May 28, 2017 – Genesis and John (Gospel and Revelation) – Believing or Stumbling

Believing or Stumbling

Genesis 40:12-23 – New International Version (NIV)

¹² “This is what it means,” Joseph said to him. “The three branches are three days. ¹³ Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your position, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you used to do when you were his cupbearer. ¹⁴ But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison. ¹⁵ I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon.”

¹⁶ When the chief baker saw that Joseph had given a favorable interpretation, he said to Joseph, “I too had a dream: On my head were three baskets of bread. ¹⁷ In the top basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.”

¹⁸ “This is what it means,” Joseph said. “The three baskets are three days. ¹⁹ Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head and impale your body on a pole. And the birds will eat away your flesh.”

²⁰ Now the third day was Pharaoh’s birthday, and he gave a feast for all his officials. He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker in the presence of his officials: ²¹ He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, so that he once again put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand— ²² but he impaled the chief baker, just as Joseph had said to them in his interpretation.

²³ The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.

What are the three branches (verse 12)?

Who will lift up the head and restore the position of the cupbearer (verse 13)?

How does Joseph ask the cupbearer to show kindness (verse 14)?

What had Joseph done to deserve “being put in a dungeon” (verse 15)?

In your opinion, why did the chief baker think the cupbearer’s interpretation was favorable (verse 16)?

What were the birds doing in the chief baker’s dream (verse 17)?

What did each basket mean in the chief baker’s dream (verse 18)?

What will the Pharaoh do to the chief baker (verse 19)?

Why did the Pharaoh give a feast for all his officials (verse 20)?

What did the chief cupbearer do “once again” (verse 21)?

How was the chief baker treated (verse 22)?

Did the chief cupbearer remember the kindness that Joseph requested (verse 23)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

John 12:37-42 - New International Version (NIV)

³⁷ Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. ³⁸ This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet:

“Lord, who has believed our message
    and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”

³⁹ For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere:

⁴⁰ “He has blinded their eyes
    and hardened their hearts,
so they can neither see with their eyes,
    nor understand with their hearts,
    nor turn—and I would heal them.”

⁴¹ Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.

⁴² Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him.

What had Jesus done “in their presence” (verse 37)?

What would they not do (verse 37)?

Who had ask “Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed” (verse 38)?

In your opinion, who has “blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts” (verse 40)?

What could not happen because they cannot see with their eyes or understand with their hearts (verse 40)?

Why did Isaiah say this (verse 41)?

What happened at the same time that the Jews would not believe (verse 42)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how are the chief cupbearer’s reaction to Joseph’s correct interpretation in Genesis 40:12-23 and the Jews reaction to the signs that Jesus had done in their presence in John 12:37-42 similar?

Romans 9:22-33 - New International Version (NIV)

²² What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? ²³ What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory— ²⁴ even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? ²⁵ As he says in Hosea:

“I will call them ‘my people’ who are not my people;
    and I will call her ‘my loved one’ who is not my loved one,”

²⁶ and,

“In the very place where it was said to them,
    ‘You are not my people,’
    there they will be called ‘children of the living God.’”

²⁷ Isaiah cries out concerning Israel:

“Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea,
    only the remnant will be saved.
²⁸ For the Lord will carry out
    his sentence on earth with speed and finality.”

²⁹ It is just as Isaiah said previously:

“Unless the Lord Almighty
    had left us descendants,
we would have become like Sodom,
    we would have been like Gomorrah.”

³⁰ What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; ³¹ but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal. ³² Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone. ³³ As it is written:

“See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes people to stumble
    and a rock that makes them fall,
    and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame.”

What has God borne “with great patience” (verse 22)?

Who has God “prepared in advance for glory” (verse 23)?

In your opinion, who are the ones God called “‘my people’ who are not my people” (verse 25)?

What will the ones who were told “you are not my people” be called (verse 26)?

How many of the Israelites who are like “sand by the sea” will be saved (verse 27)?

What will the Lord carry out “with speed and finality” (verse 28)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to become like Sodom and Gomorrah (verse 29)?

What have the Gentiles obtained by faith (verse 30)?

What have the people of Israel who pursued “the law as the way of righteousness” not attained (verse 31)?

How did the people of Israel pursue the righteousness they did not obtain (verse 32)?

In your opinion, why is Jesus called “a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall” (verse 33)?

Who will never be put to shame (verse 33)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how does Paul’s explanation of how the Jews pursued righteousness through the law and stumbled over Jesus in Romans 9:22-33 help us understand why the Jews in John 12:37-42 could see all the signs that Jesus did and still not believe in Him?

In your opinion, how does the forgetfulness of the chief cupbearer to the sign that God had given him through Joseph interpreting the dream in Genesis 40:12-23 help us understand why God needs “great patience” in dealing with people according to Paul in Romans 9:22-33?

Revelation 9:13-21 – New International Version (NIV)

¹³ The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the four horns of the golden altar that is before God. ¹⁴ It said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” ¹⁵ And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind. ¹⁶ The number of the mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand. I heard their number.

¹⁷ The horses and riders I saw in my vision looked like this: Their breastplates were fiery red, dark blue, and yellow as sulfur. The heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire, smoke and sulfur. ¹⁸ A third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke and sulfur that came out of their mouths. ¹⁹ The power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails were like snakes, having heads with which they inflict injury.

²⁰ The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or walk. ²¹ Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.

Where did the voice come from after the sixth angel sounded his trumpet (verse 13)?

Who is to release the “four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates” (verse 14)?

What were the four angels released to do (verse 15)?

How many is “twice ten thousand times ten thousand” (verse 16)?

What came out of the mouths of the heads of horses that resembled lions heads (verse 17)?

Who was killed by the “three plagues of fire, smoke and sulfur” (verse 18)?

Where was the power of the horses (verse 19)?

What did the “rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues” do (verse 20)?

What could not “see or hear or walk” (verse 20)?

In your opinion, why did the remaining people not repent “of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts” (verse 21)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how does Paul’s discussion about the “stone that causes people to stumble” in Romans 9:22-33 help us understand the decisions that the “rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues” made in Revelation 9:13-21?

In your opinion, how does the fact that in John 12:37-42 “many even among the leaders believed in him” even though most did not give us hope for those among the “rest of mankind who were not killed by the plagues” in Revelation 9:13-21?

In your opinion, how does the fact that Joseph was able to correctly interpret two dreams in Genesis 40:12-23 effect our view of the vision Jesus gave John in Revelation 9:13-21?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Genesis, John, Romans and Revelation teach us about God’s authority, power and patience?

In your opinion, how can these passages help us avoid stumbling over Jesus but instead to believe in Him and “never be put to shame”?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

May 21, 2017 – Genesis and John (Gospel and Revelation) – Favor and Repentance

Favor and Repentance

Genesis 39:1-6a, 20-23 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.

² The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. ³ When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, ⁴ Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. ⁵ From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. ⁶ So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.

²⁰ Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined.

But while Joseph was there in the prison, ²¹ the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. ²² So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. ²³ The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.

Who bought Joseph (verse 1)?

Why did Joseph prosper (verse 2)?

What did Joseph’s master see (verse 3)?

In your opinion, why was Joseph entrusted with everything (verse 4)?

When was Potiphar’s household blessed (verse 5)?

What did Potiphar concern himself with (verse 6)?

Where was Joseph (verse 20)?

Who was with Joseph in prison (verse 21)?

In your opinion, why was Joseph put in charge of all those held in prison (verse 22)?

What did the Lord give Joseph (verse 23)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

John 6:1-13 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), ² and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. ³ Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. ⁴ The Jewish Passover Festival was near.

⁵ When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” ⁶ He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

⁷ Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”

⁸ Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, ⁹ “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”

¹⁰ Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). ¹¹ Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.

¹² When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” ¹³ So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

Where did Jesus cross to (verse 1)?

Why did a great crowd follow Jesus (verse 2)?

Who did Jesus sit with (verse 3)?

What was near (verse 4)?

Who did Jesus ask “where shall we buy bread for these people to eat” (verse 5)?

Why did Jesus ask the question (verse 6)?

How much would it take to purchase enough bread “for each one to have a bite” (verse 7)?

In your opinion, why did Andrew point out that there was a boy who had “five small barley loaves and two small fish” when he knew that would not go far among so many (verses 8 and 9)?

What did Jesus want the people to do (verse 10)?

What did Jesus do before he distributed the bread and the fish (verse 11)?

In your opinion, why was there extra after people got done eating (verses 11 & 12)?

How much extra was there (verse 13)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what is similar between Joseph in Potiphar’s house and the prison in Genesis 39:1-6a & 20-23 and Jesus as He feeds the 5,000 in John 6:1-13?

Galatians 6:7-10 - New International Version (NIV)

⁷ Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. ⁸ Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. ⁹ Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. ¹⁰ Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

What does a man reap (verse 7)?

Who will reap destruction (verse 8)?

Who will reap eternal life (verse 8)?

Why should we not “become weary in doing good” (verse 9)?

When should we “do good to all people” (verse 10)?

Who should we especially concentrate on doing good to (verse 10)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how does Andrew in bringing Jesus the boy with the “five small barley loaves and two small fish” in John 6:1-13 help us understand Paul who said we should help others “as we have opportunity” in Galatians 6:7-10?

In your opinion, how does Paul in Galatians 6:7-10 help us understand about why Joseph had success in Potiphar’s house and in the prison in Genesis 39:1-6a & 20-23?

Revelation 3:1-6 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ “To the angel of the church in Sardis write:

These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. ² Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. ³ Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.

⁴ Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. ⁵ The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels. ⁶ Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

What does the One who “holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars” know about the church in Sardis (verse 1)?

Why is the church in Sardis to strengthen “what remains and is about to die” (verse 2)?

How is the church in Sardis to treat what they have heard and received (verse 3)?

Who will come if the church in Sardis does not wake up (verse 3)?

In your opinion, what does it mean that a few people in Sardis have “not soiled their clothes” (verse 4)?

Why will the ones who have not “soiled their clothes” be dressed in white and walk with Jesus (verse 4)?

Who else will be dressed in white (verse 5)?

In your opinion, what does Jesus mean when He says “I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life” (verse 5)?

What are people with ears to do (verse 6)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how would you use Paul’s statement from Galatians 6:7-10 that “a man reaps what he sows” to help in understanding Jesus message to the church in Sardis from Revelation 3:1-6?

In your opinion, how does Jesus giving thanks for the little that Andrew and the boy brought Him in John 6:1-13 help us to understand how to begin to “strengthen what remains” as commanded by Jesus in Revelation 3:1-6?

In your opinion, how does the Lord being present with and blessing Joseph as he is a slave in Potiphar’s house and as a prisoner in Genesis 39:1-6a & 20-23  help us begin understand how the Christians in Sardis or Christians today can walk with Jesus and be victorious in spite of difficult circumstances?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Genesis, John, Galatians and Revelation teach us about where God is when we are in difficult circumstances today?

In your opinion, how can these passages help us be victorious wherever we find ourselves?                        

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

May 14, 2017 – Genesis and John (Gospel and Revelation) – Persecution and Victory

Persecution and Victory

Genesis 37:14-28 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁴ So he said to him, “Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.” Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron.

When Joseph arrived at Shechem, ¹⁵ a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, “What are you looking for?”

¹⁶ He replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?”

¹⁷ “They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’”

So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. ¹⁸ But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.

¹⁹ “Here comes that dreamer!” they said to each other. ²⁰ “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.”

²¹ When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his life,” he said. ²² “Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.” Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father.

²³ So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe he was wearing— ²⁴ and they took him and threw him into the cistern. The cistern was empty; there was no water in it.

²⁵ As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.

²⁶ Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? ²⁷ Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.” His brothers agreed.

²⁸ So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern 

and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.

What did Jacob ask Joseph to do (verse 14)?

Where was Joseph when the man ask him “what are you looking for” (verse 15)?

Who was Joseph looking for (verse 16)?

Where did Joseph find his brothers (verse 17)?

In your opinion, why did Joseph’s brothers plot to kill him (verse 18)?

What did they call Joseph (verse 19)?

How did they plan to get away with killing Joseph (verse 20)?

Who tried to rescue Joseph (verse 21)?

Why did Reuben say not to shed any blood (verse 22)?

In your opinion, why did they strip off the ornate robe that Joseph was wearing (verse 23)?

Where did they throw Joseph (verse 24)?

Who did they see coming from Gilead (verse 25)?

Who spoke up and suggested that the brothers could gain if the sold their brother (verses 26 and 27)?

How much did they sell Joseph for (verse 28)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

John 18:1-13 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was a garden, and he and his disciples went into it.

² Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. ³ So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons.

⁴ Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?”

⁵ “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied.

“I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) ⁶ When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

⁷ Again he asked them, “Who is it you want?”

“Jesus of Nazareth,” they said.

⁸ Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. If you are looking for me, then let these men go.” ⁹ This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: “I have not lost one of those you gave me.”

¹⁰ Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.)

¹¹ Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?”

¹² Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus. They bound him ¹³ and brought him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year.

When did Jesus and the disciples cross the Kidron Valley (verse 1)?

How did Judas know the place (verse 2)?

Who did Judas guide into the garden (verse 3)?

What did Jesus know about what was going to happen (verse 4)?

Where was Judas when Jesus said “I am he” (verse 5)?

How did the people respond when Jesus said “I am he” (verse 6)?

What did Jesus request (verse 8)?

Why did “this” happen (verse 9)?

In your opinion, why did Simon Peter strike the servant of the high priest (verse 10)?

What command did Jesus give to Peter (verse 11)?

Who arrested Jesus (verse 12)?

Where did they take Jesus (verse 13)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what is similar between the brothers who put Joseph into the cistern in Genesis 37:14-28 and Judas, who guided the detachment of soldiers and the officials to Jesus in John 18:1-13?

Romans 8:31-39 - New International Version (NIV)

³¹ What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? ³³ Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶ As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In your opinion, “if God is for us” can anyone be against us (verse 31)?

What did God give up for us (verse 32)?

Who justifies (verse 33)?

Who condemns (verse 34)?

Where is Christ Jesus (verse 34)?

What is Christ Jesus doing (verse 34)?

In your opinion, can “trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword” actually separate us from the love of Christ (verse 35)?

What is it written that we will face “all day long” (verse 36)?

How are we “more than conquerors” (verse 37)?

What does Paul think that “neither death nor live, neither angel nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation” will be un able to do (verses 38 and 39)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does Romans 8:31-39 help us understand about why Jesus, in John 18:1-13, repeatedly ask “who is it you want” and commanded Peter to put away his sword?

In your opinion, how would Joseph, when he was being led off by the Ishmaelites in Genesis 37:14-28, have answered Paul’s question in Romans 8:31-39 “if God is for us, who can be against us” and how would he have answered the question years later when his brothers came to him for food?

Revelation 2:8-11 – New International Version (NIV)

⁸ “To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:

These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. ⁹ I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. ¹⁰ Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.

¹¹ Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.

How did Jesus describe Himself (verse 8)?

In your opinion, how can Jesus know “your afflictions and your poverty” and still say that the Christians of Smyrna are rich (verse 9)?

What are the Christians in Smyrna not to be afraid of (verse 10)?

Who will put some of the Christians in Smyrna into prison (verse 10)?

How long are the Christians in Smyrna to “be faithful” (verse 10)?

What will Jesus give the ones who remain faithful (verse 10)?

Who will not be hurt “at all by the second death” (verse 11)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how does Jesus in Revelation 2:8-11 answer the question that Paul asks in Romans 8:31-39, “if God is for us, who could be against us”?

In your opinion, how does the promise of Jesus “be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown” to the Christians of Smyrna in Revelation 2:8-11 help support the statement “I have not lost one of those you gave me” that John attributes to Jesus in John 18:1-13?

In your opinion, how would Jesus’ statement in Revelation 2:8-11 to the Christians of Smyrna “Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer.  I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days” also have been appropriate for Joseph prior to what happens to him in Genesis 37:14-28?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Genesis, John, Romans and Revelation help us understand about persecution?

In your opinion, how can these passages help us overcome the fear of suffering?                                         

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)