REVELATION 3
Though only the churches of Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea are actually described in chapter 3, I am going to go one by one through some comments regarding each of the seven churches, beginning with Ephesus.
Acts 18 tells us that both Paul and Apollos taught at Ephesus. When Paul visited Ephesus for the second time in Acts 19, he found a small group of twelve disciples who had received the baptism of John the Baptist. At Paul's instruction, they are baptized again in the name of Jesus, they receive the Holy Spirit, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. Paul stayed in Ephesus for about two years, which was an extraordinaily long period for him to be in one place. Paul was empowered to do extraordinary miracles at Ephesus, including healing and casting out demons. It was at Ephesus that seven sons of Sceva who were not Christians tried to use the name of Jesus for exorcism, but the demons left them naked and wounded. Ephesus was a pagan city, known for the temple of the goddess Artemis (or Diana), the disciples burn their books about magic, and Paul is eventually forced to leave Ephesus after a riot regarding the temple of Artemis. Paul did not return to Ephesus, but he summoned the church's elders, and in Acts 20:17-38 he tells them he has given them the whole counsel of God. Paul later asks Timothy to remain at Ephesus "to prevent certain individuals from teaching any other doctrine", and Paul wrote the letter to the Ephesians, which among other things, includes a description of what Christ's atonement has done for us (Ephesians 2), discussion about church leadership and mission (Ephesians 4) and the instruction to put on the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6).
The church at Ephesus is the only one which is associated at various times with Paul, Apollos, Timothy, Tychicus and John, a virtual honor roll among first century Christians. These men clearly had an effect in terms of the steadfastness with which the church at Ephesus clung to the doctrines of Christ and hated evil. Yet Jesus rebukes them for having lost their first love, warns them that if they do not repent their church will be removed, and their church no longer exists. The implications for us are obvious. Our love for the Lord and for each other must come first, above all other obligations. Some Bible translations, including the new King James version, which is generally an excellent translation, refers to the church at Ephesus as "the loveless church". But we should be very careful about such labels, not only for the sake of accuracy (Jesus does not say they are loveless, but only that their love has diminished), but also for the sake of humility. The church at Ephesus was probably doing better than many of our churches today.
Before I go on to the other churches, I want to mention that Jesus gives the Ephesians a formula for reconciliation with him. Remember, repent and rediscover your first love. Remember, repent and rediscover is a pretty good motto for all of us.
Smyrna is not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible, except in the book of Revelation. Smyrna is now called Izmir, and it is located about 35 miles north of Ephesus, on the Aegean coast of Turkey. Polycarp was martyred in Smyrna in the first century. Jesus contrasts the circumstances of the Christians who lived in Smyrna with his opinion of them. "I know your poverty, but you are rich." "I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan." Yet Jesus has no rebuke for them at all, and he encourages them to remain faithful until death, so he may give them the crown of life. He tells them they are about to suffer persecution for ten days. He might be referring to ten literal days, but more likely he is referring to the ten periods of Roman persecution of Christians. We are to be faithful to Christ, even to the point of death, following the example of what he did for us, so that we might become like him. There is still a small church in Izmir today.
Like Smyrna, Pergamum is not mentioned anywhere in scripture, except in Revelation. Today it is called Bergama, and it is located about 45 miles northeast of Smyrna. Jesus commends the Christians at Pergamum for their endurance and faithfulness, even when Antipas was martyred, but he also rebukes some of them for their compromises with the pagan culture around them. Pergamum had many temples to other gods, including one for the God Asclepius, who was a serpent god of healing. This is why Jesus says, "I know where you live--a place where Satan sits enthroned." The references here to sexual immorality and to eating food sacrificed to idols are probably quite literal, but they may also symbolize other problems. Jesus offers them hidden manna, perhaps as a substitute for the food sacrificed to idols.
Thyatira is called Akhisar today, and it is located about 40 miles southeast of Pergamum. Thyatira is menitoned in Acts 16 in connection with a woman named Lydia, who sold purple fabrics, which were probably purchased by wealthy people. Thyatira was a city of guilds and crafts including woodworkers, linen workers, leather workers, tanners, potters, bakers, slave dealers, bronzesmiths and seamstresses. This may explain why Jesus introduces himself to them as one who has eyes like blazing fire and feet like burnished bronze. Thyatira is perhaps the most puzzling of all of the churches because on the one hand, Jesus commends them for their deeds, their love, faith, service and perseverance, and he says their current deeds are greater than their earlier ones. Perhaps greater praise is given to the Christians in Thyatira than to any of the other churches. But then Jesus rebukes them for tolerating Jezebel, who is leading some of them into sexual immorality and into eating food sacrificed to idols. These are probably literal problems, but they may also be symbolic of other problems, since Jesus says that some in Thyatira have learned the "deep things of Satan". So there may be many other occult practices in Thyatira which some Christians are indulting in, but which we are not told about specifically. It seems that Ephesian Christians had held onto the truth, but had lost some of their love. But the Christians in Thyatira may not have lost their love for Christ or for each other, but they have lost some of their love for the truth and have in some cases, included pagan customs in their practice of Christianity. Yet Jesus only asks the faithful at Thyatira to hold onto the faith they have until the end, and he promises them they will rule over the nations and they will possess the morning star, which he himself is.
Sardis is not mentioned anywhere in the Bible except in Revelation. It is located approximately fifty miles east of Smyrna and thirty miles southeast of Thyatira. It was a fairly wealthy city, particularly during the time of Croesus in the sixth century b.c. It was supposedly impenetrable to invasion, yet it had been successfully captured twice by invaders, first by Cyrus of Persia and later by Antiochus. The church at Sardis had a reputation of being alive, but Jesus tells them they are either dead or sleeping, and God is not pleased with their work. Jesus tells them to wake up, remember what they received and repent, or else he will come like a thief in the night, which is how he is coming to the unbelievers throughout the world, and it may also be meant to remind the people of Sardis of their earlier invaders. Yet Jesus also say there are a few people in Sardis who are worthy to walk with him in white, and he promises not to blot their names out of the book of life and to confess their names before his Father. White garments here probably represent holiness, purity, joy, victory and resurrection. So even in this very bleak setting, there is hope for some. We can only assume that most of the Christians in Sardis believed in their human reputation as a vibrant church, and they were at least partially surprised by the rebuke in this letter. There is no church in Sardis today, so many of them may not have accepted this message. The churches of Sardis and Laodicea make it quite clear that Jesus is not pleased with the mere form of religion, rather than the substance of it.
Philadelphia is not mentioned anywhere in the Bible, except in the book of Revelation. Philadelphia, as most of us know, means brotherly love. This Philadelphia is now called Alasehir, and it is located about thirty miles southeast of Sardis. Yet the two churches could hardly be more different. Jesus says that in spite of their limited power, he has opened a door for them (probably for evangelism and missionary work) which no one can shut. He credits the Philadelphians for keeping his word and not denying him, in spite of persecution. He goes even farther, saying that the Jews who are persecuting them are a synagogue of Satan, and he will make them come and bow down at the feet of these Philadelphian Christians and learn and acknowledge that Christ has loved them. This is reminiscent of Proverbs 16:7 which says, "When a mans ways please the Lord, He makes his enemies to be at peace with him." This is a rare and unusual blessing, which most of us have probably never fully experienced. To this blessing Jesus adds that he will protect the disciples in Philadelphia from the time of trouble which is coming on the whole world. This may refer to the time of trouble spoken of in Daniel 12:1 and Mark 13:19. The Lord does not find it necessary to rebuke the church in Philadelphia for anything.
Laodicea is mentioned four times in Paul's letter to the Colossians. It is not clear whether or not Paul ever personally visited Laodicea, but it is very likely that Epaphras and some of Paul's co-workers did. The Colossians were instructed to have their letter from Paul read at the church in Laodicea. Laodicea is located about forty miles southeast of Philadelphia and about eighty miles east of Ephesus.
There appears to be a great deal of irony in what Jesus says to the church at Laodicea. Some of the irony is because the Laodiceans said, "I am rich, I have prospered and grown wealthy, and I am in need of nothing;", whereas Jesus calls them wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked. Jesus advises them to buy from him gold which has been refined and tested by fire, the gold of faith, rather than the gold they already possess. He tells them to buy white garments from him to keep the shame of their nakedness from being seen, though Laodicea was a place where textiles were manufactured, and they were not lacking in clothing in a literal sense. Eye ointment was also made at Laodicea, yet Jesus asks them to buy it from him so that they may see spiritually. The concept of the Laodiceans being lukewarm is also drawn from their water supply, which came from hot springs in Hierapolis, which became lukewarm by the time the water reached Laodicea.
Yet as harsh as the rebuke sounds and though Jesus says he will spew them out of his mouth and he offers them no commendation, there is still some encouragement the Laodiceans can take from this letter. Jesus says, "Those whom I love, I reprove and chasten.", and he then tells them that he is standing at the door of their hearts knocking continually, and he promises to dine with anyone among them who will open the door to him. Corporately, the Laodicean church is gone, but it is at least possible, though far from certain, that some individuals heeded his warnings.
We cannot conclude the discussion about the seven churches without some comment about what these churches mean to us today. Certainly these were literal churches, and each of them was given a word from the Lord which was applicable to them at the time of John's vision. But there are many other interpretations of these two chapters. I heard a man on the radio once who claimed that the seven churches each represent the condition of the church on a separate continent just prior to the tribulation. It's an interesting theory, but the scriptures themselves don't give us any reason to apply these two chapters that way. So my response to that is, "Nice try, but probably not."
A more common theory is a dispensational theory which holds that these seven churches represent the overall state of the church during seven time periods between the time of John's vision and the great tribulation. This theory has some merit, because of the chronological nature of Christ's promises to the seven churches. For example, "To him who overcomes, I will grant him to eat from the tree of life." is the promise to the church at Ephesus. The promises to each of the seven churches are in a historical order from the tree of life (originally in the garden of Eden in Genesis), the second death is ultimately the result of the fall of Adam and Eve, the hidden manna to the manna in the wilderness, the white stone is similar to the engraved stones worn by priests on their shoulder and breastplate, the rod of iron is similar to Moses holding the rod of God for the defeat of Amalek, the white garments to the garments of the priests and the pillar in the temple is similar to the pillars in the temple of Solomon. The major problem with this, however, is that no one can agree precisely when these seven periods in church history begin and end, if they do in fact exist.
That leaves us with the possibility that the seven churches may exist in some form in unspecified locations in the last days, but there isn't any specific scriptural basis for interpreting these two chapters that way. My belief is that these seven prophetic words applied specifically to the seven churches at the time of John's vision. Though there are things we can learn from these prophecies which may cause us to ask questions about our own churches and our individual spiritual conditions, I suspect that they're not specifically symbolic of anything in succeeding generations, and the word to our local churches and to us individually would be much more personal than anything we read here.
Even so, we can't just ignore these chapters as someone else's business. Certainly the call to the Ephesians to return to their first love has significance for all of us, and the words Jesus speaks to the seven churches should give us some indication as to what Jesus expects from us.
Acts 18 tells us that both Paul and Apollos taught at Ephesus. When Paul visited Ephesus for the second time in Acts 19, he found a small group of twelve disciples who had received the baptism of John the Baptist. At Paul's instruction, they are baptized again in the name of Jesus, they receive the Holy Spirit, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. Paul stayed in Ephesus for about two years, which was an extraordinaily long period for him to be in one place. Paul was empowered to do extraordinary miracles at Ephesus, including healing and casting out demons. It was at Ephesus that seven sons of Sceva who were not Christians tried to use the name of Jesus for exorcism, but the demons left them naked and wounded. Ephesus was a pagan city, known for the temple of the goddess Artemis (or Diana), the disciples burn their books about magic, and Paul is eventually forced to leave Ephesus after a riot regarding the temple of Artemis. Paul did not return to Ephesus, but he summoned the church's elders, and in Acts 20:17-38 he tells them he has given them the whole counsel of God. Paul later asks Timothy to remain at Ephesus "to prevent certain individuals from teaching any other doctrine", and Paul wrote the letter to the Ephesians, which among other things, includes a description of what Christ's atonement has done for us (Ephesians 2), discussion about church leadership and mission (Ephesians 4) and the instruction to put on the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6).
The church at Ephesus is the only one which is associated at various times with Paul, Apollos, Timothy, Tychicus and John, a virtual honor roll among first century Christians. These men clearly had an effect in terms of the steadfastness with which the church at Ephesus clung to the doctrines of Christ and hated evil. Yet Jesus rebukes them for having lost their first love, warns them that if they do not repent their church will be removed, and their church no longer exists. The implications for us are obvious. Our love for the Lord and for each other must come first, above all other obligations. Some Bible translations, including the new King James version, which is generally an excellent translation, refers to the church at Ephesus as "the loveless church". But we should be very careful about such labels, not only for the sake of accuracy (Jesus does not say they are loveless, but only that their love has diminished), but also for the sake of humility. The church at Ephesus was probably doing better than many of our churches today.
Before I go on to the other churches, I want to mention that Jesus gives the Ephesians a formula for reconciliation with him. Remember, repent and rediscover your first love. Remember, repent and rediscover is a pretty good motto for all of us.
Smyrna is not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible, except in the book of Revelation. Smyrna is now called Izmir, and it is located about 35 miles north of Ephesus, on the Aegean coast of Turkey. Polycarp was martyred in Smyrna in the first century. Jesus contrasts the circumstances of the Christians who lived in Smyrna with his opinion of them. "I know your poverty, but you are rich." "I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan." Yet Jesus has no rebuke for them at all, and he encourages them to remain faithful until death, so he may give them the crown of life. He tells them they are about to suffer persecution for ten days. He might be referring to ten literal days, but more likely he is referring to the ten periods of Roman persecution of Christians. We are to be faithful to Christ, even to the point of death, following the example of what he did for us, so that we might become like him. There is still a small church in Izmir today.
Like Smyrna, Pergamum is not mentioned anywhere in scripture, except in Revelation. Today it is called Bergama, and it is located about 45 miles northeast of Smyrna. Jesus commends the Christians at Pergamum for their endurance and faithfulness, even when Antipas was martyred, but he also rebukes some of them for their compromises with the pagan culture around them. Pergamum had many temples to other gods, including one for the God Asclepius, who was a serpent god of healing. This is why Jesus says, "I know where you live--a place where Satan sits enthroned." The references here to sexual immorality and to eating food sacrificed to idols are probably quite literal, but they may also symbolize other problems. Jesus offers them hidden manna, perhaps as a substitute for the food sacrificed to idols.
Thyatira is called Akhisar today, and it is located about 40 miles southeast of Pergamum. Thyatira is menitoned in Acts 16 in connection with a woman named Lydia, who sold purple fabrics, which were probably purchased by wealthy people. Thyatira was a city of guilds and crafts including woodworkers, linen workers, leather workers, tanners, potters, bakers, slave dealers, bronzesmiths and seamstresses. This may explain why Jesus introduces himself to them as one who has eyes like blazing fire and feet like burnished bronze. Thyatira is perhaps the most puzzling of all of the churches because on the one hand, Jesus commends them for their deeds, their love, faith, service and perseverance, and he says their current deeds are greater than their earlier ones. Perhaps greater praise is given to the Christians in Thyatira than to any of the other churches. But then Jesus rebukes them for tolerating Jezebel, who is leading some of them into sexual immorality and into eating food sacrificed to idols. These are probably literal problems, but they may also be symbolic of other problems, since Jesus says that some in Thyatira have learned the "deep things of Satan". So there may be many other occult practices in Thyatira which some Christians are indulting in, but which we are not told about specifically. It seems that Ephesian Christians had held onto the truth, but had lost some of their love. But the Christians in Thyatira may not have lost their love for Christ or for each other, but they have lost some of their love for the truth and have in some cases, included pagan customs in their practice of Christianity. Yet Jesus only asks the faithful at Thyatira to hold onto the faith they have until the end, and he promises them they will rule over the nations and they will possess the morning star, which he himself is.
Sardis is not mentioned anywhere in the Bible except in Revelation. It is located approximately fifty miles east of Smyrna and thirty miles southeast of Thyatira. It was a fairly wealthy city, particularly during the time of Croesus in the sixth century b.c. It was supposedly impenetrable to invasion, yet it had been successfully captured twice by invaders, first by Cyrus of Persia and later by Antiochus. The church at Sardis had a reputation of being alive, but Jesus tells them they are either dead or sleeping, and God is not pleased with their work. Jesus tells them to wake up, remember what they received and repent, or else he will come like a thief in the night, which is how he is coming to the unbelievers throughout the world, and it may also be meant to remind the people of Sardis of their earlier invaders. Yet Jesus also say there are a few people in Sardis who are worthy to walk with him in white, and he promises not to blot their names out of the book of life and to confess their names before his Father. White garments here probably represent holiness, purity, joy, victory and resurrection. So even in this very bleak setting, there is hope for some. We can only assume that most of the Christians in Sardis believed in their human reputation as a vibrant church, and they were at least partially surprised by the rebuke in this letter. There is no church in Sardis today, so many of them may not have accepted this message. The churches of Sardis and Laodicea make it quite clear that Jesus is not pleased with the mere form of religion, rather than the substance of it.
Philadelphia is not mentioned anywhere in the Bible, except in the book of Revelation. Philadelphia, as most of us know, means brotherly love. This Philadelphia is now called Alasehir, and it is located about thirty miles southeast of Sardis. Yet the two churches could hardly be more different. Jesus says that in spite of their limited power, he has opened a door for them (probably for evangelism and missionary work) which no one can shut. He credits the Philadelphians for keeping his word and not denying him, in spite of persecution. He goes even farther, saying that the Jews who are persecuting them are a synagogue of Satan, and he will make them come and bow down at the feet of these Philadelphian Christians and learn and acknowledge that Christ has loved them. This is reminiscent of Proverbs 16:7 which says, "When a mans ways please the Lord, He makes his enemies to be at peace with him." This is a rare and unusual blessing, which most of us have probably never fully experienced. To this blessing Jesus adds that he will protect the disciples in Philadelphia from the time of trouble which is coming on the whole world. This may refer to the time of trouble spoken of in Daniel 12:1 and Mark 13:19. The Lord does not find it necessary to rebuke the church in Philadelphia for anything.
Laodicea is mentioned four times in Paul's letter to the Colossians. It is not clear whether or not Paul ever personally visited Laodicea, but it is very likely that Epaphras and some of Paul's co-workers did. The Colossians were instructed to have their letter from Paul read at the church in Laodicea. Laodicea is located about forty miles southeast of Philadelphia and about eighty miles east of Ephesus.
There appears to be a great deal of irony in what Jesus says to the church at Laodicea. Some of the irony is because the Laodiceans said, "I am rich, I have prospered and grown wealthy, and I am in need of nothing;", whereas Jesus calls them wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked. Jesus advises them to buy from him gold which has been refined and tested by fire, the gold of faith, rather than the gold they already possess. He tells them to buy white garments from him to keep the shame of their nakedness from being seen, though Laodicea was a place where textiles were manufactured, and they were not lacking in clothing in a literal sense. Eye ointment was also made at Laodicea, yet Jesus asks them to buy it from him so that they may see spiritually. The concept of the Laodiceans being lukewarm is also drawn from their water supply, which came from hot springs in Hierapolis, which became lukewarm by the time the water reached Laodicea.
Yet as harsh as the rebuke sounds and though Jesus says he will spew them out of his mouth and he offers them no commendation, there is still some encouragement the Laodiceans can take from this letter. Jesus says, "Those whom I love, I reprove and chasten.", and he then tells them that he is standing at the door of their hearts knocking continually, and he promises to dine with anyone among them who will open the door to him. Corporately, the Laodicean church is gone, but it is at least possible, though far from certain, that some individuals heeded his warnings.
We cannot conclude the discussion about the seven churches without some comment about what these churches mean to us today. Certainly these were literal churches, and each of them was given a word from the Lord which was applicable to them at the time of John's vision. But there are many other interpretations of these two chapters. I heard a man on the radio once who claimed that the seven churches each represent the condition of the church on a separate continent just prior to the tribulation. It's an interesting theory, but the scriptures themselves don't give us any reason to apply these two chapters that way. So my response to that is, "Nice try, but probably not."
A more common theory is a dispensational theory which holds that these seven churches represent the overall state of the church during seven time periods between the time of John's vision and the great tribulation. This theory has some merit, because of the chronological nature of Christ's promises to the seven churches. For example, "To him who overcomes, I will grant him to eat from the tree of life." is the promise to the church at Ephesus. The promises to each of the seven churches are in a historical order from the tree of life (originally in the garden of Eden in Genesis), the second death is ultimately the result of the fall of Adam and Eve, the hidden manna to the manna in the wilderness, the white stone is similar to the engraved stones worn by priests on their shoulder and breastplate, the rod of iron is similar to Moses holding the rod of God for the defeat of Amalek, the white garments to the garments of the priests and the pillar in the temple is similar to the pillars in the temple of Solomon. The major problem with this, however, is that no one can agree precisely when these seven periods in church history begin and end, if they do in fact exist.
That leaves us with the possibility that the seven churches may exist in some form in unspecified locations in the last days, but there isn't any specific scriptural basis for interpreting these two chapters that way. My belief is that these seven prophetic words applied specifically to the seven churches at the time of John's vision. Though there are things we can learn from these prophecies which may cause us to ask questions about our own churches and our individual spiritual conditions, I suspect that they're not specifically symbolic of anything in succeeding generations, and the word to our local churches and to us individually would be much more personal than anything we read here.
Even so, we can't just ignore these chapters as someone else's business. Certainly the call to the Ephesians to return to their first love has significance for all of us, and the words Jesus speaks to the seven churches should give us some indication as to what Jesus expects from us.
posted by TAPIOCA at 5/20/2006 07:27:00 AM
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