Seven Letters

Today, we are talking about the seven letters that Jesus had penned for the Church. These seven letters are unique in that Jesus Himself is giving the Church guidance and identifying the issues and concerns in a manner that only God can. Typically a born again believer can find a “wave top” sermon going over the details of this particular passage in Revelation. However, few, if any, examine the prophetic lineage that these churches represent.

Nevertheless, the church fails to recognize the importance of these churches when we take this only at face value. Within the camp of those who do recognize the significance of the Church age and its '“chapters” some have argued that the churches discussed are representations of the Church age. This argument holds validity, but needs refining.

First, let’s examine the Churches. We have Ephesus, who stood strong on doctrine, but had lost its first love. We then have Smyrna which is one of two that receive no rebuke, they are told to hold on. Then there is the Church of Pergamum, this church holds to Jesus but has allowed those who accept Balaam’s teaching to creep inside. The fourth Church is Thyatira which was known for its deeds, these deeds were growing and becoming widely known. However, Thyatira had an issue of tolerating sexual immorality inside the Church. The fifth Church is Sardis which had actions as if alive, but were dead. The Sixth Church, and second in our short list of no rebuke, was the Church of Philadelphia. They were focused on the Lord’s return even when being pursecuted by other religious groups. The final and seventh group is the Church of Laodicea. This Church was neither cold or hot for Christ, they believed to be alive and needing of nothing, but in fact, Jesus was outside of the Church knocking to come in! Some Biblical scholars have argued for years if this Church is even saved.

Now this section of scripture could take us weeks to go over. However, I want to provide an argument for something rather remarkable . Jesus is providing a timeline of the Church age from Ephesus to Sardis, at this point, the other Churches are all in the same age. Allow me to explain, and show you why this makes sense.

The Rapture of the Church is pre-tribulational. If you have an issue with this, please take it up with Jesus who said,

John 14:1-3 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if [it were] not [so,] I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, [there] you may be also.”

Revelation 3:10 “Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.”

Jesus makes the promise that He is going to go to the Father (who is in Heaven) and make a place for us. He (Jesus) will then come back and get us and take us to where He is (not rocket science, its Heaven). In Revelation, Jesus promises to take us from the World’s trial. If the trial is for the whole world then we cannot be on the world, thus John 14:1-3 becomes even clearer. Just off of these two sets of promises, I can expect that Jesus is preparing a place for me in Heaven, and that He will come before the whole world is going through a period of time that will cause devastation. These two promises reveal a Pre-Tribulation Rapture. Like I said before, if you have an issue with it, please take it up with the Messiah who made the promises.

I digress, but this is paramount for us to understand if we are to see the timeline for what it is. Ephesus is the first stage of the Church. Many have seen this and argued that the original Church was sound in doctrine but had issues with allowing others in who might not have been Jewish. Soon this age of Christianity would change with persecution and the rise of gentile believers flooding in. This period of time is commonly accepted as the Smyrna Church. In 313 AD, the Edict of Milan is issued by Emperors Constantine and Licinius. This ends the government percecution and in 380 AD it becomes the state religion. You have temples on one day that become Churches the next. The same priests officiating the worship. The teaching of Balak started to creep into the Church, the roots of replacement theology, Calvanism and other heritical groups are starting to make their rise. For more informaiton on this, see Ken Johnsons’ work at Biblefacts.org.

Nevertheless, the timeline continues with a spiral decline, due to the growing cults who had been seizing the opportunity! The Roman state needed a religion that would unite and cause its followers to trust the state. True Christianity taught liberty and that the Church was to be set apart, not united with other religious ideas. True Christianity taught that the world at this time is held captive by Satan and that Jesus will return one day for His Church, and then the restoration of the Jewish nation would commence followed by a 1,000 years of Jesus reigning in Jerusalem. This did not fit the narrative, so they had to make a change. Thus comes the Catholic Church.

A challenge for you, in Acts chapter 8 we see a man named Simon who attempts to buy the Holy Spirit. The Apostles, rightfully so, reject this offer. We know from early Church manuscripts that Simon would continue on with his own cult and go to Rome. He is the father of what we now know the Catholic Church. His mystic beliefs can be directly connected to what Catholics believe.

It is here we see Jesus identify the Church of Thyatira. This stage is declared by Jesus to continue until the end of the Church age. Let’s examine verse Revelation 2:25-27, “But hold fast what you have till I come. 26 “And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations 27 ‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron; They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels’-- as I also have received from My Father;” Until this point, each Church age (except Smyrna) is given a promise of what will happen if they do not. Thyatira concludes the age by declaring that when Jesus comes back the nations will recognize His authority.

The final three Churches are all connected to an event. This event is the Rapture of the Church. The three groups are simple. Sardis is a Church that claims to be alive, but they are dead. Jesus identifies that most of them are not saved and need salvation.

Revelation 3:2-3 “Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. 3 “Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.” I believe you can find several denominations that fit this category. Many in this Church believe they are saved based on their deeds, and yet fail to recognize the necessity that is Jesus Christ for their salvation.

The Church in Philadelphia is the second to not be disciplined by Jesus. This Church has deeds reflecting their faith and understanding that Jesus is coming back for them. This group understands that they are not there to replace the Jewish Nation, but rather are something entirely different. This group is persecuted by the other “Christian groups” that claim they have replaced the Jews. How ironic, the charismatic, stoic, and reformed groups that storm the doors of a Christian’s heart to try to steal away their Blessed Hope. Jesus identifies this struggle, and even tells them what will happen at the Rapture. These other “Christian groups” will cry out to Jesus when the Messiah meets His bride in the Air to take the believers to Heaven.

Another challenge of homework, read the parable of the 10 virgins in Matthew 25 under the understanding of the Rapture. You will see how many so called believers in Jesus are not actually saved. And when that Trumpet sounds and we go home, they will cry out for something they now realize they do not have. The good news is there will be hope for these people, salvation can come, but they will now be identified as a Tribulation Saint. The body of Christ will be gone.

We now turn to the final group of this age, the Church of Laodicea. As noted earlier, many Bible scholars have questioned whether they are saved. However, once you realize that Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea are the three final groups, it is easy to identify that they are not saved. Jesus is knocking on the door, asking to come in. I will not sit down and prepare a list of Churches that I believe fall into each camp, but I will say this, Jesus gives great importance to the Church of Philadelphia that is seeking His return and understands that they are not the Jewish Nation.

There might be some that say I am drawing too many conclusions. However, next week I plan to provide an in-depth analysis of these final churches and examine the unique characteristics that make them who they are. I hope this will help bring light to the subject of the Church age and how God is begging His body to wake up, repent, and be ready for His soon return. If you have found any of this troubling and you have questions about Jesus, and how to get saved, come talk to us, we would be happy to share the good news of Jesus. The Gospel is for anyone who is willing to be saved, all you need to do is believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He died for your sins and that He rose again. Your faith will be accounted to you as righteousness. As a born-again believer, we cannot lose our salvation, but we must contend for the faith. Let us strive to show ourselves as true born again believers of Jesus Christ. Until next week.

Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,

JL