not fear what you are about to suffer. Look, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will suffer tribulation for ten days. Be faithful even unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. f. Out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword : This is a heavy sword (the ancient Greek word rhomphaia), used to kill and destroy. Sometimes the New Testament speaks of a smaller, more tactical sword known in the ancient Greek language as the machaira. Hebrews 4:12 uses the term for this smaller, more precise sword. i. Jesus has done all this and more for you. You have much to praise Him for – so praise Him! “Would you not wish to be in heaven when your life on earth is over? The time will come when you must die; would you not desire to have a good hope of entering then into the felicities of the perfected ones? I am sure you would; but if you are at last to be numbered amongst the redeemed host on high, you must here learn their song. You cannot be admitted into the choirs above without having practiced and rehearsed their music here below.” (Spurgeon) b. The Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End : The idea behind these titles for Jesus is that He is before all things and will remain beyond all things. Alpha was the first letter of the ancient Greek alphabet, and Omega was the last letter. Jesus says, “I am the ‘A to Z,’ the Beginning and the End .”

ii. Some would say that we should not be concerned with prophecy, that it is a frivolous exercise – but if God was concerned enough to talk about it, we should be concerned enough to listen. “Some tell us that what is yet future ought not to be examined into till after it has come to pass. I can hardly realize that this is seriously meant.” (Seiss)The number of the Beast - 666 - has always puzzled Christians and led to many speculations about who this could be. Scholars now believe that this was a matter of numerology, a popular puzzle in ancient times. The letters of a name were ascribed numerical value and added up to give a number. These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Originator e of God’s creation. b. He is coming with clouds : When Jesus comes, He will be surrounded by clouds . This will be true literally, because when Jesus left this earth, He was taken up into a cloud and God said that He would return in the same manner (Acts 1:9-11). It will also be true figuratively, because multitudes of believers are called clouds in a figurative manner (Hebrews 12:1). Clouds are commonly associated with God’s presence and glory (Exodus 13:21-22, 16:10, 19:9, and 24:15-18), relating to the Old Testament cloud of glory called the Shekinah. d. To Him be glory and dominion forever and ever : In light of all that Jesus did for us, it is right to praise Him. We should honor Him with all glory and dominion forever and ever . When we say this, we aren’t giving Jesus glory and dominion . We are simply recognizing that He has it, and honoring Him for it.

ii. Jesus is the one who lives, and was dead, and is alive forevermore . He has the credentials of resurrection, and lives to never die again. The victory that Jesus won over sin and death was a permanent victory. He didn’t rise from the dead just to die again.i. Understanding this connection with the glory of God, it is fitting – and wonderful – that the multitude of believers is called a cloud. God’s people are His glory. They are His “cloud,” His Shekinah. i. Not all prophecy is predictive, but this prophetic book clearly is predictive. It describes things that must shortly take place . The time is near (Revelation 1:3) for the fulfillment of these things, but the time was not present at the time of writing. b. He laid His right hand on me : First, Jesus comforted John with a compassionate touch. Perhaps the touch of Jesus felt more familiar than the appearance of Jesus. Then Jesus gave John a command: “ Do not be afraid .” John didn’t need to be afraid because He was in the presence of Jesus, and Jesus clearly identifies Himself to John with three titles. then, what you have received and heard. Keep it and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know the hour when I will come upon you.

this I looked and saw a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had previously heard speak to me like a trumpet was saying, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after these things.” Christ commends those churches whose members have endured persecution and, in some instances, even death rather than declare their allegiance to Roman rulers, who proclaimed their own divinity and demanded that they should be worshipped along with the other gods of the empire. He refers to Pergamum as Satan's home inasmuch as it was in this place that the cult of emperor worship was particularly strong.The Book of Revelation certainly contains some vivid and disturbing imagery and many have called it an angry text. John's anger has traditionally been understood to be directed at the Romans for their persecution of the early Christians. f. By His angel to His servant John : This tells us who wrote the Book of Revelation. It was His servant John , and the best evidence points to this being the Apostle John, the same writer of the Gospel of John and the books of 1, 2, and 3 John.