Letters to the Seven Churches

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The Bible Knowledge Commentary says this portion of scripture has long been neglected. While many turn to the letters of Paul for church truth, few use these seven letters, which come directly from Christ. This neglect may be the reason why many churches are not conforming to nor seeking God's will but rather seeking their own will.

Wiersby says, these letters are "x-rays" of the seven churches but he was actually speaking to individuals i.e. "He that has an ear, let him hear." Churches are made up of individuals and they determine the "spiritual life" of the church.

I believe the letters were written

1. To encourage them to have faith in spite of the persecution they were facing.
2. To encourage them to obedience and renewal of their "first love".

Turn to the map that I gave you on the Province of Asia and renew your memory on the location of the Isle of Patmos and the seven churches to which John writes. We do not know why God chose these seven churches as there were 14 churches on this Province of Asia. Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Bithynia, Colosse, Troas and Miletus were not included but we can be sure that they to received knowledge of this book and benefited form its teachings. We can only assume that these seven were typical and ,by now, were the center of the Christian world. Ephesus had taken the place of Jerusalem in importance and leadership. Nine of the 27 books in the New Testament were written to people in this area.

Now, with this background, lets look at the seven letters.

Ephesus

Ephesus was the center of the worship of the goddess Diana. The temple of Diana was one of "The Seven Wonders of the World". When Paul tried to establish a church at Ephesus he almost lost his life because his success cut into the profits of the silversmiths who made small replicas of the goddess Diana. But into this wicked and cosmopolitan "free city", Paul preached the Gospel of Christ and established what became the largest church in Asia Minor.

Ephesus was the home of Paul's partners in the tent making business, Pricilla and Aquila. Also Timothy and John were considered a part of this church. It is believed that many of the Roman Catholic beliefs and "dogma" concerning Mary were "holdovers" from the worship of Diana. With this background, let us look at the letter to the church at Ephesus.

Notice the letter was written to the "Angel" of the church. Most scholars believe that this referred to the "spiritual leader" of the church. At Ephesus, it was probably Timothy who later became the first Bishop of Ephesus.

Notice in each of the letters, Jesus is described with a different function of "The Christ". Here, He is described as the one who holds the seven "stars" in His right hand and who walks among the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars were the seven spiritual leaders of the seven churches. He upholds these seven leaders. He also walks among the seven churches, symbolized by the seven golden candlesticks.

In the letter, John lists 5 good things about Ephesus and only one bad thing. Lets look first at the things that the Lord commended them for.

1. They "toiled" faithfully. They were dedicated to their work at the church.
2. They endured patiently. Whatever the cause, whatever the pain, they endured patiently.
3. They disliked evil men or false teachers. They knew and practiced the "true" word of God and had on part of those who didn't.
4. They were bearing up in spite of tribulation for the sake of their Master.
5. They had not grown weary. In general, this church had continued in faithful service to God for more than 40 years.

Now, lets look at their one bad point.

1. They had abandoned their "first love". The Lord was not suggesting that they had abandoned their salvation, but rather that they had abandoned the joy and enthusiasm of it. They no longer had a concern for the lost.

The Greek word that is used is "agapen", which means, a Godlike concern for people. Thirty five years before, Paul wrote to Ephesus and said, "I never stop giving thanks for you because of your faith in Christ and "love for the brethren". The people to whom John is writing were second generation Christians and while they had retained the purity of their doctrine, they lacked concern for people.

What did John say would happen to them if they did not return to their "first love"? They would have their "lamp stand" (candlestick) removed from its place. Now this had nothing to do with the salvation of the individual members, it concerned the usefulness of a church that ceased to have concern for the lost. Ephesus was in danger of ceasing to be a "tool" in the hands of God.

How did Ephesus respond? History shows that the church remained fairly active until the 5th. century, but by the 14th. century, no trace of the church could be found. God is a patient god, He waited 1400 years.

Notice John does not close on a "sour note". He commends them for hating the Nicolaitans which, it seems, the Lord did not like either. The Nicolaitans were a sect who had infiltrated the church at Ephesus and also the church at Pergamum. They encouraged Christians to eat food that had been offered to idols and taught that fornication was acceptable. They were the "liberals" of John's day. Every generation has had its liberals. They have succeeded in removing from society all that is moral and "Christ like". They are the agents of Satan and will ultimately be destroyed at the Second Coming.

John ends this letter as he does them all, "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." This statement establishes three things:

1. What is spoken here is made understandable to John by the Holy Spirit.
2. What is said of one church should of concern by all churches.
3. We can never use our ears for anything better than the advise of the Holy Spirit.

Notice the reward for those who overcome their sins, "They shall eat of the "Tree of Life". This was denied Adam and Eve when sin came into their life but God provided a way for us by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. All who overcome sin by accepting Christ as their Lord and Savior, have "fullness of life" here and "eternal life" to come. The gift of the "tree of life".

Smyrna

Smyrna is an old city. It was about 1200 years old at the time of Christ. It's name means "myrrh" or perfume. The faithfulness of this church was like sweet perfume to God. In contrast to Ephesus, the city is still in existence today. It's present name is Izmir. Perhaps it has existed so long because God could not find anything to rebuke these faithful Christians for.

Smyrna was about 35 miles north of Ephesus. (see map) It rivaled Ephesus in pomp and grandeur. The first Christians here were Jewish proselytes. Today, most are Greek or Armenian. The bulk of the population are Moslems.

Now lets see what John is instructed to write to this church. Again the letter is addressed to the "Angel" of the church, referring to the "spiritual leader" of the church.

Notice the function of Jesus that is described in this letter, "The first and the last, the one who died and came to life." These aspects of Christ were especially meaningful to the Christians at Smyrna who, like Christ, were experiencing death and persecution for their beliefs.

Now, what was the faults of this church? No faults were found at the church at Smyrna. What would it be like to be a member of a church with no faults? Why were there no faults at this church? They had remained true to their "first love". Why, because they were persecuted. History has proven that prosperity and ease of life results in indifference while poverty and persecution keeps us close to the Lord. These Jewish proselytes, turned Christian, were despised by all. The Jews, the Greeks, the Gentiles and the Romans, had no love for them. They were prejudiced against in every way. Even though they were economically poor John says they were Spiritually rich.

The greatest source of persecution came from the Jewish Synagogue, since these Christians were originally Jews. Their hatred allowed them to be taken over by Satan. In the history of the church, the most sever persecution has come from "so-called" religious people. But the word of God to these people was, "Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer." History shows that they suffered imprisonment and death.

Note how long the persecution was to last. "Ten days" Remembering that this book is "apocalyptic" in it's format, there are three possible interpretations of the 10 day time period.

1. It could be a symbolic representation of the entire period of persecution of "the Church".
2. It could refer to the 10 persecutions which the Church endured under the Roman rulers.
3. Most probable is the "scriptural" meaning of "10 days" which is, an anticipated but limited period of time. This terminology is used in Gen. 24:55, Nehemiah 5:18, Daniel 1:12, Acts 25:6, Numbers 11:19, 1st. Sam. 1:8 and Job 19:3.

The question then is why should the Godly suffer? The Bible gives 4 reasons:

1. Suffering may be disciplinary in nature.
2. Suffering may be to develop character. i.e. Paul's "thorn in the flesh" kept him humble.
3. Suffering may help us to be obedient. i.e. Christ's suffering.
4. Suffering may improve our testimony, which is probably the case here.

Now what was the reward for enduring this persecution? "The Crown of Life". The Crown of Life is one of some 6 or 7 crowns that are promised to Christians. Crowns are rewards given to those who persevere for one reason or another. We will not go around heaven with these crowns upon our heads but rather we will place them at the feet of Jesus when we are called home.

Again John ends by saying, "He that has an ear, let him hear for he that conquers shall not be hurt by the "second death". We see here a term familiar to the Jews concerning "the judgment". To the Jew, all must die. This is the first death. Those who "conquer" will not suffer the second death which is eternal judgment in hell. Thus John is saying to these good people, to die at the hands of men is of far less consequence than to die at the hands of God.

Pergamum

Pergamum still exists today in the western part of Turkey but is now called Bergama. It attained its peak of importance about 100 years after John wrote this letter or about 200 AD. It was about 20 miles north of Smyrna and at that time was the Capitol of Asia.

There was a contest between Pergamum and Alexander in Egypt to see who could have the greatest library. In order to help it's cause, Egypt stopped the export of papyrus to Pergamum to keep them from printing additional books. As the result the people of Pergamum developed what is known today as parchment and went on with their library.

Now lets see what John is instructed to write to this church. Again the letter is addressed to the "Angel" of the church, referring to the "spiritual leader" of the church at Pergamum.

Notice, again, the function of Jesus that is described in this letter, "the one who has the "sharp two edged sword", whose words John is about to write. Elsewhere in the bible, the "Word" is described as simply a sword but here are two edges to the sword, one for defense and one for offence. It was needed at Pergamum in defense of the "men with corrupt minds" that infested the church and it was needed for offence to fight them with the "Word".

John writes, "I know that you dwell where Satan's throne is." for Pergamum was a wicked and perverted city. Some believe that John was referring to the Alter to the god Zeus that stood in the city. It was a huge columned enclosure where many evil and pagan ceremonies took place. It was in this evil city that the church tried to exist.

Now what did John commend them for:

1. Holding fast. In spite of the many temptations that they faced daily, they were holding fast to God's word.
2. Not denying the faith. In spite of the corrupt minds that had infested the church. These evil people threatened the devout members even going so far as to kill one of them by the name of Antipas. Antipas was a friend of Johns and probably killed as an example to the others. But in spite of this, they had been steadfast and faithful to their "first love" and witnessed of their salvation to others. It is difficult for us to appreciate this in light of our freedom of worship.

Now what fault did John find in this church? There were two groups of false teachers found there. They were called "men of corrupt minds". There were those who followed the teachings of Balaam and those who were called the Nicolaitans.

Now, what do we know about Balaam? Balaam was a heathen "soothsayer". He lived east of the Jordan River about 1200 BC. He was summoned by Balak, King of Moab, to put a curse on Israel. This was during the possession of the Promised Land. Somehow this strange pagan man became sensitive to the commands of God which gave him a "split personality". His teachings were confusing and contradictory. One minute he displayed obedience to Jehovah and pronounced blessings on Israel and the next he was leading them to commit sensuous sins and eating food that had been sacrificed to pagan gods. The inconsistency of his teachings had found their way into the church at Pergamum.

The second group which was found in the church at Ephesus also, was similar in false teachings. John's letter was addressed to those who had allowed these false teachers to exist and to those who participated in them. Both were equally guilty.

Jesus says, "If you don't repent God will come and war against you with the sword of His mouth." This, of course, is the Word of God. The Word of God will take hold of sinners sooner or later, either to bring conviction or to bring confusion.

Then Jesus promises a reward to those who repent and overcome the false teachings. He promises to give them some of the "hidden manna" and a "white stone". Hidden manna is a blessing coming down from heaven and not visible to the world. The white stone was an ancient custom pertaining to the verdict in civil judgments, stones were handed to the defendant symbolizing the verdict. A black stone meant they were guilty and a white stone meant they were not guilty. Thus the white stone from the Master meant absolution from the guilt of sin.

On the stone will be written a "new name". The new name is our adopted name, the one that appears in the "Lambs Book of God". John speaks more of this further on in the book.

"He who had an ear, let him hear." They who understand the meaning of these words, let them act accordingly.

Thyatira

Thyatira also still exists today, in Turkey, by the name of Akhisar. Like Pergamum and Sardis, it was located on a key highway of commerce. It was known for it's fine weavers of wool and linen textiles. Lydia, Paul's first convert in Europe, was a cloth merchant, a seller of purple, from this city. The city had been established since the third century BC. by a colony of Macedonians. From the Jewish Synagogue in Thyatira, a devote Christian colony was formed. They had been in existence about 35 years when John wrote this letter.

Now lets see what John is instructed to write to this church. Again the letter is addressed to the "Angel" of the church, referring to the "spiritual leader" at Thyatira.

Notice the function of Jesus that is described in this letter. "The Son of God who has eyes like a flame of fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze." This relates back to the way that John saw Jesus when he first got the revelation.

1. Son of God, is well understood by us today but was the chief target of the Anti-Christ of John's day. Their aim was to destroy His divinity and thus destroy His mission.
2. Eyes like a flame of fire signify the very nature of the eyes of Jesus, having been described as "piercing". "penetrating" and showing perfect knowledge, compassion and understanding.
3. Feet like burnished bronze symbolizes His mode of transportation and the determination of it. Always healing, teaching, supporting, feeding, even in His rest, His compassion was evident by what He did.

Now lets look at the matters for which He commends the church.

1. Their works. They obviously had been very busy in work of the Lord and this pleased Him.
2. Their love. This was evident in their association with one another.
3. Their faith. This faith was evidenced by their work and their love for the brethren.
4. Their service. This is not normally spoken of in the bible. The Greek word relates to administration. Jesus was commending them for the way they handled the affairs of the church.
5. Their patience. Patience is a virtue. It is also necessary when you are dealing with people. Those who are most active in the church must, by nature, be patience.
6. Their spiritual growth. When others, like Ephesus, were loosing their "first love", these people were growing spiritually. This is what we call "sanctification" or growing in grace.

So they were a very spiritually strong church for the most part, but, there was one thing amiss. They tolerated the woman Jezebel. Note that this was not directly charged upon the whole church but rather upon certain members of the church. The churches fault was that they allowed these people to remain. Now obviously Jezebel was not a member of the church at Thyatira, she had died some 800 years before. She had been a persecutor of the prophets and a great patron of idolaters and false prophets. These evil members of the church are compared to Jezebel and are even called by her name. They taught fornication and the offering of sacrifices to idols. They had no respect for the minister or the officers of the church.

Two things made their influence deadly:

1. They made use of the name of God to sell their evil doctrine.
2. They harden their hearts against the leading of the Holy Sprit.

Note the Jesus had given them time to repent, but they had not. In this we see four basic principles of repentance:

1. Repentance is necessary.
2. Repentance requires time.
3. God gives time for repentance but eventually will require a decision.
4. When the time expires, the sinner perishes.

Now why should the whole church be charged with the evil of a few? Because they had allowed this to go on indifferently and had not used their powers of ministry or excommunication.

How was the Lord going to punish these people? They will become sick. Aids and other sexually transmitted diseases are the result of fornication, and it doesn't stop there, "I will kill their children" said the Lord.

Why was He going to do this? "That all the churches would know that I am He who searches the heart and mind and I will give to each of you as your works deserve."

Notice Jesus calls these false doctrines the "deep things of Satan". It seems that Satan used on these people the same gimmick that he used on Eve, convincing them that disobedience would give them a deeper insight into religion.

Then Jesus informs the rest of the church, "I will not lay upon you any other burden, I will not overburden your faith with any new ministries or your consciences with any new laws. I only require your attention to that which you have already received."

In conclusion, Jesus promised those that "overcome", power and dominion over the nations of the world. There are two possible explanations of this:

1. Jesus may have been foretelling the decision of Constantine, Ruler of Rome, to turn the Roman Empire over to Christianity.
2. Or, He may have been foretelling the world to come when believers shall set down with Christ to judge the enemies of Christ thru the ages. John says, Christ shall rule them with a rod of iron.

He also promises to give them the "morning star". Christ is the morning star. He brings newness of light into the soul of man as morning does to the day.

"He who has an ear, let them hear." They who understand, let them forsake the teachings of Jezebel, repent and escape the sickness that is sure to come and those who overcame shall receive Christ and with Him, judge the un-righteous

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