12/7/2023 0 Comments Churches in revelation bible study![]() But He held one thing against them: they tolerated sin. He said that their more recent deeds were more outstanding than their first deeds (contrast this with Ephesus). Jesus commended the church at Thyatira on their love, faith, and perseverance. The eyes of Jesus penetrated deep into the heart of the church, and his feet of brass could swiftly execute judgment. Jesus describes Himself to the church at Thyatira as the one who has eyes like a flame of fire and feet like burnished brass. ![]() His letter ended with a promise to those who overcome: “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: the Church that Tolerates Sin Jesus then admonished them to repent and said if they don’t, he will make war against the Nicolaitans with the sword of His mouth. We are not to accommodate the world through compromise. ![]() However, as Christians, God has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light ( 1 Peter 2:9). They taught that it was okay to live in two worlds. The Nicolaitans taught worldly compromise and moral surrender. He also expressed concerns with the church, namely that they allowed the Nicolaitans’ teaching in the church. Jesus commended the church for holding fast to His name and not denying Him in the face of satanic opposition. Pergamum was the home of the altar of Zeus and the seat of Satan’s power in that region. He described the city of Pergamum as the place of Satan’s throne. Jesus identified Himself to the church at Pergamum as the “One who has the sharp two-edged sword,” which would have brought to their mind judgment. Pergamum: the Church that Tolerates Wrong Teaching And He promised to those who overcome that they would not be hurt by the second death. Jesus promised this suffering church that those who were faithful until death would receive the crown of life. Their richness was not in the physical but in the spiritual. He told them that although they were lacking in financial resources, they were rich. Jesus had no harsh words for this church His letter was a letter of encouragement and not rebuke. Jesus identified Himself to the church at Smyrna as the “first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life.” This title would have reassured the church at Smyrna as they were a persecuted church, sometimes to the point of death. Then He promises that those who overcome will “eat of the tree of life.” Smyrna: the Suffering Church Jesus tells the church to repent and do what they did at first. Paul reminds us in 1 st Corinthians 13 that without love, we are nothing. It had become rigid and legalistic, forgetting the very reason they were maintaining the doctrine in the first place. The church in Ephesus had retained its doctrinal purity, but it had also left its first love. Jesus identified Himself to the church at Ephesus as the “One who holds the seven stars…and walks among the seven golden lampstands,” reminding the Ephesus church that He is the head of the church. Ephesus: the Church Whose Love Had Grown Cold He says, “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world and this is the victory that has overcome the world-our faith.” Another version puts it this way, “For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith.” As children of God, we are overcomers! Jesus’ promise to the churches is a promise to us today. John tells us in 1 John 5:4 who the overcomers are. He would then assess the church’s spiritual condition and appeal to each church to listen to his assessment and take action.Īlthough each letter addressed a specific church’s spiritual condition, the letter was for all the churches to heed as indicated by Jesus saying at the end of each letter, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Additionally, He would end each letter with a promise to those who overcome. Jesus would then inform each church that He knows all about them and their deeds. This title pertained to the spiritual condition of the church that He was addressing. In each letter, Jesus would begin by identifying Himself with a title related to John’s earlier vision in the first chapter of Revelation. Regardless of which approach we take, we can learn much about the present from these seven letters. The second is that each of these churches represents the seven stages of church history, with Laodicea, the apostate church representing the current stage of church history. The first is that these churches represent the varying spiritual conditions of churches throughout the church age. There are two explanations for why Jesus chose these specific 7 churches. ![]() The churches that Jesus chose to write letters to were real churches located in Asia Minor, now western Turkey. ![]()
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