Tour of Revelation Pt. 4

Guitar Hero 6 is a music game dedicated to hair metal and death metal. Players can pick up a guitar, drums, or microphone to perform Metallica, Ozzy, Avenged Sevenfold, or Soundgarden songs. For the true metalheads, the last level makes you play three Megadeth songs back-to-back. That’s 17 minutes of continuous thrash metal. Those who can survive the challenge get to see the true end of the game and unlock the Demigod of Rock.

Revelation spells out the terms of victory, and it’s not an easy task. Three times in chapter 2, Jesus says that faithfulness until death is the only way to keep the Crown of Life. There were two major ways to lose in Revelation. Giving up the faith or mixing it with false teaching. The church of Smyrna needed to hold onto their faith, even with the threat of future suffering. The church of Pergamum and Thyatira were straying toward pagan teachings that contradicted God’s Word. The reward was great for those who endured, including eternal life, a high authority position, and great honor. But who could survive it?

We face the same challenge today in college ministry. The temptation is to give up on God because he is too much trouble, or to add a different belief system to God’s Word to fit our own beliefs. The message is clear: stay on track and don’t get distracted. Study the verses below and brainstorm how a Christian can endure with Jesus Christ to the end.

FIGURE IT OUT:

10 Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. Look, the Devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will have tribulation for 10 days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. 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.
Revelation 2:10-11

17 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.
Revelation 2:17

26 To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations—
Revelation 2:26

  1. Read the verses above and circle any words or phrases that are significant to you. Why did you pick those ones?
  2. What sort of mistruths and false teachings do you think were disrupting the early Christians? Are these mistruths still a threat today?
  3. How can a modern believer in Jesus stay on track (not giving up and not going off the path of truth)?
  4. How do you know if you are getting too close to giving up or straying off the path?