Through Trial and Exile, the Seven Churches of Revelation Received a Word That Still Burns With Urgency Today.
Bible Study Guide
(Verse 9) It’s believed that John was the last apostle of Christ still alive during the writing of the letters to the seven churches of Revelation.
John was leading the congregation of the church of Ephesus under the Roman rule of Emperor Domitian. According to the writings of Irenaeus, Domitian exiled John to the tiny Greek isle of Patmos in the Aegean Sea. This island served as a prison for criminals of the worse kind.
John could’ve easily faced persecution that would have led to his death for his testimony of Jesus. But God had other plans for John.
When the world silenced John, Heaven began to speak.
Letters to the Seven Churches of Revelation: For a Reason and a Season
John’s exile to Patmos seems ironic considering that Domitian was considered a cruel persecutor of Christians. But we can see that John was being preserved by God for a reason and a season. Patmos was an island prison guarded by Roman soldiers. Convicts were sent to Patmos and it was required that they fend for themselves.
It was a harsh place, but God was watching over the disciple that Jesus loved. Because He had a very important task for him to complete. Many of those in John’s congregation were sending John food and supplies that helped him survive the island’s conditions.
This is the only place in the Bible that the island of Patmos is mentioned.
This place was another one of God’s examples where He uses the most desperate of situations to show His glory. John survived that island because God was watching him every moment. This continued until the time was right for his old friend (Jesus) to come and pay him a visit.
“Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.” (Psalm 139:7-10)
God is there in our darkest, desperate and weakest moments of our lives. He deserves all the glory for sustaining us and rescuing us.
On the Lord’s Day Would Come the Warnings
(Verse 10) Why does John call this the Lord’s Day?
Because God was about to reveal to John how He was going to directly intervene in the course of human history in the last days. Creation is always moving in the direction of God’s purpose and will. But there are times when He will actively intervene to make sure His purpose and will are fulfilled. These times are called the Lord’s Day – “Day of the Lord.”
This phrase is used throughout scripture to demonstrate to us His active divine intervention. It’s not to assume that it’s one specific day. It could be a single day or a number of days.
There was nothing that John could ever have done to prepare himself for what was about to take place. Not only was his best friend (Jesus) and Lord and Savior about to pay him a visit, but He was going to show him visions he never could’ve imagined beyond his wildest dreams.
If you could bring together all of the 3D IMAX theaters together into one screen, it would likely not come close to matching the magnificent visions he’s about to be shown with the universe as a backdrop.
But before we get into the visions, John has some instructions from Jesus he needs to receive. He also has to take dictation for very specific letters to the seven churches of Revelation. Each one receiving their own letter with details about their spiritual condition.
Jesus is about to reveal the details of what Daniel spoke of 500 years ago of the seventieth week (70 seven year periods). This was the last week (seven years) of the seventy weeks God gave to Daniel to write and seal up until the time of the end.
In the Spirit: Foreshadowing of the Rapture
John suddenly describes himself being in the Spirit the very moment that Jesus visits him. This can likely be related to the state in which those that are raptured will be when Christ comes to collect His church.
This is likely the spiritual state that Philip found himself in when he was raptured from one place to another after his time with the Ethiopian eunuch.
The physical limits of the flesh that are hindered by time and space would’ve been temporarily removed while John was in the Spirit. As we’ll see with his visions, he could move upward to heaven or forward in time.
Loud Voice Like a Trumpet
The moment before John is instructed to write everything he sees in the letters to the seven churches of Revelation, He hears a loud voice like a trumpet. This is the voice of Jesus as He makes His appearance to John.
It’s important here to understand the significance of the trumpet. Since God gave Moses instructions to hammer out two silver trumpets in Numbers 10, the trumpet has and will continue to play an important role in the fulfillment of God’s word.
The trumpet blasts were an indication that something is about to change. They were used to announce a new command or to get the attention of the people. We see the use of trumpets being used throughout Jewish history.
The role of the trumpets was important enough to God that He created the Festival of Trumpets. This festival is one of the seven festivals given to the Israelites by God. It is known as Rosh Hashanah. It was created for the blowing of trumpets signifying the beginning of the Hebrew calendar.
One of the most blessed hopes of Christians, the rapture will be signaled by a trumpet blast from God.
“For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16)
Finally, we see here that Jesus undoubtedly gets John’s attention with the trumpet blast sound of His voice.
The Trumpet Judgments After the Warnings to the Seven Churches of Revelation
Then, sadly for those who remain on the earth during the tribulation because they’ve chosen to reject God and His son. They will experience some of the worst wrath God has planned for them.
God provides an escape through His warnings in the letters to the seven churches of Revelation.
For those who have ears but do not hear, will not escape.
The Trumpet Judgments of God are some of the most destructive judgments that will come upon the inhabitants of the earth at that time. So terrible are they that we’ll see the angels crying out, Woe! Woe, Woe to the inhabitants of the earth.
Sorry. I didn’t meant to scare you. I’m getting a little ahead of myself. The Trumpet Judgments don’t come until chapter 8. Let’s hold off and ease into them as we get closer.
Closing Reflections: “The Voice Still Calls”
When John turned and saw the risen Christ standing among the lampstands, he wasn’t just witnessing a vision for his time—he was witnessing a message for ours. The same voice that thundered through the caves of Patmos is still calling to His Church today. And friend, that means it’s calling to you and me.
The warnings given to the seven churches of Revelation are not ancient relics—they are living words for a Church drifting toward complacency, compromise, and coldness. Each letter holds a mirror to our own hearts. Are we faithful like Philadelphia, or lukewarm like Laodicea? Are we holding fast to truth, or have we begun to blend into the world around us?
We stand in a moment unlike any before. The signs Jesus spoke of in Matthew 24—the wars, the moral decay, the rise of deception, the persecution of believers, love of many growing cold, calling evil good and good evil—are converging before our eyes. The very things John saw unfolding in the Spirit are casting their shadows across our headlines. The message is clear: Christ is walking among His churches once more, and He’s asking—are we listening?
🙏Closing Prayer: “Awaken Us, Lord”
Heavenly Father,
We stand humbled before You—the same God who walked among the seven churches of Revelation and still walks among Your people today. Your Word has not changed, nor has Your love for Your Church diminished. But Lord, we confess—too often we’ve grown silent when we should have spoken, comfortable when we should have been courageous, distracted when You were calling us to watch and pray.
Lord Jesus, awaken Your Church once more.
Let Your voice pierce through the noise of this world just as it did to John on that lonely island of Patmos. Stir our hearts to repentance where we’ve grown lukewarm, to endurance where we’re weary, and to boldness where fear has taken root.
Help us remember that You are still walking among the lampstands. You see our hearts, You know our deeds, and You are calling us to shine brighter in a world growing darker by the day.
Remind us, Lord, that these are not ordinary times. The signs of Your return are converging all around us, and Your warnings are not to be ignored—they are a mercy to prepare us.
So strengthen our faith, refine our love, and make us ready, Lord.
When You call Your Church home, may we be among those who have kept the faith, held fast to Your Word, and overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony.
Until that day, keep us faithful.
Keep us awake.
And keep us listening for Your voice.
In Jesus’ holy and powerful name,
Amen.
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