Appendix C
– The Seven Churches
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Promises
Made
Jesus made a
promise to the overcomers in Sardis
that is often distorted by people who
insist that once saved means always
saved. Jesus said, “He
who overcomes will, like them, be
dressed in white. I will never blot
out his name from the Book of Life,
but will acknowledge his name before
my Father and his angels.”[73] We know
from Prophecy Six that The Book of
Life is the book sealed with seven
seals. We know The Book of Life is
not used in judgment and it is not
opened until the end of the 1,000
years.[74] Knowing
these things, let us take a moment
and review each of the rewards Jesus
offers to the overcomers in the seven
churches. As you review each reward,
ask yourself when will
the rewards be distributed.
Ephesus: The
right to eat from the tree of life
Smyrna: The
second death will not hurt you
Pergamum: The
right to eat hidden manna and the
receipt of a
white stone
Thyatira: You
will receive authority over the
nations and the
Morning Star
Sardis: I
will never blot our your name from
The Book of Life
Philadelphia:
I will write on you the name of my
God and the
name of His city
Laodicea: I
will grant you the right to sit with
Me on My throne
Clearly,
these rewards will be given to
overcomers after the
saints are taken to Heaven at the
Second Coming. The same timing
applies to the church of Sardis. The
problem for most people
with Revelation 3:5 is
timing. Jesus was not talking about
manipulating The Book of Life when He
spoke to the church at Sardis.
(Remember, The Book of Life was
written and sealed up before the
world was created. Revelation 17:8) Rather,
Jesus promised the overcomers in
Sardis that He would never blot out
their names from The Book of
Life after they
arrive in Heaven. This means
overcomers will live forever with
Jesus!
Jesus does
not require sinless behavior for
salvation! If He did, then no one
could be saved. No one other than
Jesus has lived a perfect life and no
sinner can live a sinless life until
the carnal nature is removed and the
sealing takes place! The good news is
that John tells us there is a sin
that does not lead to death. This sin
is accidental sin.[75] If we
say we are without sin, the Bible
says we are liars.[76] So, the
promise Christ gave to the overcomers
in Sardis has to be kept within the
context of His words to all seven
churches. What did the church at
Sardis need to overcome? They had
substituted church life for spiritual
life and as a result, they had become
spiritually dead. Jesus insisted they
wake up so that He might walk among
them and make disciples of them!
Everyone who overcomes this
temptation will never have his name
blotted out of The Book of Life.
Philadelphia
“To
the angel of the church in
Philadelphia write: These are the
words of him who is holy and true,
who holds the key of David. [Jesus
holds the key to everything.] What
he opens no one can shut, and what he
shuts no one can open. [Jesus
said,]I know your deeds. See,
I have placed before you an open door
that no one can shut. I know that you
have little strength, yet you have
kept my word and have not denied my
name. I will make those who are of
the synagogue of Satan, who claim to
be Jews though they are not, but are
liars – I will make them come
and fall down at your feet and
acknowledge that I have loved you.
Since
you have kept my command to endure
patiently, I will also keep you from
the hour of trial that is going to
come upon the whole world to test
those who live on the earth. I am
coming soon. Hold on to what you
have, so that no one will take your
crown. Him who overcomes I will make
a pillar in the temple of my God.
Never again will he leave it. I will
write on him the name of my God and
the name of the city of my God, the
new Jerusalem, which is coming down
out of heaven from my God; and I will
also write on him my new name. He who
has an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit says to the churches.”[77]
The church in
Philadelphia struggled with the
synagogue of Satan just like the
church at Smyrna. In fact, the seven
churches were beset with all kinds of
problems. Ephesus had lost its first
love. Pergamum was beguiled with the
devil’s lies and Gnosticism.
Thyatira was corrupted with
Jezebel’s teachings about sexual
immorality. Smyrna was threatened by
ongoing persecution and Sardis was an
active church, but it was spiritually
dead. Philadelphia was weak, but
hanging on and Laodecia had grown
indifferent. As Jesus looked down
from Heaven upon His seven churches,
no wonder He was not very happy.
Unfortunately,
many Christians distort the message
to the church at Philadelphia because
they want some texts to support a
pretribulation rapture. However,
Jesus’ words to Philadelphia do
not imply a pretribulation rapture.
Because the church in Philadelphia
was weak and suffering from
persecution, Jesus told the members
at Philadelphia that He had made a
way for them to go through their
suffering. This is the point of the
open door. By His grace they
could go through this
experience and overcome it. He also
told them that He would keep them
during the hour of trial that was
going to come upon the whole world.
This promise belongs to everyone
having the Philadelphia experience.
Think about
this for a moment. Did Jesus offer to
protect the people in Philadelphia
from the Great Tribulation and allow
the other six churches to go through
the Great Tribulation? Of course,
not! The words of Jesus have to be
understood within context. They were
spoken to the people living in
Philadelphia in A.D. 95. Jesus
directed His words to them because
their experience will become the
experience of those living during the
Great Tribulation. Jesus
encouraged the suffering members in
Philadelphia to hold fast to their
faith because He would never leave
them or forsake them.
When Jesus
spoke to the church at Philadelphia,
the members were very weary and
discouraged by persecution. Early
Christians knew from Jesus and Paul
that the end of the age would be
marked with persecution and death.
Jesus did not add to their
discouragement by telling them about
the end of the world, but instead,
Jesus attempted to cheer them up with
these words: “Since you
have kept my command to endure
patiently, I will also keep you from [through] the
hour of trial that is going to come
upon the whole world to test those
who live on the earth. I am coming
soon. Hold on to what you have, so
that no one will take your
crown.” You will
notice that I crossed out the word
“from” and inserted the
word “through.” The Greek
preposition used in Revelation 3:10 has
many different meanings. In
today’s English, the word
“through” is a better
translation, but they mean the same
thing in this sentence. If I take
something from you,
the word “from” indicates
origin. If I take some candy from the
dish, again the word “from”
indicates origin. Translators used
the word “from” in Revelation 3:10 because
Jesus means, “I will also keep
you “from the origin of”
the hour of trial that is going to
come upon the whole world. . .
.” In today’s English, the
word “through” implies from
beginning to end a little more
clearly. For example, if I went
through four years of residency to
become a medical specialist, this
implies that I was there from
beginning to end.
Jesus
promised to sustain the beleaguered
church at Philadelphia during the
Great Tribulation that would come
upon the world. This promise is
interesting for two reasons. First,
Jesus assures those who are suffering
from persecution that He sees their
pain and in His strength, they can
endure and be victorious over it.
Second, Jesus indicates that some
Christians will have the Philadelphia
experience at the end of the age
because the Great Tribulation only
occurs at the end of the age. Jesus
encouraged the church at Philadelphia
saying, “Hold on to
what you have. . .” These
words are inspiring when the fires of
persecution are hot. It’s human
nature to give in or give up to stop
the pain, but those who overcome will
be rewarded beyond their wildest
imagination!
By the way,
there is also a secret message to
Philadelphia: All overcomers will be
given a special name tag when they
get to Heaven. Jesus said, “I
will write on him the name of my
God… the name of the city of my
God, and I will
also write on him my new name.”
This name tag will permit its owner
to travel anywhere in God’s
universe. You will be recognized
throughout God’s universe as a
very special person because YOU
overcame the temptation to give up,
and YOU were trained through
suffering on Earth for the exalted
role that God has given you
throughout eternity. Those who
endured much will be rewarded with
much. Those who endured little will
be rewarded accordingly. Your life
and your situation determines your
victory over the curse of sin and
your reward will be appropriate!
Jesus wants everyone to know who YOU
are throughout eternity, so He will
give you a glorious name tag.
Laodicea
– Avoiding Conflict
Since
conflict and war is at the forefront
of current events and the topic of
spiritual warfare is paramount for
Christian living, this is a perfect
time to examine the church of
Laodicea. The church at Laodicea was
full of Christians avoiding war.
The church had a deadly problem. They
had muted the power of the gospel.
The gospel of
Jesus Christ is like a sword, it
always causes war.[78] Jesus
was a victim of this war! The gospel
of Jesus is an advancing gospel of
love, but God’s love condemns
the carnal heart which loves itself.
Truth condemns people who reject it
and it saves people who receive it.
The gospel of Jesus liberates people
who love truth and their victory over
darkness produces persecution by
those in darkness. Few things can
tear families or nations apart like
differences in religion. War erupts
when the advancing gospel of Jesus
confronts the establishments and
traditions of religion. The church at
Laodicea, even though it was less
than 40 years old, did everything
possible to avoid conflict. Wealth
and affluence had compromised the
advancement of the gospel in
Laodicea. Church members had muted
the gospel to protect their jobs and
positions of respect in a pagan
community. History proves
that the gospel of Jesus mutates into
various forms of pseudo-Christianity
when Christians are not persecuted.
In fact, this explains why God handed
the saints over to the little horn
power in Daniel 7 for 1,260
years![79] Throughout
the Dark Ages, the church in the
wilderness maintained faith in Christ
because of persecution.
Ancient
Israel also proved that faith in God
mutates into false religion when
there is no persecution. Moses warned
the children of Israel at the gates
to the Promised Land, “Be
careful that you do not forget the
Lord your God, failing to observe his
commands, his laws and his decrees
that I am giving you this day.
Otherwise, when you eat and are
satisfied, when you build fine houses
and settle down, and when your herds
and flocks grow large and your silver
and gold increase and all you have is
multiplied, then your heart will
become proud and you will forget the
Lord your God, who brought you out of
Egypt, out of the land of slavery. .
. . For I know that after my death
you are sure to become utterly
corrupt and to turn from the way I
have commanded you. In days to come,
disaster will fall upon you because
you will do evil in the sight of the
Lord and provoke him to anger by what
your hands have made.”[80] The Old
Testament confirms that Israel
repeatedly abandoned God every time
it became militarily secure, wealthy,
and affluent and the same behavior is
documented throughout Christian
history. What does this say about the
carnal nature of man?
When the
church at Laodicea compromised its
faith, the church died spiritually.
Like the church at Sardis, they
thought they were doing just fine
even though their condition made
Jesus almost vomit! Christians in
Laodecia did not recognize their true
condition before God. They were not
focused on the cause of Christ or the
objectives of the gospel. They did
not detect the ongoing war over their
souls. They could not see the
sophistry of the devil’s
warfare. They were preoccupied with
making money and spending it. They
were affluent and enjoyed the good
life.
The gospel of
Jesus wars against acquiring riches
and selfish indulgence because the
carnal nature is selfish.
Unfortunately, many Christians are
living the Laodicean experience
today. The gospel of Jesus has become
an intellectual assent to truth
rather than a life of service for God
and man. Many Christians are willing
to give money to promote the gospel,
but they are unwilling to give
themselves.
“To
the angel of the church in Laodicea
write: These are the words of the
Amen, the faithful and true witness,
the ruler of God’s creation. I
know your deeds, that you are neither
cold nor hot. I wish you were either
one or the other! So, because you are
lukewarm – neither hot nor cold
– I am about to spit you out of
my mouth.
You
say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired
wealth and do not need a thing.’
But you do not realize that you are
wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and
naked. I counsel you to buy from me
gold refined in the fire, so you can
become rich; and white clothes to
wear, so you can cover your shameful
nakedness; and salve to put on your
eyes, so you can see. Those whom I
love I rebuke and discipline [torment].
So be earnest, and repent.
Here
I am! I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears my voice and opens
the door, I will come in and eat with
him, and he with me. To him who
overcomes, I will give the right to
sit with me on my throne, just as I
overcame and sat down with my Father
on his throne. He who has an ear, let
him hear what the Spirit says to the
churches.”[81]
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