the seven churches in Revelation
Praising God as Holy Today’s passage: Revelation 4:1–8 Focus verse: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty.” (Revelation 4:8) Having considered Jesus’s seven letters to the seven churches, we move forward into the third and longest part of the book of Revelation. Jesus, with a voice booming like a trumpet, explains what’s about to […]
The Church in Laodicea: Lukewarm for Jesus Today’s passage: Revelation 3:14–22 Focus verse: “So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” (Revelation 3:16) We don’t know that Paul ever traveled to Laodicea during his missionary journeys, but he mentions their church in his letter to the […]
The Church in Philadelphia: Weak but Worthy Today’s passage: Revelation 3:7–13 Focus verse: “I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.” (Revelation 3:8) The church in Philadelphia is another church that only appears in Revelation. In Jesus’s letter to them, he offers encouragement for […]
The Church in Sardis: A Dead Church Today’s passage: Revelation 3:1–6 Focus verse: “I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.” (Revelation 3:1) As with the churches in Smyrna and Pergamum, Scripture provides no additional information about the church in Sardis other than what occurs in the book […]
The Church in Thyatira: Sexual Immorality Today’s passage: Revelation 2:18–29 Focus verse: “By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols.” (Revelation 2:20) We hear of the city of Thyatira once in the book of Acts. It’s the home of Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth, […]
The Church in Pergamum: Repent Today’s passage: Revelation 2:12–17 Focus verse: “Nevertheless, I have a few things against you.” (Revelation 2:14) As with the church in Smyrna, the Bible tells us nothing more about the church in Pergamum. But like the church in Ephesus, Jesus’s message to them offers both affirmation and correction. Despite living […]
The Church in Smyrna: Fearless Suffering Today’s passage: Revelation 2:8–11 Focus verse: “Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer.” (Revelation 2:10) Unlike the church in Ephesus, the Bible gives us no other information about the church in Smyrna outside of two references in Revelation. And, unlike the church in Ephesus and […]
The Church in Ephesus: Their First Love Today’s passage: Revelation 2:1–7 Focus verse: “You have forsaken the love you had at first.” (Revelation 2:4) Of the seven churches, we know most about the church in Ephesus because of the letter Paul wrote to them (the book of Ephesians). In this epistle Paul teaches them about three […]
Do Not Be Afraid Today’s passage: Revelation 1:9–20 Focus verse: When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid.” (Revelation 1:17) The apostle John, exiled on the island of Patmos for telling others about Jesus, connects with God on a […]
The Alpha and the Omega Today’s passage: Revelation 1:4–8 Focus verse: “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:8) Having worked our way through John’s short prologue to his book, we move forward with excitement about what we’ll encounter next. […]