Jesus Speaks to the Churches

dove, holy spirit, confirmation, spiritual life

In Part Two of the Revelation series, titled “The View of Jesus Christ in Revelation”, we discussed how John splits the book of Revelation into three visions. The first vision detailed who Christ is. The second vision maps out the seven churches. The third vision is the bulk of the rest of the prophecy. Now that we have discussed John’s vision of Jesus, we will move on to discuss John’s second vision: the seven churches.

Who are the Seven Churches?

Revelation 2 and 3 focuses on seven churches in Asia Minor (modern day Turkey). The seven churches are Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. Many may wonder why Jesus chose to single out only these seven churches when there were many churches at that time. There are a few plausible answers.

For one, the number seven (as we have discussed) is symbolic in scripture. It represents completion or perfection. This again can be seen in the creation account in Genesis as well as the seven stars in Christ’s hand representing the universal Church (Revelation 1:16.20). It’s fair to say that although these seven churches have individual names, they symbolically represent the entire Church, and all are to heed the message.

The second plausible answer is that all seven of these churches are along the same circular road, once considered a trade route. As we read through the admonishment of each church, it seems like Christ is mapping out the road of salvation history and humanity being restored to grace. He also follows this pattern by admonishing and then encouraging them.

Ephesus and Genesis

We see the first example of this pattern when Christ addresses the church of Ephesus. In Revelation 2:4-5 Christ chastises them for falling back into sin. A few sentences later in verse 7 He tells them that, if they repent, they will eat from the tree of life in the garden of God.

There are many parallels with Genesis in these passages. Adam and Eve fell from the grace of God by eating of the tree of knowledge in the Garden. Christ illustrates that the fall has been restored through Him; it is through Him that graces flow. Reception of grace is to eat from the tree of life in the garden of God, in contrast to the fall from grace in the Garden of Eden.

Balaam and Jezebel

The next example is the church of Pergamum. Christ says that some people hold to the teaching of Balaam. Balaam was a pagan seer in the Book of Numbers who King Balak instructed to sabotage the Israelites by leading them into sexual sin and idolatry. This is much like what some of the people were practicing in the seven churches, as they became entrenched in pagan culture. Christ follows up with an encouraging promise of resurrection.

To the church in Thyatira, The Lord instructs John to write against their affairs with a Jezebel-type person in their midst. Christ uses Jezebel (1 Kings 18ff.) to illustrate how His kings fell because of her. Just as kings fell, so also have Christians fallen from grace through this person’s influence.

He goes on to encourage repentance and promises that those who remain faithful to Him will rule over the nations with an iron rod, much like the kings of the Old Testament did. That is to say, that they will remain in grace and in right relationship with Him.

The Thief and the Key

In the message to Smyrna, John writes that if those who have turned from Christ do not repent, the Lord will sneak up on them like a thief. During the 6th century BC, the Persian King Cyrus stealthily captured Smyrna and overthrew Babylon. Christ uses this illustration of a thief in reference to the fall of Smyrna and a reminder to the church to repent. He then promises that those who endure will experience eternal life.

After listing several examples of the fall of God’s people through salvation history, Christ then mentions the Key of King David (a symbol of his authority) in his letter to Philadelphia. Unlike the other letters, He does not admonish the Smyrnians. Instead He encourages them to keep their faith even though their strength and resources are limited.

In Conclusion

Most of the letters to the churches acknowledge a fall from grace throughout history. Christ draws on the parallel of falling from grace to being restored to God through these examples. It is through these examples that we get a picture of salvation history. Mankind fell from grace, but Christ restored us. It is encouragement not only to these churches, but to His church as a whole, to rely on Him.

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