Lessons From Revelation
Revelation - the players (12/27/18)
December 27, 2018 • Benham Brothers
* The players: * The Being on the throne is God. * The Lamb is Jesus. * The dragon is Satan. * The beast is the Antichrist. * The woman is Israel. * The baby is Jesus. * The “rest of her offspring” are God’s people. * The bride is the church - Christians who place their faith in Jesus when they hear the gospel. * The guests of the bride are believers before Christ came and the gospel existed. * Babylon is the world system of the Beast. It’s the political and economic system. * The “Harlot” is the corrupt religious system of the Beast that stands in direct contrast to the Bride. * The Beast can’t be successful in the first two systems without the third to approve of it. * There is a Babylon and a Harlot in every generation - it’s used by Satan to lead people astray. * ** a nation needs several systems to exist, mainly a political, economic, and religious.
Revelation & Red Letters (12/13/18)
December 13, 2018 • Benham Brothers
* Jesus is still speaking. * We don’t often attribute His words to the book of Revelation. * What would He say? * He addresses 7 churches (the number in seven is “perfect” or “complete” - so this message would apply to all the church past, present, and future). * 1) The church of Ephesus - they were the LOVELESS church who had lost their first love. * 2) The church of Smyrna - they were the PERSECUTED church who were enduring hardship for Christ. * 3) The church of Pergamos - they were the COMPROMISING church who put up with those in their midst who believed the teaching of Balaam and the Nicolaitans (sexual immorality and idolatry). * 4) The church of Thyatira - they were the CORRUPT church who tolerated the woman Jezebel (sexual immorality and domineering ambition). * 5) The church of Sardis - they were the DEAD church who looked alive but in reality they were dead. * 6) The church of Philadelphia - they were the FAITHFUL church who were doing good things in the midst of trial. * 7) The church of Laodicea - they were the LUKEWARM church who were riding the fence to avoid persecution.
Revelation 1:1 (12/8/16)
December 8, 2016 • Benham Brothers
* Jeremiah 29:11 - “I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” * God spoke an encouragement through Jeremiah because the Israelites were about to go into captivity. * So like a good father He reminded them that this was going to be good for them and that His ultimate plan was for their blessing, not their cursing. * The book of Revelation does the same for us. * A good coach knows you can’t land a big recruit without letting him know your plan for him. * He will continue to remind him from time to time to encourage him to stick it out (redshirt). * When we read Revelation it’s God reminding us to stick it out because something ossum is coming.
Revelation 1:6-11 (12/12/13)
December 12, 2013 • Benham Brothers
vs 6 - God has mad us Kings & Priests - this is our new identity vs 7 - God comes in the clouds, just like He did when Jesus and His disciples were on the mount Oswald Chambers - "when God brings clouds into your life it's not so you can learn something but so that you can un-learn it" When the clouds come God will speak, but we must be resolutely fixed to hear it - He will point something out to you When the clouds are removed you will see differently than you saw before vs 10 - John was "in the Spirit" when He heard God's voice In The Spirit - the place where your soul (mind, will, emotions) stands at attention to hear God Our entire being must be resolutely affixed on Him for us to be "in the spirit" This is why God comes in a cloud - it shields us from the outside world for a moment vs 11 - The divine command came after John was in the spirit The letters to the seven churches - all of them had the same structure: 1) Who's the letter written to 2) Who's the letter from (describing God in different ways each time) 3) What they have done well, if anything 4) What they have done bad, if anything (the result of not loving God with ALL their heart) 5) A promise to those who hear this letter and take it to heart (overcomers)
Revelation 1:10-18 (12/10/20)
December 10, 2020 • Benham Brothers
* God made us to walk in authority. * Authority is the right to use power. * You only get God’s authority through DEATH. * Backstory - John was exiled on an island and God gave Him a message for the universal church. * Vs 9-10 - John was “in the Spirit” when he heard God’s voice. * Vs 11-17 - God spoke to John when John fell down before Him reverence. * Vs 18 - Jesus got the keys to death. * Keys represent access to authority (like the key to my house). * God has give us access to His authority so we can walk in power. * We walk in our authority by being faithful in our responsibility. * Revelation 4:4&10 - we are faithful by giving back to God what He’s given to us.
Revelation 2 (12/20/15)
December 20, 2015 • Benham Brothers
Deliverance / Destruction - God sends a baby. Gabriel shows up to Daniel - let's him in on God's plan of salvation. 490 years later - Gabriel shows up to Zechariah and Mary. Luke 2:14 - Angels show up with God's announcement of peace. Luke 2:34 - Simeon - God's announcement of how that peace will come. God's plan is for peace, but Jesus came to divide those who would experience it from those who wouldn't. The divider is persecution & tribulation. 100 years later - John on Patmos - a century of persecution - God shows up. Rev 1 - Kingdom of priests, seven churches represent the entire church. Each letter - Approval, Accusation, Admonition (not Smyrna or Phili). OVERCOMERS - each letter lists the rewards for overcoming. 1) Rev 2:7 - eat of the tree Adam was not allowed to eat from. 2) Rev 2:11 - you won't be cast into the Lake of Fire. 3) Rev 2:17 - hidden manna, innocense, adoption. 4) Rev 2:26-28 - we will reign w/Christ when He comes back, and He will be "ours." 5) Rev 3:5 - at the judgment we'll be innocent & it can't change (Roman citizenship was important). 6) Rev 3:12 - you will be like Jachin & Boaz, pillars of strength with the name of God, Heaven, and Jesus on you. 7) Rev 3:20-21 - the supper room becomes the throne room. ** The key to overcoming is intimacy with GOD! How do we overcome? Revelation 12:11 tells us.
Revelation 2:4-5 (12/18/14)
December 18, 2014 • Benham Brothers
These folks contended with God-haters and stood strong, but they let their love for God grow cold. Love will grow cold if diligence isn't taken to keep it hot - like a fire. Consider a marriage - the spouses still love each other but the fervancy of that love has grown cold - the zeal is gone. How? Tyranny of the urgent! We tend to prioritze what's urgent over what's vital - Relationships are never urgent, but they are vital. Anecdote (for our relationships with God and with our spouses): 1) Consider how far you've fallen - go back to where you were when your love was brand new. Recall the thoughts and feelings you had for the Lord - go back to that place. 2) Repent - once you realize how far you've fallen, repent for having fallen that far. Don't wait on an emotion - just ask forgiveness and then start walking in the opposite direction. 3) Do the things you did at first - the things you did when your love was brand new, do them again! Don't wait on an emotion - where your treasure is there your heart will be also. Invest your treasure into your relationship with God (and/or spouse) and your heart will go there. Treasure in a relationship is measured by TIME. Psalm 73:17 - everything made sense when Asaph got back into the sanctuary of God.
Revelation 2:4-5 (12/12/13)
December 12, 2013 • Benham Brothers
The people of Ephesus once were hot with love for God but they let it grow cold Love will grow cold if you don't fuel it to keep it hot - just like a fire The anecdote: 1) Consider how far you've fallen - go back to where you were in your heart and mind when your love was brand new. Stir those thoughts up again, let the emotions begin to flow 2) Repent - you have to be inwardly grieved and ashamed of where you are, then in humility seek forgiveness from God and make a transaction of the will not to do it again 3) Do the things you did at first - the very things you did when your love was brand new, do those things again If you do these three things your love will never grow cold
Revelation 2:5 (12/13/18)
December 13, 2018 • Benham Brothers
* The Ephesians’ relationship with God had turned into religion. * It was routine with no passion. * Jesus gave them the remedy - Remember, Repent, Redo. * If they didn’t then they would cease to be a lampstand. * The lampstand in the tabernacle was necessary for the priest to do his work in the dark of the Holy of Holies. * For the Ephesians, this meant their light would go out - there would be no more life in their church. * Apply this to marriage - the light in your relationship will go out if you have lost your first love and refuse to repent.
Revelation 2:6 (12/12/19)
December 12, 2019 • Benham Brothers
* Although the church in Ephesus had let their love grow cold, God applauded them for hating what He hates. * You can’t just love what God loves you must hate what He hates. * True love always has a hate component to it. * If you love your spouse then you hate anything that would threaten that love. * EX: a man watching the Cowboys and the camera goes to the cheerleaders. * If he doesn’t hate what that can do in his mind then he’ll find himself looking. * Here in this verse the church at Ephesus hated what the Nicolaitins stood for. * What was that? They turned what God called black and white into a strange shade of grey. * But the church in Pergamum tolerated them (vs 2:15). * In the church today, we should hate that which would stand in the way of people coming to Christ - a true knowledge of Him.
Revelation 2:9-10 (12/8/16)
December 8, 2016 • Benham Brothers
* One of two churches God didn’t rebuke was Smyrna, the least likely of the churches. * It was a “poor” church. * Today this would be the po-dunk church with a tiny congregation and even tinier median income. * They would be the “outcast” church today. * No website, no cool branding, music is sub-par, no rock-star conferences wanting to use it as a venue. * The pastor is bi-vocational because the church can’t afford the salary - he’s got no book deal and never invited to speak at the church growth seminars. * This was a church who was “outwardly” poor, but inwardly they were explosive! * They were faithful to God’s Word and did not back down from the associated persecution because of it. * Polycarp was the Bishop (church leader) at Smyrna - John ordained him as bishop. * He was told to say, “Caesar is Lord.” But he responded, “Jesus is Lord and away with the atheists!” * He was told to deny Christ, he replied, “86 years I have served Him and He has done me no injury. How can I now deny my King Who saved me?” * He stood strong and ended up being burned alive for his faith - the very thing God said would happen in verse 10. * He said to those who threaten to burn him, “I will burn only for a moment, but you will burn for eternity.” * He did not want to be nailed to the stake when he was to be burned - he said he wanted to stay on the stake without the need of nailing - he would endure the fire on his own. * Warren Wiersbe - “"The church at Smyrna was not having an easy time of it! The members were persecuted, probably because they refused to compromise and say, “Caesar is Lord.” Smyrna was an important center of the Roman imperial cult, and anyone refusing to acknowledge Caesar as Lord would certainly be excluded from the guilds. This would mean unemployment and poverty. The word used here for poverty means “abject poverty, possessing absolutely nothing. A large Jewish community also thrived in Smyrna. The Jews, of course, did not have to patronize the imperial cult since their religion was accepted by Rome; but they certainly would not cooperate with the Christian faith. So, from both Jews and Gentiles, the Christians in Smyrna received slander and suffering."
Revelation 2:12-16 (12/28/22)
December 28, 2022 • Benham Brothers • Revelation 2:12–16
Jesus has a message for His bride - we find it in the first few chaps of Revelation. What He says to these seven He says to the church today. Vs 12-16 - The church in Pergamum stood strong for salvation, but not lordship. Their problem wasn’t what they stood for, it’s what they didn’t stand against! They tolerated people in their midst who they should have kicked out. Why? Because the Gospel of Salvation took precedence over Gospel of Kingdom. They tolerated those who held to the teaching of Balaam & Nicolaitans. Balaam: He used his spiritual gift for monetary gain. He thirsted for material possessions. He wanted to please an earthly king more than His heavenly king. He exploited the emotions of God’s people for His own ends. Nicolaitins: They turned what God called black into grey. They sought to be relevant in culture rather than reverent. Key definers of Nicolaitans was perverse sexuality. Matthew Henry - “An indifference of spirit between truth and error, good and evil, may be called charity and meekness, but it is not pleasing to Christ. Our Savior subjoins this kind commendation to his severe threatening, to make the advice more effectual."NOTE - The church in Ephesus hated the ways of the Nicolaitans, yet the church in Pergamum loved it. Pergamum was built on a very high elevation, so it was fortified very well against attacks. It was referred to as “The Elevated One.” The word “Pergamum” means “married,” or “Elevation.”
Revelation 2:14 & 20 (12/14/17)
December 14, 2017 • Benham Brothers
* These people stood strong for Christ, but tolerated some people they shouldn’t have tolerated. * The same is happening today - churches are tolerating things they ought not tolerate. * It’s interesting that one of the issues of the Nicolaitans was perverse sexuality. * God’s issue with Pergamum was they allowed people with these ideas among them. * vs 20 - But His issue with Thyatira was they were led by someone who had these ideas. * It’s what you tolerate that opens a secret passage to your heart. * To love without resisting the antithesis of love is actually hate. * Why would the people tolerate this type of thing? * Because of the intense persecution they were facing. * What are you tolerating? * If Satan can’t destroy you as a roaring lion he’ll come at you as a lying serpent. * We mistake tolerance for passivity - this is the same thing that brought Adam down.
Revelation 2:14 (12/18/14)
December 18, 2014 • Benham Brothers
We hear of the teaching of Balaam 3 times in the New Testament: 1) Jude 11 - the "error" of Balaam. 2) 2 Peter 2:15 - the "way" of Balaam. 3) Revelation 2:14 - the "teaching" of Balaam. Two things I've noticed about Balaam : 1) He thirsted for "gain." He was greedy for money and position. He was filled with "want." He was willing to use his giftedness and annointing for personal gain. He was interested in building his own kingdom more than God's kingdom. His focus was on the "things" of God and not the God of things - this could happen to us as well. 2) He "mixed" with the world and he taught Balak how to get the Israelites to do the same. When he realized God wouldn't let him curse his kids, he found a way to get God to curse them. Why? Because there was a lot of money on the line - he had to find a way to please Barak. His advice was to get the men to move away from the counsel of God, which would cause them to implode from the inside-out. When you move away from God's counsel you stand in the way of God's curse. Specifically, he knew the weakness Israelite men had for women, so he told Barak to let the Moabite women intermingle with the Israelite men. This would lead them to fornicate and ultimately to worship the false gods of these women. God would "have" to punish these men for doing this. ** Simply said, Balaam's counsel was to get the Israelites to mix the teachings and customs of Moses with other teachings, and to ignore what Moses taught concerning how to worship God and honor Him. This was the same thing the Nicolaitins did - they "mixed" with the culture. How did it turn out for Balaam? He got what he wanted but he was killed because of it.
Revelation 2:17 (12/10/15)
December 10, 2015 • Benham Brothers
• Each letter had an Approval, Accusation (other than Smyrna), Admonition. • To the one who overcomes the attacks of the devil and remains a conqueror, God says He'll give us three things: • 1) Hidden manna - God will nourish us with a special nourishment we know nothing of. • The Israelites had to go get the manna, but God provided it. • 2) A white stone - in those days a judge would put a white stone in a jar for innocense, and a black one for guilt. • God is saying that as our judge He will proclaim us innocent. • 3) A new name - our new name would be written on the stone, thus signifying that we're grafted into His family. • Not only are we innocent, but we got adopted by the judge!