REVELATION 2
The Bible was divided into chapters by a man named Stephen Langton, but not until about 1228 a.d. Division by verses came later. One of the things I would have done differently (if it had been my job) is that I would have combined Revelation's second and third chapters into a single unit. So I'm going to deviate from the normal convention of dealing with each chapter independently. Each of the messages to the seven churches in these chapters follows essentially the same pattern, with an introductory greeting, followed by a description of the risen Christ, a word of commendation, a word of reproof, a warning if disobedience continues, a blessing for the faithful, and an instruction to listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.
I live in a world of relational databases and spreadsheets, and I could easily put these chapters into a relational database, which, in this case, will consist of only one table with rows and columns. Let's imagine that the members of these seven churches are all seated in a theater. The first row contains the church of Ephesus, the second row contains the church of Smyrna, the third row contains the church of Pergamum, the fourth row contains the church of Thyatira, the fifth row contains the church of Sardis, the sixth row contains the church of Philadelphia and the seventh row contains the church of Laodicea.
Normally, when someone reads Revelation 2 and 3, they read row by row everything Jesus said to each of the churches. Relational databases are useful because they also allow us to compare columns. So before we talk about the individual churches, let's go through the columns of our table and see what we can learn about the greeting, Christ the messenger, the commendations, the reproofs, the warnings, the blessings and the instructions. I'll talk about the columns of our table here and discuss the rows in chapter 3, though only the churches of Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea are actually discussed in chapter 3.
We don't learn much from the greetings, "to the angel of the church at Ephesus", "to the angel of the church at Smyrna", etc., since they just identify the seven churches. But let's see what we learn about Christ by looking at how he described himself to each of the seven churches.
Ephesus: "The one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven golden lampstands."
Smyrna: "The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life."
Pergamum: "The one who has the sharp two-edged sword."
Thyatira: "The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and his feet are like burnished bronze."
Sardis: "He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars."
Philadelphia: "He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens."
Laodicea: "The Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God."
Without going into great detail, we are reminded that Christ is holy, faithful and true, that he is eternal in nature, existing before time began and after time ends, which is fairly unfathomable to us, since I can't really understand what being outside of time really means. We also learn here that Jesus died and rose from the dead, and he has authority over both men and angels, as well as all of the circumstances we face. As the Word of God, those he blesses are blessed, and those he condemns are condemned.
Now let's take a look at the Lord's commendations for the seven churches:
Ephesus: "I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured for my name's sake, and have not grown weary." Also, "you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate."
Smyrna: "I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich)."
Pergamum: "You hold fast my name, and did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas, my witness, my faithful one."
Thyatira: "I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first."
Sardis: No commendation, except "You have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy."
Philadelphia: "I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have kept my word, and have not denied my name. Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie--I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and make them know that I have loved you."
Laodicea: No commendation except "Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline." That's not really a commendation, but it's the only encouragement the Laodiceans can take from this message, which is basically, "I love you, and I'm giving you a little longer to repent." I can't help but wonder how this message was received by the Laodicean church.
Without looking at the rebukes, knowing nothing but the above commendations, perhaps the most interest things to notice here are that the Lord is looking at our deeds which we do because of our faith in and love for him, and also how he has called us to endurance as Christians. Certainly there must be rewards for these things, but one also gets the sense here of the obligation bond-servants have to be faithful to the Master, rather than a sense of heroism from a human perspective.
Now let's go through the rebukes given to each of the seven churches:
Ephesus: "I have this against you, that you have left your first love."
Smyrna: No rebuke at all.
Pergamum: "I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling-block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality. So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans."
Thyatira: "I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads my bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols."
Sardis: The Message Bible says, "You have a reputation for vigor and zest but you are stone dead." Most other versions say something like, "You have the name of being alive, but are dead."
Philadelphia: no rebuke.
Laodicea: "You are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. Because you say, "I am rich and have become wealthy and have need of nothing," and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked."
What is most striking about these rebukes is how different Christ's judgments are from human wisdom and understanding. The heaviest blows go to Sardis and to Laodicea, churches with good reputations among themselves, and perhaps the outside world, churches who feel little discomfort about where they are and feel they're doing well. On the other hand, Smyrna and Philadelphia get no rebuke at all, though Jesus acknowledges that they are poor, powerless and viciously persecuted. My immediate reaction to this would be to try to find a church which meets in a mud hut rather than a crystal cathedral. But I think this goes far deeper than material issues and speaks about the willingness of the best churches to be uncomfortable, to be willing to take up their cross individually and consider it an honor to suffer for the Savior who suffered for us, to rely on God, to continually try to develop a deeper relationship with him, and never to feel complacent. When we read in Luke 2:34-35 Simeon's prophecy about Jesus where he says, "This child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against...that the thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed.", we usually think of this passage as having to do with who is saved and who is lost, but the rebukes here make it clear that Jesus continues to turn the social order upside down, even among Christians. The call to accountability is always with us.
Now we come to the warnings to each of the seven churches.
Ephesus: "Remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place--unless you repent."
Smyrna: "Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death and I will give you the crown of life."
Pergamum: "Repent, or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war with them (the unrepentant) with the sword of my mouth."
Thyatira: "I will throw her (Jezebel) on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds. And I will kill her children with pestilence, and all the churches will know that I am he who searches minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds."
Sardis: "Remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore, if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you."
Philadelphia: "I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown."
Laodicea: "I advise you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see."
There are probably many things which could be said about these warnings. But the one thing which stands out to me is the warning to the Ephesians that if they do not regain their first love for the Lord and for each other, their lampstand (which is their church) will be removed. This warning is given in spite of the fact that the Ephesian church hated evil and wouldn't listen to false prophets and teachers, as some of the other churches did. In fact, there is no church at Ephesus anymore, and this part of the world is almost exclusively Islamic, which makes it appear that the Ephesians did not get the message, and I suspect that many of today's churches are not getting the message either.
Now here's a quick look at Christ's promises to the seven churches.
Ephesus: "To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God."
Smyrna: "He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death."
Pergamum: "To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it."
Thyatira: "He who overcomes and he who keeps my deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces, as I also have received authority from my Father; and I will give him the morning star."
Sardis: ""He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels."
Philadelphia: "He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will not go out from it anymore;" and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God, and my new name."
Laodicea: "He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with me on my throne, as I also overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne."
My assumption is that these are not really seven different blessings for seven different churches, but this is one blessing for all Christians from all generations who are considered worthy of it. Because of his redemptive work on the cross, Jesus himself is our tree of life, prevents us from being hurt by the second death, he is the bread of life or the hidden manna, he is the morning star, the one who writes our name in the Lamb's book of life, confesses our name before the Father and allows us to rule with him.
It is also interesting to me that Jesus frequently refers to the Father as his God, as indeed he is our God. It would be an interesting Bible study of its own to see how each member of the trinity honors the others.
The instruction "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." is given to each one of the seven churches. It could have been given only once, but was probably given seven times to emphasize how important it is for us to pay attention to the meaning of these passages.
When I post my comments about Revelation chapter 3, I'll give additional details about each of the seven churches and discuss how the prophecies to the seven churches have been interpreted and what I believe all Christians should learn from them.
I live in a world of relational databases and spreadsheets, and I could easily put these chapters into a relational database, which, in this case, will consist of only one table with rows and columns. Let's imagine that the members of these seven churches are all seated in a theater. The first row contains the church of Ephesus, the second row contains the church of Smyrna, the third row contains the church of Pergamum, the fourth row contains the church of Thyatira, the fifth row contains the church of Sardis, the sixth row contains the church of Philadelphia and the seventh row contains the church of Laodicea.
Normally, when someone reads Revelation 2 and 3, they read row by row everything Jesus said to each of the churches. Relational databases are useful because they also allow us to compare columns. So before we talk about the individual churches, let's go through the columns of our table and see what we can learn about the greeting, Christ the messenger, the commendations, the reproofs, the warnings, the blessings and the instructions. I'll talk about the columns of our table here and discuss the rows in chapter 3, though only the churches of Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea are actually discussed in chapter 3.
We don't learn much from the greetings, "to the angel of the church at Ephesus", "to the angel of the church at Smyrna", etc., since they just identify the seven churches. But let's see what we learn about Christ by looking at how he described himself to each of the seven churches.
Ephesus: "The one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven golden lampstands."
Smyrna: "The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life."
Pergamum: "The one who has the sharp two-edged sword."
Thyatira: "The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and his feet are like burnished bronze."
Sardis: "He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars."
Philadelphia: "He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens."
Laodicea: "The Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God."
Without going into great detail, we are reminded that Christ is holy, faithful and true, that he is eternal in nature, existing before time began and after time ends, which is fairly unfathomable to us, since I can't really understand what being outside of time really means. We also learn here that Jesus died and rose from the dead, and he has authority over both men and angels, as well as all of the circumstances we face. As the Word of God, those he blesses are blessed, and those he condemns are condemned.
Now let's take a look at the Lord's commendations for the seven churches:
Ephesus: "I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured for my name's sake, and have not grown weary." Also, "you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate."
Smyrna: "I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich)."
Pergamum: "You hold fast my name, and did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas, my witness, my faithful one."
Thyatira: "I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first."
Sardis: No commendation, except "You have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy."
Philadelphia: "I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have kept my word, and have not denied my name. Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie--I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and make them know that I have loved you."
Laodicea: No commendation except "Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline." That's not really a commendation, but it's the only encouragement the Laodiceans can take from this message, which is basically, "I love you, and I'm giving you a little longer to repent." I can't help but wonder how this message was received by the Laodicean church.
Without looking at the rebukes, knowing nothing but the above commendations, perhaps the most interest things to notice here are that the Lord is looking at our deeds which we do because of our faith in and love for him, and also how he has called us to endurance as Christians. Certainly there must be rewards for these things, but one also gets the sense here of the obligation bond-servants have to be faithful to the Master, rather than a sense of heroism from a human perspective.
Now let's go through the rebukes given to each of the seven churches:
Ephesus: "I have this against you, that you have left your first love."
Smyrna: No rebuke at all.
Pergamum: "I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling-block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality. So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans."
Thyatira: "I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads my bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols."
Sardis: The Message Bible says, "You have a reputation for vigor and zest but you are stone dead." Most other versions say something like, "You have the name of being alive, but are dead."
Philadelphia: no rebuke.
Laodicea: "You are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. Because you say, "I am rich and have become wealthy and have need of nothing," and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked."
What is most striking about these rebukes is how different Christ's judgments are from human wisdom and understanding. The heaviest blows go to Sardis and to Laodicea, churches with good reputations among themselves, and perhaps the outside world, churches who feel little discomfort about where they are and feel they're doing well. On the other hand, Smyrna and Philadelphia get no rebuke at all, though Jesus acknowledges that they are poor, powerless and viciously persecuted. My immediate reaction to this would be to try to find a church which meets in a mud hut rather than a crystal cathedral. But I think this goes far deeper than material issues and speaks about the willingness of the best churches to be uncomfortable, to be willing to take up their cross individually and consider it an honor to suffer for the Savior who suffered for us, to rely on God, to continually try to develop a deeper relationship with him, and never to feel complacent. When we read in Luke 2:34-35 Simeon's prophecy about Jesus where he says, "This child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against...that the thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed.", we usually think of this passage as having to do with who is saved and who is lost, but the rebukes here make it clear that Jesus continues to turn the social order upside down, even among Christians. The call to accountability is always with us.
Now we come to the warnings to each of the seven churches.
Ephesus: "Remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place--unless you repent."
Smyrna: "Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death and I will give you the crown of life."
Pergamum: "Repent, or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war with them (the unrepentant) with the sword of my mouth."
Thyatira: "I will throw her (Jezebel) on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds. And I will kill her children with pestilence, and all the churches will know that I am he who searches minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds."
Sardis: "Remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore, if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you."
Philadelphia: "I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown."
Laodicea: "I advise you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see."
There are probably many things which could be said about these warnings. But the one thing which stands out to me is the warning to the Ephesians that if they do not regain their first love for the Lord and for each other, their lampstand (which is their church) will be removed. This warning is given in spite of the fact that the Ephesian church hated evil and wouldn't listen to false prophets and teachers, as some of the other churches did. In fact, there is no church at Ephesus anymore, and this part of the world is almost exclusively Islamic, which makes it appear that the Ephesians did not get the message, and I suspect that many of today's churches are not getting the message either.
Now here's a quick look at Christ's promises to the seven churches.
Ephesus: "To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God."
Smyrna: "He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death."
Pergamum: "To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it."
Thyatira: "He who overcomes and he who keeps my deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces, as I also have received authority from my Father; and I will give him the morning star."
Sardis: ""He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels."
Philadelphia: "He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will not go out from it anymore;" and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God, and my new name."
Laodicea: "He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with me on my throne, as I also overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne."
My assumption is that these are not really seven different blessings for seven different churches, but this is one blessing for all Christians from all generations who are considered worthy of it. Because of his redemptive work on the cross, Jesus himself is our tree of life, prevents us from being hurt by the second death, he is the bread of life or the hidden manna, he is the morning star, the one who writes our name in the Lamb's book of life, confesses our name before the Father and allows us to rule with him.
It is also interesting to me that Jesus frequently refers to the Father as his God, as indeed he is our God. It would be an interesting Bible study of its own to see how each member of the trinity honors the others.
The instruction "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." is given to each one of the seven churches. It could have been given only once, but was probably given seven times to emphasize how important it is for us to pay attention to the meaning of these passages.
When I post my comments about Revelation chapter 3, I'll give additional details about each of the seven churches and discuss how the prophecies to the seven churches have been interpreted and what I believe all Christians should learn from them.
posted by TAPIOCA at 5/16/2006 07:23:00 PM
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