This week marks the second in a series that delves into the Book of Revelation — a topic that has been requested by our youth numerous times lately. Last week, we handled a lot of the introductory information … that the book was written by the Apostle John while he was in exile on the Isle of Patmos. It involved communication between God and John with a vision toward what Christians could expect in the future. A lot of the book uses symbolism that can be difficult to understand, so we are breaking down the chapters in smaller nuggets.
This week, we are focusing on the concept of seven letters to seven churches and what that could mean for us today. First, though, a new song from Austin French that we’ll talk more about in a moment:
Please continue to pray for Pastor Paul and Sally Sheets as Sally faces a new regimen of cancer treatments before the next steps can be taken. Sherilyn will be returning to Chicago for a while, so please keep her and the entire family in prayer during this time.
We continue to remember Trina Eia and her family in prayer during her ongoing cancer treatment. The most recent update from her via social media:
Please also pray for the large community outreach event coming to our church this coming weekend … trunk or treat combined with hayrides, horse rides, food, fellowship and more. If you would like to sign up a trunk yet, donate toward the event or be involved in any way, contact Robin Kratzer at 570-600-3693.
As we shared last week in the opening session of this series, Revelation was written by John while an exile on the Isle of Patmos. While there, he had an encounter with God, who urged John to document all that he saw and experienced as the “Revelation of Jesus Christ.”
During the encounter, John hears a “loud voice like a trumpet,” turning to see seven golden lampstands and among them is “Someone like a Son of Man.” After falling at God’s feet “as though dead” in reverence, John is instructed by God to:
“Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.” — Revelation 1:19-20 (NIV)
Today, we want to focus on the seven churches, which refer to physical churches back in that day, but also symbolize the church body today. God shares things He is pleased with in some of the churches, but also confronts some major concerns … of which we as Christians should take heed. Here is a map of where those churches resided back in John’s day:
A quick overview video that helps illustrate the concept of these seven churches:
We want to break down each of the seven churches. The first involves the church of Ephesus from Revelation 2:1-7 (NIV):
“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. 2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. 4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the Love you had at first. 5 Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. 6 But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.”
What does this church do correctly? What mistakes are being made in the church of Ephesus according to God’s Word? There is a warning of losing sight of the Love they once knew … as time marched on, some of the polish and excitement they once had about the Lord had waned. How can we relate? As a teenager facing a new set of stressors and tests, are you still anchored in the exciting Love of God? Think of the genuine, unfiltered faith and praise we see from kids during VBS or AWANA. Are you still that excited about God? In His warning, He is telling us it is time to rekindle that unapologetic faith before other events shared later in Revelation come to pass.
Next up is the church of Smyrna from Revelation 2:8-11 (NIV):
“To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. 9 I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown. 11 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.”
God praises the church for its steadfastness despite meager resources … something many churches today can appreciate. He also admits that there is more persecution on the way. He doesn’t promise smooth sailing, but He does promise “life as your victor’s crown” to those who endure the inevitable hardships that are coming. When things get rough, this is a promise we can hold onto.
Next, the church of Pergamum from Revelation 2:12-17 (NIV):
12 “To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of Him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. 13 I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to My name. You did not renounce your faith in Me, not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives. 14 Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. 15 Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth. 17 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.”
Pergamum is located in a precarious situation … “where Satan has his throne” … and yet the people of this church have not renounced their faith. Yet, there are some within this church that entice God’s people to sin … eating food sacrificed to idols and committing immorality. I think we can agree that Christians today are living in a world where “Satan has a throne” yet we need to be very careful that we don’t inadvertently tempt others away from God.
Next, the church of Thyatira fr0m Revelation 2:18-29 (NIV):
“To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. 19 I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first. 20 Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. 21 I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. 22 So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. 23 I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds. 24 Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets, ‘I will not impose any other burden on you, 25 except to hold on to what you have until I come.’ 26 To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations— 27 that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’[b]—just as I have received authority from my Father. 28 I will also give that one the morning star. 29 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Jezebel, the wife of Ahab, is an Old Testament woman who wound up leading the nation of Israel astray. In today’s world, one can think of many potential “Jezebels” who come across as wise and sincere and yet offer nothing but false teachings. Numerous celebrities could be considered in this category. The warning here is that we need to be extra vigilant in who we follow, what types of people we look up to and the types of movie, music and other avenues we absorb that may lead away away from God like a symbolic Jezebel. Why is this so critical? Because God goes on to state that those who stay true to God in the midst of this chaos will be given “authority over the nations.”
Next, the church of Sardis from Revelation 3:1-6 (NIV):
“To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of Him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you. 4 Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. 5 The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels. 6 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Remember the song from earlier in this blog post from Austin French called “Wake up Sleeper?” Well, that song fits in well here. God confronts the people from Sardis as those who appear on the surface to be alive in Christ, and yet internally are dead. Some within the church today can relate … perhaps they jumped into ministry on fire, doing and saying all the right things, but over time became burnt out. These may be people who have become overwhelmed or depressed by the day-to-day grind considered “life” by our worldly culture. This is God’s final warning to those who fall into this category to wake up, sleeper. Those who don’t, God suggests He will come “like a thief, and you will not know what time I will come to you.”
Then, the church of Philadelphia from Revelation 3:7-13 (NIV):
“To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What He opens no one can shut, and what He shuts no one can open. 8 I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 9 I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. 10 Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth. 11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. 12 The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name. 13 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
God admits that those within this church are waning in strength, but still holding fast to God’s promises. Their rewards will be many, but among them “I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.” For those among us who feel beaten down and on their last breath of hope, God urges patience.
And lastly, the church of Laodicea from Revelation 3:14-22 (NIV):
“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of My mouth. 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. 19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. 21 To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
In a section of scripture where God is pretty blunt, the warning to the “lukewarm” church perhaps is the most notable. Those who are neither hot nor cold … who whiffle on what should be black-and-white commands from God … will be “spit out of My mouth.” The lukewarm Christians are “wretched, poor, blind and naked.” What does it mean to be a lukewarm Christian? Think of the many hot button topics addressed via God’s Word. In each of those situations where God offers an absolute, concrete stance via His Word, the lukewarm blur the lines. In the midst of that, they water down God’s message to a point where things that would never be considered in the realm of OK from a Christian standpoint are suddenly allowed or welcomed with open arms. Despite this, God later in the verse admits He is willing to provide one more chance for the lukewarm Christians to answer the knock at the door, repent and earn back God’s favor. However, time may be growing short, as we learn in the rest of the Book of Revelation.
To pull it all together, here is another video overview of the seven churches and the symbolism they hold today.
We invite you to attend our next Port Ann Wesleyan youth group on Wednesday, Oct. 28, starting at 7 p.m. For those who want to catch up with past online lessons, click here.
We wrap up with another new song. This one from the group Cain called “Rise Up (Lazarus)”:
