Amen

Revelation 3:14
“These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God”

What a beautiful and insightful way Jesus describes Himself to the church. He tells us three things about Himself.

First, He is the Amen. In the first chapter, He refers to Himself as Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. It is valuable to consider Jesus to be the end of the matter. When we are wrestling through things and trying to decide what the right path is, we should always acquiesce to the ways of God.

Second, He is the true witness. Many things speak to the nature of God. Nature reveals much of what God is like, while circumstances always seem to cloud our understanding of Him. If we want a clear vision of who God is, we should look carefully at Christ. He declared that to see Him was to see the Father (John 14:8).

Finally, He is the beginning of the creation. Now, that does not mean that He was the first of all things created, but that He is the cause of all creation. John tells us that all things were created by Him and nothing that was made was made apart from Him (John 1:3). The great force behind all His creation was His Word. We are told time and again that, “God said… And there was…” what great power is contained in the Word of God. The more you are in the pages of it, the more you will experience it in your daily life.

Pastor Jim

Questions for Revelation 3

Chapters 2 and 3 contain seven different letters or messages from Jesus to seven churches. Each of these churches have different strengths and weaknesses, and Jesus addresses them.
Remember that there is a pattern that each of these letters follow, with a couple of exceptions:
• Jesus reveals some aspect of His character, hinted at by the name He calls Himself.
• Jesus praises the church for the things they are doing well (one exception).
• Jesus calls the church to repent for the things they are doing wrong (one exception).
• They are exhorted to listen to the message.

What three churches are addressed in this chapter? (verses 1, 7, 14)
Note how in verse 1 the Sardis church is told that it has a name that it is alive but it is dead. Read Matthew 15:7-9. How can we avoid being a dead church and a dead life? Look at verses 2-3 for five things we can do when our walk with God is “dead”.
Verse 4 tells us that even in a dead church, there are some people in the church that are right with God. God sees the heart and knows who those people are. Read Matt 13:24-30, 36-43. Remember that it is not our place to pass final judgment on others, but rather we must judge ourselves and respond faithfully to Jesus.
The word “Philadelphia” means brotherly love. The church of Philadelphia is the one church that is not corrected for something that they are doing wrong. Does this mean that they are perfect? Read 1Peter 4:8.
What are the 3 things that the church of Philadelphia is praised for in verse 8?
The Laodiceans are referred to as lukewarm, and Jesus describes this as something that makes Him nauseous. Examining your own life, are you passionate about the things of God or blasé’?
Note verse 17. Although they were financially wealthy, how did Jesus view their souls?
None of us likes to be told we are wrong. However look at verse 19-20. Why does Jesus correct us? Do you respond to the correction the Lord gives?

Old Testament:
Ezekiel 17- I’ll Take The Low Place
Ezekiel 18- The Blame Game