Revelation 2/3- A prophetic layout of 2,000 years of church history in advance?

Revelation 2/3

Seven Letters to Seven Churches

The first time I attempted to read the book of Revelation, one of the few things I noticed right away was the emphasis on the number 7. The number 7 is conspicuous throughout the book and it would jump out at anybody. One of those sevens mentioned pertains to the key chapters of Revelation, chapters 2 and 3 where Jesus Christ writes seven letters to seven churches and gives them each a report card. What is less obvious is that these letters not only provide a summary of these seven churches, but that the letters may be prophetic in that they lay out of 2,000 years of church history in advance from Pentecost (Acts 2) to the Rapture (Rev 4:1). Revelation was written around 96 AD and the letter discussed events from that time in history through today! I would not base your doctrine on these relationships that these seven churches seem to represent, but if true, it is just another example of the fingerprint of the Holy Spirit at work. What you can definitely take from these seven churches is that if they were in any other order, these letters would not be considered prophetic.

Keeping in mind the uniqueness of the number 7, we discover another significant fact about the number 7, and this uniqueness deals with the apostle Paul. How many letters did Paul write? Paul wrote 14 epistles, 13 signed (since he didn’t sign Hebrews). You can remove the letters he wrote to individuals or pastors (1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Philemon, and Titus) and you are down to 9 epistles. You subtract the multiple letters to Corinthians and Thessalonians and you now have the number of epistles Paul wrote to churches; how many letters is that? 7, good guess! You will soon see that these 7 churches in Revelation are all uniquely tied to one of Paul’s seven church epistles.

The seven letters to seven churches not only layout the history of the church, tie out to Paul’s seven church epistles, but also unbelievably tie out to the parables Jesus gives in Matthew 13. How many parables are there in Matthew 13? If you said 7, excellent guess! The order the churches appear in Revelation will preview a chronological history of the church in advance.  In addition the parables in Matthew 13 also foreshadow a chronological history of the church through from the time Jesus walked the earth to today. The order of the churches in Revelation and parables from Matthew 13 are extremely important because if any of them were in any other order, the relationship between the churches and parables would not be prophetic. For example, the 1^st church Jesus addresses is tied to the 1^st parable from Matthew 13, 2^nd church is tied to the 2^nd parable, etc.

Below you will see the following bullet points on each of the seven churches:

·         Jesus’ main point to the church

·         Time in history the letter to the church represents

·         Which of the Pauline epistles Jesus’ letter represents

·         Which of the seven parables from Matthew 13 Jesus’ letters applies

Below is a summary of the Seven Letters from Revelation 2/3:

Church 1- Ephesus

·         Jesus’ first letter to a church in Revelation. The main point of the letter was that they lost their first love. They had doctrine but not devotion. In other words they were fading away (apostasy). Jesus told the Ephesians to remember how they were when they first became saved and to revert back to the desire they first had for the gospel when they became saved.

·         The church at Ephesus was representative in time of the apostolic period during the 1^st century when the church was concerned about organization and doctrine to the point that it became legalistic while lacking devotion.

·          Jesus’ letter to Ephesus is most closely tied to Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians. The Ephesians church resides in Ephesus.

·         Jesus’ first parable in Matthew 13.  The Sower and the Seed.  The sower is Christ and the seed is the Word of God. Some seeds fall by the wayside and are snatched away by the “fowls”. Jesus explains the parable that when someone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one snatches what has been sown in his heart. People who understand the word of God bear much fruit. If you have been born again, God’s word has penetrated your heart.  In Ephesians, Paul writes: You heard the Gospel and believed it, and the Lord marked you with His seal and has guaranteed that His promise of eternal life will come true for you (Ephesians 1:13-14). Which of the two groups you belong to depends on whether your life has changed to the extent that you’re no longer concerned about the things of this world and are living your life for the Lord.

Church 2- Smyrna

·         Jesus’ second letter to a church in Revelation. The main point of the letter is that Smyrna was the persecuted church. One of only two churches where no bad things were said about them.

                                                          

·         The church at Smyrna was representative of the suffering church from 1^st century to 313 AD. Jesus instructs them that they will suffer persecution for ten days. These ten days refers to the reigns of ten Roman Caesars from the 1^st century to 313AD.

·         Smyrna is most closely tied to Paul’s epistle to the Philippians where the theme was joy through suffering.

·         Jesus’ second parable in Matthew 13. The Parable of the Weeds. The point of the parable is that the enemy came and sowed weeds from the wheat- that is suggestive of the oppression and persecution suffered by believers in the second and third centuries.

Church 3- Pergamus

·         Jesus’ third letter to a church in Revelation. The main point of the letter is that Pergamus was mixing Christianity with the world.

·         The church at Pergamus represented the Imperial church from 313 to 590AD.  During the 4^th century Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. The church was involved in a mixed marriage between Christianity and the pagan practices of the Roman Empire.  That edict caused forced conversions, which lead to degenerate leaders and members in the church.  The church therefore had a comingling of Christianity and paganism. This church period is regarded as a marriage between the church with the world. 

·         Pergamus is most closely tied to Paul’s epistle to the Corinthians where many in Corinthians were not of the church, but of the world.

·         Jesus’ third parable in Matthew 13. Parable of the Mustard Seed. The point of the parable is that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a grain of mustard that grows up to be a large tree, and that it is so great that birds of the air come and make nests in its branches. Jesus said in Revelation 2:12 that Pergamus is where Satan’s throne is. This picture of the demons themselves coming to make their home in the branches of the mustard tree corresponds precisely to the church becoming worldly as a result of the church being “married” to the world.

Church 4- Thyatira

·         Jesus’ fourth letter to a church in Revelation. The main point of the letter to Thyatira was to call the church out of religious externalism such as rituals and establishment of pagan practices.  This letter is the only one to mention a woman- Jezebel. Here in Revelation, the usage of the word “Jezebel” may not so much refer to it being a woman’s name, rather a title. The good news is that Jesus gives Thyatira six commendations, but the bad news was that he warned them of a false prophetess named Jezebel who was introducing false doctrine by teaching false worship to the church.

·         The church at Thyatira represented the age of the Papacy of the Catholic Church from 590 to 1517 AD. The introduction of rituals and church doctrine supplanted personal faith in Jesus Christ. The church introduced during this time non-Biblical and false doctrine such as the doctrine of Purgatory (593 AD), prayers to Mary (600 AD), kissing of the Pope’s foot (709 AD), and celibacy of the Priesthood (1079 AD). The Bible was also forbidden for the layman (Council of Toulouse 1229 AD).  Pope Innocent III was the most powerful of all of the popes. More blood from Christians was shed under his direction and that of his immediate successors than in any other period in church history, except for perhaps during the Reformation.

·         Thyatira is most closely tied to Paul’s epistle to the Galatians due to their call out of religious externalism. Galatians mentions the fruits of the spirit from Galatians 5:22 which closely resemble Thyatira’s good news. Also, the main theme of Galatians is faith through grace alone through Jesus Christ and there is no amount of works we can do to gain salvation.

·         Jesus’ fourth parable in Matthew 13. Parable of the Woman and the Leaven. Only one of seven letters in Revelation where a woman is referenced. Jezebel is introducing false doctrine by teaching false worship in the church. Leaven is the false doctrine contaminating the three major branches of Christianity- Western portion of the Roman branch, the Orthodox/Catholic branch, and the even the mainline denominations resulting from the Reformation (priests dressing in vestments, infant baptism, etc)

Church 5- Sardis

·         Jesus’ fifth letter to a church in Revelation. The main point of Sardis is that they have fallen asleep and that the church members are dead. Sardis is one of two churches where Jesus says nothing good about them. However Jesus did say that there are some in the church who have not soiled their garments- meaning that some in the church are saved.

·         The church at Sardis represents the Protestant Reformation from 1517 to 1730. Since this was one of two churches where Jesus said nothing good about it, we Protestants should understand that before we point the finger at other denominations. The Protestant Reformation was one of the most important events in the history of the world, but empathy set in among many in the church where they claimed to be believers but were spiritually dead. I feel that when Jesus said Sardis was spiritually dead that we Christians today can see that spiritual death among other Protestants. People who claim to be Christians yet have no commitment to a church home, have no fellowship with other Christians, or are people who are not growing in their faith.

·         Sardis is most closely tied to Paul’s epistle to the Romans. Martin Luther’s key verse came from Habakkuk 2:4- the just shall live by faith and Romans expounds on the concept of grace through faith. The Protestant Reformation reinforced that theology.

·         Jesus’ fifth parable in Matthew 13. Parable of the Hidden Treasure. In this parable, a treasure is hidden, buried in a field. To obtain the treasure, a man must purchase the entire field.  This hidden treasure in the field refers to the rediscovery of the Bible. The reformation reestablished the rights and privileges that we have access to the Bible.  The reformation also emphasized that we are saved through God’s grace, not a combination of grace and works. Works demhat calls themselves a Christian can support onstrate that we are saved, but are not a basis for salvation.

Church 6- Philadelphia

·         Jesus’ sixth letter to a church in Revelation. The main point of Philadelphia is closer adherence to Jesus’ word and that we should be patient. The letter to Philadelphia makes reference to the Rapture. This letter is only one of two letters where Jesus says nothing negative about the church.

·         The church at Philadelphia represented the Missionary age or the revived church from 1730 to 1900. There were great awakenings all over Northern Europe and the British Isles, and later America. In the Philadelphian period there was a return to the true basis of fellowship according to Scripture.

·         Philadelphia is most closely tied to Paul’s epistles to the Thessalonians. Thessalonians makes reference to the Rapture. Praise and thanksgiving are the primary themes of the epistle.

·         Jesus’ sixth parable in Matthew 13. The Parable of the Pearl of Great Value. Heaven or Jesus is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who on finding the pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had. The pearls may represent the seven churches, but since Christ says nothing negative about Philadelphia, they being the church in Philadelphia whom Jesus had no negative comments to the church are the pearl of great value.  

Church 7- Laodicea

·         Jesus’ seventh letter to a church in Revelation. The main point of Laodicea was that it was the apostate church. The church was neither hot nor cold, but lukewarm. Jesus said they were only lukewarm and as a result he would spit them out of his mouth. They were proud that they were rich and prosperous but Jesus said they were wretched. Their material wealth had blinded them to spiritual bankruptcy. Does the idea of pride in one’s wealth sound like a common theme today? When I first moved to Dallas pride in the wealth of the people living in Dallas was one of the first things I noticed about this city.

·         The church of Laodicea represents the church from 1900 to the Great Tribulation. Many churches today only preach non-controversial, happy messages that fail to mention the blood and the cross. These “feel-good” messages rarely divulge the truth which is that unless you have Christ, you will not inherit the kingdom of God. Too many churches today are concerned their membership numbers and therefore won’t talk about our sin or messages that make people uncomfortable. Many churches also deny Israel’s role in the future, as God is not yet done with Israel.

·         Paul’s epistle to the Colossians tied to the letter to Laodicea. Colossae was twelve miles from Laodicea and Laodicea is mentioned four times in the Colossians letter.

·         Jesus’ seventh parable in Matthew 13. Parable of the Net. In this parable, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. Man then drug the catch to shore and sorted the good fish from the bad. The parable reflects the judgment of God to come. God’s judgment against the world will be during the Great Tribulation.

As we are about to celebrate Christmas, let us not forget the reason we should be celebrating. It’s because God became man so that he could die for us, and so that we could all have eternal life. Merry Christmas!

In Christ,

Kevin