Revelation Class Notes

May 14, 2026

Revelation: Given to Christ by God the Father to Show His Servants the Things that Must Take Place

Revelation 2-3: Pergamos, Thyatira & Sardis – Church History from Constantine to Reformation

1. The Smyrna Assembly (Revelation 2:8–11).

   1. This assembly faces ten periods of severe persecution (Revelation 2:10).

   2. This was the predominate condition of the Church from AD 170 to 312.

      1. The majority of the Church was killed by persecution.

      2. Persecution also brought strength in doctrinal matters.

      3. Those who are believers will receive the crown of life (Revelation 2:10).

         1. Only the Church receive the victor’s wreaths

         2. The overcomer is the one who believes in Jesus (1 John 5:5).

         3. The victor’s wreaths of the grace believer

            1. Incorruptible Crown – for exercising self-control in all things (1 Corinthians 9:25).

            2. Crown of Life – for enduring a temptation (James 1:12).

            3. Crown of Righteousness – for those who love His appearing (2 Timothy 4:8).

            4. Crown of Boasting – for Preaching the Gospel (1 Thessalonians 2:19).

            5. Crown for the Evangelists (Philippians 4:1)

            6. Crown of Glory—for pastors who serve well (1 Peter 5:4).

         4. The second death will not hurt them (Revelation 2:11).

            1. The second death is for all the unsaved (Revelation 20:14).

            2. The second death has no power over those who are resurrected in the first resurrection (Revelation 20:6).

            3. The second death is total separation from God (Revelation 21:8).

2. The Assembly in Pergamos (Revelation 2:12–17).

   1. The one who speaks to them has a tongue that is sharper than any two edge sword.

      1. The word of God has the ability to divide soul and spirit (Hebrews 4:12).

      2. Christ knows truth from fiction; he knows what the assemblies are doing (Revelation 1:16).

   2. They dwell where the throne of Satan resides (Revelation 2:13).

      1. Satan is the prince of the air and governs the world system (Ephesians 2:2).

      2. Christianity become the state religion.

      3. Constantine set the stage for the state to effectively govern the Church.

      4. The Edict of Milan in 313 AD ended the state-sponsored persecution of the Church.

         1. Through providing the Church with imperial patronage, tax exemptions, and resources to build, he integrated the Church into the Roman political order.

         2. This favorable influence made the Church susceptible to state influence and the lure of political corruption.

         3. The Council of Nicaea in 325 AD display this influence due to Constantine’s involvement in arbitrating ecclesiastical disputes.

      5. The way of Balaam enters the Church.

         1. The merchandizing of saints for political prestige and wealth.

         2. Balaam loved the wages of unrighteousness (2 Peter 2:15).

         3. The way of Balaam is the way of false teachers, cf. 2 Peter 2:1.

         4. The way of Balaam is to greedily seek after money; using the saints as a treasury (Jude 11).

      6. The doctrine of the Nicolaitans further impacted the Church (Revelation 2:15).

   3. Due to their failure to repent, the sword was brought against them (Revelation 2:16).

      1. The Byzantine–Sasanian War (602–628 AD).

         1. This was a prolonged conflict between the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire—predominantly Christian—and the Zoroastrian Sasanian (Persian) Empire.

         2. It devastated Christian populations, churches, and holy sites in the Levant, Anatolia, Mesopotamia, and beyond.

         3. It was one of the most destructive wars of late antiquity.

         4. This war, although not directly aimed at the Church, exhausted both empires, making them vulnerable to the rapid Islamic conquests starting in the 630s.

      2. The Overcomer (Revelation 2:17).

         1. The overcomer is the one who has Christ (1 John 4:4).

         2. They will be sustained in Heaven while waiting for the resurrection—hidden manna (2 Corinthians 12:4—knowledge for the saint that resides in Heaven).

         3. Each saint has a specific name given by Jesus—a white stone will be given with the name that no one else knows.

         4. The white stone is a small, worn smooth, pebble.

            1. These types of stones were used for casting votes (Acts 26:10).

            2. This stone carries a judicial weight—the stone is the token of vindication of the grace believer.

      3. This was the predominate condition of the Church from AD 312–606.

         1. In AD 313, Constantine legalizes Christianity.

         2. In 380 AD, Christianity becomes of official religion of the Roman empire.

         3. In 590 AD Pope Gregory I consolidates papal and political powers, creating the Papal States.

3. The Thyatira Assembly (Revelation 2:18–29).

   1. The One who has eyes like fire and feet like fine brass.

      1. Judgment and refinement

      2. Those of the Church are child-trained when they are judged (1 Corinthians 11:32).

   2. Catholicism becomes the predominate methodology in the Church

      1. The good works of the assembly increased (Revelation 2:19).

      2. Prestigious Educational Institutes.

         1. The university system as it exists today is a direct descendant of the Church.

         2. The development of Western science of law owes a debt to Canon Law.

      3. Hospitals and Orphanages.

         1. Monasteries and religious orders served as the primary, and often sole, providers of healthcare, hospices, and care for orphans and the poor for centuries.

         2. The concept of systematic, institutionalized charity and hospitals originated from the monastic model.

      4. Scientific philosophy and methodology has its beginnings in the Church.

   3. The rise of the harlot Jezebel (Revelation 2:20).

      1. The Church begins to mix with pagan religions

         1. Christmas—winter solstice. Adaptation of the yule tree.

         2. Easter—Adaptation of the Germanic goddess of spring.

      2. Spiritual fornication is rapid in this assembly.

         1. The worship of Mary.

         2. The worship of saints.

      3. Time was given to change the mind (Revelation 2:21).

      4. Her and her daughters will be cast into the great tribulation (Revelation 2:22–23).

         1. The Eastern Orthodox Church—rejects the absolute authority of the Pope, the Immaculate Conception of Mary (as defined by Rome), and Purgatory.

         2. Lutheranism—Emerging from the work of Martin Luther. It retains much of the traditional liturgy while reforming the theology of justification.

         3. Anglicanism—maintains an episcopal structure inherited from the Catholic Church but incorporates Reformational theology.

         4. Reformed (Calvinist) Traditions—Presbyterians and the Dutch Reformed, pushed for a more radical restructuring of church government and a focus on the sovereignty of God, often departing significantly from the sacramental life of the Catholic tradition.

      5. The art of Exorcism is developed–knowing the deep things of Satan (Revelation 2:24).

   4. To those who have not followed the harlot, no other burden will be put on them (Revelation 2:24).

      1. They reject the idolatry from the harlot Jezebel.

      2. They reject knowing the deep things of Satan.

         1. Christians cannot be possessed by demons (1 John 5:18).

         2. Christians are not given authority to rebuke demons (Ephesians 6:13; James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:9).

   5. The Overcomer will be given authority over the nations (Revelation 2:26–27).

      1. The Church will judge in the Millennial Kingdom.

      2. The overcomer will be given the morning star.

         1. A part in the first resurrection: they are included with Christ the firstfruits of those out from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:23).

         2. Jesus is the morning star (Revelation 22:16).

         3. The morning star rising in the heart (2 Peter 1:19).

      3. The one who overcomes is the one who believes the gospel for salvation (1 Corinthians 15:1–4; 1 John 5:4).

   6. This was the predominate condition of the Church from AD 606–1520.

4. The Sardis Assembly (Revelation 3:1–6)

   1. Reformed Theology (Calvinism) becomes the predominate teaching of the Church (Revelation 3:1).

      1. They are dead; many are unbelievers—do not teach the gospel for salvation (1 Corinthians 15:3–4).

      2. They have a name that is alive (some are saved).

   2. They are to strengthen the things about to die—proper doctrine.

      1. Their works have not been found to be mature.

      2. They rejected the teaching of the harlot brought in by Catholicism.

      3. Reformed Theology rejects the doctrine received from the Apostles.

         1. Reformed Theology presents a concept of Pre-election that is not compatible with Scripture (God has already chosen those who will be saved).

         2. Reformed Theology understands the Bible through the framework of Covenant Theology.

            1. Covenant of Works (with Adam): perfect obedience for life.

            2. Covenant of Grace (with Christ): salvation by grace through faith for all believers across history.

   3. The Overcomer

      1. Will be clothed with white garments (Revelation 3:5).

         1. Represents a person who is righteous (Revelation 19:14).

         2. A whiteness that is beyond human ability (Mark 9:3).

      2. His name will not be blotted out from the book of life (Revelation 3:5).

         1. The book of life contains all the names of the saved in all generations.

         2. Once your name is in the book, it will not be blotted out.

         3. Those names not written in the book of life will be cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:15).

   4. This was the predominate teaching of the Church from 1520 to 1730 AD.

      1. The Reformation period (1520–1521 AD).

      2. The Council of Trent (1545–1563).

         1. Roman Catholic Church codified its doctrine in response to the Protestant Reformation.

         2. Trent rejected Sola Scriptura, asserting that the Bible and the unwritten traditions of the Church possess equal authority.

         3. It condemned the doctrine of faith alone for salvation.

         4. It established the sacramental life of the Church to create a barrier against protestant views—Transubstantiation, Mass. etc.

      3. The Rise of Protestant Scholasticism and Pietism (Mid 1600s to early 1700s).

         1. To guard against Catholicism, Protestantism became rigid and heavily ideological, prioritizing precise, propositional orthodoxies (Scholasticism).

         2. The Scholastic method forces theologians to deal with contradictions in Scripture.

         3. This era of Protestant Scholasticism resulted in the dense, systematic Confessions, such as the Westminster Confession of Faith. Their intent was to define theology with an unprecedented level of logical precision (1647 AD).

         4. Pietism prioritized the heart of religion over the rigid, intellectual, and institutionalized focus of the post-Reformed Church.

            1. The Lutheran Priest were the founders of Pietism.

            2. Church of the Brethren—founded in 1708 in Germany. Heavy focus on baptism and strict obedience to the law of Christ. Migrated to Pennsylvania.

            3. Reformed priest such as the Puritans.

            4. Rise to Wesleyanism—Methodist used the fundamental Pietist tenants, small groups, emphasis on new birth, and active social engagement.

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