ACT I — THE LETTERS TO THE SEVEN CHURCHES
I. PROLOGUE (Chapter
1:1-8):
. . A. Identification (Chapter 1: 1-2): The book is a
revelation given by God to Jesus Christ, who made it known by sending
. . .
. his angel to John.
. . B. First Beautitude (Chapter 1:3): Blessed is
the one who reads, or who listens and heeds, the words of this prophecy.
. . C. Greetings and Doxology (Chapter 1:4-8): John opens in usual
letter form, identifying himself and his recipients —
. . . . the seven
churches in the province of Asia. He then follows with a multi-verse doxology.
. . D. Jesus Appears to John (Chapter 1:9-16): John sets the scene
for the first vision as on the Lord's Day while he was
. . . . committed to
the Isle of Patmos because of his testimony to Christ. He hears a loud voice
“like a trumpet”, telling him
. . . . to write what he sees on a scroll and
send it to the seven named churches. John turns to see who was speaking to him
and
. . . . falls on his face as though dead when he beholds the being of
the risen Christ which he describes as being “Like a Son
. . . . of Man”
(Daniel 7:13):
. . . . 1. In a robe reaching down to His feet,
. . . . 2.
With a golden sash around His chest,
. . . . 3. His head and hair were white
like wool or snow,
. . . . 4. His eyes like blazing fire,
. . . . 5. His
feet like bronze glowing in a furnace,
. . . . 6. His voice like the sound of
rushing waters,
. . . . 7. His face like the brilliant sun,
. . . . 8. In
His right hand He held seven stars,
. . . . 9. From His mouth came a
two-edged sword,
. . . .10. He was standing among seven lampstands.
. . E.
John Commissioned (Chapter 1:17-20): Christ touches John with His
right hand, reviving him, and then tells him
. . . . that He is the First and
Last, the Living One, who was dead but now is alive forevermore, and holds the
keys of death
. . . . and Hades. He then commissions John to write “what he
has seen, what is now, and what will take place later.” He
. . . . explains
that the seven stars in His right hand are the angels of the seven churches and
that the lampstands are the
. . . . seven churches.
. . F. The letters are
themselves organized into seven parts:
II. LETTERS TO THE SEVEN CHURCHES (Chapter 2 AND
3):
. . A. Letter to Ephesus (Chapter 2:1-7):
. . . . 1.
Ephesus was the largest and most important city in the province of Asia. Paul
labored here for more than two years,
. . . . . . and Timothy served here.
It is believed that Ephesus was John’s home in his old age.
. . . . 2. The
church at Ephesus was probably the first Christian church in the province, and
the only one of the seven possibly
. . . . . .to have been established by
Paul.
. . . . 3. Acts 20:13-38 tells of Paul’s “last” visit to this church
on his way to Jerusalem, where he was imprisoned; and is the
. . . . . .
only church of the seven whose letter from Paul survives.
. . . . 4. While
Christ praises the orthodoxy of this church, he charges them with having lost
their first love. Their orthodoxy
. . . . . . is a cold, unforgiving thing
which Christ does not tolerate. He threatens to remove their lampstand if they
do not
. . . . . . “remember the height from which you have fallen” and
repent.
. . . . 5. To those who overcome, He promises the right to eat from
the Tree of Life, which right had been lost to mankind
. . . . . . at the
Fall of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:22), but will be restored to the redeemed in
Heaven (Chapter 22:2).
. . B. Letter to Smyrna (Chapter 2:8-11):
.
. . . 1. Smyrna, some 40 miles north, disputed with Ephesus for the title of
“First City” of Asia, as it enjoyed great natural
. . . . . . advantages,
including an excellent harbor. It was one of the first (if not the first) city
to establish emperor worship,
. . . . . . and won the honor of erecting a
temple to him in the reign of Tiberius. The city was destroyed in 590 B.C. and
was
. . . . . . rebuilt some 300 years later.
. . . . 2. These Christians
would appreciate the attribute Christ gives that He “died anu came to life
again.” Christians in Smyrna
. . . . . . were being crushed by affliction
and poverty, and were under serious persecution, particularly by the large
Jewish
. . . . . . population.
. . . . 3. It was in Smyrna 100 years
later that Bishop Polycarp was burnt at the stake for refusing to deny Christ.
Even though
. . . . . . the execution was on the sabbath, the local Jews
gathered wood for the burning.
. . . . 4. Christ calls these Smyrna Jews “a
synogogue of Satan”, no doubt because of their penchant to accuse the Christians
of
. . . . . . refusing to deny Christ.
. . . . 5. Christ warns the
Christians of even worse persection to come, but promises a crown of life to any
who might lose their
. . . . . . lives for His sake.
. . . . 6. He also
promises that they will not be hurt at all by the “second death” (Chapter 21:8).
. . C. Letter to Pergamum (Chapter 2:12-17):
. . . . 1.
Pergamum became the capital of the province of Asia when its last king willed it
to the Roman Empire in 133 B.C. Its
. . . . . . large library, said to
contain over 200,000 scrolls, necessitated an industry to produce parchment,
whose English name
. . . . . . is derived from “Pergamum.” It became a
world-famous healing center — a “Lourdes” of the ancient world, from the
. .
. . . . worship of the Asclepius, the god of healing. It was the center for
emperor worship and had a temple dedicated to
. . . . . . Rome as early as
29 B.C. There were many other heathen temples on a hill overlooking the
city.
. . . . 2. Christ identifies Himself as the “One who has the sharp,
double-edged sword.”
. . . . 3. He commends the Christians for being faithful
to Him even though they live “where Satan has his throne,” and where
. . . .
. . Antipas had been martyred (tradition says by being slowly roasted to death
in a brazen bull).
. . . . 4. But some of the church people followed the
teaching of Balaam, practicing immorality and eating food sacrificed to
idols.
. . . . . . Some also followed the way of the Nicolaitans (presumably
much the same sort of heresy). Unless they repent, Christ
. . . . . . will
fight against them with the “sword of My mouth.”
. . . . 5. To him that
overcomes Christ promises to give some of the hidden manna, and a white stone
with a new name written
. . . . . . on it, known only to himself.
. . .
. 6. These rewards are not explained, and no fully satisfactory explanation has
been deduced.
. . D. Letter to Thyatira (Chapter 2:18-29):
. .
. . 1. Thyatira was an inland city, important primarily for its many trade
guilds. Lydia, converted by Paul in Philippi (Acts
. . . . . . 16:14), came
from here. She must have been in the wool-dying business here before moving to
Philippi.
. . . . 2. Little is known of this city, so the comments of Christ
to it cannot be as readily interpreted as to the other cities.
. . . . 3.
With the knowledge that the trade guilds conducted orgiastic feasts in the
heathen temples, it is easy to see that the
. . . . . . Christians there
would be under severe economic persecution, if not in danger physically, unless
they attended.
. . . . 4. Christ praises them for their “love and faith,
service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at
.
. . . . . first.”
. . . . 5. But they tolerated a woman called “Jezebel,”
undoubtedly because she, like Ahab’s wife in ancient Isreal (1 Kings 18:4),
. . . . . . led the people into idol worship. Christ had been patient with
her to repent, but since she was unwilling, he was about
. . . . . . to cast
her on a bed of suffering. He would also “make those who commit adultery with
her suffer intensely, and will
. . . . . . strike her children dead.” Could
there be a parallel here with the affliction of homosexuals with AIDS? It seems
likely
. . . . . . that “Jezebel” recommended a compromise with the trade
guilds, so that the Christians could practice their trades, but
. . . . . .
Christ will have none of it.
. . . . 6. He commends those who have not
attempted to probe “the deep things of Satan,” one of the heretical practices of
some
. . . . . . . of the false teachers.
. . . . 7. He promises to them
that overcome and do His will unto the end, that He will share the authority he
has received from
. . . . . . His Father “to rule the nations with an iron
scepter, and dash them to pieces like pottery,” a quotation from Psalm 2:9.
.
. . . 8. He also promises to give them the morning star. Since Christ is
referred to in chapter 22:16 as the “bright and morning
. . . . . . star,”
it is His presence that is likely meant.
. . E. Letter to Sardis
(Chapter 3:1-6):
. . . . 1. Sardis was at the juncture of five main roads,
and was a wealthy commercial city. It had been the capital for Croesus,
. .
. . . . who is proverbial for his wealth. The ancient city was located on the
edge of an escarpment, whose steep side was
. . . . . . nearly impossible to
scale. Accordingly, the city defenders were lax in guarding that approach to the
city, and it
. . . . . . had been captured twice in its history (549 and 218
B.C.) by enemies who did scale the cliff. It had been largely
. . . . . .
destroyed by an earthquake in A.D. 17 but was rebuilt, partly owing to generous
aid from the emperor Tiberius.
. . . . 2. Although the Christians in Sardis
were not subject to any known persecution, they are scathingly rebuked by Christ
for
. . . . . . “being dead.” Apparently, they had degenerated into a sort
of social club, and lost most of their zeal for evangelization
. . . . . .
and being a light-bearer. He warns them to remember what they have received and
heard, and obey it, or He will come
. . . . . . upon them “like a thief,” at
a time they do not expect (like the enemies that captured the city long ago).
. . . . 3. For the few that have been faithful, Christ promises white
clothes, so that they may walk with Him.
. . . . 4. He who overcomes will,
like them, be dressed in white, and will never have his name blotted out of the
Book of Life.
. . . . . . And Christ will acknowledge his name before His
Father and before the angels in Heaven.
. . F. Letter to Philadelphia (Chapter 3:7-13):
. . . . 1.
Philadelphia was located at the junction of the approaches to Mysia, Lydia, and
Phrygia. It was founded in 140 B.C.
. . . . . . by Attalus II Philadelphus
of Pergamum, from whom it was named, who intended it to be a missionary center
for the
. . . . . . Hellenistic way of life. Hot springs existed in the
area, and the city was plagued with earthquakes, including the
. . . . . .
big one in A.D. 17.
. . . . 2. The church was small, but of good quality,
for Christ has only praise for it, like Smyrna. Both suffered from those
. .
. . . . who called themselves Jews, but were not, but were synagogues of Satan,
and both suffered persecution from the Romans.
. . . . 3. Christ promises
that He will make the Jews “come and fall down at your feet — and acknowledge
that I have loved you.”
. . . . 4. He also promises to keep them from (or
through) the persecution that is about to descend upon them.
. . . . 5. He
tells them that He has set an open door before them (to take the Gospel, rather
than Hellenistic culture, to the
. . . . . . surrounding nations).
. . .
. 6. To him that overcomes, Christ promises to make a pillar in the temple of
His God, never again to leave it (the Philadelphians
. . . . . . would leave
the city during an earthquake, because of the after-shocks that continued,
sometimes for days).
. . . . 7. He also promises to write on him “the name
of My God (he belongs to God), and the name of the city of My God, the new
.
. . . . . Jerusalem which is coming down out of Heaven from My God (he has
citizenship rights);
. . . . 8. and I will also write on him My new
name.”
. . G. Letter to Laodicea (Chapter 3:14-22):
. . . . 1.
Laodicea was a sister city of Colosse and Heriapolis, and was one of the richest
cities in the world. It was the center
. . . . . . of banking, and had warm
springs which were famous for healing, but whose water was so heavy with
minerals that it was
. . . . . . nauseating to drink. The city was also
famous for its eye salve and for its black wool. It was so wealthy that it
turned
. . . . . . down the offer of help from the emperor Tiberius to
rebuild itself after the earthquake of A.D. 17.
. . . . 2. The church was
evidently founded through the preaching of Epaphras (Colossians1:7, 4:12f). Paul
wrote a letter to it
. . . . . . (Colossians 4:16), but this is lost (unless
it is the Letter to the Ephesians).
. . . . 3. At the time of John's
visions, the church had degenerated to the point where it received the severest
criticism of
. . . . . . any of the seven by the risen Christ.
. . . . 4.
Its people, and the Christians as well, were so complacent that Christ had to
use almost violent language — ”spit you
. . . . . . out of My mouth.” They
were far worse than the cold church in Ephesus.
. . . . 5. Even though so
wealthy in the world's eyes, Christ calls them “wretched, pitiful, poor, blind,
and naked.” He counsels
. . . . . . them to buy from Him "gold refined in
the fire, so you can become rich; white clothes to wear, so you can cover your
. . . . . . shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can
see.”
. . . . 6. Even after such severe rebukes, Christ makes a tender
appeal. “Those I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest,
. . . . . . .
and repent.
. . . . 7. 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.” [This verse was instrumental in bringing me to Christ at
age 42.]
. . . . 8. Christ then promises to him who overcomes, to give the
right to sit with Him on His throne, just as He overcame (John
. . . . . .
16:33) and won the right to sit with his Father on His throne.
. . H.
Comment on Act I:
. . . . 1. It is easy to see the Church of Christ
through the centuries reflected in these letters. Some of the praiseworthy and
. . . . . . blameworthy characteristics found here can be seen in almost any
church which is at all faithful to the Word of God.
. . . . . . But the
church of our day, taken as a whole, seems to be most like that of Laodicea.
. . . . 2. Torrance has put it this way: “The world likes a complacent,
reasonable religion, and so it is always ready to revere
. . . . . . some
pale Galilean image of Jesus, some meager anemic Messiah, and to give Him a
moderate rational homage. The
. . . . . . truth is that we have often
committed adultery with alien ideologies, confounded the Gopel with the
religions of nature,
. . . . . . and imbibed the wine of pagan doctrines and
false principles and deceitful practices. We have sought to bend the will
.
. . . . . of God to serve the ends of man, to alter the Gospel and shape the
Church to conform to the fashions of the times.”
III. SUMMARY OF THE LETTERS TO SEVEN CHURCHES
. . A.
Summary of Christ's attributes, commendations, condemnations, warnings,
exhortations, and promises to His Church,
. . . . as gleaned from these
seven letters:
. . . . 1. Christ’s attributes:
. . . . . .
(Ephesus) He is in full charge of His Church and knows all that goes
on.
. . . . . . (Smyrna) He is the First and the Last, who died and
came to life again.
. . . . . . (Pergamum) He has a sharp,
double-edged sword (by which to execute His judgments).
. . . . . .
(Thyatira) His eyes can blaze like fire (with anger), and He can stamp
out what He hates.
. . . . . . (Sardis) He holds the seven Spirits of
God and the seven stars in His hand.
. . . . . . (Philadelphia) He
holds the key of David. What He opens no one can shut and what He shuts no one
can open.
. . . . . . (Laodicea) He is the Amen, the faithful and true
witness, the ruler of God’s creation.
. . . . 2. What Christ commends (in His Church):
. . . . . .
(Ephesus) Hard work, perseverance, intolerance of false teachers,
willingness to endure hardship for His sake,
. . . . . . . .not becoming
weary, hating heresy.
. . . . . . (Smyrna) Willingness to be poor (in
this world’s goods) if rich in spiritual blessings; willingness to endure
.
. . . . . . . slander (for Christ’s sake).
. . . . . . (Pergamum)
Willingness to live (and witness) where Satan has his throne; remaining true to
Christ’s name, not
. . . . . . . . renouncing Christ’s name in the face of
persecution, even to death.
. . . . . . (Thyatira) Practicing love and
faith, service and perseverance; willingness to do more and more (for
Christ).
. . . . . . (Sardis) Not soiling one’s clothes.
. . . . .
. (Philadelphia) Keeping Christ’s word, not denying His name; keeping
Christ’s command to endure patiently.
. . . . . . (Laodicea) No
Comment.
. . . . 3. What Christ condemns (in His Church):
. . . . . .
(Ephesus) To forsake our first love — all other virtues are subordinated
to our love for Christ and our fellow
. . . . . . . . saints.
. . . . . .
(Smyrna) No comment.
. . . . . . (Pergamum) No comment.
. .
. . . . (Thyatira/Philadelphia) Tolerating those who teach and/or
practice compromise with the world; accepting
. . . . . . . . society’s
anti-Christian practices — “eating food sacrificed to idols”; marital and
spiritual infidelity —
. . . . . . . . “committing sexual immorality.”
.
. . . . . (Sardis) Being “dead” to spiritual things — witness, service,
worship, prayer.
. . . . . . (Laodicea) Being lukewarm in faith and
practice of Christianity; thinking that one is rich (in this world’s goods
)
. . . . . . . . and therefore needs nothing, not realizing one’s bankruptcy in
spiritual things.
. . . . 4. Christ’s warnings, exhortations, and promises
to His Church:
. . . . . . (Ephesus) Remember the height from
which you have fallen . . . Repent and do the things you did at first . . .
. . . . . . . . (or) I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its
place.
. . . . . . (Smyrna) Do not be afraid of what you are about to
suffer . . . Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I
. . . . . . . .
will give you the crown of life.
. . . . . . (Pergamum) Repent . . .
(or) I will soon come to you and fight against (the Nicolaitans) with the sword
of my
. . . . . . . . mouth.
. . . . . . (Thyatira) All the
churches will know that I am He that searches hearts and minds, and I will repay
each of you
. . . . . . . . according to your deeds.
. . . . . .
(Sardis) Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die. Remember
what you have received and heard;
. . . . . . . . obey it and repent. But if
you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time
I
. . . . . . . . will come.
. . . . . . (Philadelphia) I will
keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world to test those
who live
. . . . . . . . on the earth . . . Hold on to what you have, so
that no one will take your crown.
. . . . . . (Laodicea) Those whom I
love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent.
. . . . 5. Christ’s promises to “him that overcomes”:
. . . . .
. (Ephesus) I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is
in the paradise of God.
. . . . . . (Smyrna) (he) will not be hurt at
all by the second death.
. . . . . . (Pergamum) I will give some of
the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name
written
. . . . . . . . on it.
. . . . . . (Thyatira) I will give
authority over the nations (Ps.2:9). I will also give him the morning star.
.
. . . . . (Sardis) (he) will be dressed in white. I will never erase his
name from the Book of Life, but will acknowledge
. . . . . . . . his name
before My Father and His angels.
. . . . . . (Philadelphia) I will
make him a pillar in the temple of My God.I will write on (him) the name of My
God
. . . . . . . . and the name of the city of My God and also My new
name.
. . . . . . (Laodicea) I will give (him) the right to sit with
Me on My throne, just as I overcame and sat down with My
. . . . . . . .
Father on His throne.
Go
to Act 2 (Chapters 4-7)
Return
to Table of Contents