Chapter 4 – The seven churches
Read chapter 2 & 3
We come now to the letters to the seven
churches. Much has been discussed about the meaning and timing of these letters.
There is within each letter a series of similarities that we should look for
and in the absence of those similarities within a specific letter note the
significance of that absence. Each of the letters is written to the Angel of
the church. Whether this is a literal interpretation or John is referring to
the messenger to the Head of each church is open for discussion. Certainly
within the framework of the Biblical and Judean understanding, God has set
apart an Angel to protect or look over nations, churches and even individuals.
But the likelihood that God would be speaking to the Angel protecting an
individual church is probably not the context of what John is writing. In each
of the letters we will find an introduction, which includes an expression of Jesus,
and an expression of commendation to what the church is doing and/or dealing
with. Then we will see some form of condemnation or judgment about what they
should not be doing. Then we find a call to repent or turnaround from where
they are heading in order to come back to God. Then we hear this statement,
“let anyone who has an ear hear”. This is John’s way of sharing that the message
leads us to open our spiritual senses to hear what is being said. We can also
glean from that message that John’s writing is relevant across time. Finally a
challenge that if we are faithful what reward is before us.
Now there are different opinions about the
individual churches in John’s Revelation. Preterists believe that the letters
are to actual churches that existed in John’s day. And in fact, all seven
churches were churches that Paul and the early apostles founded and spent time
at. Each church had its own unique flavor and context much like the present day
local church which fits in its geographic and demographic context. Differing
views include that these letters addressed issues of that time while others
believe that the issues are universal and address issues of churches in any
age. Dispensationalists or futurists believe that the churches represent the
church through the ages. Ephesus represents the church from 70 AD to 170 AD,
Smyrna from 170-312, and so on to Philadelphia from 1750-1900 and the Laodicean
church is the present day church. Though there is supporting evidence of this
theory it tends to follow the European and Western church history more so than
world history. For example the churches in China and Africa today are more like
the first evangelistic churches following the persecution era of Paul and the
early Apostles. Whatever you believe, the messages within each church are
certainly relevant to our day and our time depending on the individual church
or denomination and the issues facing it today. I think it is important to note
that an individual messenger carrying the letters would have reached the
churches in order of the way that they were written.
Ephesus is the first church addressed in the letters.
Ephesus located closest to Patmos, was a major seaport that was slowly dying
because the access to the sea was slowly filling with river silt. It was still
at this time the largest of the seven cities. This had one of the strongest
churches established by the early Christian movement and was a jumping off
point for most of the evangelism in the Middle East and even Rome. God
introduces us to the church by telling us that they have been very good at
determining sound doctrine. As the largest church they would have been besieged
with all sorts of persecution and internal challenges to individual doctrines.
But God decreed that they have done well. But God condemns them that they have
lost their first love which is Jesus. Not without substance we know the vigor
of young faith and how it can often cool as it matures if we are not disciplined.
John hears the call to repent, to turn back to their first love of Jesus and to
become the faithful and strong witness that they used to be. To everyone who
repents and turns back the tree of life is promised in paradise with God.
Remember that the tree of life is our eternal promise.
We then travel up the road to Smyrna, a harbor
city that was a central Roman city on the way into the Asian continent. We can
gather that Smyrna was a church under tremendous persecution from both the
Roman’s and the Jew’s. In fact Polycarp had been martyred here because he spoke
out against the Jew’s, saying the only true Jew was one who believed in Jesus.
The church is warned that further persecution is in front of them and if they
are faithful they will have the crown of life. In other words, they are not
condemned by God and are given hope instead. Whoever stays faithful to the end
will not face the second death that we know as the final judgment. We are
reminded that we must stay faithful even in the face of adversity.
From here we travel further north to Pergamum.
Pergamum was the capital of the region and a major city in the time of John’s
message. Interestingly this must have been a center for Pagan worship because
it is described as the place where Satan’s throne is. But they have allowed the
false teachings to infiltrate their faith lives. We in the western world have
seen a moral decline in our culture and that moral decline can be dangerous if
it begins to change the teaching of the church. The message of God is unchanged
from generation to generation even if the culture changes. God challenges them
to be faithful to the true faith and if they are they will receive manna from
heaven, thought to symbolize Jesus, and a white stone with a name that no one
knows except the one who receives it. It could possibly carry understanding
back to when God changes the name of those that God calls like Jacob, Abram and
Saul.
Now we begin to travel to the southwest along
the trade routes of ancient Rome. We enter into the city of Thyatira. They are
commended for their works and their faith but then we begin to see that they
too, like Pergamum, have begun to decline into the culture. We as a church need
to be constantly on the alarm against declining from the teaching of Christ as
the culture around us changes. The church is given a challenge to persevere and
they will be given authority over all nations and the morning star. This likely
is a reference to the Psalm 2: 8 promise that those of faith will have
authority over the nations. The reference to the morning star is less clear. It
may refer to Christ and His return or it could refer to Lucifer, the morning
star and indicate that the faithful will have power over sin. There is a
reference in Isaiah 14:12 to Satan as the “Day Star – Son of Dawn” or “Morning
Star.”
We continue our travel southwest along the
trade routes to Sardis. They receive little introduction and no commendation, 14rather
they go straight to the condemnation phase. They have become an apathetic
church or may have begun that way and never fully came to faith, true faith. They
are reminded to wake up and stop living in the past. So many of our churches
today focus on what we used to be that they have lost sight of the original
mission of the church to teach the Gospel of God’s love to the world. We used
to be a giving church. We used to be a loving church. Nothing is stopping that
church from being those things today except they have given up the zeal for
Christ. The challenge for Sardis is still part of the condemnation, they that
prevail will receive white robes but if they do not wake up their names will be
blotted out of the Book of Life.
We continue to travel to the southwest and we arrive
at the city of Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love. Note that for the
church in Philadelphia there is no condemnation. This would appear to be a
faithful church that has not wavered throughout the time of its creation even
in the face of persecution. Verse 10 creates a lot of discussion. Depending on
the version of your Bible, this may be translated I will keep you from the hour
of trial, temptation or testing. Dispensationalists point to this as the rapture
of the church prior to the coming again of Christ for judgment. The rest simply
say that this says that Jesus will, as the Lord’s Prayer asks for, keep us from
temptation. That Jesus will stay with us and if we remain faithful will hamper
temptation. If you can stay true God promises that we will become the
foundation of the church.
Finally we come to Laodicea. This church
receives no commendation from God. You are neither hot nor cold. I served a
church once that fit this description nicely. They were comfortable and content
that they had enough money to survive till the oldest among them was in the
cemetery adjacent to the church. They asked of me to do four things, to preach
a good sermon, visit them in the nursery home, preach their funeral and not ask
them to do anything. When I read about the Laodicean church I think of them
often. God minces no words. Either get off the fence or I will fry you, fence
and all. It would be difficult to believe as the Dispensationalist believe,
that we are in fact the Laodicean church since there are many churches
throughout the world that are doing great works still being done throughout the
world, but we can see that each succeeding generation leaves us weaker and quieter.
To the one who repents, witnesses and loves, they will have a place on the
throne with Jesus.
So ends
the seven letters.
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