• Scripture can be twisted by those seeking clarity on their own terms or through ignorance. We need humility and discipline to read God’s Word well.

• Revelation is primarily about the person of Jesus Christ and what God is doing in the world. We also get glimpses of things to come.

• Jesus is the Ruler of Kings. While it may look like earthly powers are in charge, we serve a King who is fully sovereign.

• We can trust Jesus through suffering because he suffered for us.

• Real power is subversive. Jesus expressed his power by being killed in a position of weakness. He defeated death with death.

• While Jesus holds all power in the universe and beyond, he looks on our weakness with compassion, moves towards us with comfort, and gives us purpose.

2 Peter 3:16

Exodus 3

1 Peter 2:17

Revelation 19

• John paints a picture of Jesus’ supreme power as well as his proximity to his people. Because he is both powerful and attuned, we need not fear.

• Jesus knows everything we think and do. This should bring us both comfort and conviction.

• The believers at Ephesus are encouraged for their hard work, discernment, and perseverance. Yet they are rebuked for losing their first love.

• If we resist the Spirit or become distracted, we can become spiritually deaf.

• God will reward our hard work and suffering. His plan is to draw us to himself and give us life.

Revelation 1:20

Genesis 3:8

1 Timothy 4:16

Matthew 4:4

• For the believer, death is not the worst thing. The reality that Jesus has conquered death frees us to be faithful in all circumstances.

• Fear doesn’t get to make our decisions. Our biggest problem is sin, and that’s been solved by Jesus.

• Even when it looks like we are losing, if we remain faithful to God, we will be victorious.

• The church is called to reflect God, live richly for him, and work diligently to move sin out from among us.

• Those who remain faithful and committed to the end receive the reward of being with Jesus for all eternity.

John 19:11

John 18:10–11

Matthew 18

1 Corinthians 5

John 6

• God sees what we’re really doing. This is both a challenge and a comfort to us.

• Satan’s goal is to incite infidelity by the threat of suffering and the thrill of seduction.

• The believers at Thyatira were living private lives of obedience but not taking a stand against someone leading God’s people astray.

• Sin may not seem destructive in the short term, and God is patient, but there will be a final reckoning. God will true things up.

• We cannot say we follow Jesus and also live in the world on our own terms.

• Our job is not to conquer all evil in the world. Our job is to hold fast and be faithful to the end.

Daniel 7:13–14

Revelation 1:13

Galatians 6

2 Peter 3:9

• The church at Sardis appears alive, but they are hollow inside. Jesus calls them to obedience—to submit to his kingship in every area of their lives.

• Our spiritual lives are dynamic, and we are prone to wander. This is why it’s important to be in active and honest community under the spiritual authority of the local church.

• It can be difficult to explain pain in this world, but we serve a hidden kingdom which will one day be revealed.

• Those who suffer for Christ and own his cause faithfully will be rewarded. They will receive a crown, be pillars in the Temple, have citizenship in God’s city, and bear Jesus’ name.

Matthew 23:27

James 1:14

Matthew 10:32–33

1 Corinthians 15:19

John 17:15

Jeremiah 17:9

• Jesus identifies himself as the Amen, the Witness, and the Sovereign Source. These names place him in a unique category.

• The Laodiceans redefine the win according to Roman standards. Because they aren’t suffering, they think their souls are in order.

• It’s difficult to know the truth about yourself when you seem to be winning. We must learn to view ourselves as God sees us.

• Our sinful condition is not our biggest problem. Our unwillingness to see ourselves truly and come to Jesus is the primary issue.

• It is true that Jesus’ blood covers our sins; it is also true that we will give an account of our lives to him.

Isaiah 65:16

Psalm 139

Hebrews 4:12–13 (ESV)

Matthew 5:20

Matthew 19:16–30

Isaiah 55:1–2

Romans 8:17–18

1 Corinthians 3:15

• The scene of God on his throne in chapter four paints a picture of his glory, power, and sovereignty. All in his presence respond in worship.

• Many of us want God as our Savior but not as our King. However, we cannot separate his salvation from his kingship.

• God’s plan for the world includes judgment. And while we may think of judgment as bad, for those who are in Christ, it’s a good thing.

• Jesus is worthy of our worship because he was slain for us. He still bears the marks of his sacrifice, which shows his connection to our redemption.

Exodus 25

John 14:9

Ephesians 1:9–11

Romans 12:19

Romans 12:1–2

Matthew 13:44–46

• There is only one who is worthy to break the seals of God’s judgment and bring all sin, injustice, and corruption to an end: Jesus, the Lamb who was slain.

• We often think of ascending to Heaven at the end of our earthly lives, but one message of Revelation is that a better world is coming to us—Heaven will invade Earth when Jesus returns.

• God’s wrath flows out of his holiness; it is not out of character for him to bring wrath on unrighteousness. He did this on the cross, where Jesus absorbed the punishment for our sins.

• We are either on Earth protected by God from his judgment, or we are with him before the throne and safe forever.

• C.S. Lewis said, “All get what they want; they do not always like it.” People are either captivated or repulsed by the gospel—a message of kindness and of judgment. In Revelation we see the outcome of both responses.

Matthew 23:36–38

Exodus 8:21–23; 9:2–6, 23–26; 10:22–23; 12:26–27

Matthew 12:38–39

• The solution for us is not to have more information. We were not created to know everything, and it’s a mercy that God withholds some things from us.

• Throughout history and in the future, the kingdoms of this world oppose the people of God.

• While many believers are oppressed for their faith, the primary struggle in our cultural context is being seduced by the world.

• The Good News of the gospel becomes judgment to those who reject it.

• We can expect to be treated like Jesus was, but we can also expect the same victory he experienced.

• The suffering of believers will produce a great harvest that brings more salvation into the world than any could imagine.

John 5:39

Ezekiel 3

Deuteronomy 19:15

John 5

Zechariah 4

Revelation 1:12

John 3

Hebrews 10:28–29

Luke 6:26

1 Kings 18

Romans 11

• John is more concerned with the theme of his message than following a linear timeline. This should shape the way we read the text.

• Satan is the great deceiver, but he himself is deceived. If he had known the potency of Jesus’ death, he would not have sought to destroy him (1 Corinthians 2:8).

• In the midst of spiritual warfare, we cannot be neutral. We must remain responsible, vigilant, and dependent on God.

• God’s people have been bought by the blood of the Lamb, and it’s evident in their lives. For believers, death is not the worst thing.

John 2

Genesis 37

John 12:31

Matthew 2

1 Peter 5:8

2 Timothy 3:13

Romans 8:33–34

• Satan invites us to leverage our own agency to gain power, yet Jesus wins all the kingdoms of the earth through sacrificing his life blood.

• While it is true God has destined some of us to suffer and even die for him, we can trust him because he suffered and died for us.

• God took the greatest criminal act of all time and turned into the greatest good.

• Earth-dwellers are those rooted in this world—its comfort, benefits, and power.

• If we fixate on events and figures in the past or future, we won’t recognize the ways the world is seducing us now.

• There will be a time of ultimate judgment, but this is a gift from God. It frees us and invites us to trust in his ability to make things right.

Job 38–41

Daniel 7

Revelation 12:18

Mark 1:12–13

Luke 4:5–8

Genesis 3

Genesis 11:1–9

Acts 2:23

Romans 8:28

Deuteronomy 6:8

• Those who will worship God as he prepares to judge the world are the victorious saints, having suffered loss in this world and remained faithful to Jesus. When your life is shaken, how does your response reflect that of a victor—one who perseveres for Christ?

• When God judges the world, those who have put their hope in things of this world will mourn their loss. What worldly things, good or bad, are you clinging to that you need to release to God?

• The boundaries of God’s Tabernacle are not set to protect God from man, but to protect sinful man from God’s holiness.

• There is no salvation without judgment, so the most natural response to salvation is worship.

• Babylon is the Evil Empire of this world—all power opposed to God that brings injustice and oppression.

• When God “remembers” Babylon’s sin, it isn’t that he has forgotten; he is addressing all the sin and evil that has gone unchecked.

• Our standards for justice are too low; anything less than Eden must be dealt with. God will completely eradicate all evil and suffering in the world.

• We do not exist in a neutral space. The world is an animated force trying to entice us with comfort and pleasure away from God and toward destruction.

Revelation 2–3

Exodus 26–28

Leviticus 16:4

John 19:30

1 Peter 5:13

Revelation 19

2 Peter 3:3–9

• Incomprehensible joy and despair attend the coming of King Jesus.

• We all desire a judge, and our only hope is a Judge who has already bled for us.

• At this consummate event of the Wedding Feast, our experience is determined by our allegiance or opposition to Jesus.

• The last battle is no contest, which means we should not be afraid of the powers of this world.

• The perfection of love requires the perfection of justice. Divine wrath is an act of love.

John 1

Romans 9

Genesis 22

Malachi 4:1–3

Ephesians 4:26 (ESV)

Hebrews 10:26–31

2 Corinthians 5:10–11

John 19

• After Jesus returns, Satan will be restrained for a period of time, and those who were martyred will reign on earth. Jesus’ words about reversal will come to fruition.

• When Satan is released, he will deceive and rally people from all nations. However, God will handle all this evil in a moment, and it will be final.

• Judgment is embedded deep in our souls—we know our actions matter. Our good deeds tether us to Jesus as a badge of redemption.

• Those who follow Jesus have their names recorded in the Book of Life, which means we are judged by Jesus’ work rather than our own.

• The final judgment of those who reject Jesus is sad, and dark, and final. We cannot understand it all, but we do have the hope of the gospel.

1 Peter 5:8

Romans 11

Luke 13:30

Ezekiel 37–38

Isaiah 14:14

Luke 10:20

Philippians 4:3

Colossians 2:13–14

• In order to establish the new heaven and new earth, the old earth must disappear, which means God will refine the world we know with fire to purify and make it new.

• Heaven is not a faraway place we go to; it is a place that comes down to us, a reversal of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11. It is not a means of evacuation but of restoration.

• The new world will have continuity with the old one—the unhindered reality of everything we know, love, and experience.

• The new world will be a consummation of God’s promise to dwell with his people. Heaven is a perfect place because of God’s presence.

• This world is defined by death, but the new world will be defined by life.

2 Peter 3:11–13

2 Corinthians 5:2

Genesis 11

Psalm 63

• Scripture is clear that God blesses obedience, not intention. Our deeds are like a breadcrumb back to our hearts.

• Jesus promises to return soon. While we may not understand his timeline, we can be confident that he is being patient.

• The faithful who are killed in the tribulation receive a special reward. Losing here on earth often comes alongside faithfulness.

• When Jesus exposes your need for him, you have to decide whether or not you agree with him.

• We should not stand in judgment of God’s Word. Rather, we must let his Word evaluate us.

Romans 6:23

2 Peter 3:8–9

Revelation 7:14

Matthew 25:32–36

Revelation 4

John 4