Appendix C
– The Seven Churches
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
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The church at
Laodicea was full of “rich young
rulers.”[82] They
mistook their affluence and wealth as
evidence of God’s approval when
in fact, God condemned them for
misusing His wealth. The value of
money is determined by the good it
produces. When God gives wealth to
people, He also imposes
accountability for its use. This will
prove to be a big surprise for many
on Judgment Day! The carnal heart
loves money because money brings
power, gratification, and selfish
satisfaction. Money can buy almost
anything. When people have too much
money, few will desire or wait to see
God’s providence. Money can rob
us of faith in God because there is
no need to seek or wait upon the
Lord. Money can shut out
Christ’s discipline and rebuke.
Money can distort justice and ruin
integrity. Money is harmful and this
is why Jesus said, “It
is easier for a camel to go through
the eye of a needle than for a rich
man to enter the kingdom of
God.”[83] Self-indulgence
and money are brother and sister in
the carnal heart. This is why Jesus
said, “No one can
serve two masters. Either he will
hate the one and love the other, or
he will be devoted to the one and
despise the other. You cannot serve
both God and Money.”[84]
The
“rich young ruler test”
wars against the core of our carnal
nature. Jesus gave up everything He
owned in order to save us and He does
not ask less of His disciples.[85] Carefully
notice in Matthew 19 that Jesus
did not ask the rich young ruler to
donate his wealth to the temple.
Rather, Jesus told the rich young
ruler to sell his possessions and
give the proceeds to the poor. Can
you imagine the joy of finding poor
people needing financial help? Jesus
hit the rich young ruler where it
hurt most. He did not want to give
his wealth away. He loved money. His
wealth meant more to him than God or
those who lived in poverty. This was
the basic problem in Laodicea. The
Christians at Laodicea were happy
with their riches. They did not
realize that they were serving money
rather than God and this made Jesus
nauseous. Money is so deceitful! No
one but Jesus could have told the
church at Laodicea their true
condition. Who would have believed
His threat unless He spoke it
Himself?
The
Tables Turned
Overcomers
who pass “the rich young ruler
test” will reign with Jesus as
“rich young rulers”
throughout His universe.[86] Jesus
can offer no greater reward than what
He offered to the Laodiceans. Think
about this. Jesus not only gave His
life for us, He offers to share His
throne with us! What amazing love!
Overcomers will be exalted because
they loved God and their neighbors
more than money while living
with a carnal nature! Holy
angels cannot experience such a test
for they do not have a carnal nature.
When properly understood, the gospel
of Jesus transforms an egocentric
heart into a theo-centric heart. The
gospel of Jesus subdues the selfish
nature so that the spiritual nature
can grow stronger. Jesus assures
victory to every person who keeps his
eyes on Jesus and keeps his heart
open to the Holy Spirit. “For
everyone born of God overcomes the
world. This is the victory that has
overcome the world, even our
faith.”[87]
Conclusion
We have
examined the seven churches. We have
considered their faults and their
strengths. We have also considered
the admonition of Jesus to each
church. If there is anything that you
should remember about this study it
is this: Salvation is a two-sided
coin. The minute you totally
surrender your life to Jesus and are
willing to go – be – do as
He directs, the assurance of
salvation is yours! To keep this
assurance alive and intact, you must
begin to fight the fight of faith.
You must overcome temptation and be
transformed through the imparted
power of Christ. This process will
last a lifetime. As long as you allow
Jesus to discipline you (disciple
you), you are justified in God’s
sight. That is, God sees you as
though you never sinned. The
righteousness of Jesus covers you.
The
primary objective of redemption is
not eternal life. The primary object
is walking with God each day
throughout the rest of eternity.
Seven times,
Jesus made it clear to the seven
churches that overcoming temptation
is not optional. Sanctification is
both necessary and possible through
His power. After showing John the
Great Tribulation story including the
persecution of the saints for
forty-two months, the martyrdom of
the saints during the fifth seal, the
physical appearing of the devil, and
the mark of the beast, Jesus
emphasized the necessity of
overcoming an eighth time. “He
who was seated on the throne said,
‘I am making everything
new!’ Then he said, ‘Write
this down, for these words are
trustworthy and true.’ He said
to me: ‘It is done. I am the
Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning
and the End. To him who is thirsty I
will give to drink without cost from
the spring of the water of
life. He
who overcomes will inherit all this,
and I will be his God and he will be
my son. But
the cowardly, the unbelieving, the
vile, the murderers, the sexually
immoral, those who practice magic
arts, the idolaters and all
liars–their place will be in the
fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is
the second death.’ ”[88] Isn’t
it interesting that the book of
Revelation ends where it began?
Believers in Christ can be overcomers
through the strength that Christ
imparts. Paul knew about the miracle
of having our desire for sin
neutralized. He wrote, “I
can do everything through him who
gives me strength.”[89] If we
are willing to walk with the Lord, He
will be our God and we will be His
children.
Remember the
seven rewards promised to overcomers:
- To
him who overcomes, I will
give the right to eat from
the tree of life, which is in
the paradise of God.
- He
who overcomes will not be
hurt at all by the second
death.
- To
him who overcomes, I will
give some of the hidden
manna. I will also give him a
white stone with a new name
written on it, known only to
him who receives it.
- To
him who overcomes and does my
will to the end, I will give
authority over the nations
– ‘He will rule
them with an iron scepter; he
will dash them to pieces like
pottery’ – just as
I have received authority
from my Father.
- He
who overcomes will 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.
- To
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,
New Jerusalem, which is
coming down out of Heaven
from my God; and I will also
write on him my new name.
- 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.
These rewards
mean very little to those who are
spiritually dead. Jesus deliberately
worded His remarks this way. If the
rewards of Heaven appealed to our
carnal nature, Heaven would be filled
with selfish people intent on getting their
free reward, instead of walking with
God and serving others! By obscuring
these eternally magnificent rewards
with spiritual words, Jesus ensured
the carnal nature would not be
attracted to them. This is why Jesus
says seven times that those who have
ears to hear, let him hear what the
Spirit is saying. Everyone who
follows the Holy Spirit can
understand the messages to the seven
churches. They do not require a Greek
expert or a great deal of study. They
do require an endless struggle
against the carnal nature. The seven
messages also contain a warning that
any deviation from the gospel of
Jesus must be corrected as quickly as
possible. If a deviation is not
corrected quickly, the damage only
gets worse with the passage of time.
One day, each
overcomer will be exalted as a hero.
The angels will honor those who
overcame sin through Christ’s
imparted strength. Jesus will honor
every saint because He overcame the
world and won the war for his soul.
The Bible predicts a time is coming
when all of God’s saints will
stand before His throne. I cannot
think of anything more wonderful and
more joyful than falling on our faces
before the Father and the Lamb and
praising them for the priceless gift
of redemption they freely offered.
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