Jesus sent seven letters to seven churches located in a Roman province, called Asia. In each letter Jesus urged us to pay attention saying,
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Jesus was saying something like, “If you have an ear, my expectation is that you will listen!” He repeated this expectation seven times, once in each letter.
JESUS URGES US TO “HEAR” THE MESSAGES TO THE CHURCHES: Church, Verse,
The plea to listen:
Ephesus2:7
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Smyrna2:11
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Pergamum2:17
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Thyatira2:29
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Sardis3:6
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Philadelphia
3:13
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Laodicea3:22
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Jesus did not provide this urge to listen to warn about invading armiesor even nuclear war. This emphasis is to focus our attention on seven letters. In general, Jesus first encouraged the church by recognizing positive attributes.He then discussed a need for improvement. However, Smyrna and Philadelphia did not receive any correction, while Laodicea did not receive any praise
SEVEN MESSAGES:
Church ———————————— Commendation ——————————— Criticism
Ephesus ———— Reject Evil , Perseveres ————————- Little Passion
Smyrna ————– Gracefully bears suffering ——————- Non
Pergamum ————- Keep the faith of Christ ——————– Idolatry, Immorality, Bad Doctrines
Sardis ———————- Some have Kept the Faith —————- Dead
Philadelphia ————– Perseveres in Faith ———————— Non
Laodicea —————— NON —————————– Indifferent
These letters may appear outdated however their value transcends time. Some of the practices and doctrines described are no less peculiar than beliefs and traditions of contemporary churches. For example, countless contemporary churches practice idolatry by teaching people to kneel before statues of wood or stone. Even though members refer to these statues as“icons” many are treated as idols (Exodus 20:4-6).
Church History
Jesus could have sent a letter to any of a hundred first-century churches. He did not select many prominent churches, such as Antioch,Alexandria, Jerusalem, or Rome. It is widely thought that Jesus selected these specific churches for at least one reason: when placed end-to-end these letters describe worldwide church history, starting at the first century and ending with the primary church of today
PREDOMINANCE OF EACH CHURCH:
Description
Predominance Began
Ephesus Second generation (complacent)95AD, Smyrna Martyrs (persecuted, alive)100 AD, Pergamum Catholic (compromised doctrine)312 AD Thyatira Catholic (misguided)312 AD Sardis Catholic (dead), Philadelphia Protestant (missionary, alive)1517 AD Laodicea Protestant (complacent) 1900 AD
The past two thousand years all seven church types have continued toexist to one extent or another. Today the contemporary church is largelycomplacent (Laodicea) in nature. However, God’s people are found in other conditions. Believers who make scripture interpretation subject to human tradition belong to the Pergamum, Thyatira, or Sardis church. Believers living incountries that execute Christians are part of the Smyrna Church.
Ephesus
“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lamp stands: I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lamp stand from its place. But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans,which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to . To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life,which is in the paradise of God.(Revelation 2:1-7)Ephesus Theater –- Location of Acts 19:24-34 events
Ephesus was a typical church during the latter part of the first century.Many sincere believers today identify with this church. Ephesus was a home to Paul for two years (Acts 19:9-10) and led by Timothy. This church was also home to the Apostle John.Ephesus was doctrinally sound; its membership
tested false teachers and found them false
. This was a hard-working church—with strong deeds,
hard work and perseverance
. Yet the Ephesus Church had lost its passion. Jesus said,
Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.
The following outlines what it means to lose your first love.
I value praise from people more than praise from God.
•I am callous in the way I treat a Christian brother.
•I choose not to witness because I fear rejection.
•My leisure-time thoughts do not turn to God.
•I do not cheerfully give to God’s work.
•I become complacent to sin.
•I am slow to forgive.
Because the Ephesus Church did not repent, severe religious persecution began. This persecution was the central theme of the subsequent church, located at Smyrna. Suffering rekindled passion within the church, which prevailed the next two centuries.
Smyrna
“To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.
(Revelation 2: 8-11)Smyrna was a beautiful city and the second largest in Provincial Asia.However, the large Jewish population meant that Christians were persecuted.The Smyrna Church produced countless martyrs. Jesus said to this church,
“I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich!”
The Smyrna Church predominance between 95 AD and 312 AD paralleled the story of the original Smyrna Church. Refusing to worship Caesar, martyrs unwaveringly laid down their lives, as replacement new believers continually came forward. The Roman Empire martyred an estimated five million believers. Some believe that Christians were fed to wild animals inside the Roman Coliseum.Smyrna is described as suffering for ten days
. Some historians note that between 95 AD and 312 AD a total of ten Roman emperors persecuted Christians. Other historians state that there were ten waves of persecution against Christians. Jesus had no criticism of this church. Satan eventually gave up trying to destroy the church from the outside; instead, he chose to become active in church leadership. The new strategy was to destroy the church from the inside; that is the story of the following three churches.
Pergamum
“To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives. Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelite to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality. Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. He who has a near, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with anew name written on it, known only to him who receives it.
(Revelation 2:12-17)The teaching of the Nicolaitans
became preeminent. Historians translate “Nicolaitans” to mean, “to rule over the laity”—in other words, to rule over non-pastoral members of the church. The first-century church at Pergamum accepted Roman dominance, even the worship of emperors. The Pergamum Church was loyal to the rulers of earth, and not to the eternal King.The Pergamum time in history saw the rise of Pontiffs, as religious leaders created high-ranking positions in order to rule over God’s people.However the second king of Rome (Pompilius 753–673 BC) initiated the Collegeof Pontiffs centuries before Christ. Constantine, a Roman emperor ruling from Constantinople (Istanbul Turkey), made the Catholic Pontiff preeminent. At the time of Christ’s birth another Roman emperor, Augustus Caesar, was Pontiff.Those who hold the title of “Pope” walk on a path established by ruthless Roman emperors.
Jesus said Pergamum was
where Satan has his throne
—a possiblelocation of this “throne” was an ornate altar honoring pagan gods. Germanengineers moved this altar to Berlin between 1878 and 1886. It was placed in the Altes Museum, and later moved to an adjacent building, the Pergamum Museum. These locations are significant because Hitler gave rousing speeches to hundreds of thousands of people from a platform built on the steps of the Altes Museum. After this altar was moved to Berlin that city became a focal point for World War I, World War II, and the extermination of Jews. Berlin also was the place of greatest confrontation (the Berlin Wall) during the Cold War.The role of Germany in the future “beast out of the sea” (Revelation 13:1) is discussed later.
On a platform built over the steps of the Altus Museum – Hitler addressed massive rallies of up to a million people.
Thyatira
“To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance,and that you are now doing more than you did at first. Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess.By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds. Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets (I will not impose any other burden on you): Only hold on to what you have until I come. To him
“To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance,and that you are now doing more than you did at first. Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess.By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds. Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets (I will not impose any other burden on you): Only hold on to what you have until I come. 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. I will also give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
(Revelation 2:18-29)A false prophetess nicknamed Jezebel claimed to know deep secrets of God. Today this corresponds to Catholic doctrine, dogma, and traditions, which routinely contradict scripture. During the Thyatira Church period, Roman Catholic Church leaders trivialized the authority of scripture and turned to man-made traditions. Jezebel also taught Christians to indulge in sexual immorality,which deeply harmed the Thyatira Church (1 Kings 16:28-19:2).
Ephesus Theater –- Location of Acts 19:24-34 events