Go a little deeper
Pastor Keith Kirkpatrick opens in prayer and introduces a series in Revelation, arguing that the book is often read as a way to predict current events and ends up producing fear. He presents it instead as an unveiling of Jesus Christ, meant to prepare God's people and give them hope. He notes that seven signals completeness, so the letters to seven first-century churches on a trade route in Asia also address the whole church, which he describes as the assembly of believers rather than a building or organization.
Pastor Keith recaps Ephesus, where Jesus recognizes the church’s work and resistance to false teaching but calls it back to its earlier love. He then introduces Smyrna as a wealthy port city and center of emperor worship. He uses myrrh’s fragrance when crushed as an illustration of growth through pressure. Jesus recognizes the church’s suffering, poverty, and slander while affirming its spiritual wealth. Pastor Keith distinguishes material hardship from the lasting value of knowing God.
Pastor Keith considers Jesus’ call for courage and lasting faithfulness amid suffering, together with the promise of life and freedom from final separation from God. He connects this hope with Jesus’ victory over death and Revelation’s description of judgment, presenting grace through Jesus as the means of rescue.
Pastor Keith introduces Pergamum as an inland city with a library, many gods, and a trade in writing material. He describes a church that remained loyal to Jesus under pressure but tolerated harmful teaching associated with Balaam and the Nicolaitans. He warns that compromise can enter through subtle deception and interprets Jesus’ correction as an opportunity to change. The message closes with the symbolic gifts of manna, a white stone, and a new name, followed by prayer and an invitation to receive Jesus.
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The book unveils Jesus rather than predicting the future
Pastor Keith argues that Revelation is read wrongly when treated like a horoscope for current events, which leaves people confused and afraid. He says the word revelation means an unveiling, and the book is meant to prepare God's people by showing them who Jesus is, giving them hope rather than fear.
Jesus names the hardship of His church and calls it rich
To Smyrna, Jesus speaks of tribulation, poverty, and slander and then calls the church rich. Pastor Keith stresses that God does not overlook the pain of His people, and that those who have God have what matters most, even when they possess nothing by the world's measure.
Faithfulness is set against the fear of death
Pastor Keith reads Revelation 2:10–11 as a call for courage and lasting faithfulness amid suffering. He interprets the promised crown as an image of victory and the second death as final separation from God. He grounds the believer’s hope in Jesus’ victory over death and the gift of grace.
Compromise enters by deception, not only denial
Pergamum held fast to Jesus' name yet tolerated teaching tied to Balaam and the Nicolaitans, which drew God's people toward idolatry and sexual immorality. Pastor Keith says the enemy often comes as a deceiving serpent raising questions, and that the church is to influence the culture rather than absorb it. Jesus calls them to repent, and Pastor Keith notes that the Lord says He has something against them, not that He is against them.
The promises to the conqueror point to Christ's provision and welcome
Hidden manna, a white stone, and a new name are read as gifts to the one who conquers. Pastor Keith connects manna to God's daily provision in the wilderness and to Jesus describing Himself as the bread of life, and treats the white stone as admission into God's banquet, with the new name reflecting God's knowledge of the person He is making.
The conversation,
in their words.
Transcript from the recording’s captions. Select any timestamp to hear the original audio.
you and that you would be glorified through your church your word tells us that you are love so i pray that we would receive that love and because of it love you in return god may we not be like the church of ephesus and miss what matters most god we repent of our sins when we've turned astray when we've listened to the news more than we've listened to you when we've turned to the things of this world more than keep our eyes on the next so lord i just pray in the mighty name of jesus that you would open our eyes to the revelation of who you are that as we get into your word your word would get into us that god no matter who's who's listening today you're able to speak to a variety of people to the youngest person that hears me right now god i know you're able to speak to them to the oldest person would you renew their hope would we you would remind
them that that our last days are our best days so god would you redeem the years that the enemies tried to steal god would you redeem the areas that we've broken that you would restore them and you would show the world that god if you could use someone like me you could use anyone so for that i just thank you today i thank you for giving me the hope of jesus i thank you for what you've done in my life and you're not finished yet oh god i pray that you would do exceedingly more abundantly more than all we could think or fathom that's who you are god so i thank you in jesus name if you're in agreement would you just shout amen amen well if you're just joining us by way of introduction my name is keith
and i am so glad that we get to spend some time together as we jump into the book of revelation you know this book of revelation has caused confusion in so many lives as they they've studied this book and they've looked at it through the wrong lens some read this book like a horoscope they're trying to predict their their future they're trying to understand what's happening in this world and so they they read the book of revelation and they they find these insects that eat people and there's this woman that gives birth to a baby and there's this dragon that wants to eat the baby and there's this prostitute and so people put this book down more confused and they find themselves scared but this book is not meant to scare you it's meant to prepare you this is the last of 66 books in the
bible it's a book of prophecy prophecy means to speak forth god's word this is the revelation of jesus christ revelation singular everyone shall revelation come on you could preach better than that say revelation it is the revelation the word revelation comes from the greek word apocalypses the word apocalypse means to unveil to reveal it is the revealing of jesus christ so as we read the book of revelation we look at it through that lens we want to see a revelation we want to see jesus revealed we want to understand who jesus is in chapter one we're introduced to the author john who's imprisoned on an island called patmos
he gets this revelation of jesus christ the book of revelation was not just for john it's actually for every person in every generation that we would have the promise of god that as you read this book and you keep these words you will be blessed in fact as we read these words we see that god speaks to our hearts that no matter what happens no matter where you are you can have an unshakable hope in jesus christ this book is all about jesus and so as we read this we want to get to know god greater through the person jesus today we find ourselves in a section of seven letters to seven churches now throughout this book we see a number of things that are symbolic these these symbols and signs particularly numbers
the number seven means complete so as we read these seven letters to seven actual churches in the first century uh in a region today known as turkey at the time in first century it was called asia these were actual seven cities on a trade route where this book would have been brought to all of these seven churches but it's not just for those seven churches it's for the complete church today so as we get into this book we're going to learn from history but we're also going to ask god to speak to us today as well the word church in the original language the greek is ecclesia the word ecclesia literally means the assembly so church is not a place it's not an organization made by man it's the congregation the assembly of believers and followers of jesus it's important as we read this that god is
still using and speaking and working through the church today last week we started these this journey through the seven letters and we looked at the first church in ephesus in revelation 2 1 jesus tells the church in ephesus who he is we'll see a description to all seven churches a sevenfold description of jesus meaning he's complete he's perfect he's holy there's no one like jesus and jesus tells the church that he is the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand who walks among the seven golden lamp stands so so we see the symbolism once again in revelation 1 20 jesus tells us the seven stars are the seven angels of the churches now the word angel in greek is angalos it means messenger often it's referred to these heavenly angelic beings these messengers of god really wonderful created by god they're not
humans but sometimes the word angel actually means a person or a messenger of god jesus himself is referred to as an angel in fact people can be angels and and so we see this might be the pastors of the churches the messengers of the church is that jesus holds the pastors the message of the church in his hands we're told in revelation 1 20 that jesus says the seven lamp stands are the seven churches we see that jesus walks among the lamb saints he walks among the church that the church is meant to reflect the light of jesus the church has a purpose to be the light of the world that we would reflect the light of jesus now jesus commends the church in ephesus he says i know your works i know you're holding fast to the truth you you stand against the false teachings of the nicolaitans which we'll look at more today he knows they're doing great things but
he says in revelation 2 4 he says but this i have against you you have abandoned the love you had at first the church got so busy doing the work of god they missed god you can get so busy going to church that you forget why you're going to church and and so he he tells them that the truth he corrects them and he tells them three things he says remember the love you had at first it's not that they didn't love jesus at some point they just abandoned it he so he says remember and then he says repent which means to change your thinking turn to god and then he says do the things you did at first remember repent and repeat it go back to the basics don't get so smart that you you somehow think you have god figured out and so we see god gives all of us an
opportunity and with each of these he'll give a reward and he tells the church in ephesus that to the one who hears you'll you'll be a conqueror and you'll receive the tree of life you'll get to be in paradise with god that we we live for something greater than the things of this world we want to go after what god has for us so today we pick up in revelation 2 verse 8. let's look at the second church and to the angel of the church in smyrna write the words of the first and the last who died and came to life smyrna is a city about 40 miles north of ephesus like ephesus it was a port city which means it had a great trade commerce it had a booming accom economy this was a a beautiful big city
with lots of money it was a wealthy city in fact smyrna was known as a city they were called the first of asia like bend oregon makes it on all the first lists you know first for the for breweries first for pet city first for uh healthy people first for all these different things right first for uh having poverty with the view because no one can afford to live here anymore we have all these firsts in the city of bend well smyrna was similar it was huge it was wealthy they were known for their academics particularly in the areas of science and medicine many people would travel to smyrna this particular city that we read about here in revelation 2 verse 8 smyrna was the center of emperor worship under domitian who was the emperor of the roman empire
when john writes this book of revelation they declared it a rule it was a government guideline that you would declare caesar as lord so to go into certain parts of the city of smyrna they would pinch a little bit of incense and throw it into the fire and just declare three words caesar is lord this became a dilemma for christians who proclaimed jesus as lord jesus is the only lord and it's in this place that this became a difficult and even dangerous place to be a christian one might look back in history and say there was no place more dangerous to be a christian than in the city of smyrna the the name smyrna actually means bitter which comes from its name mer smur na myr was found in this region
it's in a shrub tree they would shrub bushes they would take the the gum from this book the resin and it looked normal until you crushed it and when you crushed it it created this fragrance myrrh is woven throughout the scriptures used for a variety of different purposes we see that myrrh was used as a perfume in oils it was also used for anointing yes essential oils are nothing new there's nothing new under the sun we go back to the old testament and myrrh was used in oils uh we see that it was used uh for embalming the dead jesus himself after he died on the cross john chapter 19 tells us that that he was buried with myrrh listen to this nicodemus also who earlier had come to jesus by night john wants to know this is the very nicodemus
that met with jesus in john chapter 3 in at night to ask jesus questions and jesus answered the questions it's there that jesus revealed his purpose that god so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life it's this nicodemus that got that word in john chapter 19 verse 39 who came after jesus died bringing a mixture of myrrh and allows about 75 pounds in weight myrrh is significant in the scriptures myrrh was a gift brought to baby jesus it was gold frankincense and myrrh and we will see a significance for the the church in smyrna that sometimes there's more than meets the eye when it comes to a name that what we'll see with the city of
smyrna we'll see in with the name smyrna will see in the church as they are crushed as they're pressed when it looks like something might destroy you that's actually what brings out the best that's actually what is a fragrant offering to god and jesus tells this church that he's the one with the words of the first and the last who died and came to life see this church belonged to the god of history this is so important for us today church that when it looks like evil prevails god is still sovereign which means he's still in control he's still in charge there's got to be more than meets the eye we can only see what we can see but god stands in the past and he stands in the present and as we read in revelation chapter 1 he is the god that is and the god that was and is to come
god still is and this church is reminded in a city that declared oh smyrna is the first of asia jesus actually says i'm actually the first and i'm still the first i'm still the first i'm still the first i'm still the first forever the first and the last and in a city that's being what jesus did he died he wasn't resuscitated he is the resurrection and the life he reminds us of what he did is he defeated death he defeated the devil when he rose from the grave he did what no one else has done before he went to the depth of hell and returned so that we don't have to go
there that by believing in him you have the hope of eternal life and so he reminds the church to keep their eyes on him and what we learn in each of these letters is our god knows everything which is why we read the book of revelation you can try to ignore it but god knows everything he tells the church in smyrna revelation 2 9. i know your tribulation and your poverty but you are rich and the slander of those who say that they are jews and are not but are a synagogue of satan let's start by describing what jesus knows in the city of smyrna a threefold description he knows their tribulation their poverty and he knows that they're being slandered let's start with their tribulation some translations say you're afflictions
i know that you're going through pain i know you have problems this is so important that you know this that when you go through pain god sees you he knows you you are not overlooked by god so many of us when we go through difficult days we actually blame god why are you doing this we turn to god do you not see me and the scriptures remind us that no matter what you're going through any tribulation you could count it as joy when you experience trials of various kinds this is testing your faith so that you see our god is true he is greater than what you're going through this is to show you that you can trust god in your tribulations second jesus notes that he sees their poverty this word poverty actually means you possess
absolutely nothing you think you're poor this is regarding material wealth they had nothing but jesus notes this but actually you are rich you have what really matters most if you have god you have enough so we don't know exactly why this church was poor but we can speculate that there were probably sanctions from the government saying if they refuse to declare caesar as lord then we're not going to allow them to work in the marketplace we're going to tax them even higher we're going to take away their possessions and give it to caesar the king we can only speculate what was happening in the church but here's what we do know they were poor but they had what matters
most which is jesus christ and because of that they were rich so many of us think that money will solve our problems we may not even articulate it sometimes we do and in fights with someone else or sometimes in our own mind we might even turn to god and say if i just had more money if you just let me win the lottery if i just had what i don't have i would be happier i'd be satisfied i wouldn't be so stressed out i'd be okay but i would tell you this the bible teaches us that's not what matters most in fact some of us if we look back on our lives it was when we had no money that god developed our character that's when we hustled and we worked hard that's when we realized that the the things that matter most the things that you value most are not things at all in fact if you travel around the world
to some of the poorest places you go to uganda the pearl of africa and you see people that that live off of a dollar a day and you realize they have a joy of the lord that seems to be missing in america why do you travel to some of the poorest places and yet their faith is so rich and deep and their praise is so real to god because you don't need money to know god and he says i see that you have no money and then the third thing he notes is that they've been slandered he sees their pain he sees their poverty but he also sees that they've been slandered by those who say they're jews but they're not they're of the synagogue of satan oh this is significant that we'll start to see what our god sees that he sees every single thing you're going through you see the jewish people are noted throughout the scripture and i wish i can give you a deeper
history of this but a jewish person is not just one who is uh racial or or it's in their bloodline or physically their their jew but rather it's one who's spiritual it represents god's people and for the first time we get to the root of all persecution and we get to the root of all pain it's satan a synagogue is like a jewish church it's where the jewish people gather to study the scriptures is where they gather as a congregation of people to celebrate god and it's in this place that jesus tells them this this is not of god when there's slander when someone's bringing you to you down when someone's trying to persecute you or hurt you this is this is not of god so he says i see your pain and we want to embrace our pain we want
to say this is this is a part of the process this is nothing new that when i go through pain it just simply points out a problem and that problem is not going to last forever it reminds us to the solution jesus when we have poverty it reminds us of jesus let me share with you a verse out of second corinthians 8 9 that god himself became poor for us paul speaks to the church and he says for you know the grace that's the favor you can know the favor of our lord jesus christ that though he was rich he's god everything is his yet for your sake he became poor the creator became the created so that you by his poverty might become rich you might receive the inheritance of god you would know all that he has for you that the very author the founder the
perfecter of our faith says i want you to turn to me that when there's lies against you when you're going through hardships when you're being slandered just know this is spiritual this is of satan then he says this in verse 10 do not fear what you're about to suffer behold the devil is about to throw some of you into prison that you may be tested and for 10 days you will have tribulation be faithful unto death and i will give you the crown of life i need you to see what jesus says to the church these three words that are so important and they have deep significance for our lives today do not fear this is the message of jesus that resonates throughout all history do not fear the lies of the enemy are still as
true today as they were long ago the enemy wants to have people live in fear so he will work through the news media he will work through social media he will work through a virus he will work through through division politically he will work through racial division the enemy will use anything so that we would have fear in our hearts and jesus speaks forth through history and says do not fear the very thing he told to john when john gets this revelation of jesus and falls down as though daddy says do not be afraid it's the very word that god told the israelites when they were in the wilderness it's what god told joshua when he would lead them into the promised land it's the same message over and over it's when you're in the greatest storm of life god speaks forth and says do not be
afraid do not fear see if you have god on your side you have all that you need he's going to fight your battles for you you got the king of kings the conqueror the one that defeated death the one that holds the stars in his hands the one that walks among the lamb stands the first and the last and he speaks forth do not fear will you receive that message today john the author of revelation says in first john 4 18 there is no fear in love but perfect love casts out fear because god is love there is a cost to following jesus and when you go through pain or problems you might be confused and think that something is wrong and that's why it's so important to get into the bible that you would know the word of god and hold fast to his promises jesus warns them that they will
be thrown into prison look at the second half of that verse behold the devil's about to throw some of you into prison so that you may be tested for 10 days you will have tribulation there's three theories regarding this ten days one is this is an actual ten days you're gonna be put in prison for ten days it's not gonna last forever it will be ten days uh others many believe that this actually means just a brief period of time we see that phrase in the old and new testament like like many of us use the phrase a few days we don't know if that's two days or three days or four days we just know it's it's not many days that 10 in the scriptures we see it in genesis 24 55 let us stay at least 10 days that just means can we just stay for a brief period of time we see in the new testament acts 25 6 they stayed among them for no more than 10 days it just means a period of time
others believe that it's referring to a season of wicked and evil emperors over a season of the church that if you look at uh how evil some of these uh kings were like nero and domitian and over the course of time that there would be 10 emperors who persecuted the church that that this isn't going to last forever but but it's going to feel like it in the moment regardless of how it's referenced here's what jesus is saying this you will have difficult days but this isn't the end of your story don't stop here don't give up now you're going to suffer but no matter what happens he says in verse 10 he says be faithful unto death and i will give you the crown of life be faithful be faith filled you know there's a famous christian
that came out of smyrna his name is polycarp he was probably around the age of 30 when john writes this book in his 90s polycarp was the bishop in smyrna he's absolutely incredible you should google his his story he stands out in history as a wonderful example how to live our life he was faith-filled he was faithful and in this city that declared uh an allegiance a zealous worship to the emperor polycarp refused and worshiped jesus alone and and he lived a life of persecution over and over and they would ask polycarp to deny his faith and it was here that he refused to deny his faith that even in his 80s they didn't want to put to death an old man and they said just just deny curse your lord and he refused he denied them
to the point that they decided to burn him in front of a huge arena of thousands of people as a form of entertainment he refused to give up on god as we look back at smyrna and some of the heroes that came out of this we would be encouraged be faithful even if you die jesus promises that i will give you the crown of life this there's two crowns in the scriptures uh there's there's a crown that a king would wear and then there's a crown that an athlete would wear if they win our equivalent of a gold medal it's the athlete's crown and there was many athletic competitions in their day in fact we we think today that we worship sports in their day it was even more so it was notable at the annual athletic games and smyrna had some of the best athletes in the world so they were used to
this athletic crown called the crown of life that was a phrase they used for it they they wanted someone from smyrna to to wear this because they were the victor they were the champion they were the best and jesus says this if you're faithful to me you will have that you will win you will be victorious you will have the crown of life james the half-brother of jesus reiterates this when he says this blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial for when he stood the test he will receive here's that phrase the crown of life which god has promised to those who love him they're like polycarp you live for the right things god's gonna honor that you may not see it now but it but it's coming be faithful revelation 2 11 he who has an ear let him hear what the spirit says to the churches there's that word
the one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death there's an opportunity for every person that hears this right now to hear the words of jesus through the power of the holy spirit that wherever you're at in your journey of faith god has a message for you this was not just for those in smyrna this is actually for us today as well if you have an ear let him hear the one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death i want to speak to this for just a moment because right now there's there's a lot of attention to death in our own nation there's a lot of fear of death there's a lot of talk about the numbers of people dying as if we're totally surprised that people die statistics have shown throughout all history
there's a really good chance that 99.9 percent of us will die there's a few people in history that were taken up before death just a few so don't think that you're probably one of them yet the world wants to surprise us and say i can't believe someone died through disease or some other way and i don't want to treat this flippantly like like as if as if covet is not real but i do want to speak into history and say jesus says this that if you're faithful to him if you put your faith in him you trust in him not in the government not in yourself not in religion but if you if you trust him you will not be hurt by the second death now the bible speaks of a second death it might sound strange but follow with me i believe god can give you this revelation the bible speaks of a second death this
way you will die and there's one of two things that will happen to you you're eternal you have a soul inside of you so when your heart stops beating your soul is still there a second death is referred to those who who are far from god it's what we say in our language hell that's second death that when you die you experience death again for eternity it's separation from god it's the place you don't want to be jesus uh talks about this when he gives this revelation to john in chapter 20 we'll see this as we get to as john says i i saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it and from the from his presence earth and sky fled away and no place was found for them and i saw the dead great and small standing before the throne and books were open this is the great
judgment of jesus to all people those who have died he sees everything you've ever done and the dead were judged by what was written in the books according to what they had done and the sea gave up the dead who were in it death and hades gave up the dead who were in them and they would judge each one of them according to what they had done the death and hades were thrown into the lake of fire this is the here's that phrase second death the lake of fire this is separation from god forever i need you to see this loud and clearly it's only for those who have been judged that have rejected the grace of god the free gift of grace the free gift of forgiveness the free gift of eternal life to those who say i don't need you as god i don't need you as lord i don't want you this place is reserved
it's an eternal separation and there are all sorts of descriptions of hell a lake of fire jesus said it's like the gnashing of teeth it's a horrible place to be because it's separation from a perfect god of love now when you read in revelation 20 21 and you start to see this description that if god is love that in heaven which is not a second death it's actually when your heart stops beating you really start living there's no sin no sorrow you all of a sudden realize how great god is there's light but there's no shadow there's no darkness it's absolutely awesome and so jesus tells the church in smyrna and he's telling us today that when you have him you conquer and
you don't experience that second death and if you want to receive that today you can and i'll give you an opportunity in just a moment let's look at one more church today quickly is the church in pergamum verse 12 and to the angel this is the third church we're reading of the seven letters and to the angel to the pastor to the messenger of the church in pergamum write the words of him who has the sharp two edged sword so we go to revelation 1 and we go to revelation 19 and this sword protrudes from the mouth of jesus he's got this sharp two edged sword this sword can go where no other sword can go it goes into our hearts it's the very words of jesus now pergama is not a port city it's actually inland in fact it's about 60 miles north of smyrna it was known as the greatest city in asia minor
so smyrna thought they were the first in asia pergamum said no no we're the greatest in asia you see ben thinks they're first in a lot of things but you start to look around the country there are a lot of cities that think they're the best at something pergamon says we're the best of the best of the best and what's interesting today is pergamum is just this tiny uh town if you were to visit turkey today so they used to think where the best will last forever well nothing lasts forever so we see with super bowl oh maybe tom brady but uh nothing lasts uh seems to last forever and pergamum was known as well for its beauty it's it's wealth it had a giant library of nearly 200 000 books uh in fact it's been told in history that mark
anthony gave them all to cleopatra as a gift guys do some dumb things sometimes and uh this city was known for its polytheism there was the worship of many gods there were temples all over there was a great statue to zeus the the father of artemis that we learned about in ephesus this was certainly a city that was spiritual but not known for jesus asclepius was represented in this uh sclepius was worshiped in the city uh represented by a snake around a pole today we still see that it's he was known as the god of healing and people would travel from all over to visit and worship asclepius to somehow get healed now here's what pergamum was really known for at some point pharaoh had outlawed uh the export of
of um papyrus writing materials it was the main way that people would write was on papyrus it could be uh easily used and passed on to other people and and pharaoh outlawed this and so now people did not have writing material and someone in pergamum actually came up with this invention of taking wood pulp pressing it together and it came up with this writing material what we now know today as paper so pergamum was famous for their export of paper and they became wealthy for this writing material they were known for for their massive library their their wealth of words and it's no accident that when jesus comes to this particular church in this particular city he says that he actually has the double-edged sword his word matters more than any other word that if you're going to receive any
word it ought to be the words of jesus because his words judge and go into our hearts he can do anything with his words he speaks and it happens there's nothing and it comes into existence he says he knows the church in verse 13 i know where you dwell where satan's throne is i think this is california now that i read this just kidding can we edit that out of the message sorry sometimes i say things and i regret it and yet you hold fast my name and you did not deny my faith even in the days of antipas my faithful witness who was killed among you where satan dwells jesus searches our hearts he knows where we are and much like what we read in smyrna i know jesus says this is not an easy
place to be the church i know that satan is working throughout this community we see this today in our world that satan has slipped into our world just as he did in the days of old so we've got to open up our eyes spiritually just like paul writes the church in ephesus and say we live in a spiritual world when you fight with another person it shouldn't be against flesh and blood the enemy loves it when we fight against another person and jesus acknowledges i i recognize that satan is working in your particular city yet i commend you you hold fast to my name you did not deny my faith antipas who appears to be a martyr which means he lost his life because of his faith in jesus and and he says i know that you're some of you are holding f you know you could lose your life you're still holding fast i hear so many of us
right now say things like this like this is such a weird world we're in right now anybody said that i say it like every day 10 times a day this world is so weird this world is so weird but when we read the scriptures we've got to stand back a little bit and say there's nothing new under the sun the gods actually worked throughout history and the weird stuff we're going through people have been through weirder stuff it's almost like we we've got to read history and remind each other that what we're going through is difficult but god can work through difficult days and certainly in pergamum where uh emperor worship was was big much like smyrna there was this cult worship in fact there was a great temple devoted to caesar that was started by
augustus in a place where you you declare caesar as lord like in smyrna we see that god is still faithful and there's people courageous look for the courageous people during difficult days you'll find them in the church jesus says in verse 14 and 15 but i have a few things against you i want you to know clearly what jesus did not say i am against you he did not say that our god is for us and if god is for us who can be against us he just says i have a few things against you you have some there who hold to the teaching of balaam who taught balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of israel so they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality so also you have some who hold to the teaching of the nicolaitans
in short jesus is saying you have a few people in the church that have things in their lives that that shouldn't be there it's a part of the culture it's a part of what's happening in the world it's a part of society but i don't want you to give in to what's happening in the world you don't bring the world into the church you bring the church into the world we're not of this world so we should influence the culture not allow the culture to influence us and in the case of the church of pergamum it's sort of a church divided some are holding fast to their faith even to the point of death and then some are saying you know let's just give in a little bit to what's happening in this world warren weirsby put it this way in his commentary regarding this church he said satan had not been able to destroy them by coming in as a roaring lion peter says in first peter 5 that satan's
looking for those to devour he's like a roaring lion he's not a roaring lion but he'll come and just just destroy you he was looking to do that in the in the city of pergamon but it didn't work so how did it work this is what wiersbe says satan was making inroads as the deceiving serpent it's been his main method of deception from the beginning in the garden that he slips in and he just asked questions like did god really say do you really have to be faithful to one person do do you really have to uh be a prude and follow the rules do you really have to and he begins to ask questions in our hearts where we compromise because he tricks us and all deception has some truth and so he he slips into the church with the spirit of the teaching of balaam and the nicolaitans both the name balaam and the
nicolaitans means the same thing to conquer it's when you start to think that you're better than someone else so you tell other people how to live their lives and the nicolaitans did just that some actually look back in church history and see this woven throughout um sex of the church like like the roman catholic church where all of a sudden there's there's a priest and there's there's a bishop and there's someone higher and there's authority that someone is better than another person and it slips into a culture now if you're unfamiliar with the the story of balaam it is so worth studying one of the funniest stories in all of the bible and i say funny because our god does have a sense of humor when he works through history so sometimes it's good to laugh and balaam was a prophet a sorcerer and he was hired by balak to curse the israelites but he couldn't do it
he ever tried to do something you just couldn't do it every time he tried he couldn't do it and god actually used a donkey this is an actual this is not a metaphor or a symbol he used an actual donkey to talk to balaam i don't know what it takes to talk to you but in this case it took a donkey to talk to balaam balaam missed god some would see this as a christophany jesus came in front of the donkey and balaam missed jesus the donkey didn't miss it now when he tried to curse the israelites he just couldn't do it he tried he tried again and he tried again three times he tried to curse israel and couldn't do it so here's what balaam did he tricked the israelites he seduced them sexually and with food the two things men love he used sex and food and so
balak was the king of the moabites and so he took the moabite women who were far from god and he said hey men come over to this party and they food sacrificed by idols they slept with the the moabites and they they took their faith and they they didn't think it was that big a deal this is awesome this is great we get to relax we get to enjoy and so it's through sexual seduction that that that the enemy slipped into the people of israel and because of that they were judged by god there are natural consequences that come with sin and now jesus is speaking to the church in pergamum and says some of you aren't blatantly denying god that the israelites didn't deny god they just said come on let's just look at this let's just do that and so we see it today so so many
christians have justified their behavior whether it's pornography or immorality or sexual perversion or some other what is food sacrificed by idols today it's a number of things it's when you've let something end your life that ought not be there and we need to acknowledge this and jesus tells him in verse 16 i love this he says therefore repent that one word is so significant repent it means to change your thinking turn to god here's what it really means it means we have the god of second chances no matter where you are no matter what you've done even if you did it last night or an hour ago our god gives you a second chance would you hear from jesus today church repent run to god if you've allowed something in the church if you've and by the remember what the church is it's individuals who believe in jesus
if you've allowed something in your life that shouldn't be there repent if not jesus says i will come to you soon this is not referring to his second coming this is referring to a judgment and war against them with the sword of my mouth although the church was far from the truth they had the opportunity to turn to the truth and then finally verse 17 he who has an ear let him hear what the spirit says to the churches to the one who conquers i will give some of the hidden manna and i will give him a white stone and a new name written on the stone that no one except the one no one knows except the one who receives it so there's a promise listen up there's a reward it's a threefold promise hidden manna a white stone and a new name now you might not get excited about that but that's why it's important to study the whole bible so that you would understand what's being said when the israelites were set free from slavery in egypt they were on a journey
through the wilderness to a promised land and they needed provision and god provided they needed food and god provided they woke up one day and they looked out and there was food all over the land and someone said what is it that's what the word manna means what is it no one knew what kind of food this was so so they would call this food what is it every day and god provided this manna every single day and god says i don't want you to hoard this i don't want you to collect it i want you to trust in me because i am jehovah jiva the lord provided i will give you this manna the what is it every single day and so it would become symbolic of god's provision throughout history and what they did is they collected this manna and they put it with the ten commandments in the ark of the covenant it was a hidden manna no one can see it but it was in this box that represented god
on top of the box was the mercy seat of god it represented pointing forward to the blood of jesus christ the glory the shekinah glory of god this manna was hidden inside of it god provides jesus himself when tempted by satan would remind us that man does not live by bread alone don't give in to the temptation that that you need food that you need sex those are good things but god is greater and so we we look forward in history and jesus actually says that manna was to point to me john 6 47 and 48 he says truly truly this is the truth jesus says i say to you whoever believes has eternal life i am the bread of life jesus is the sustainable bread he is our provision that when we hide this manna this bread
in our hearts you have something for eternity you'll wake up every day in heaven and be like what is it it'll be so great it'll be better than you could fathom it would be cheesecake with no calories it would be like a candy store that with no cavities it would just be it'll be so great not only will you get this hidden manna which is found in jesus you get a white stone there's a mystery with this white stone some say it's it's the stone that a white stone a judge would put in a jar when a person was acquitted they were set free they were not guilty most scholars believe it was a white stone that you'd be given to enter into a feast to know that you were special you're vip you'd be given a stone you'd give it to someone at the door and you'd be let into the feast to the
banquet that you get the stone to enter into the banqueting table of our god and on the stone there's going to be a new name now you might like your name now but you don't even know the potential of who you are and god knows you better than you know yourself one day he's going to give you a new name this is so significant i pray that you want jesus more than the things of this world let's pray god i thank you for your word i pray that you would you would show us the church our potential that god if there's something in us that shouldn't be there like the spirit of the nicolaitans the god if we're if we're somehow living or wrong i pray that you would make it right like the spirit of balaam that that came in to deceive the israelites god give us revelation open us up to deception may we may we
turn and trust you so that we can experience the reward of being more than conquerors it's in your name i pray jesus amen amen well my friends i said earlier in the message i would like to give an invitation if you've never received jesus maybe your whole life you've heard about jesus maybe you were uncertain of who jesus is for you i want to give you an opportunity right now that the bible says to all who call on his name you're saved that just simply put that if you would believe in jesus in your heart and confess him with your mouth you will be saved today is your day to receive jesus christ you don't have to wait another day he's the god of grace he gives you an opportunity a second chance to repent i want to give you a chance wherever you are to do just that
i want to pray a short prayer and if you pray that prayer with me you'll be saved forever you won't experience a second death if you've ever wondered what happens when i die if you've ever feared death do not fear in jesus with jesus christ when your heart stops beating you actually start living you don't experience a second death if you want that would you just pray a short prayer with me you do with your eyes closed your eyes open whatever position wherever you are right now just pray this prayer lord jesus forgive me of my sins i want to follow you i receive that gift of eternal life [Music] my friend if you prayed that prayer you just got saved the bible says there are all sorts of descriptions you're born again you're a new person you're a new
creation the old is gone now you have a new life in jesus i would love to know if you made that decision you got to be bold today if you made that decision would you slip up your hand i know this might feel awkward but this is a great thing praise god anyone else make that decision today you could celebrate this is the best decision you've ever made anybody else if you're watching online we want to know that you made that decision and even if you're in person would you let us know we just want you to text one simple word to us life because that's what you get in jesus text us the word life to this number 541-527-7277 we would love to connect with you pray with you we want to make sure that you know you're not alone that's the best decision ever can we celebrate today that someone that gave their life to jesus come on
yes lord [Music] i made that decision at 15 years old and it forever changed my life if you made that decision online please let us know we're going to sing and celebrate what our god has done what he's doing he's not finished with us yet you are the church you're the ecclesia you're the gathering of god's people let's sing to our god
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Reading Revelation Without Fear
Pastor Keith argues that Revelation is often approached as a way to predict current events, which produces confusion and fear. Instead he presents it as an unveiling of Jesus Christ, given so readers might have hope. The seven churches were real first-century congregations, yet their number signals completeness, so the letters speak to the whole church.
Revelation 1 · Revelation 1:20
- Where have you tended to read Revelation primarily as a forecast of current events, and how might reading it as a revelation of Jesus change your posture toward it?
- Pastor Keith describes the church as an assembly of believers rather than a building or organization. How does that description of the assembly reshape the way you hear these letters?
- How does seeing Jesus as the one who walks among the churches shape the way you hear these letters?
When Jesus Knows Your Pain
Smyrna was a wealthy city, yet the church faced suffering, deep poverty, and slander. Pastor Keith emphasizes that Jesus recognizes these hardships while affirming the church’s spiritual wealth. Drawing on 2 Corinthians 8:9, he uses Jesus’ self-giving to challenge material measures of prosperity.
Revelation 2:9 · 2 Corinthians 8:9
- Which of the three things Jesus names, tribulation, poverty, or slander, is hardest for you to believe God actually sees?
- Pastor Keith suggests money is often treated as the solution to inner stress. Where have you noticed that assumption in your own life?
- How does Jesus becoming poor for the sake of others reshape the way you measure riches?
Do Not Fear the Days Ahead
Pastor Keith reads Revelation 2:10–11 as a call for courage and faithfulness amid suffering. He explains the crown as an athlete’s victory award and the second death as final separation from God. He connects the promised protection from that final separation with trust in Jesus and acceptance of his grace.
Revelation 2:10-11 · 1 John 4:18 · Revelation 20
- How does Pastor Keith use 1 John 4:18 to connect receiving God’s love with freedom from fear?
- What does it mean that the crown promised here is described as an athlete's victor's crown rather than a king's crown?
- How does Jesus’ promised protection from final separation from God speak to the fear of death?
Compromise and the Sword of Jesus' Word
Pastor Keith describes Pergamum as a place of spiritual opposition where believers remained loyal to Jesus despite persecution. He reads Revelation 2:12–16 as both recognition of their faithfulness and correction of harmful teaching associated with Balaam and the Nicolaitans. He emphasizes that Jesus’ correction gives the church an opportunity to change.
Revelation 2:12-16 · 1 Peter 5
- Pastor Keith distinguishes outward denial from gradual compromise. What small accommodations are easiest for you to justify?
- Pastor Keith says the church is to influence the culture rather than allow the culture to influence it. How does that contrast challenge the way you relate to the surrounding culture?
- Where might repentance involve not just regret but a concrete change of thinking and direction?
Manna, the White Stone, and a New Name
The letter ends with a threefold promise to the one who conquers: hidden manna, a white stone, and a new name. Pastor Keith connects manna to God's daily provision in the wilderness and to Jesus as the bread of life, and discusses possible backgrounds for the white stone, presenting the banquet reading as the view of most scholars rather than a certainty. He also describes the new name as reflecting God's knowledge of who a person is becoming.
Revelation 2:17 · John 6:47-48
- How does Pastor Keith connect the manna in the wilderness to trusting God's provision and to Jesus as the bread of life?
- Which of the three promises, manna, stone, or name, most stirs your longing, and why?
- Pastor Keith says God knows who you are becoming better than you do. How does that reshape how you view yourself now?
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Why does Pastor Keith say Revelation is not meant to frighten people?+
He argues the book is commonly read as a way to predict current events, which leaves people confused and scared by its imagery. Instead, he says the word revelation means an unveiling, a revealing of Jesus Christ. The purpose is to prepare God's people and give them hope, not to produce fear.
What does it mean that Jesus calls the poor church in Smyrna rich?+
In Revelation 2:9 Pastor Keith says poverty here means possessing nothing, and that the church's lack was material rather than spiritual. Their wealth was Jesus Christ Himself and all that comes with knowing God. He challenges the assumption that money solves our problems, and insists that those who have God have what matters most.
