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The Book of Revelation - Part 6

15 Mar 2026 · this lesson on the church site

Taught by Dr. Keith Palmer, Grace Bible Church, Granbury, Texas — from the church’s Sunday School series on Revelation. These are lightly edited transcripts of the audio, posted for personal study; the teaching and its content belong to Dr. Palmer and Grace Bible Church. Listen to the originals and find his notes on the church website. Transcribed from the audio by AI. Edited only where the audio was unclear (all edits marked with *). Errors are possible — the recording is the authority.

Jesus' Teaching on the Future (00:00)

Well, before you find your way back to Revelation, turn with me to Matthew 24.* As you're turning there in Matthew 24, several of you have asked if I'm going to address the current war and conflict in the Middle East. I want to speak to that briefly on our way to Revelation today.

We know that since Jesus was here on this planet, his short but significant ministry culminated in his substitutionary death, his glorious resurrection, his appearing to many, his commissioning of his people, and then his ascension back to heaven. He was not silent about what the future would hold. I'm assuming part of why you're here wanting to study the book of Revelation is that you're curious about that as well.

We know there are different views on the book of Revelation and different views on the end times. But what we all agree on is that the Bible addresses these things, and Jesus did not leave us uneducated about what happens between the establishment of the church and Jesus' second coming. You'll recall that in Matthew 24, as Jesus was with his disciples and the issue of his return comes up, the disciples ask the question in Matthew 24:3: "Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"

If you look at Matthew 24 and its parallels in the other Synoptic Gospels, they take two parallel tracks. In my understanding, one talks about the future, and the other talks about things that are going to happen in the present day. One of the things Jesus says right out of the gate in Matthew 24:6-8* is, "See that you are not frightened, for these things must take place, but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. Various places there will be famines and earthquakes, but all these things are merely the beginnings of birth pangs."

Of course, one of the things that was going to happen in the first century, just a few decades after Jesus spoke these words, is that Jerusalem fell. Not too many years later, a few centuries, the Roman Empire fell. Since then you've had civilizations that come and civilizations that go. I was just thinking that in my lifetime, the map of the former Soviet Union has had to be redrawn many times. Things change and are volatile there, and the map you memorized in third grade, like I did, is different from what the world looks like today. We see quite clearly that this is what Jesus was speaking about.

Wars and Persecution (02:02)

The wars and rumors of wars are part of it. The other consistent thing that Jesus and the New Testament writers talk about is the escalation of the persecution of Christians. Persecution started right there in the first century. As Jesus rose from the dead and went back to heaven, Christians were immediately persecuted, first by the Jews in Jerusalem. Then they scattered, and the persecution continued from the Jews and also from the Greco-Roman world, the Roman Empire. We can chronicle Christians being persecuted throughout history.

So there are two parallel tracks:

  1. The world continues to struggle, particularly as it relates to wars, famines, and things of that nature.
  2. Christians continue to be persecuted.

I want to talk briefly about this because it ties into the letter Jesus gives in Revelation to the church at Smyrna. As we're going to see, Smyrna is being persecuted when Jesus writes this letter through the pen of the Apostle John in Revelation 2. That goes back to the first century, but we're seeing some of the same things today.

Persecution of Christians in Iran (04:19)

Let me talk very briefly about what's going on in the Middle East. I'm not here to get into geopolitical arguments, gas prices, or things like that. Those are important things, but what I want to address is the persecution of Christians, specifically in Iran.

Christians are persecuted around the world, and there are certainly countries where they are persecuted more severely than in others. I'm not necessarily holding up Iran as the worst example, but as a relevant one. About a year ago, in April of last year, the International Christian Concern organization published a report on persecution in Iran after some documents were leaked from the Iranian government describing things happening there.

I'm going to read some highlights from that report. Quoting the report: "Iran's relentless persecution of Christians has surged in intensity and brutality over the last year, with the evangelical Christian community singled out for violent arrests and interrogations, lengthy prison terms that have increased sixfold, and brutal mistreatment and detention that has torn apart families and devastated lives."

This is a quote from one of the directors of the organization: "The Christian community in Iran is facing a crisis. The Iranian authorities are abducting growing numbers of Christians and throwing absurd national security charges at them in order to imprison them for years for doing nothing other than peacefully practicing their faith. The Islamic Republic is terrified of its growing Christian convert community and is trying to crush it in the way it crushes all perceived threats: through sham prosecutions and kangaroo courts, violent brutality, and years locked behind bars."

That is what's going on. If you have connections in the Middle East, missionaries and others, you may know that in Iran there are two groups of Christians:

  1. The recognized group: people living in Iran who have Christian backgrounds, such as the historically Christian Armenian population and people from other countries who have settled there.
  2. The unrecognized group: converts from Islam to Christianity. These are Muslim-born Iranians who leave Islam to become believers, and they are receiving the most significant persecution, as you can imagine.

To give you some idea of what's happening there:

The report that was leaked last year noted that Iran's government executed more than 900 people in 2024. Most of those were on religious-based charges, specifically targeting Christians. A UK-based nonprofit's article on the leaked material reported 96 Christians taken to court, with a combined sentencing of 263 years of prison in 2024 alone. What made the headlines was a significant increase in arrests and prosecutions of Christians in recent days.

To personalize this, one article I read describes an Iranian Muslim who converted to Christianity, named Kamyar. He was a husband and father of two, and he pastored seven underground house churches in Iran. Seven. Late one night, at 11 p.m., his home was raided by Iranian intelligence agents. His charge was "Zionist evangelical Christianity." He was accused of undermining national security, a common label used to criminalize those who share the gospel. He was immediately taken and placed in solitary confinement for 37 days. When he was finally released, he said, "I didn't know how to relate to people anymore," which is one of the torture techniques used there.

After his confinement, he was subjected to 30 terrifying interrogations, each lasting a minimum of four hours. The final outcome of the 600-page accusation was devastating. He had to return to prison to await execution. Through the efforts of lawyers, his sentence was reduced to 15 years in prison. His family was then able to secure temporary bail, and he was able to flee through the mountains into Turkey, where he now lives in hiding, seeking asylum.

That brings us to our study today, because many of the Christians persecuted in Iran flee to Turkey. The challenge is that Turkey is also a Muslim country, though different from Iran. Turkey controls what happens to many of these Iranian refugees, and they are often mistreated there. The article goes on to say that the persecution doesn't stop when they make it to Turkey. It can continue as Turkey and Iran conspire together in the prosecution of these people.

I say that because these are the types of people we need to be praying for, in addition to our missionaries and those being faithful there. This is just a snapshot. I encourage you to search for some of what I've mentioned, read up on it, and make sure you're praying and talking about it with your family. In the midst of the politics, the battles, the bombings, the wars, and the oil prices, we forget that this is really what it's all about. It's about the gospel. It's about people being converted. It's about persecution. These are the things Jesus and the New Testament authors told us would continue until he returns.

Smyrna and Revelation 2:8 (11:59)

So what does that have to do with Revelation? If you want to turn in your Bible with me now to the book of Revelation, where is Smyrna located? Ancient Smyrna is right there in Turkey. So it sits right in the middle of where some of these Iranian Christians are fleeing, in the area we're talking about in Scripture.

That brings us to the letter to the church at Smyrna in Revelation 2:8. If you're new, welcome to Sunday School. We're doing a verse-by-verse study through the book of Revelation. To get you oriented: there's an introduction, then two chapters containing seven letters to seven historical churches from the first century. We're in the middle of that section now. Then there's a very long section, starting in Revelation 4:1, that deals with what Jesus calls "the things that take place after." We'll look at some of those things as we move along. As things unfold, we get the scrolls with the seven seals and the seven trumpets.

The Letter to Smyrna (13:00)

And all these things are going to happen, the seven bowl judgments. Things just get more interesting, more exciting, and stranger as we move along. By way of review, the seven historic churches we're thinking about are mostly on the west coast, the central west coast of what was called Asia Minor in the first century. We call this Turkey today, so we're right there in the midst of the Middle East. We talked about Ephesus last time, right on the coast. The other city that's right on the coast, and we'll talk about the harbor here in a minute, is Smyrna. So let's talk about Smyrna. Let me read the text, and then I'll introduce you to the city and where we're going to look today.

Look with me at Revelation 2:8. "And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: The first and the last, who was dead and who has come to life, says this: I know your tribulation and your poverty, but you are rich. And I know the blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for 10 days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches, and he who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death."

The City of Smyrna (15:16)

Smyrna is on the coast there. It was an ancient city located on a gulf of the Aegean Sea. You'll see it here in a minute, and I'll show you some pictures. What's challenging is that the modern city is built right on top of it and has existed there for quite some time. So excavations have been pretty limited because there's a modern city on top of the ancient one.

What has been excavated includes all sorts of things, and I'll show you some pictures. Among them:

So this is probably what the ancient city looked like in terms of layout. If you want more, I hope you'll look it up. Some of this you can find online, and there's lots of interesting background, pictures, and diagrams. Not as much has been excavated because of the modern city, but it gives you an idea. You can see some of the ancient walls underneath the modern city, and some of the pillars in the background. If you've been to Turkey and seen ruins, they all look very similar because of the architecture there.

We need to do a Letters to the Seven Churches Grace Bible Church tour, don't we? Wait till things calm down over there, and then we'll do that sometime. I asked you last week how many have been to Turkey. Brian's been there. Brian, we nominate you to be our tour guide, brother.

The Angel of the Church (18:27)

Jesus is again writing via the angel to John, to the angel of the church in Smyrna. The reference to the angel could be an actual heavenly being that is in some way over the city or responsible for it. It could also be a human messenger delivering the letter, or perhaps a reference to one of the elders or pastors of the church. In any case, the message is coming to the people of the church itself.

Jesus is writing through the pen of John here: "the first and the last, who was dead and who has come to life." We saw that title back in Revelation 1:17, and we looked at it a couple of weeks ago, with the reference to the first and the last in Isaiah 44:6 and also in Isaiah 48:12. Let me remind you, because we have to keep the big picture in view. Each week I'm going to give you more details, so remind me: what's the significance of that title, the first and the last, being assigned to Jesus here?

Yes, that's right. The references in Isaiah, "the first and the last," are references to Yahweh, to God. So the fact that Jesus leads off His introduction with that title is affirming what? His deity.

You may have people come to your door who want to give you another testament of Jesus Christ, and we're going to talk about the deity of Christ. One of the things we see over and over in the New Testament is the reaffirmation of the deity of Christ. These are little nuggets, little reminders along the way.

Assurance Through Death and Resurrection (20:28)

Here's your interpretive question today. Jesus describes Himself as "who was dead and has come to life," a reference to His death and His resurrection. Why does Jesus lead off His letter to Smyrna by pointing specifically to His death and resurrection, do you think? Is there a reason for that?

Assurance. Okay, assurance of what? That's right, very good. Absolutely right. Jesus is going to say the first thing to them, "I know your tribulation," but He leads off by saying, "I'm the one who was dead and who rose again." That indicates the assurance: if they die, they will live.

What does the death and resurrection of Jesus demonstrate about His authority? He is the everlasting God. He has the keys of death. We saw that. He has conquered death. So He leads off His letter by saying to these Christians who are facing persecution and death: remember, He is the one who has died and risen. He has overcome and defeated death, and that is part of the hope.

We talked about this last week in Romans 8, that the present suffering is not worthy to be compared with the future glory. Recognizing that Jesus overcame death is what makes that possible. We learn that in Sunday school, and it's easy to say, "Okay." But when you're staring your own death in the eye, think of the testimony of that Iranian evangelical pastor who pastored seven underground churches. There's a knock on the door at 11 at night, his family is there, his kids are there, he's thinking about his congregation, and now it's, okay, where's my hope? Maybe that happens to you and me, maybe it doesn't. But part of what this letter prepares us for is the reality that Christians will be persecuted and afflicted.

Anybody know 2 Timothy 3:12 by heart? I'll start it: "All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be..." Yes, sir? That's right. Go for it.

Amen. "Take courage. I have overcome the world." Jesus and the writers tell us this ahead of time so that we can take courage and not lose heart.

Let's say it's not Smyrna but Granbury, and an oppressive Roman government is persecuting us, with an emperor targeting Christians, taking them into the Colosseum to make sport of their torture and death by sending animals and centurions, and lighting them on fire and watching them burn. Wouldn't you be encouraged to get a personal letter from Jesus saying, "I was dead, but I've come alive again"? We have to put ourselves in the shoes of these original Christians and think about what they were facing. They didn't have a Bible as we have it, or John MacArthur's commentary or John Piper's podcast to help them. They had only what had been passed down to them. So to get a personalized letter from Jesus Himself must have been remarkable. I'll show you a neat little story that happened later on.

Two Pressures on the Church in Smyrna (23:37)

Jesus writes, "I know your tribulation." Let me tell you about two things going on in the church at Smyrna, which we know from historical records. Smyrna was in the Roman Empire, so you have all the Greco-Roman religion and culture. Rome's approach was a hybrid religion of sorts. We can think of a religion that is just about worshiping gods, and from Greek mythology you remember Zeus, Apollo, and all these gods. That was infiltrated into the culture. So you had a pagan culture with temples, five of them right there in Smyrna, that played into the cultural belief system of the day.

But what did Rome add to that? Rome added another level of religious significance. Emperor worship. So you had an allegiance to Caesar, to the emperor, along with the gods mixed into it. Historical records tell us that Smyrna was a particular hotbed for emperor worship. If you read the history, and I'll give you a biography of one of the famous Christians there in a minute, what led to many Christians being persecuted, and in some cases executed, was that they were unwilling to bow down to the emperor. They refused to offer incense, a religious ritual of worship, to the Roman emperor. That was mixed in with polytheistic, pagan Greco-Roman idol worship.

So Christians refused to do two things:

  1. They would not bow down to the emperor.
  2. They would not participate in the Greco-Roman ceremonies of the day.

Imagine if Granbury had pagan temples everywhere we went, and that ritual was built into grocery shopping and your kids' sports events, and anywhere you went it was built into the culture. You were expected as a citizen to participate in those idolatrous practices. Those early Christians said, no, we're not going to do that. We're not going to worship the emperor, and we're not going to participate in idol worship. Those two refusals created the pressure from the government in Smyrna, and from the people, to some extent, on those early Christians.

Jesus Knows the Tribulation and Poverty of the Church (26:52)

So Jesus specifically calls that out. He says, you know what? I know your tribulations. Remember the language David uses in Psalm 56 when he calls out to God in the midst of his persecutions? He says, you have taken account of my wanderings. You've put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book? Our God has a detailed, intimate, personal understanding of the sufferings of his people. That's one of the glorious messages of Scripture.

So here, Jesus himself, writing to this persecuted church, says, I know your tribulation. I know what you're going through. I can see you in prison. I know your family's abandoned you. I know you've lost your job. I know you're living in poverty. The next line there, "and your poverty," that word poverty is usually translated to refer to begging. So this isn't poverty like, "I can't have T-bone steak this week, I've got to settle for hamburger meat." This is like Christians on the street begging to survive. That's the situation here. And Jesus says, I know what you're going through. I know your poverty. I see it. I get it. I understand. Remember, I'm the one who died and has come to life again, giving them hope.

He says, I know your poverty, and then he adds this little phrase: "though you are rich." What does he mean? Momentary light affliction, future weight of glory, right? Peter says you have an inheritance in heaven. First Peter 1 says it is undefiled and not fading away, reserved in heaven for you. What is he saying? There's a sense in which, in this life, things may be very difficult and you may be a beggar on the street. Some of these Christians, some of the historical records indicate, were even made slaves. And yet they're children of the King, aren't they? They have an imperishable, undefiled inheritance reserved in heaven one day.

So when we take momentary light affliction and put it in the scales against that eternal weight of glory, we say, yes, you're poor, but you're also rich. I think that's a good exercise. I'm looking around the room, and everybody looks pretty nicely dressed, and you look like you had a healthy meal sometime recently. Maybe that changes, maybe it doesn't. But the things that help us most and encourage us most are not the comforts of this world. They are the benefits of being children of the King. Remember that, because our health is going to fail. Things are going to hurt. We may even see some measure of persecution coming here. But we have a rich inheritance, and Jesus reminds them of that as well.

The Synagogue of Satan (30:03)

Okay, so this was the situation they found themselves in, in a hard city. Look at the next part. Jesus continues: "I know your tribulation and your poverty and the blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are not but are a synagogue of Satan." We have to read between the lines a bit to see what's going on. The excavations I showed you a moment ago indicated there were a number of Jewish synagogues in this city. Persecution started in Jerusalem, through the Romans and also through Jews who were not happy about Jesus claiming to be the Messiah. Of course, they were part of his crucifixion. That persecution continues even as Christians flee from Jerusalem to the surrounding areas, like Asia Minor, modern Turkey.

Jesus says, I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not. What was the main blasphemy that many Jews declared against the gospel as it went forth in the first century? Yes, you must keep the law. The Judaizers, for sure. The purists were just saying, we don't think he's the Messiah. And you'll recall from the New Testament that to deny Jesus as the Christ is the essence of blasphemy. So perhaps it was Judaizers who were adding law requirements: "Yes, we're okay with Jesus, but you need to keep all these other laws and rituals." Jesus calls that blasphemy.

This is interesting too, and maybe you've noticed it as you read through. Jesus is quick to make connections in these letters to what's going on behind the curtain, by the god of this world. He says that those who say they're Jews and are not... Remember what Paul talks about in one of his letters: true Jews in his mind are not talking about culture, but about those who accept their Messiah. I think that's what he's getting at. He's not saying they're pretending to be from a culture. They're rejecting their Messiah, for sure. But he calls them a synagogue of Satan, and that reminds us of something else Jesus said: "If you're not for me, you're against me." There's a polarization the gospel brings. There's no fence you and I get to sit on, saying, "Well, I'm not sure if I'm going to be for Satan or for Jesus, I'll just sit here and wait it out." To not be for Jesus is to align yourself with the god of this world. We all come into the world as sinful people, in the realm of Satan, and we are accomplices whether we know it or not.

Jesus is interesting with the language here. He's saying, recognize that this persecution is being manufactured, overseen in a sense, by the god of this world. Though they met in Jewish synagogues, many of these Jews were meeting to plot persecution against Christians, so he calls out those meeting places as a synagogue of Satan. Pay attention to how many times Jesus references the work of Satan in these few chapters.

On your notes there are two points:

  1. The blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not relates to false teachings and doctrines. They are rejecting the Messiah.
  2. Professing Jews who were persecuting Christians had made their meetings, quote unquote, synagogues of Satan. That brings up again the agency of Satan. We're going to see his work talked about.

I think one of the reasons Christians are drawn to the book of Revelation is that it does what most other books in the Bible don't do very often. It opens us up to this spiritual world of angels, of Satan, of demons, and the forces of darkness in the world. And it starts right here. I think we want to balance this. I don't think it's healthy to see Satan's particular hand behind every affliction in life, but we don't want to ignore him either. Here are seven historic churches, and in many of them Jesus is going to say Satan is involved in what they're going through. So it's not arrogant to think Satan would be involved in our lives too. We need to be mindful of where a lot of this affliction, persecution, and trouble comes from.

Do Not Fear, Be Faithful (35:14)

Then Jesus transitions. "I am the one who is dead, who has become alive." He says, I know your tribulation. I know your poverty. I know the blasphemy being brought against you by Jews who are actually conspiring as a synagogue of Satan. And watch him turn now to some encouragement. Revelation 2:10: "Do not fear what you are about to suffer." What does that tell you? It's going to get worse. While Jesus and the New Testament writers don't always give specific prophetic insight into exactly what will happen in every circumstance, here they give this church specific insight. "Do not fear what you are about to suffer." Jesus tells them what's going to happen: "The devil is about to cast some of you into prison so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days." We don't know what that looked like, but some of these faithful believers are going to be thrown into prison for ten days. The devil's hand is in that. And Jesus says, why is that going to happen? For testing.

Does the Bible ever talk about Christians being tested? We've looked at 1 Peter 1 recently. Hold your place in Revelation and turn a few pages back to James 1, where James talks about considering it joy when we encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance, and to let endurance have its perfect result so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. That's James 1:2-4.

Look down at James 1:12. Who is James writing to? James wrote one of the first New Testament letters, in the 40s, to that first wave of exiled Christians who had to leave Jerusalem for the surrounding areas because of persecution. So it's a similar scenario, earlier than John's letter. Listen to what he says to these brand-new Christians being persecuted: "Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial, for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love him." That's the consequence of the testing he mentions back in verses 2 to 4. So we see a parallel statement here with Jesus. The devil is about to cast some of you into prison so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.

Some of you saw my 101-year-old grandmother on the video yesterday at my birthday party, and that was the verse she put in my Bible for my confirmation when I was your age. It's a very special verse: be faithful to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. That crown of life, as we'll see later in the book of Revelation, references eternal life. So he says, be faithful. That's what we need when we're persecuted: be faithful.

Revelation 2:11: "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." We're going to see that phrase repeated over and over. The seven spirits are sent out, each accompanying the letters that go out, and the Spirit's words to each of these seven churches. "He who has an ear, let him hear." That's Jesus' language. We see it in the Gospels as well: pay attention and take to heart what the Spirit is saying to the churches. Notice "Spirit," singular. Remember, we talked about seven spirits versus one Holy Spirit.

Then he throws this on the end: "He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death." That parallels the idea of perseverance. And we ask, what is the second death? We'll find out as the book unfolds, in chapter 20. The second death refers to final judgment.

Okay, I'm curious. There may be somebody you know who was associated with this same church in Smyrna. We don't know when the church was founded. There's no reference to it in the New Testament, though in Acts 19 it's possible that as Paul was passing through the region,

Polycarp of Smyrna (40:24)

He also planted the church on his third missionary journey. But the only biblical evidence we know of the church in Smyrna is what this letter in Revelation reveals. You may know of Smyrna from church history. Does anybody have any idea? What's that? Polycarp. Polycarp. Who was Polycarp?

He was the bishop of Smyrna, or we would call him an elder or pastor at Smyrna. So he's going to minister in the generation after what John is writing here. What's the significance, though, of Polycarp? Biblical significance. He was mentored by the Apostle John. That's right. He was faithful, and he helped lead that church into the next century as persecution continued and as persecution escalated. There he is.

Polycarp's Martyrdom (41:26)

Does anybody know what happened to him? What's that? So go back to what Carl was saying. He refused incense to the emperor. He refused to recant Christ in the name of emperor worship and pagan idol worship, and so he was sentenced to death.

They did a number of things. They threatened him with animals in the Coliseum, and they threatened him with a number of things just to scare him and manipulate him into recanting Christ. And he refused. So they tied him to the stake and gave him one more chance to repent. And you've heard his words before: "Four score and six years I have been his servant, and he hath done me no wrong. How then can I blaspheme my king who saved me?"

So church history gives us a particular example of one who was faithful to the point of death. He was then burned alive. There are accounts that say he was protected by the flames, and so someone took a spear and ran it through his heart, and he died. We actually have a letter that he wrote to the church at Philippi and some other documents. He's in that second generation of Christians that led the church following the apostolic age, and he is one of the leaders we have learned about in the New Testament.

Application (43:29)

So these are guys who faced this. Maybe persecution like this comes to the American continent, maybe not. Maybe you and I go into harm's way for the sake of the gospel, as many of our missionaries have, as some of our current missionaries in training might. We go taking the gospel, and this may be the sort of thing that you and I face. Or maybe not. Maybe it's more ordinary temptations.

But the challenge of this letter is to remember that Christ knows everything, that he's overcome death, and that he calls us to be faithful even until the point of death, and we receive that crown of righteousness. We need men and women who have gone before us, like Polycarp, to illustrate and to give us an example. We need spiritual heroes to look to and to model ourselves after in all of that.

So, yes, I think that's right on. The point is to have an eternal perspective, even in temptation and lesser sufferings. Absolutely. All right, guys, by God's grace, let's be faithful.

Closing Prayer (44:31)

Lord, thanks for this letter that reminds us of that perspective Sheila just helped us to see, that this is reality. We pray for Christians around the world, some of whom are being persecuted right now, that they would be faithful. Thank you for examples, both modern and ancient, so that we can see things from your perspective and be encouraged that you know us, that you've overcome death, and that you call us to be faithful and to endure for the sake of your name. So, whatever our course, whatever our future, whatever you might do in our lives ahead, we would strive to be faithful to our King.

We pray in His name. Amen.

* = the audio was unclear here and the words were reconstructed from context. Scripture read aloud is in red.

Taught by Dr. Keith Palmer, Grace Bible Church, Granbury, Texas — from the church’s Sunday School series on Revelation. These are lightly edited transcripts of the audio, posted for personal study; the teaching and its content belong to Dr. Palmer and Grace Bible Church. Listen to the originals and find his notes on the church website. Transcribed from the audio by AI. Edited only where the audio was unclear (all edits marked with *). Errors are possible — the recording is the authority.

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