Seven Churches of Revelation

The Seven Churches of Revelation

From the Revelation of Christ, chapters 2 and 3

(+) = what the church did right      (-) = how the church was in error

 

            This is presented as an overview of the seven churches rather than an exhaustive study of these churches.  These seven churches represent not only their condition at the time John was given the revelation by Jesus, but also represent the seven dispensations of the church (body of Christ) from that time to the present.

Revelation chapter 2 - Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;

² I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: (+) This church recognized the false apostles as liars.

³ And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. (+)

⁴ Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.(-) It became a backslidden church

In Acts 20:29-30, Paul had warned them - "For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them." 

⁵ Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

⁶ But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate. (+)

 Niko = to conquer     Laos = the people      The Nicolaitanes were trying to set up a hierarchy of priestly order like the Pharisees and eventually like the Catholic church.  To place the leadership over the people instead of being servants to the people.

⁷ He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcomes will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

The church at Ephesus represents the condition of the "Church" from 70AD to 170AD.  Jesus admonishes them to return to the doctrines which they were taught by the early church fathers, and to bring back the new again: the way they were when they first came to know Him.

 

⁸ And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things says the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;

⁹ I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (+) (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. (-)

¹⁰ Fear none of those things which thou shall suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

¹¹ He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

The Lord told them to stand fast, because they were to be tried by tribulations, which they should not fear. 

Matthew 10:28 ^"And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."

Isaiah 41:10"Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."

Extra history - In Ignatius time the "docetism" (Do·ce·tism) heresy was widespread in Smyrna (the doctrine according to which the phenomenon of Christ, his historical and bodily existence, and thus above all the human form of Jesus, was altogether mere semblance without any true reality). Here the attempt to accommodate the gospel to Greek culture had gone to the limit of denying the reality of the Lord’s body. The basic Hellenistic idea that matter was evil led inevitably to disbelief in the incarnation. God could not have a direct relation with the material world, since this was the province of evil. Accordingly, Christ could not have been genuinely man. He only appeared or seemed to have a body (whence “Docetism,” from the Greek dokeō, seem), so he must have been, so to speak, a phantom from the heavenly sphere.  In other words, docetism was an opinion especially associated with the Gnostics that Jesus had no human body and only appeared to have died on the cross.

Polycarp, a disciple of the apostle John, and by him ordained bishop of Smyrna was chief of all Asia, where he saw and had as teachers some of the apostles and of those who had seen the Lord.  In the presence of the proconsul, holding court at Smyrna and all the people crying out against him in the Amphitheater, he was burned.

Represents the "Church" from 170AD to 312AD.

¹² And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things says he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;

¹³ I know thy works, and where thou dwell, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holds fast my name, and hast not denied my faith (+), even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwells.

¹⁴ But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. (-) Balaam was the seer (a Prophet used to be called a seerer) who King Balac asked to prophesy against Israel, and bless his efforts to conquer it.  The king used the promise of riches if Balaam would be a traitor to God and Israel.

¹⁵ So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate. (-) The doctrine of the Nicolaitanes was to set up a hierarchy of priestly order like the Pharisees and eventually like the Catholic church.  To place the leadership over the people instead of being servants to the people.

¹⁶ Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

¹⁷ He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says unto the churches; To him that overcomes will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knows saving he that receives it.

Represents the "Church" from 312AD to 606AD

 

¹⁸ And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;

¹⁹ I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first. (+)

²⁰ Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. (-)  They allowed Jezebel, not only to stay in the church, but also to teach her heresy. She introduced Baal worship.

²¹ And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.

²² Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.

²³ And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.

²⁴ But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden.(+)

²⁵ But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.(+)

²⁶ And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:

²⁷ And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

²⁸ And I will give him the morning star.

²⁹ He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Represents the "Church" from 606AD to the reformation in 1520AD

 

Revelation chapter 3 And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.  It had the appearance of being alive and people thought it was alive.  It looked spiritually vibrant on the outside, but was spiritually lifeless.

² Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.  Calling for the future reformation.

³ Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.(-)  They had become formal and ritualistic in their services, loosing the personal relationship with the Lord.    

⁴ Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.(+) A few were faithful.

⁵ He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

⁶ He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Represents the "Church" from 1520AD until 1750AD - it was known as the dead church which brought on the period of the reformation - the breaking away from the tyranny and false teaching of the Roman church and a return to belief in Salvation by faith alone.

 

⁷ And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;

⁸ I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.(+)

⁹ Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie (-); behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.

¹⁰ Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

¹¹ Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.

¹² Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

¹³ He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Extra history - In Philadelphia Ignatius came into personal contact with a Judaizing movement similar to the one attacked by Paul in his Letter to the Galatians.  It was not as serious as Paul faced, circumcision not being demanded of its Gentile devotees, but a requirement to observe the Sabbath was involved, along with belief in certain Jewish traditions and allegories. 

Represents the "Church" from 1750AD to 1900AD and beyond: a period of true evangelistic and missionary work

 

¹⁴ And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

¹⁵ I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. (-)

¹⁶ So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

¹⁷ Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

¹⁸ I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.  They were spiritually blind.

¹⁹ As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

²⁰ Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.  A personal relationship with the one true and living God.  This also represents the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  What is wrong here is that Jesus is standing outside of the door.

²¹ To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. (+)

²² He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Represents the "Church" from 1900AD to the present time. This is the time of the growth of the apostate church and the one world religion.  It is also a time of refining, in the true church (the body of Christ).

 It is interesting to note that all of the above mentioned churches were located in present day Turkey.