Revelation 2:1-7

Chapter 2 - First 4 letters to seven churches

Introduction to the seven letters:

In chapter one we read what John saw when he was in the spirit and encountered the risen Lord. What John saw in the right hand of Jesus was seven stars. We are told they represent the angels or messengers to the seven churches. John also saw seven candlesticks (light bearers). The candlesticks we are told represent the seven churches. Jesus was in the midst of the seven candlesticks indicating that Jesus is in the midst of His Church by the presence of His Holy Spirit. The stars in His right hand are angels that carry out the will of Jesus in His Church.

God indicates that His Holy Spirit has seven characteristics so it should not surprise us that God would reveal himself by working through seven different church types. There are also seven kingdom parables in Matthew chapter 13 that some suggest shed further light on each of these seven churches. In addition, Paul's letters in the New Testament were addressed to seven assemblies and the New Testament had letters to seven specific people. All that this implies is a study that is way beyond the scope of this commentary. I mention it to spark your interest in the design of God's word and to say that scriptures written prior to this book may even have some correlation to the new covenant church types revealed in Revelation.

Chuck Missler gives us a small taste of this design and correlation in his teaching on Revelation:

The Seven Kingdom parables:"The Sower                           Ephesus: The apostolic Church

The Tares                             Smyrna: The persecuted Church

Mustard Seed                      Pergamos: Marriage to the World

Women/Leaven                  Thyatira: The Papacy in the Medieval World

The Field                             Sardis: Denominational/Dead Orthodoxy

The Pearl                             Philadelphia: The Rebirth of the Missionary

The Dragnet                        Laodicea: The apostate Church"

The seven churches and how they relate to the churches that Paul wrote to:"Ephesus:                              Ephesians

Smyrna:                               Philippians (joy through suffering)

Pergamos:                           Corinthians (married to the world)

Thyatira:                              Galatians (call out of religious externalism)

Sardis:                                 Romans (Salvation by faith)

Philadelphia:                       Thessalonians (the rapture)

Laodicea:                            Colossians (told to exchange letters with Laodicea)"

*The seven epistles to individuals are "John, Peter, Jude, James, Titus, Timothy, and Philemon (Missler suggests the reader should figure out how these epistles correlate to each of the seven Revelation churches.)

*The seven parable suggestions, seven church suggestions and seven epistles above are from  The Book of Revelation, supplemental notes page 60, Koinonia House Inc., 1995

The letters to the seven churches have a fourfold application:

·They are for each of the seven churches that existed in John's time.

·The message in all seven letters is for all of the churches of all time to know.

·The message is to each individual identified with one of the seven churches.

·The message is prophetic in the order they were given about the condition of the Church through time until Jesus formally marries His bride.

The letters to the seven churches:

There are seven assembly types or ages on earth but it will become clear that not all those within these assemblies were part of the true Church called the body of Christ any more than all Israel was true Israel. We shall see that there is a profound parallel between what happened to Israel and what happens in the assemblies of the seven churches through time. In these seven letters, Jesus is speaking to all who now identify with Him. Most are now Gentiles; the overcomers in these assemblies have been given grace to be grafted into the commonwealth of Israel and her new covenant promise. Jesus puts these assemblies into seven categories with seven messages and by doing so gives us a prophetic message of the seven churches from Pentecost until the Church is completed at her marriage to Jesus.

1. Ephesus: The Apostolic church

Background:  Founded about 1400 BC, the city was identified with the goddess Artemis also known as Diana. The temple of Diana was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Ephesus became the Roman capitol of the province of Asia. The city was a wealthy and beautiful city called the "Queen of Asia". Paul founded the church there and made two visits to Ephesus. Timothy was the first elder of this church. John is said to have lived there with the Lord's mother. In later years the city lost its glory because of poor land practices that silted the harbor, cutting off the city from the sea. As Jesus warns in this letter, the candlestick was soon removed from that location.

Prophetic application of this church on earth is from Pentecost until about 100 AD.

1 Unto the angel of the Church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;

John is told to write to the angel over Ephesus (one of the seven stars). Why write to an angel? This might make one think that those who believe the message was really to the pastor of the churches are correct. The message certainly was to be given to the human leader there but the message may have an application that goes beyond the leader to a spiritual guardian. The scripture may be written to the angel to insure that the prophetic part of this message is fulfilled exactly as it is written. Angels assisted Jesus in fulfillment of the scriptures about His incarnation and angels assist in fulfilling scripture just prior to His return. So it is also reasonable to assume that angels are also assisting the spiritual body of Christ (the Church) to fulfill all scripture.

Psalms 91:11  For he shall  give his angels  charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:

3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.

Jesus says He knows the works they have done. All seven of the churches had works and Jesus is very aware of them. Jesus speaks about the labor and patience of the church at Ephesus. Many thought Jesus would return very soon to restore the kingdom of Israel. The passage also indicates that they were a discerning church and that they tried those who said they were apostles and were not. This infers that the early Church checked out the teachings of those who claimed to have been disciples of Jesus and exposed the liars. If any of the books we have in the Holy Canon today were written by these false liars, they would have been exposed by the early Church and would not have been included in the writings that were passed on in the Church as scripture. The faithful in this church spread the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ and established the foundations for the Church to grow.

4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

The first love they lost was a very close relationship with Jesus. They grew cold with time and stopped doing all the works they were doing at the beginning. He says if they did not repent, He would come quickly and remove the candlestick out of its place. The passage indicates that they had free will of choice to do what He said but they did not obey. This church and this city are today no longer in existence. The Church was in some trouble already in the first century just as Paul warned:

Acts 20:29 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.

If we look to the writings of the early fathers that were written after the book of Acts, there already may be some heresy incorporated. Only the books that were passed on and eventually put in the Holy Canon are totally reliable. Just knowing that it was an early writing does not make it correct theology. We need to compare all writings of theologians with known scripture and not the other way around. Some modern theologians have made the error of thinking that the writings of early Christian theologians are more infallible than are the scriptures.

6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

There are a couple of different views as to what the deeds of the Nicolaitans were. The fact that Jesus hates them says the deeds were satanically inspired. Most say the deeds were the practices of a Gnostic sect that started with Nicolas of Antioch. The Gnostics claimed superior knowledge and claimed knowledge was man's highest good. They taught that material things were evil and the spiritual or the mind was good.

Nicolaitans were a sect of the Gnostics that taught that since Christians were spirit beings they could not sin. The Nicolaitans claimed that in order to master sensuality, one must know the whole range of it by experience. They said Christians should therefore abandon themselves without reserve to the lusts of the body since they concerned only the body and did not touch the spirit.  This doctrine led to participation in all types of sinful practices. John addresses this false doctrine in his epistles.

Others say the meaning comes from the root meaning of the word  nico  meaning "to conquer" and  loas  meaning "the people". The deeds that Jesus hated in this view would be setting oneself up to rule over the people. Already, at this point in the Church some people were saying that God was speaking special knowledge through them and they were setting themselves up as an enlightened priesthood to rule over the common people.

Both views are actually correct because one practice is linked with the other. Both practices have their root in Babylonian paganism.  It was necessary to set up a pagan style priesthood that claims special enlightenment from God for these heresies to be taught and believed by the lay people. Although there are to be elders/overseers/bishops in the Church, scripture does not support a special priesthood. Scripture teaches that all Christians are a nation of priests. In the letter to Pergamos, we will see that by the third century the deeds had become doctrines established by this enlightened priesthood.

7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

Jesus says this message is coming from the Spirit unto the churches. The seven letters are for all the churches, although this assembly at Ephesus is the focus of this first letter. The tree of life is promised to those who will overcome. This tree is in the midst of the paradise of God in New Jerusalem the Holy City. It should be obvious that if one has to overcome, that some of the members that identify with this church will not overcome. With this in mind, one cannot say that all who were identified with Ephesus or any of the other seven churches will also inherit the Holy City.

The message of this prophecy is to all those who identify with this assembly but the overcomers are only those washed in the blood of the lamb living by the power of the Holy Spirit. This theme will be found throughout these letters, so it is important to understand that a person who is identified as a member of this assembly is not the same thing as a person being a member of the one true body of Christ that dwells in the midst of all the assemblies. For example: a person can say he is a member of a Baptist Church. That makes him a Baptist and people will identify him as a Christian but unless he was truly saved by faith in Jesus for forgiveness of his sins, he is not truly a Christian at all. He would only be a member of a Baptist assembly that is identified with Christianity. In the same vein, identification with the church at Ephesus or any of the seven selected churches does not make all those within them Christians. It is important to understand this, or else by reading these letters, you might be misled to believe that Christians are actually saved by their works. Paul in his letters totally refutes the doctrine of salvation by works. He also makes it clear in his epistle to the Ephesians that all in the Ephesus church were not true believers.