This continues Jesus' encouragement to the "overcomers"—those who endure and withstand persecution and hardship— in the church at Thyatira. Jesus promises to give them the morning star. The faithful in the church were surrounded by moral and spiritual darkness, but the time would come when they would experience the glorious rays of Christ, the morning star.

The reference points us to the rapture, the event that transports Christians from earth to the presence of Jesus (1 Thessalonians 4:13–17). At that time Christians will be free from trials and persecution. Our bodies will be like the body of our risen Lord (Philippians 3:20–21). They will be incapable of dying (1 Corinthians 15:50–57). Aches and pains will all be in the past, and spiritually we will be like Jesus, entirely free of sin (1 John 3:2).

At the end of the Old Testament, we learn that Israel's hope of the coming of Messiah to establish His kingdom is buoyed by the promise that the sun of righteousness shall rise (Malachi 4:2). At His second coming—His coming to earth—Jesus will appear in glory as the sun of righteousness, but before that event takes place, He will come in the air for all Christians. That is the Christian's blessed hope. This order of events is noteworthy. Before the sun appears, the morning star appears. So Jesus will appear first for Christians, in the rapture, and after a seven-year period of tribulation, He will come and establish His earthly kingdom to fulfill Israel's hope.

Revelation 2:18–29 reveals what Jesus instructed John to write to the church at Thyatira. Although the church exhibited commendable virtues, it allowed an evil woman—here referred to as Jezebel—to lead its members into immorality and idolatry. Jesus predicted strict punishment for her and her followers. The churches would know by Jesus' action that He searches the mind and heart and deals with everyone according to his or her works. Those who did not follow Jezebel's teachings would not be punished, but Jesus encouraged them to stay loyal to Him until His return, when He will rule the nations and permit the faithful to rule with Him.

The contents of Revelation 2 are miniature letters to four churches, dictated by Jesus to John. Ephesus and Smyrna were coastal cities, whereas Pergamum and Thyatira were inland cities. Three more such letters are in Revelation 3. Each of these messages contains a unique description of Jesus, a command, a promise. All but one—the church in Laodicea—receive some commendation. All but two of the seven letters—those to the churches in Smyrna and Philadelphia—also contain a critical rebuke. Like churches today, most of the congregations addressed by Jesus had both good characteristics and at least one point which needed correction.

In chapter 1, John introduced his order from Jesus Christ: to write out a message to seven churches in Asia (Revelation 1:9–11). Here in this chapter, John writes to the church in Ephesus, the church in Smyrna, the church in Pergamum, and the church in Thyatira. Chapter 3 will continue with messages to the other three churches. The rest of Revelation will explain future events connected to the ''end times.''

The word ''revelation'' means ''an unveiling or disclosure.'' This writing unveils future events such as the rapture, three series of judgments that will fall on the earth during the tribulation, the emergence of the Antichrist, the persecution of Israel and her amazing revival, as well as Jesus' second coming with His saints to the earth, the judgment of Satan and his followers, and finally, the eternal state. This content, combined with the original Greek term apokalypsis, is why we now refer to an end-of-the-world scenario as ''an apocalypse.''

Accessed 11/21/2024 4:30:59 PM

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