What Does Jesus Mean by “Defiled Their Garments”? In Revelation 3:4, Jesus commends those who are exceptions to his criticism of the Sardis church. He says, “But you have a few names in Sardis who have not defiled their garments,…
Overview of the Sardis Letter The Pergamum and Thyatira churches are struggling to maintain their doctrinal purity in the midst of stumbling blocks from false teachers and the prophetess Jezebel. In spite of the damaging effects of false teaching, Christ…
Teaching the Seven Letters of Revelation, Part 4c: The Reward for the Conquerors in the Thyatira Letter Those who have rejected Jezebel’s teaching deserve no other “burden” (2:24). However, Jesus does exhort them to persevere until his coming and places…
What Is Jezebel’s Sexual Immorality or Harlotry? In Revelation 2:20, Jesus highlights the glaring weakness of the church at Thyatira. Revelation 2:20 says, “But I have against you that you are tolerating the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess,…
Overview of the Thyatira Letter’s Message: Beware of the Teaching of Jezebel In this first post, I will provide a brief overview of the Thyatira letter and its message. The problems at Thyatira are an intensification of the problems at…
Revelation 2:17: “The one who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches. To the one who conquers, I will give him some of the hidden manna and I will give him a white…
Pergamum as Satan’s Throne and Dwelling Place (Rev. 2:12) First-century Pergamum has two characteristics that might qualify her to be the place of Satan’s throne and his dwelling place. She has many temples associated with pagan deities, with temples to…
Introduction to the Pergamum Letter The letter to Pergamum is quite different from the letter to Smyrna. Although they are under similar pressures, the church at Pergamum is beginning to give in to the pressures of its pagan environment and…
A Church in a Time of Tribulation The letter to Smyrna differs from the letter to Ephesus in that Jesus does not cite any weaknesses for this church. The church of Smyrna is in the midst of “tribulation,” which is…
There are a few points in each of the seven letters that are mysterious or deserve special attention. In order to teach on each letter, it helps to give special attention to such points. I have selected out a few…