Conclusion of the 7 churches

We are enemies of the cross. He loved us that He gave His life for us. He gives us a warning. He asks us to repent starting from Genesis to Revelation. Why should God do so much for us?

He doesn’t want any of us to perish and He desires us to live holy and righteous life. God wants us to experience Him truly. Let us evaluate our own hearts and minds and ask God to show what He wants us to do individually!

God Bless!

LUKEWARM CHURCH (Rev 3:14- 22)

This is the final letter to the seven churches. The Lord’s introduction is that He says, “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God,” What a sobering and fitting introduction! He begins his self description with a foundational title. “The Amen” which in Greek means, “be firm.”

1.     Character of the Church

This church was lukewarm- Neither cold, nor hot. In that day the word cold was used to describe spiritual indifference and hostility towards the truth. And hot means boiling, a metaphor describing one who is passionate and who is on fire for God and His glory. But this church is neither hot, nor cold! There were tepid, putrid hypocrites. They claim to be Christians but have no time to serve God! They hear the words of the pastor but do not do them. They hear the truth and they know the truth but their hearts don’t pursue the truth.

So, he says, “I will spit you out of My mouth” and lists 5 things here.

1.    Wretched, which means vile, despicable.

2.    Miserable and it pictures someone who deserves extreme pity because of the current condition of their soul that will ultimately perish in an eternal hell unless he repents.

3.    Poor, which pictures a beggar who is crouching in his destitution. (What a contrast to the fabulous wealth they enjoyed!)

4.    Blind because they are unable to see the spiritual truth.

5.    Naked because Salvation is sometimes depicted as a garment and they don’t have it!

2.     Advises

Jesus then advises the church. First, he says, “I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich.” Rich, referring to being spiritually rich, in contrast to spiritual poverty that they refused to acknowledge. Secondly, he says, “Buy from Me...white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed”. We need to buy from Jesus the white garments of salvation, producing deeds of righteousness that will validate genuine saving faith. And then, thirdly, the Lord says, “Buy from Me... eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see”.

3.     Promises

And then he appeals to them in verse 19. “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.” He says in verse 20, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.” Now the picture of the Lord standing at the door at knocking is one of immediacy, one of urgency. Jesus not only offers believers fellowship with Him but also the privilege of reigning with Him.

People want to experience the love of God but want to live a worldly life too. They worship, sing, hear the word of God but do not do them. Many churches are lukewarm now!

God Bless!

 

FAITHFUL CHURCH (Rev 3:7- 13)

There’s no rebuke from our Lord Jesus Christ, only words of encouragement to this Church at Philadelphia...

1.     Power of Christ

Jesus is described as the one “who has the key of David,” a key with which “He opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens.” In the Bible, keys represent authority and power.

2.     Faithful Perseverance for Christ

Jesus says to this church, “You have a little strength.” It refers to a church that is a small church, a struggling church, a church that was not very impressive on the outside, just a little power, just a little influence, just a little strength, a church persecuted and yet, faithful. Those “who say they are Jews and are not, but lie” refers to those who reject Jesus as the Divine Messiah. These are the Jews who live in Philadelphia who have excluded the Christians from worship at the synagogue. They have excommunicated the Jewish Christians. Jesus calls them “the synagogue of Satan.” persecuted and yet, faithful. Jesus says “you have kept My word, and not denied My name.”

The “hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world” is a reference to the “Great Tribulation”, Jesus has words of high praise for Christians who keep on in the midst of trials and difficulties. Remember, God has not called you to be successful. He has called you to be faithful. Commit to faithful perseverance for Christ.

3.     Future promises in Christ

“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown."(3:11)

He’s not talking about the possibility of losing our salvation. The idea is, don’t get your eyes off the goal. Stay focused and you will receive the reward of a crown of blessing. God will reward your faithfulness. Don’t get tripped up by the attraction of the world around you. Keep moving.

“The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name.” (3:12)

Because of the earthquakes, the citizens in Philadelphia were often forced to move outside the city limits and start over. So Jesus is speaking metaphorically here. He speaks of stability and permanence that is found only in Him. “He who overcomes,” that is, “the true believer, the one who perseveres to the end,” Jesus says, “I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more.” We are secure, we are stable, in Him. Writing names symbolically mean that Christians belong to Jesus.

This church represents faithful, obedient, evangelistic, missionary minded and carried out the great commission. We are to fulfil and carry out the great commission- Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and spirit. Love your neighbour as yourself.

God gave them an open door. The more you are faithful, the more spiritual doors he opens. When the going gets tough, the true Christian keeps going.

God Bless!

DEAD CHURCH (Rev 3:1- 6)

Chuck Swindoll gives us 4 main reasons of why churches die:

1) Worship of the past!

2) Love of tradition over love for Christ!

3) Inflexibility and resistance to change!

4) Losing evangelistic and missionary fervor!

1.     Faithless are rebuked

The church at Sardis was a church that was dying on the inside. Like diseased cells in a physical body, these bad cells were attacking the good cells and the body was becoming affected to the point that Jesus actually calls the church “dead.” The problem at the church at Sardis is that there were many more faithless than there were faithful.

Jesus refers to Himself as “He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars.” Our Lord Jesus has with Him the Holy Spirit and He also has “the seven stars.” The star is the representative of each church. It reminds us that Jesus possesses each church. Jesus is the Lord of each church.

2.     Fellowship Restored

There are five verbs in verses 2 and 3 that will tell us how the church’s fellowship with the Lord is restored.

-         Be watchful

Stay awake. Never forget the tendency to become sleepy and lazy with regard to spiritual things.

-         Strengthen what remains

Get busy with these works of love, faith, and service.

-         Remember what you have received and heard

     Continue to remember the things you have learned. This speaks to the importance of regular attendance to the worship service and Bible studies.

-         Hold Fast

Do you love the things of God? Do you have a Bible and read it regularly? That’s the idea here. Hold fast the truth in your hand. Don’t let it go. Regard it as the precious treasure that it is.

-         Repent

Turn back to God. Change the way you think about God and spiritual things and change your behaviour. Get back to doing the things you know you should be doing.

3.     Faithful Rewarded

There are a few in the church who are not dying. There were not many, but there were a few. They are the church’s faithful. They have “not defiled their garments.” Their garments are “white” and so they will “walk with the Lord in white, for they are worthy.” The faithful to Christ will be forever clothed in white garments. This phrase reminds us of our need for forgiveness. When we receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, our Lord writes down our name into the registry of heaven. Do others know about your Christian faith? Do you regularly confess Christ before your family, friends, and co-workers? If so, the Lord Jesus will confess you before His Father and before His angels. You will die and stand before the God of judgment. And Jesus will say to the Father, “He is mine.” And Jesus will say to the angels, “He is mine.” And Jesus will say to everyone, “He is mine.”

If we remain in sin, we remain separated from God. If we die in sin, we spend eternity separated from God in a place called hell, a place where judgment of sin takes place forever and ever. The good news is that Jesus Christ is in the resurrection business. Just as the church in Sardis could be resurrected from the dead, so can we! Let us keep a check on ourselves regularly- Are we walking dead?!

God Bless!

CORRUPTED CHURCH (Rev 2: 18 - 29)

This was the longest letter of all the seven letters. The problem here was inside the church of Thyatira...

1.     Be Mature

Notice that Jesus uses, for the first and only time in the book of Revelation, the title the "Son of God." There are people who claim that Jesus never said that he was the Son of God, but here is one of several places in the New Testament where he makes that claim very clearly. He is described as the One who has “eyes like a flame of fire” and “feet like fine brass.” These two descriptions refer to the omniscience and omnipotence of Jesus Christ. Jesus says, “as for your works, the last are more than the first.” That’s Jesus’ way of saying, “You’re growing; you’re maturing.” We must take seriously the Christian’s maturity. Jesus expects Christians to advance in the faith. He expects us to “grow up” in our faith. Physical maturity does not necessarily indicate spiritual maturity. When we receive Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Saviour, our Lord Jesus Christ expects us to grow spiritually. The church in Thyatira took this seriously. They were known as a church that was growing spiritually.

2.     Bad signs

Jesus says- “Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. 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" (2: 20, 21)

Jezebel is the wicked Phoenician wife of Ahab who led the Northern Kingdom of Israel into idolatry and immorality. So Jesus refers here to a woman in the church who “calls herself a prophetess.” In other words, “I have not called her into the ministry. She has called herself. She is a false teacher, teaching a false theology. She is seducing My servants to commit sexual immorality and things sacrificed to idols.

3.     Promise to the overcomer

“To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations that one will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery, just as I have received authority from my Father. I will also give that one the morning star." (2: 26- 28)

Christians will rule with the Lord Jesus Christ during the spectacular time of the Millennium. We must take seriously the Christian’s eternity. We live not for this life only, but for eternity. And “Who is the Morning Star?” In Revelation, our Lord Jesus identifies Himself as, “The Root and Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”

When we choose Jesus, we receive all the blessings the Father gives in Him and through Him. And when the end comes, we will meet Jesus face-to-face and it will be a glorious meeting when we are greeted by the “Bright and Morning Star.”

God Bless!

 

COMPROMISING CHURCH (Rev 2: 12-17)

To the church at Pergamos...

1.     Remain Committed

“These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword.” (2:12)

The sword is a symbol of justice. The Roman proconsul resided in the city of Pergamum. The sword was a reminder of who was in control. The Romans were in control. Had power to execute. Jesus says, “I am the True Power.” I am the one with the 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, not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives”. (2:13)

He knows where we dwell, where we live. Isn’t that encouraging? But Christians at Pergamum dwell, “where Satan’s throne is.” Jesus knows where we dwell. Some might be working in hellish places. Stand firm in Christ. Stay faithful to Christ.

This church was commended for staying faithful to Christ even in the midst of severe persecution. Christian tradition has it that Antipas was locked inside of a brass bull which was heated with flames of fire so that Antipas was literally roasted to death. Christ referred to Antipas as His “faithful witness.”

2.     Never Compromise

 There were two false doctrines that the Lord hated:

-         Doctrine of Balaam (eating food sacrificed to idols and sexual immorality)

-         Doctrine of Nicolaitans (Nicolaitans conquered people and lead the chuch astray into sexual immorality and wickedness)

It seems “the doctrine of the Nicolaitans” is tied closely to the “doctrine of Balaam,” so that to “hold to” the doctrine of one is to “hold to” the doctrine of the other. So Jesus condemns the church at Pergamum because it was willing to compromise the truth for human philosophy.

Jesus says Repent or else He will come quickly and will fight against those sinning in the church! Think of it! Are we fighting with the Lord Jesus Christ Himself?! God wants His church to be separated from all evil and all compromise.

3.     Receive Correction for the Reward

Turn. Change of mind. Change of heart. Change of behavior. Remain committed to Christ. Refuse to compromise Christ.

“To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it” (2:17)

‘Hidden manna’ probably refers to the manna Moses told the people to place in a jar and placed inside the ark of the covenant. Spiritually, God feeds His people in ways the world does not know. ‘White stone’ probably alludes to practice of giving a stone to special people such as victors of the Roman games or elite members of certain guilds. ‘New name no one knows’ probably should be taken with Revelation 19:12 where it speaks of the second coming of our Lord, who will come having “a name written no one knew except Himself.” Whatever this new name means, it is to be connected with Jesus. He knows us. He possesses us.

“What we live is what we really believe. Everything else is just religious talk.”

God Bless!

PERSECUTED CHURCH (Rev 2: 8- 11)

All things are appropriate. And as Christ writes and delivers a message to the Church of Smyrna, he wants them to know one thing, because all around them was suffering and death. He wants them to know this, that he is the first and the last. He was dead and is alive, eternal life, eternal life. There were those. Smyrna was another very wicked, pagan city. And there were those who deprived and spoiled the Christians of their belongings either through legal means or whether it be through thievery or whether it been through taxation. They were in poverty. Physically they were in poverty. Spiritually they were rich.

 

1.     Power of God

“These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again” (2:8)

That statement stresses the powerful sovereignty of the Lord Jesus. He is sovereign. He is in control. And He’s also in control of eternity, specifically, what happens after this world, what happens after death. Jesus is identified as the One “Who was dead, and came to life.”

2.     Peace of the Lord

When you go through hard times, the Lord Jesus Christ offers His peace. He sees us in our trials. He knows what we are going through. And there are three kinds of trials these Smyrna Christians were going through. They are identified as suffering from ‘tribulation, poverty and blasphemy’.

Jesus says I know your works—tribulation, and poverty, and then He says, “I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.” I know the blasphemy you are enduring. The “blasphemy” He’s talking about are the slanderous words that some of the Jews in Smyrna were saying about them. These Jews in Smyrna did not share the church’s Christian beliefs and they were blaspheming God by spreading slanderous things about the Christians.

“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.” (2:10)

Jesus says, “Do not fear.” That is, be encouraged, be strengthened in the midst of your afflictions. Stop being afraid. Don’t worry. He strengthens us in our trials. Remember, He is in control. He sees what is happening. You will be thrown into prison and have tribulation for a period of ten days. The 10 days is probably a way of indicating that the time period of this church’s terrible persecution will be brief.

3.     Remember the Promise

“Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.” (2:10)

He says, “You be faithful until death,” that is, “stick with it” and I will reward your suffering in the end. I will give you the crown of life.” The crown of life is a symbol of the Christian’s rewards in the afterlife for his faithfulness in this life.

He also gives another promise. "The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death" (2:11). If we die before the Lord Jesus Christ comes again, we all will face the first death. Every one of us will face the first death. But not every one of us will face the second death. Those of us who have trusted Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour will only die once, because we’ve been born twice.

There are no promises of the “easy life” in Scripture. Becoming a Christian is no guarantee that we will never suffer persecution, hard times, and difficulties. Leaonard Ravenhill said, “When God opens the windows of heaven to bless you, the devil will open the doors of hell to blast you.” Whatever the devil does, our Lord is with us. Remember the Power of our Lord, the Peace of our Lord, and the Promise of our Lord. Do you want your church to be Smyrna? Of Course, we want to be rich in Christ’s eyes, Right?! We need to be faithful even in persecution!

God Bless!

THE LOVELESS CHURCH Contd...

More about Ephesus...

4. Repent!

God gives a good opportunity to this church now. Remember, but do something more than remember, for it is never just good to sit there and gripe about the past as though his great admonition, his great exhortation is, “Remember, stop and remember. But do something quickly on that.”

And that is what the Lord Jesus Christ says to this church. Repent! Change direction, completely reverse course and recover what you have lost by doing, putting into practice once again. Repent and Return!

5.  Spiritual Victory

“Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

And I can’t say anymore to you than that. Do you have an ear to hear? Do you have a heart to receive what is being said? Is that ear connected to that heart? Can you reach out and embrace what Christ says to the churches?

A promise is given.

“To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.”

When Adam and Eve sinned, the tree of life was banished from the Garden of Eden. It is now situated in the Paradise of God, a synonym for heaven. And the Christian partakes of the tree of life through the work of Jesus Christ. And He is the only way we may have victory, victory over death. Jesus says in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes unto the Father, except by Me.”

Has your Christian walk become a dead routine, working for ourselves, working for the family, working for the church but no warmth of the fire, no joy, no bliss? Fall in love with Jesus all over again. Do you feel as though your church life is disconnected from your work life? Fall in love with Jesus all over again. I want to tell you, whatever our problem, there is an answer-  To fall in love with Jesus all over again!

God Bless!

THE LOVELESS CHURCH (Rev 2: 1- 7)

About Ephesus...


 1.     Christ knows it all!

"I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance.” (v.2)

He knows everything about every member. He knows everything about the church as a whole. It is implied here that he knows both good and evil works. Works are what can be seen. Works are what can be observed. But he also knows the intent of those works. He knows the intent of our heart. He knows what we mean by what we do. Have we ever thought about that? The all-seeing eyes of Christ see into the very soul and even to the very depths of the heart.

This church has endured hardships in the name of Christ. You might ask Why God allows times of trials and tribulation and suffering and persecution? The answer for all these is the same. To be a witness for Jesus Christ! Let us not be unfaithful to our duty. We might have suffered loss, insults and hardships, but need to bear all that!

2. Good Signs!

The Church of Ephesus did not tolerate evil. This somewhat challenges us too.  How do we tolerate evil? It surrounds us every day. It comes into our home via the media. How do we tolerate evil? This church didn’t tolerate not just the principle of evil, they didn’t tolerate evil people. They didn’t bear with them.

Also, they hated the practices of the Nicolaitans, whom Christ also hated. The Nicolaitans were people who wanted to do their own thing in the way that they wanted to do it.

So you would think they get an A+. You would think this church certainly is a church received by Christ. It is a church loved by Christ. It is a church embraced by Christ. It is a church commended by Christ. But we are shocked to hear these words. “Yet I hold this against you".

3. Lost the First Love!

Now, first of all, we should understand that is they had departed the ultimate commandment of Christ that you love one another. That is how they divided their first love. That is how they departed Christ. They forgot that the very first principle above all things was that the children of God love each other because love is of God and because He loved us first we ought also to love one another.

This church was in bad shape. It was in a horrible situation. It left behind the principle of love. Devotion was routine, the church became cold and lost enthusiasm. It had lost its first love! Religious activities replaced the Love of God!

Think about it. We can ask all of ourselves these questions- Where were we when we first loved Him? Where were we when love was our principle of life? Where were we? And where are we now? Are we any better now than we were then? Or are we worse off than we were then? Even we might have started out well, went on well and kept up. But in between the devil come to play in the form of discouragement, anxiety, depression etc. But God is looking for Constancy. Standing for Truth, Knowing the Bible, Doing Ministry, Free from Guilt is all Good. They are actually indispensible. But there is something deeper. God will look at the heart from where these things will come!

... To be Continued...

 God Bless!

Intoduction to the 7 Churches Contd...

The letters, in Revelation 2 and 3, were told to be written to the angels of the respective churches. Angels are actually messengers of God. All the letters follow a set format of five parts:

1) Address of destination: “To the angel of the church of ______, write.”

2) Personal description of Jesus as He relates to this particular Church.

3) The condition of the church as viewed by the Only One who can truly know it. Seven times God says, “I know your works.”

4) The course of action. Five of the seven churches are told to repent! The other two churches are comforted and blessed.

5) Finally comes the promise to the overcomers, the obedient, and also an invitation: “He that has ears, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches.”

These 7 churches are representative of all the churches, in one way or the other. Let us take the good things from each church and beware of the warnings he gives us! You can see yourself in anyone or more than one of these churches.

God Bless!