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Appendix C – The Seven Churches

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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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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:

  1. Fleeing Christians carried the gospel of Christ throughout the Roman Empire.
  2. Christianity became a standalone religious body that was separate and distinct from Jerusalem and Judaism.
  3. Christianity (unlike Judaism) proved that it is not concerned with ethnic origin or nationalism. Anyone within any nation could become a Christian.
  4. 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:

  1. Law
  2. Grace
  3. Faith
  4. Obedience
  5. Sin
  6. Righteousness
  7. Justification
  8. Sanctification
  9. Judgment
  10. 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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