Episode 58 – There’s a Problem With Your Church
Welcome back everyone to Part 2 of our new series “Deciphering Revelation!” We left off last time after taking a look at the first three verses of Revelation Chapter 1 so, today we’ll start with verses 4-8!
I’ll read them: “John to the seven churches that are in Asia:
Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
John starts with a greeting. Verse four says that this book is for “the seven churches in Asia.” This is like a ‘pastoral’ letter of concern to seven churches of that time in history, that are specifically named later. The letter is going to address how they’re faring spiritually and what is going on in each of them, good and bad. But this isn’t just about these specific seven churches. Rose, we talked about the number seven a little bit in the last episode.
We did. The number seven is used in the Bible to mean perfection or perfect completeness. So, Jesus’ selection of these seven churches to have John address this letter to is actually symbolizing the whole Church for all time.
Yes. In verse 1 and later in chapter 22 we see this is Jesus’ revelation that was given to Him by the Father, and Jesus gave it to John through an angel. John goes on in Revelation 1:4 with the greeting from “him who is and who was and who is to come” – God eternal – and “the seven spirits who are before his throne,” which is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is one person but is presented here as the “seven spirits” (and later in other ways using the number 7).
Then it says the letter is from “Jesus Christ the faithful witness.” John’s greeting comes from all three Persons of the Trinity.
It does. So, this is like a pastoral letter of concern, but this book is also apocalyptic. Apocalyptic literature was used to comfort people in times of trouble.
Yes. John starts in verse 5 by reminding these persecuted congregations that Jesus is “firstborn of the dead” – meaning He’s triumphed over death – and, that He is sovereign over all earthly powers. No earthly king is ever (nor ever will be) out of God’s complete sovereign rule.
That’s a comforting thought! And John goes even further than that, reminding them who they are and what Jesus has done for them. Then he gives Jesus praise for what He’s done and announces His second coming.
In verse 7, the word “behold” is telling us “this is something we should be watching for, expectantly.” I don’t mean “right now or in the near future,” but joyfully, with anticipation. Then “every eye will see Him” and “all the tribes of the earth will wail (or mourn) because of it. “Most scholars consider this wailing of the unsaved. It’s their reaction to the coming judgement and the wrath they realize they’re going to suffer. Verse 8 is pretty self-explanatory – it’s Jesus declaring Who He is.
I’m going to go on reading Revelation 1:9-11. “I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.” These verses are John starting the body of the letter telling who he is, where he was when he was given this revelation, and why he was there – he was under persecution for witnessing about Jesus. And, the seven churches who it’s addressed to are listed.
We said this in part 1… it’s important to note that John was under persecution himself. If Revelation was primarily about the future like the “Left Behind” series would lead you to believe, wouldn’t John have wondered about the persecution that was going on then and the significance of this revelation to that? And if this was all about the past, like the fall of Jerusalem, then what significance would this book have for the Church today, or between then and now?
It totally changes how you interpret the book. Let’s read on – from verse 12-16. “Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.”
A lot of symbolism starting here! In John’s first vision we see that Jesus is present with His Church. The seven lampstands represent the seven churches (which represents the Church for all time). This is reiterated in Revelation 1:20.
And Jesus is right there in their midst. We don’t have time to go into the individual parts of the description of him listed here, most of which is pulled from Ezekiel, but we know this is Jesus (not an angel or any other created being) because He says so in verse 17. Remember, this book is largely meant to comfort people who are under harsh persecution. What is more comforting than Jesus being with us when we’re going through difficult times.
Amen to that! Let’s read the rest of Chapter 1 starting at verse 17.
“When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.”
Here are more comforting words for persecuted people about Jesus being raised to life; but let’s talk about what “the keys of Death and Hades” are and what “the things that are and those that take place after” mean.
We know that Jesus holds the power over death – no one took
Jesus’ own life from Him. John 10:18 says, “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again.” And, we know that He rose from the dead and is alive.
Also, He has the power to take life (as with Ananias and Saphira) and He has the power to raise people to life (as with Jairus daughter, the widow’s son, etc.). There’s no doubt that Jesus has power and authority over death.
The keys of ‘Hades’ (or sometimes ‘hell’ in other versions) could mean the grave stating again He has power over life and death. Or it could be the keys to hell (where Satan and his demons as well as the wicked will be cast someday) as in Luke 16:23. But, it could mean salvation. Matthew 11:27 says, “All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son, and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.”
Moving to verse 19, John is commanded to write; about “the things that are” – the state these 7 churches in Johns current time are in, and in chapter 4, verse 1 John starts writing about the things that will take place “after this,” meaning later. From Chapter 6 through most of the rest of the book, John will write about the series of visions he gets portraying the struggle of the Church, and God’s victory over sin, Satan and death from that time on until Jesus returns.
To end Chapter 1, it’s revealed that the lampstands are the seven churches. The seven stars that are revealed as the “angels of the seven churches” is somewhat debated, but most commentators believe this is not angelic beings (although that is possible), but messengers or pastors to the seven churches, or possibly personifications of the seven churches.
Starting in Chapter 2, John writes specifically to 7 churches about their strengths and their weaknesses. Because these seven churches represent the ‘complete’ Church, we can look for these strengths and weaknesses in our own churches today. The first church mentioned is the church that was in Ephesus.
Revelation 2:1-7 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. 2“‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. 3I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. 4But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. 6Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’”
The first thing to note is Whose words these are. These are the words of Jesus. It’s His revelation. We can be sure of that because the beginning of each section written to the different churches uses some of the attributes that described Him in Chapter 1. The beginnings are all different; specific to each church’s issue.
So, the Ephesus church is first commended for several things: their hard work (deeds), their patient endurance, and their vigilant watch over their doctrine – they didn’t put up with false teachers. The Nicolaitans mentioned were a heretical Christian group who lived lives of unrestrained indulgence (sound familiar?) and who practiced antinomianism – the idea that once you’re saved, grace allows you to lead a sinful life as much as you want! And there are people who claim to be “Christians” who teach that today! The Ephesus church “hated the work of the Nicolaitans” as did Jesus! And, they were enduring patiently in a city that was full of pagan worship.
Paul wrote to Timothy about this church 30 years earlier, sometime in the mid-60s. When Paul headed for Macedonia, he’d left Timothy there to “charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, 4nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculation,” according to 1 Timothy 1:3. So, Paul’s leaving Timothy for that reason seems to have been a great idea! Churches need strong leadership that knows correct doctrine and theology and who won’t tolerate false teaching.
Absolutely! And in the Revelation 2:3, Jesus also commends them for “bearing up” under persecution for the sake of His name. But, then Jesus has some rebuke for them: they had “abandoned the love they had at first.” It’s not clear whether they’d lost their love for Jesus, or love for each other. They “hated” the work of the Nicolaitans. Fighting for correct theology and doctrine causes strife.
When Paul wrote to the Ephesus church, he commended them in Ephesians 1:15 for their “their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and their love toward all the saints.” But later in that letter in chapter 4, Paul gives that church advice on how to go about teaching the truths of the Bible– “speaking the truth in love,” (doing it lovingly because you love Christ) Keeping doctrine and theology biblically correct definitely causes issues! People want to believe and interpret the Bible how they want much of the time. When you try to point out the Bible says something different, it often gets ugly. If you’re church has people in it who are trying to correct false teaching but they’re doing it in an unloving manner, this might be for you! If you’re the one doing the correcting in an unloving manner, or if you’re doing it for the wrong reasons - not out of love for Christ and His Word, you need to repent!
Yes. But we also have to say, if you’re the one being corrected in a church like this, be thankful that you’re in a church where people desire correct theology and doctrine! Taking Paul’s words to “speak the truth in love” in context tells us the reason for doing it – so that God’s people become mature in their understanding of the Bible! Correct theology and doctrine is an absolute necessity! So be thankful for the correction you receive, and follow Paul’s advice also in that letter, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
The remedy Jesus gives the Ephesus church in Revelation to having lost their first love is 3 things: to remember how they used to be, repent, and do the works they did at first. People on both sides of the coin need to do this!
They do! This comes with a warning – their lampstand removed if they don’t repent! That likely means the church there would cease to exist, or it could possibly mean the “pastor” could be removed. Removing the church would leave the pagan city without the light of the Gospel.
Believers, (or in other words “the ones who conquer”) will eat of the tree of life in the new heavens and earth – something that was banned after the fall of Adam and Eve. In Romans 8, Paul says that God loved us from before the foundation of the world and predestined us to eternal life. So, nothing can separate believers from the love of Christ – not tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger or sword – we are more than conquerors through Christ who loved us and gave Himself for us.
Let’s read about the second church – Smyrna. ““And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life. 9“‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slandera of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. 11He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.’ This church doesn’t get a rebuke.
No, it doesn’t. This church was in a city that was on the sea and was an important place of business. There was money in this city; but not amongst the believers in this church – they were monetarily poor. Jesus reminds them they are spiritually rich. They are going to suffer; including prison and maybe even death. This is why Jesus starts their letter out reminding them that He is the Alpha and the Omega and that He was dead but is now alive! They (and other believers until Jesus comes again) need these words of encouragement for the “ten days” of tribulation, which is likely a ‘complete’ number of days not necessarily ten literal days, since the number 10 represents completion.
The Smyrna church was being slandered by Jews in the city who Jesus calls here a “synagogue of Satan” just like He did to the Jews in John Chapter 8. Jewish opposition to Christians was alleged in cases of martyrdom in accounts by Polycarp in the 2nd century and by Pionius in the 3rd century. The “second death” is being thrown into the lake of fire, according to Revelation 20:14 and 21:8.
Rose, organizations like Open Door and others monitor persecution throughout the world today. One report unveiled this month says that every day, 8 Christians worldwide are killed because of their faith. Every week, 182 churches or Christian buildings are attacked, and every month, 309 Christians are imprisoned unjustly. Last year 40 nations scored high enough to register “very high” persecution levels; this year it’s 45. And 260 million Christians are suffering sever levels of persecution, 15 million more than last year.[1]
And top on this list is North Korea, followed by Afghanistan, Somalia, and the list goes on. Chris, persecution is awful. We need to pray fervently for our brothers and sisters that it’s happening to – I think it’s appropriate to pray that God would deliver them from their chains, in light of the fact that Jesus prayed to the Father to let the cup of wrath pass from Him. But He also prayed for God’s will to be done. So we also need to pray that they’re given the words to make the Gospel known and that they declare it fearlessly like Paul who was in chains writes in Ephesians 6:19-20; that they will find God’s grace sufficient in their weakness and that they rely on God’s power and not on themselves according to 2 Corinthians 12:9; and that their faith despite their circumstances will reach regenerated hearts and bring others to Christ.
I totally agree, Rose. Thank you for saying those things. We need to move on to the church in Pergamum. Revelation 2:12-17 says, “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword. 13“‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith, even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 14But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. 15So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. 17He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’”
Some in the church at Pergamum were keeping the faith, even in the midst of a Roman emperor demanding worship and multiple types of pagan worship in such an amount for Jesus to call it “Satan’s throne.” The church even had one steadfast, martyred believer named Antipas who Jesus calls “faithful witness” – a title used for King Jesus Himself! They’ve been dealing with harsh persecution and some are still proclaiming the true Gospel message, even to death. But, there are problems.
There are. Some in the church hold to the false teachings of the Nicolaitans; and some are enticed to sin just like the Israelites were in the time of Balaam and Balak. These two names harken back to the Old Testament where pagan king Balak summoned Balaam (a man known for practicing divination) to come and lay a curse on the Israelites. God prevents him from doing that. But, we find out that Balaam did give advice how to beat the Israelites: use the pagan women to entice the Israelites to worship their pagan gods, which included eating meat sacrificed to idols and sexual immorality.
How were some “holding to the teachings of Balaam”? These churchgoers were likely using food and sex to entice faithful believers to ignore God’s Word and sin by participating in trade guild feasts that included worship of false gods, food and sex. They’re compromising with the world. We’re going to discuss this same scenario about with another church in a moment.
Several commentators believe the allusion to Balaam here is a warning to the unbelievers. Balaam was slain by the sword. Those who follow his ways will follow him in his punishment. Let’s talk about the “sharp two-edge sword” coming from Jesus’ mouth. The sword is the Word of God. The church at Pergamum (and all churches throughout the rest of history) need to rid themselves of all false teaching and anything leading them astray from the true and complete Gospel message! How do they do that? By getting to know God’s Word!
We say this all the time, Chris but how do they do that??? Through prayer that God will help them learn and understand Scripture, and then by actually reading and studying Scripture!
We may sound like a broken record, but there’s a reason! Rose, there are many, many churches out there who not only take Scripture out of it’s context, but some who don’t even (or barely) use the Bible at all in their teaching! A pastor’s job -– and his first and foremost MOST IMPORTANT job – is to crack the Bible open on Sunday and explain what is happening in that passage of Scripture and what it means. That’s called expository preaching. Preaching isn’t supposed to be done by picking a topic for the week, and then pulling individual verses out to support that! Something like that may be done once in awhile to support teaching specific doctrinal truths, like a sermon I just heard recently explaining the doctrine of justification using mainly Romans, and then supporting that with other Scriptures. But mostly, it’s a pastor or teacher teaching through portions of Scripture explaining it so that people get to know the overarching story of God’s plan of redemptive history! That’s what’s supposed to be happening in sermons!
You’re absolutely right! The model for that comes from Jesus Himself on the Road to Emmaus. Luke records this walk in chapter 24:13-32, which says, “That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven milesa from Jerusalem, 14and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. 16But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” So the two men explain to Jesus (who they don’t know is Jesus) All the things about surrounding His death and that they’ve been told His body is no longer in the grave. Then Jesus says to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he (Jesus)interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” That’s was Jesus doing expository preaching. He’s the example preachers and teachers should follow. Exactly! As the two men say later in the passage “He opened the Scriptures to them.” That’s what churches need to be doing.
The solution is the same today as it was then for neglecting to study and understand Scripture – repent! Jesus’s threat to “come soon with the sword of His mouth” is not talking about the second coming.
If they don’t repent, Jesus promises to in some way providentially “intervene directly” and do it Himself through the sharp two-edge sword of His mouth – using the Word. Hebrews 4:12-13 says, “the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”
The believer doesn’t need to fear this sword, but they will be disciplined by it. Believers are convicted of sin and their need for repentance by Scripture. If you’re not in a church where you’re actually learning about the whole Bible, you need to try to change what’s happening there, and if you can’t get out and get fed!
Speaking of being and to finish up what Jesus says to the Pergamum church, the “hidden manna” (something only the high priest had access to) is a ‘type’ of the True Manna from Heaven – Christ. All who feed on Him will live. The white stone is mostly believed to be an allusion to the Urim and Thummim; also something only the high priest had access to, and therefore thought to indicate the priesthood of the victorious Christian.” The victorious Christians are believers. Jesus has already won the victory for them.
And that’s where we have to leave off today! But we’re doing something special this week – we’re giving you a bonus episode of “No Trash, Just Truth!” We’ll have a special bonus episode tomorrow where we’ll cover the rest of the seven churches in Revelation. Have a blessed day everyone!
[1] https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2020/january/top-christian-persecution-open-doors-2020-world-watch-list.html