The Church – the most important ordained & organized group on the planet, made up of the redeemed people of God, bought by the blood of Jesus the Christ. The church is also called the Bride of Christ and she is deeply under attack in these trying days.
Over the next couple of weeks, I am going to write on the 7 churches Jesus addresses in Revelation 2 & 3. These 7 churches are indicative of the types of churches that have been present throughout the last 2,000 years and especially we can see them in our generation.
In light of that, in these unprecedented days of Covid-19, the world-wide shut-down experienced from the virus, the racial discussions & battles being waged, the confusion & anger, the loneliness & financial destruction that has been brought – a healthy discussion on the church is needed.
The purpose of these upcoming 7 addresses is to remind us of these important matters…
(1) Jesus Affirmation of What He saw as good in the church
(2) Jesus Admonition in regard to what is Wrong with the church
(3) Jesus’ Warnings of the Grave Pitfalls that damage the Church and make it like the world and the answer to getting the church right with Him
Q: Why is this look so important & critical?
Jesus has been gone from the earth in His glorious Ascension to be the Great Intercessor in Matthew 28 and Acts 1. Right before He left the earth, these were his parting Words to the men who would start the first churches and would be the first church planting missionaries of the first century.
Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Acts 1:6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.
While it is hard to precisely pin down the exact date of the Ascension of Jesus, it can be safely thought to be in the range of 33AD-36AD. With that in mind, by the time John is exiled as a prisoner of the cross on the Island of Patmos and he receives the Revelation of Jesus sometime around 95AD – the church has been in existence for around 60 years.
This is enough time for strength & maturity to set into a church or for a church to lose its focus in complacency or by slipping into the ways of the world and compromising her integrity.
This makes these words from Jesus fresh to the church 60 years after He ascended on high, which makes this perspective from His mouth incredibly important to examine and embrace.
As we look at each of the 7 churches, the structure of Jesus’ Words in the 7 Messages is basically same to everyone of them, which goes like this…
(1) Addressed to a pastor & a church
(2) Author is stated – Jesus (connected to what John saw in Revelation 1)
(3) Assessment from Jesus “I know…” (said 7x)
· Affirmation
· Against you in this…
· All-inclusive – affirms and is against something in a church
(4) Answer to the church connected with His assessment of them
(5) Admonition (counsel)
· Hear the voice of the Spirit in the Scriptures
· Heart of a Conqueror
· Heaven is alluded to
Overview of The Seven Churches
1. Ephesus – Church with the Right Ministry, but lost their first pure original love for Christ
2. Smyrna – Church dealing with Persecution
3. Pergamum – Church of Compromise
4. Thyatira – Church of Tolerance
5. Sardis – Church that is Spiritually dead
6. Philadelphia – Church of Faithfulness
7. Laodicea – Church content with being lukewarm
Addressed to a Pastor & a Church - Revelation 2:1a
As we embark on some of the most critical New Testament teaching on the church today, we will see 7 churches in 7 different cities. As you know, while there are similarities in every church with one another, truth be told - no church is exactly the same. This we do know, that a church is to have a strategic place of ministry wherever it is located. As we will look at the 7 churches, we will see that they were to be 7 strategic lights of Jesus in 7 specific cities.
Churches are not to be hidden in the wilderness, but strategically placed in a community to be light amongst the people. They are to be “cities on a hill that cannot be hidden” (Matthew 5:14).
Throughout the ages and as well in our age, churches needed these particular messages for the particular needs they found themselves in. With this being the case, these messages are timeless in the Church age to point us to how we are to walk and function as a church that honors Jesus.
All of the issues seen in these 7 churches in Revelation 2-3 are the very ones that we have read about in history and see all around us today. There is nothing is new under the sun, even with the church.
To be a strong, vibrant, and healthy church, we will either embrace what we will walk through in these weeks or we will shun the admonition that comes from Jesus.
Cities need strong Biblical churches pouring their lives into those they shepherd.
I really want each of us to look at ourselves as well as look at our church as we walk through these pages so that we will not fall prey to pitfalls found in them so that we will passionate walk aiming after the truth concerning a Biblical church.
This should be a great journey together over these next few weeks.
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