E/pistle

John's attention is drawn to the scroll in God's hand as his vision continues to play out.

John provides more insight on the throne room he sees in his vision, introducing his readers to four living beings who declare the holiness of God.

John's vision continues as he enters the throne room of heaven.

There is no such thing as "the perfect church." In spite of sin and brokenness, Jesus invites His people to be among those who overcome oppression, persecution, challenges, false teachers, and difficulties.

With not much to speak of regarding the strengths of the Church, Jesus warns them of their growing spiritual apathy while inviting them to return to fellowship with Him.

As Jesus warns the Church of an incoming trial for those who live in the world, He assures them of His protection.

Jesus greets the Church in Philadelphia by echoing much of what He said to the Church in Smyrna.

In spite of a rather dismal letter, Jesus encourages the Church in Sardis to repent, return to Him, and to hold fast to the Gospel.

As this church grapples with an unidentified Jezebel of a prophetess, Jesus commends them for their faith, love, endurance, and service.

The Church in Pergamum is encouraged by their holding fast to Christ in the midst of persecution, but is reprimanded because of their lack of discernment regarding the Nicolaitans.

In light of upcoming persecution and hardships, Jesus encourages the Church that He sees, knows them, and for them to remain faithful.

Jesus encourages the Ephesians in their discernment, but warns against their loss of love.

Time to catch our breath and recap Revelation 1 before we get into the letters to the seven Churches.

As John recovers from his initial shock, Jesus restates the work of recording the revelation he's about to receive.

John receives instruction to write down this book while he's worshiping in exile.

While the message originates from Jesus, John takes the chance to greet his readers and extend to them a reminder of the Gospel.

Breaking from tradition, John introduces not himself, but Jesus Christ.

Before getting into the Biblical text, this episode takes a look at some general questions people have as they approach this book.

In today's episode, we review the symbols and teaching/writing styles John uses in Revelation.

The Greek word "Apokalupsis" serves as the root for the English word "Apocalypse." Contrary to pop culture references, "Apocalypse" has nothing to do with destruction and chaos and has everything to do with how it translates to English: "Revelation."

Welcome (at long last!) to Season 24! We take a look at the who, when, and why behind John's letter of Revelation, as well as cover some broad themes. If you'd like a copy of the commentary from Robert H. Mounce, ⁠you can find it here.

As we wrap up Season 23, it's time to debrief and recap what we've been learning about during our study through Jude.

Jude's last instruction for strengthening the Church is for its members to show mercy to all people.

Jude finally starts to encourage his readers to pursue disciplines that will help them focus on ministering to each other in the Gospel.

Jude instructs caution and discernment regarding false teachers, calling upon a line from the Book of Enoch to help make his point. Want to tumble down the rabbit hole on why the Book of Enoch isn't in the Bible? Start by giving this fairly brief summary a read.