Appendix C
– The Seven Churches
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
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“Write,
therefore, what you have seen, what
is now and what will take place
later.” (Revelation 1:19)
Introduction
It may seem
surprising that I have included a
discussion on the seven churches at
the end of this book. There are two
reasons for this. First and foremost,
I have saved the best for last. If
you want to have an intimate
relationship with Jesus, a proper
understanding of the messages to the
seven churches will put you on the
right track. Few Christians
appreciate that the testimony of
Jesus to the seven churches stands as
a divine summation of what is
important to Him. Second, the seven
churches are presented at the end of
this commentary because they do not
contain apocalyptic prophecy. They do
not conform to the four rules that
govern apocalyptic interpretation.
They are not chronological in nature
and they are not limited by a
starting point or ending point in
time. Even more, the messages to the
seven churches are not given in any
discernable order. In fact, the
messages to the seven churches can be
rearranged in any order, there is no
dilution or consequence, and there is
no conflict with the seventeen
apocalyptic prophecies found in
Daniel and Revelation.
Some
expositors on prophecy insist on
treating the seven churches as though
they represent seven periods of time
or seven dispensations since Jesus
was on Earth. This treatment of the
seven churches is not supported by
the text. All seven churches
simultaneously existed when Jesus
addressed them in A.D. 95. Antipas
(the martyr) had recently died in
Pergamum and Jezebel (the harlot)
lived in Thyatira. Forcing the seven
churches into seven time periods
creates a number of unnecessary
problems. For example, why should
access to the Tree of Life be limited
to overcomers living during the
“so-called” period of
Ephesus?[1] This is
not a rhetorical question because the
Bible plainly teaches that all
overcomers will be granted access to
the Tree of Life.[2]Therefore,
any effort to impose seven time
periods on the seven churches will
put the Bible in a state of internal
conflict. The specific promise made
to overcomers in each church will be
granted to all overcomers at the
Second Coming.
The messages
to the seven churches are timeless
and universal. At any given time, the
experiences of the seven church
experiences are simultaneously taking
place within Christianity. Some
Christians are having the Ephesus
experience right now and others are
having the Laodicean
experience. When viewed in
their totality, the seven churches
represent the whole of Christianity
at any time.
When Jesus
selected the seven churches
identified in Revelation 2 and
3, other Christian churches in Asia
Minor existed at the same time.
However, He specifically chose these
seven churches because, corporately
speaking, they sum up the Christian
experience. Please consider three
points:
- The
number seven indicates
completion and fullness in
the book of Revelation (e.g.,
seven churches, seven seals,
seven trumpets, seven heads,
seven bowls, seven thunders,
etc.). Generally speaking,
Christianity in Asia Minor in
A.D. 95 was teetering between
apostasy and discouragement.
Years of suffering and
martyrdom had taken a heavy
toll and many Christians were
either giving up or
compromising. This brink of
extinction explains why Jesus
spoke to the seven churches.
The testimony of Jesus is not
an ordinary event. Jesus had
something extremely important
to say and nothing is sharper
or clearer than the truth
spoken from God’s own
lips! Many Christians do not
realize this, but Jesus
speaking to the seven
churches from Patmos is the
equivalent of Jesus speaking
to Israel from Mount Sinai.
Jesus commended the seven
churches for the good things
they were doing, but He also
condemned those churches who
had compromised with evil. As
we proceed with this study,
keep this thought in mind: Overcoming
evil is an essential part of
redemption. Jesus
emphasized this point seven
times.
- In
A.D. 95, the original
apostles and the apostle Paul
were dead, all but John.
Jerusalem had been in ruins
for twenty-five years and
Rome continued to persecute
Christians because they were
thought to be a sect of Jews.
Therefore, when Jesus spoke
to the seven churches, He
spoke to the second and third
generation of the Christian
faith. Few of these people,
if any, were alive when Jesus
walked on Earth. Because each
generation has to rediscover
God for itself, religious
behavior and beliefs
constantly mutate. The carnal
nature is insatiable,
restless, rebellious, and
hostile toward God’s
laws, and Jesus intervened to
ensure His gospel could grow.
Christianity in Asia Minor
was on the brink of apostasy
or abandonment.
- As
a practical matter, Jesus
commanded John to send copies
of the book of Revelation to
each of the seven churches.
History records that Rome
destroyed the seven churches
by the third century A.D. and
if seven copies of the book
of Revelation had not been
sent, two things might have
happened. First, it is
possible that Christianity
might have deteriorated to
the point where it could no
longer survive as a religious
body. Second, the book of
Revelation might have been
lost and what a loss that
would have been for the final
generation!
Christians
Evicted From Judaism
An
explanation about the origin of the
seven churches might help us
understand the true meaning of what
John wrote nearly two millennia ago.
During His brief ministry on Earth
(A.D. 27-30),
Jesus established a new religion that
stood, and continues to stand, in
direct opposition to all other
religions. At first, this religion
was called “The Way”
because Jesus said of Himself, “I
am the way and
the truth and the life.”[3] As the
movement grew in size and notoriety,
the Jews and other religious people
found the name of the movement to be
inflammatory because their title,
“TheWay,” inferred
there was no other way to
God.
During His
ministry, Jesus made many claims that
were impossible for most Jews to
accept. For example, what would you
have thought if you were a devout Jew
and heard a young carpenter from
Nazareth say, “I am
the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except
through me.”?[4] What
would you have thought if you were a
member of the Sanhedrin and heard
Peter, a young fisherman from Galilee
say, “Salvation is
found in no one else [than
Jesus Christ], for there is
no other name under heaven given to
men by which we must be saved.”[5] The
controversial nature of the title,
“The Way,” during those
early years, eventually led the
believers to be called
“Christians.”[6]
Even though
the Jews hated and persecuted members
of “The Way,” Jerusalem
served as the defacto headquarters of
Christianity for forty years (A.D. 30
to A.D. 70). The Romans considered
Christians to be a sect within Judaism
because of similarities between the
two religions.[7] To the
Roman mind, Pharisees, Sadducees,
Essenes, and Christians were all
Jewish sects. When the Romans
destroyed Jerusalem in A.D. 70, they
destroyed the temple of the Jews, as
well as “the command and control
center” of Christianity. This
was God’s plan. Jesus eliminated
Jerusalem as the headquarters of
Christianity for at least four
reasons:
- Fleeing
Christians carried the gospel
of Christ throughout the
Roman Empire.
- Christianity
became a standalone religious
body that was separate and
distinct from Jerusalem and
Judaism.
- Christianity
(unlike Judaism) proved that
it is not concerned with
ethnic origin or nationalism.
Anyone within any nation
could become a Christian.
- After
Jerusalem was destroyed,
Jewish influence and
paradigms on Christianity
became less powerful.
God is so
wise. Everything He does is timely
and comprehensive. He held back the
destruction of Jerusalem for forty
years after Jesus ascended, so the
Christian movement could have time to
mature. If God had destroyed
Jerusalem too soon, Christianity
might have disbanded. If He had
waited too long, Jewish paradigms and
customs could have engulfed
Christianity.
Shortly after
Jesus returned to Heaven, God sent
the apostle Paul throughout the Roman
Empire among the Gentiles to
establish Christian churches.[8] God
foreknew that Christians living in
Jerusalem would need help outside of
Jerusalem. Paul’s efforts were
fruitful and his tireless labor
proved to be a great blessing for
Christians when the Romans destroyed
Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Christians
fleeing from Jerusalem found an
established network of helpful
brothers and sisters in the cities
where Paul had established a church.
The seven churches in Asia Minor were
largely the result of Paul’s
theological and missionary endeavors
and they were ready to help fellow
Christians escaping from Jerusalem.
Complexity
Christianity
is a complicated religion because the
plan of redemption has ten integrated
elements that operate in perfect
harmony. Look over this list:
- Law
- Grace
- Faith
- Obedience
- Sin
- Righteousness
- Justification
- Sanctification
- Judgment
- Restitution
and Reward
Putting all
of these elements together properly
so that the Bible is not put into a
state of internal conflict is a
difficult exercise. While the Bible
perfectly harmonizes all ten
elements, it takes considerable
effort to sort and synthesize the
elements. I think one reason
Christianity is so difficult to
understand is because everything that
God makes is complex. Consider the
intricate functions of the human
body, the constellations in the
starry heavens, the diversity of life
in the ocean, the diversity and
balance within the animal kingdom,
the diversity and importance of the
plant kingdom, and how all of the
elements of creation relate to life
itself. God is never simple, but
certain things about God can be
simplified so that even a child can
understand something about God’s
ways.
The Bible
says that God is love. This is a
simple concept that has enormous
depth. The depth of God’s love
is found in details describing God.
When a Bible student studies and
synthesizes the details of God’s
actions and ways, the interwoven
tapestry is beautiful and awe
inspiring. Every action of God
springs from love. To know God is to
love God! If we examine a flower, a
hummingbird, a whale, a polar bear or
a newborn child, a DNA chain, or a
picture taken with the Hubble
Telescope, we marvel at God’s
attention to detail. All of His
creations are intricate and
deliberate and so are His actions.
God has infinite wisdom and every
design and action that He takes
reflects His wisdom. Christianity is
complex because God is rich in
detail!
Sorting
through the details and harmonizing
the ten elements of Christianity
listed above is an educational
experience that transforms everyone
who participates in it. There is
nothing more fulfilling than
understanding God’s plan of
redemption. There is enormous beauty
in Plan A and there is even greater
beauty in Plan B! Studying God’s
creation and actions is life
changing. He designed it this way
because the more we understand about
God and His love, the more we will
want to please Him. After meeting
with God, Moses was totally thrilled!
He said, “If you
are pleased with me, teach me your
ways so I may know you and continue
to find favor with you.”[9] There
is nothing in the whole universe that
is as interesting, as intricate, as
loving, as magnificent, as powerful,
and as wise as God.
God’s
attention to detail is worth our
attention because God’s
complexity provides a number of exits
for those who want to deviate from
God’s will. In other words, the
Bible can be easily distorted and
made to say whatever you want it to
say because the Word of God is not
simple. This problem happened in the
seven churches and it continues
today. Our response to God’s
complexity reveals far more about us
than you might think. A person may
claim to be a Christian and behave
like the devil (this took place in
Pergamum) or a person may claim to be
a Christian and behave like Christ
(this took place in Philadelphia).
Both churches claimed to be
Christian! You might think that the
gospel of Jesus is all about Jesus,
but the gospel of Jesus also reveals
who and what we really are. The
gospel of Jesus can be compared to
pressing your fist into a lump of
clay. If the clay is soft, a perfect
reflection of your fist will occur.
If the clay is hard, the clay will
remain unchanged. The gospel of Jesus
reveals who we really are.
An
honest-hearted person will seek out
God’s truth even when the truth
is contrary to what he wants to
believe. Whenever a person comes to a
point in his life where he is willing
to believe that God’s truth
is always beneficial,
he will pursue truth, regardless of
the consequences, because he knows
that result will produce a higher
plane of living. The truth seeker
wants to walk more closely with God
and like Moses, he prays, “teach
me your ways so I may know you and
continue to find favor with
you.” The prayer
and experience of honest-hearted
people goes something like this:
“Lord, I don’t care what
the truth is, what it costs or where
it may lead. Please open my eyes that
I may understand it and subdue the
natural stubbornness in my heart so
that I may live it.”
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
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