. These are all very good things! 2:4 the criticism: they have left their first love; Lost their edge, the vitality and freshness of their walk with the Lord is gone. APPLICATION: The Lord has high standards for us; He is not satisfied with just busyness and a full calendar. Our activity must be motivated by our love for the Lord and be consistent with His agenda. 2:5a the exhortation: Remember how it was when you first met the Lord and recapture that excitement. Repent change your mind and behavior and do the deeds you once did. Love for the Lord is not just a feeling; it should lead to action. 2:5b the warning: the consequences for not repenting. The removing of the lampstand means that the church would no longer be a testimony for Jesus Christ. APPLICATION: A sad thing is when a church goes right on with their activities even long after they have stopped being a testimony for Christ and they don t even realize it! 2:6 they still hated the things Jesus hated. We know very little about the identity of the Nicolaitans.

3 2:7 the promise: Eternal life in heaven in all its fullness. This promise should not be construed as reward for only a special group of Christians but a normal expectation for all Christians. [Walvoord, page 934] The message to the church at Laodicea, 3: :14 the name for the Lord: The Amen is a rather unusual name for the Lord. It means So be it and speaks of God s sovereignty, His control of human events (Walvoord, page 940). The faithful and true witness is a name He had used for Himself in 1:5 and 3:7; the Beginning of the creation of God is another reference to His sovereignty. 3:15-17 the commendation: Notice that there is not a positive commendation of the church. He goes directly to the condemnation: they are lukewarm! In v. 17 He describes their lukewarmness: they are content with material wealth and unaware of their spiritual poverty described as being wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked. 3:18-19 the exhortation: Refined gold is symbolic of true riches in heaven which would glorify God. White clothes is symbolic of a pure life which would cover their spiritual nakedness; eye salve to open their eyes to spiritual truth. Overall repent! The church at Laodicea is typical of a modern church quite unconscious of its spiritual needs and content with beautiful buildings and all the material things money can buy. (Walvoord, page 942) I would add that this can be true of individual Christians, too! APPLICATION: There are many obvious ones but overall to be all in with Jesus Christ; to believe in Him as Savior and Lord and seek His Kingdom in everything you do. 3:20-22 listen, hear His appeal, and welcome Him into your heart, life and ministry in a new and fresh way. This primarily applies to believers because the context is of a church which has grown lukewarm. However, it could apply to an unbeliever who hears the Lord s invitation and receives Him as Savior and Lord. August 1-2 Lesson Passage: Revelation 4:1-11 Background Passage: Revelation 4:1-11 Chapter 4 begins a huge section of the book which runs all the way to the end and refers to future events. The central theme of the book is the second coming of Jesus Christ (Rev. 19) just as the central feature of the Gospels was the first coming of Jesus Christ.[Walvoord, page 942] In chapter 4 the scene shifts to heaven. 4:1 After these things, that is, after the messages to the churches. The invitation: John is invited to come up here and see the things which must take place. 4:2-3 John gets a glimpse of the heavenly throne of God. Experientially he was taken up to heaven but his body stayed on the island of Patmos. It was obviously dazzling beauty; jasper clear like a diamond; sardius a ruby-red color; enhanced by a green rainbow which encircled the throne. 4:4 24 thrones, 24 elders in white garments with golden crowns. The crowns seem to indicate that they had been judged and rewarded. We do not know their identity.

4 The 2 major views: (1) Believers who had been raptured, (2) angels. See also 5:8-10. This vision of the throne room of heaven is consistent with Ezekiel s vision in chapter 1 of his prophecy. 4:5 lightning and thunder, prophetic of the righteous judgment which will follow. There was lightning and thunder on Mt. Sinai the mountain trembled and quaked. The 7 Spirits of God is best understood to represent the Holy Spirit rather than 7 individual spirits. 4:6-7 the 4 living creatures. Two views on their meaning: (1) they represent attributes or qualities of God: eyes He sees and knows all; lion majesty and power; calf or ox patience, labor & endurance; man intelligence and rational power; eagle sovereignty and supremacy. (2) angels who praise the attributes of God. 4:8 worship, which is consistent with Isaiah 6:2-3. Their worship is specific: His Name the Lord God Almighty ; His eternal nature: Who was and who is and who is to come. They did not just repeat praise the Lord over & over again. Their worship was specific and intelligent. 4:9-11 continuation of the worship. The 24 elders fall down, worship and cast their crowns before the throne; they declare that God is worthy of glory, honor and power because all things have been created by Him. See also Colossians 1:16. APPLICATIONS: (1) The Lord God Almighty is on His throne! He is the Creator and sustainer of the universe. He is not the man upstairs or any of the other poor & unbiblical views of God. We must worship Him intelligently based on who He is, not who we think He is or who we want Him to be. (2) Casting of our crowns before the Lord means that we are testifying that apart from Him we can do nothing. It is all by God s grace! August 8-9 Lesson Passage: Revelation 5:1-14 Background Passage: Revelation 5:1-14 This lesson continues the glimpse into heaven which started in chapter 4. 5:1-4 John saw the Lord holding a book in the form of a scroll which had 7 seals affixed to it. In order to unroll the scroll the seals had to be broken one by one. This tells us that the contents of the book are quite impressive and require the power of God to reveal the contents. A mighty angel asks in a loud voice if anyone was worthy to break the seals and open the book. No one was worthy and John began to weep because no one could break the seals. 5:5-7 John is told to stop weeping, because there is One who is worthy. The description obviously refers to Jesus Christ. See also Isaiah 11:1 and Rev. 22:16. Lamb refers to His 1 st coming; Lion refers to His 2 nd coming in majesty and power as the Judge; 7 horns speak of power, the power of a king; the 7-fold Spirit of God represents the Holy Spirit. Because He is worthy, Jesus Christ takes the scroll from Him who sat on the throne.

5 5:8 When the scroll was taken, the 24 elders fell down before Christ in worship. Harps are instruments of heavenly worship; incense is symbolic of the prayers of the saints (true believers). APPLICATION: In the midst of this awesome scene of worship in heaven, we see that our prayers are important to the Lord! By the way, saints refers to any and all true believers, not a special class of believer. 5:9-10 The heavenly worship is in the form of a song which details the accomplishments of the Lord Jesus Christ this is why He is worthy! It is intelligent worship. The term for purchase means to redeem (Walvoord, page 946). He paid the purchase price to redeem us from the slave market of sin. He transformed us into a kingdom of priests. See 1 Peter 2: :11-14 concentric circles of worship: the Lamb in the center; the living creatures, the 24 elders and the angelic host. This is one mighty, awesome symphony of praise and worship! APPLICATION: Instead of some of the foolish ideas we have about heaven we can take the word pictures of Scripture here and anticipate the glory and wonder of the heavenly scene that believers will one day see with our own eyes! (Walvoord, page 946) August Lesson Passage: Revelation 9:1-12 Context: Revelation 6:1-9:21 Something to keep in mind: In this chapter there are more occurrences of the words as and like than in any other chapter in the Bible, which shows how difficult it was for John to describe the scene he saw in the vision. [Dr. Charles Ryrie, quoted in Dr. Constable s Notes on Revelation, page 103] Point: we cannot be too dogmatic about the images and what they mean. The scene shifts to what is happening on earth. Chapters 8-9 cover the opening of the 7 th seal and the introduction of the 7 trumpets. 9:1-12 covers the events after the sounding of the 5 th trumpet. 8:13 pronounces woe to those on the earth because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the 3 angels who are about to sound. 9:1 the fallen star is referred to as him, so it is a person rather than a piece of an actual star. See also verse 11 which refers to the angel of the abyss. The star probably represents Satan cast out of heaven at the beginning of the Great Tribulation (Walvoord, page 952). The bottomless pit or the abyss is the home of demons (Luke 8:31; Rev. 11:7, 17:8, 20:1, 3). The key to the abyss was given to the star (Satan). 9:2 he opened the pit, smoke went up from the pit and darkened the sun and the air. In Revelation, smoke usually relates to judgment, doom and torment. The context here definitely suggests something negative. 9:3 locusts emerge from the pit. The locust is a symbol of destruction throughout the OT. These locusts had power to hurt people as scorpions do. Verse 11 they have a leader, probably Satan. It is suggested by some commentators that the locusts are

6 demons who resemble locusts and John knew of no other way to describe them. Again, we cannot be too dogmatic about the meaning of what John saw. 9:4-6 the locusts are instructed to not harm the vegetation but to sting people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. Protection from the plague is extended to all who know the Lord in that day. See also 7:4. The locusts do not kill but torment men for 5 months. Because they are tormented, men seek death but death eludes them. 9:7-10 John is describing what he saw but does not try to interpret each feature. There are 3 prominent interpretations: (1) literal locusts, (2) an army of men and a world war scenario, or (3) an army of demons, which seems to fit better with verse 11. In general it is a picture of Satan s power and the demonic world unleashed on unbelievers. Notice, too, that it is not for a short time it extends for 5 months. 9:11 the army has a ruler whose Hebrew name is Abaddon; his Greek name is Apollyon. Both names mean destroyer. Here, Satan and his demons are presented for what they actually are destroyers of people. Dr. John Walvoord states, This judgment confirms what was already intimated in preceding judgments, that the Great Tribulation, as Christ described it, will be a time of great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now and never to be equaled again. (Matt.24:21) [Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament, pages ] 9:12 a transition verse; the fifth trumpet described as the first woe is past; it will be followed by 2 final trumpets, also called woes (8:13). APPLICATION: What are we to do with this? People are excited about studying Revelation until they run into a passage like this - it is not a feel good lesson! These passages introduce us to reality, the way things really are. Satan and his demons are real and they want to destroy us. In our day they are kept at bay and operate under the radar. We are also shown that God s judgment is sure, refusing to repent leads to ruin but Jesus rescues from judgment those who belong to Him. Take this opportunity to share the Gospel with your class! August Lesson Passage: Revelation 12:1-17 Context: Revelation 10:1-20:15 [In this section I will draw heavily from Dr. John Walvoord in The Bible Knowledge Commentary, pages , and Dr. Constable s Notes on Revelation, pages ]. Chapters of Revelation view the prophecies of the end time introducing the figures involved in the second half of the 7 year Tribulation period. Chapter 12 looks at Satan s activity during this period. 12:1-2 the first figure, a great sign: a woman clothed with the sun. The woman seems to symbolize Israel. The 12 stars represent the 12 tribes of Israel, the 12 sons of Jacob (Genesis 37:9-10). She gives birth to a son which would refer to Israel as the source, humanly speaking, for the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

7 12:3-4 the second sign John saw was a red dragon, who he identifies in verse 9 and in 20:2 as Satan. The term dragon occurs 12 times in the NT, all 12 in the Book of Revelation. The 7 heads and 10 horns probably represent 7 nations and 10 rulers. This beast represents Satan s control over world empires in the Great Tribulation. Satan stood before the woman about to give birth to try to prevent the appearance or birth of the Messiah. 12:5-6 Jesus is born and eventually ascends into heaven. Satan failed to destroy Jesus at His birth, during His life, in His death on the cross for our sins and His resurrection. Jesus ascended victoriously into heaven and will yet rule the nations. Since Satan could not destroy Jesus he turns his attention to Israel. Throughout Scripture a wilderness often represents a place of desolation, safety, discipline and testing. Israel fled and God protected her for 1260 days or three and a half years the second half of the Great Tribulation. Perhaps Gentiles, but definitely God and the angels will care for the Jews at this time. The Lord still has a program for Israel! 12:7- war in heaven; Michael, the archangel, the leader of God s angelic army (Jude 9) and his angels vs. Satan and his demons. The context seems to indicate that it is during the end times. APPLICATION: Make no mistake about it; don t be naïve. Satan has been at war with God since Genesis 3. He is not dormant he and his demons are under the radar in this present age but we are in a struggle (see Ephesians 6:10-20). These frightful images in Revelation unmask Satan and we see him as he truly is. 12:8-9 In the war Satan is the loser. God throws him and his demons out of heaven. Satan no longer has access to heaven (see Job 1-2); God no longer hears Satan s accusations against believers. Notice the terms describing Satan: great dragon, the serpent of old, devil. Satan means adversary; devil means accuser. Notice, too, what he does: deceives the whole world. He is deceptive, crafty, subtle and will destroy believers any way he can. 12:10-12 An outburst of praise in heaven because Satan has been thrown down. Take note of the description of Satan: the accuser of our brethren. That is what he does and he accuses us day and night! They and we overcome by the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ. This includes martyrs: they did not love their life even to death. Satan is now loose on earth to unleash his wrath for 1260 days. 12:13-14 Satan focuses his vengeance on Israel (the woman) because Christ, his enemy, came from them and is one of them (Jews). They receive divine assistance in fleeing from the dragon. God will nourish and care for them much like He did when they were released from Egypt into the wilderness. This is the second half of the Tribulation time, times and half a time = three and a half years or 1260 days. 12:15-17 Satan s attempt to destroy the Jews; probably not a literal flood but symbolic. It could refer to a flood of soldiers. In any case, Jews will be terribly persecuted during this period. Observe the primary targets of Satan: who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. These are Jewish believers in Jesus as their Messiah!

8 August Lesson Passage: Revelation 21:1-7 Context: Revelation 21:1-22:21 This is the final act! Dr. Walvoord states, The opening verses of chapter 21 describe the creation of the new heaven and the new earth, which chronologically follows the thousand-year reign of Christ described in chapter 20. [Walvoord, page 983] 21:1 What John saw is on the earth. The thousand-year reign of Christ is on the earth. These things are not taking place in some heavenly realm. It is a totally new creation, not a renovated earth. This fact is supported by the phrase, the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Beyond this, very little information is given other than there was no longer any sea. The new heavens and the new earth is the dwelling place of believers for eternity. Theologians call this the eternal state. 21:2 A feature of the new heaven and new earth: The Holy City, the New Jerusalem is described. This is in contrast to the earthly Jerusalem which spiritually was compared to Sodom in 11:2. The city is compared to a beautifully dressed bride which is a common illustration in Scripture. 21:3-4 In eternity believers will enjoy a new intimacy with God which is impossible now because of sin. There will be no tears, death, mourning, crying or pain. APPLICATION: Sometimes we hear very shallow and self-centered descriptions of heaven in which people wish for things like baseball, golf, chocolate, etc. They want to take some of their favorite things from earth to heaven with them. But the new heaven and the new earth are all about the Lord He is the centerpiece! We will enjoy a new intimacy with Him that we have never known before. 21:5-6 Notice, the Lord is on a throne it is all about Him, not us. He is making all things new and He instructs John to write it down. The Lord calls Himself the Alpha and Omega, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, the beginning and the end. See also 1:8 and 22:13. He gives a promise: the one who thirsts for spiritual blessings will be satisfied. 21:7-8 He who overcomes through His power working in and through us, He will get us there! We will be His sons and He will be our God; notice the intimate relationship believers will have with the Lord. Those who practice the sins of the world will be excluded they will go into the lake of fire. Similar lists of sins are found in 21:27 and 22:15. APPLICATIONS: (1) We all have committed some of the sins listed plus others. That is why we all need a Savior. We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, not by works. (2) Sinners who reject Jesus Christ as Savior go to the lake of fire for all eternity no purgatory, no second chance, etc. There is a false teaching which has been around for years and is popular again which says that because God is a God of love, He will not send anyone to hell. John makes it quite clear that is not the case. The Lord invites all to believe in Him and join Him in perfect fellowship for all eternity!