Chapter 2 review

Last time we talked about:

““But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭24‬:‭36‬-‭39‬ ‭NIV‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/111/mat.24.36-39.NIV

“While people are saying, ‘Peace and safety,’ destruction will come on them suddenly …” (1 Thessalonians 5:3).

The use of symbolism to arouse emotion, stand timeless and across cultures, and an excellent way to pass a coded message past Roman prison guards going through the mail coming out of Patmos. We all have an intuitive sense of symbolism. Think of a Hallmark movie. The rich guy is the love interest that won't work but the average Joe is the hero/romantic interest. When it snows, the protagonists will fall in love. When the music changes, we know what it means. A Jewish audience would get the symbols in this apocalyptic literature in a way a Roman guard would not.

We broke down the number 7 as completeness and perfection

From the book:
The seven stars as angels / messengers / the Pastors of those churches
The seven lampstands = the seven churches influence
The seven lamps are the sevenfold Spirit of God which is not 7 pieces or personalities but just to say that God is perfect in His being. Seven here is not a quantity of God but a statement of His perfection that 7 symbolizes. 

This chapter discusses 7 blessings in reading Revelation (which we read) and the last page of the chapter discusses the benefits of being an overcomer (which we read but won't break copyright by posting here)

We have a church meal coming up and will discuss chapter 3 on March 15th