REVELATION Chapters 2-3
"The Characteristics of the Churches"
Introduction:
A. The seven churches are presented in two different ways: first, as a picture of the spiritual stages through which they will pass as they come close to the end of the Church Age, and as a historico-prophetic account of the sufferings, blessings and accomplishments of the Church. Historically, each period, or rather each church, represents a period in church history. A study of these two chapters along with a study of church history will reveal that in each case the circumstances throughout history have coincided with the accounts of Revelation.
B. The Time Sequence
1. Ephesus - the Apostolic Church; 70 A.D. to 170 A. D.
2. Smyrna - 170 A.D. to the time when Constantine officially made Christianity the religion of the Roman world, to 312 A.D.
3. Pergamos - 312 A.D. to 606 A.D. when Boniface III was crowned "Universal Bishop."
4. Thyatira - 606 A.D. to the Reformation, 1520 A.D.
5. Sardis - 1520 A.D. to 1750 A.D.
6. Philadelphia - 1750 A.D. to about 1900 A.D.
7. Laodicea - 1900 A.D. to the close of the Church Age C. Notice carefully that we are now in the Laodicean period which is characterized by a great apostasy which began at the beginning of this century with the rise of "higher criticism," and which led directly into the modernism of today.
I. LOVELESS (vs. 1-7) Ephesus
A. The Addressee - v.
1 The messenger is the pastor and so in all other places in chapters 2 and 3.
B. The addressor - v. 1
1. Christ, the Head of the Church (Col. 1:18,19; Eph. 1:22,23)
2. Christ, the Help of the Church (Heb. 4:16)
C. The Appellation - v. 1 Ephesus means:
1. The maiden of his choice - "desirable"
2. The model of the church - A picture of the church at its beginning and, with the exception of the disapproval, what the church should be today.
D. The Approval (vs. 2-3,6)
1. For their service ("works and labor") v. 2
2. For their steadfastness v. 2
a. Unswayed by the religions or circumstances of their time
b. Unconquered by the persecution around them v. 3 (Acts 19:23-41)
3. For their spirituality v. 2
a. They were taught (cf. Acts 20:27-29)
b. They were testing (cf. I Jn. 4:1)
4. For their stand v. 6
a. Their abhorrence of Nicolaitanism - the dividing of class structure in the church
b. Their association - they hated it as Christ hates it
E. The Accusation (v.4)
1. The seriousness of their problem
a. "Somewhat" is not in the original
b. Theirs was not a "somewhat" sin
c. Theirs was a sin which marks the start of spiritual declension
2. The separation from their position
a. They left, not lost, their first love
b. Love lies in the power of the will.
c. Hudson Taylor: "The primary qualification for a missionary is not love for souls, as we so often hear, but love for Christ."
d. Vance Havner - "I have wondered what would be left nowadays if we eliminated from our church work all that is not the spontaneous expression of our heart's love for Christ."
e. Walvoord - "Thus it has ever been in the history of the church: first a cooling of spiritual love, then the love of God replaced by a love for the things of the world, with resulting compromise and spiritual corruption. This is followed by departure from the faith and loss of effective spiritual testimony."
F. The Admonition (v.5)
1. Remember
a. The first step back for the church that has left its first love is to acknowledge it.
b. We are to remember how we first loved Christ when we were newly saved.
2. Repent - confess our lack of love and turn back to Him
3. Repeat - ("do the first works") to do the first work as a "labor of love," and not just labor (cf. I Thess. 1:3)
4. Revival or Removal
a. Judgment is the result of lovelessness
b. Removal from the place of usefulness and blessing
c. The Ephesian Church is but a memory; it no longer exists.
G. The Award (v.7)
1. The promise is to all believers who will abide in the abundance which is in Christ in the eternity to come.
2. The promise is designed to restore and rekindle that love of Christ known in the early fervent days of the church.
II. LONGSUFFERING (vs. 8-10) Smyrna
A. The Conqueror - represents Christ as the Eternal One (v.8)
B. The Connotation (v.8)
1. Smyrna - means "myrrh"
2. A fragrance used in perfume when crushed
3. "This sets forth the period when the church was crushed beneath the iron heel of pagan Rome, yet it never gave out such sweet fragrance to God as in those two centuries of almost constant martyrdom."(Ironside)
C. The Commendation (v.9)
1. For their deeds - their faithful gospel witness spread as they endured persecution. (cf. Acts 8:1)
2. For their distress (tribulation, vs. 9,10)
a. Persecution by Rome
1) Imprisonment, death
2) Ten major persecutions during their time (54 AD - 316 AD)
a) Nero - AD 54 f) Maximim - AD 235
b) Domitian - AD 81 g) Decius - AD 249
c) Trajan - AD 98 h) Valerian - AD 254
d) Antoninus - AD 117 i) Aurelian - AD 270
e) Severus - AD 195 j) Diocletian - AD 284
b. Persecution by the Jews (v.9) "These slanderers were in all probability actually Jews by birth, but not in spiritual reality; the same who everywhere, in St. Paul's time and afterwards, were the most active enemies of the Christians." (Alford) (cf. Rom. 11:28)
3. For their destitution (v.9)
a. They suffered the loss of all things: possessions, prestige, the possibility of working to earn a living.
b. They stood fast in their loss - cf. Heb. 10:34
c. Their security was in the riches of Christ (cf. II Cor. 6:10) D. The Courage (v.10) cf. Heb. 13:5,6 E. The Coronation (v.10) 1. "The crown of life": the special prize promised to the faithful (cf. James 1:12)
2. The "crown of life" is a special mark of approval after a saint's enduring the prescribed trials He brings to them.
F. The Confidence (v.11) Satan may kill the physical body, but "he that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death," which is the "lake of fire." (cf. Rev. 20:14)
III. LAXITY (vs. 12-17) Pergamos
A. The Author (v. 12)
1. Christ, the judge of compromise 2. Pergamos means "marriage" and "elevation"
a. It speaks of the time when the church was elevated to a place of power and was married to the world.
b. It is the "sharp sword," which is the Word of God that judges compromise.
B. The Approval (v. 13)
1. Their surroundings ("Satan's throne")
a. The seat of the Babylonian mystery cults
b. The center of the worship of Esculapius, the serpent god (cf. Gen. 3:1; Rev. 12:9)
c. The earthly headquarters of Satan himself
d. The church was in the midst of a religious, non- Christian world.
2. Their steadfastness - Christ commends those in the church who, inspite of their surroundings, boldly proclaimed the name of Christ even in the face of martyrdom.
C. The Accusation (vs. 14,15)
1. The doctrine of Balaam (Num. 22-25)
a. Balaam was paid by Balak to bring a curse upon Israel which he attempted on three occasions, but failed.
b. Failing to bring a curse upon the nation, he sought to corrupt it through intermarriage (Pergamos means marriage) with Moabite women.
c. It was in reality the devil's attempt to wipe out the Messianic line through compromise resulting in corruption.
d. The essence of Balaamism was to create a compromise between the church and the world. (Contr. II Cor. 6:14-18)
2. The doctrine of the Nicolaitanes
a. Comes from two Greek words 1) "nikos" - to conquer 2) "laos" - laity
b. It was the start of the rulership of the clergy over the laity.
1) Started when Constantine declared himself "Pontifex Maximus."
2) Christianity was proclaimed by him as the state religion.
3) "After Constantine's declaration it was popular to be a 'Christian'. True believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, who were being persecuted, found themselves being lauded by politcal and civil authorities. Their rags of persecution and their hideouts in the catacombs gave way to softer garments and more comfortable dwellings. Thus the Pergamos stage of history came into being. The church was married to the world." (Strauss)
4) Nicolaitanism is seen in the Roman religion with its pope as "Pontifex Maximus."
5) Nicolaitanism has likewise corrupted the true church by its separation of pastors and bishops from the flock of believers. The professional clergy with powerful authority is the result.
3. The doctrine of Arius came into being at this time.
a. Declared that Christ was not eternal
b. Declared that Christ was only the greatest of all beings that ever emanated from God
c. Denied the deity of Christ
d. Demonstrated in Unitarianism and modern liberalism
4. The doctrine of Post-Millennialism
a. Because of the benefits that came to the church during Constantine's reign, it began to believe that the result of the marriage between church and state was the kingdom of God on earth.
b. The church soon lost its hope of the early return of Christ.
D. The Admonition (v.16)
1. Repent or else Christ would fight against them
2. "There is no alternative to continued impurity and compromise with the truth except that of divine judgment." (Walvoord)
E. The Assurance (v.17)
1. The Person of Christ ("hidden manna") The overcoming, separated believer can rely on continual fellowship with Christ as opposed to that of the world. (cf. James 4:4)
2. The white stone - suggestive of intimate friendship and approval by Christ. (The people of Asia Minor had a custom of giving to intimate friends a "tessera" of stone or ivory with words or symbols engraved on it.) It was a symbol of acceptance. (cf. Eph. 1:6)
3. The new name - most likely, not a new name for the believer, but a new name for Christ which will have a special significance in that He means something different to each one of us. A name unique to the individual.
IV. LIBERTINISM (vs. 18-29) Thyatira (The church at Thyatira ["continual sacrifice"] represents the years between 606 AD and 1520 AD.
1. Called the "Dark Ages"
2. Depicts the rise of Romanism with its continual sacrifice of Christ represented in the Mass.)
A. The Author (v. 18)
1. The Son of God - as opposed to the helpless son of Mary (cf. Jn. 1:34,49; 6:69; 10:36)
2. The Omniscient One - eyes (cf. 1:14; Prov. 15:3) 3. The Judge of the Church - feet (cf. 1:15; Jn. 5:22)
B. The Acknowledgement (v.19) (Though it was a dark period for the church, there were still many faithful and true believers: Bernard of Clairvaux, Peter Waldo, John Wycliff, John Huss, Savanarola.)
1. For their labor - works that were the result of faith
2. For their love - a love for Christ that was not overcome by the ritualism of the day
3. For their largesse - ministry to those in need
4. For their longsuffering - they were bravely holding on under affliction. It was an era of savage martyrdom!
C. The Accusation (vs. 20,21)
1. The significance of the name Jezebel (v. 20)
a. Means both "chaste one" and/or "dunghill"
b. "Rome claims to be the Bride of Christ, but in reality is a dunghill of all vileness and corruption." (Gaebelein)
2. The sinfulness she perpetuated (v. 20)
a. She seduced the main body of the people into a "fundamental departure from the truth." (Vincent)
b. Supplanted Biblical doctrine with pagan philosophies, practices and idolatry, i.e. Mariolatry, purgatory, masses for the dead, infallability of the pope, etc.
3. The stubbornness she exhibited (v. 21)
a. "Space" is time
b. "The Lord Jesus has patiently dealt with this false system for over a thousand years, and there has been no real change down through the centuries in this sytem. In fact, Rome boasts that she never changes - SEMPER IDEM, always the same." (McGee)
D. The Adjudication (vs. 22,23)
1. Her tribulation (v. 22)
a. Speaks of the Great Tribulation that will overtake her and all false religious systems
b. The fulfillment of the sentence upon her (Rev. 18:1-8)
2. Her termination (v. 23) The Lord will put an end to her and all of apostate Christendom (cf. Mt. 13:49,50).
3. Her testing (v.23)
a. Her works will be tried
b. Her works will be burned (cf. I Cor. 3:13-15)
E. The Assurance (vs. 24,25)
1. The remainder (v. 24) refers to those of that church age period who stood true to the unadulterated Gospel.
2. The respite (v. 24) "none other burden" except to remain pure in doctrine and practice (cf. Acts 15:28,29)
3. The resolve (v. 25) cf. I Cor. 15:58 4. The rapture (v. 25)
a. The first reference to the Lord's coming among the seven churches.
b. The hope of His return provides the impetus to hold fast to sound doctrine and to live in the midst of a corrupt, apostate system.
F. The Award (vs. 26-29)
1. To rule with Him (vs. 26,27)
a. Not merely in judgment (cf. Psa. 2:1-9)
b. But as "shepherds" administering mercy as seen in the meaning of the world "rule."
2. To receive of Him - the gift of Himself (cf. Rev. 22:16; II Pet. 1:19)
V. LIFELESSNESS (3:1-6) Sardis (Sardis represents the church of the Reformation era from 1520 AD to about 1750 AD. The word Sardis means, "a remnant" or "those who have escaped," e.g., from the heresies of the Thyatiran [Roman] church.)
A. Their Reminder (v.1) Christ identifies Himself as:
1. The One who has the seven Spirits
a. Speaks of the Holy Spirit in the fulness of His power and perfect work (cf. Isa. 11:2; Rev. 1:4)
b. Christ would have the church to know that He desires to control it by the effective work of the Holy Spirit.
c. Today's church is largely controlled by dominating pastors, deacons boards, committees, business meetings, synods, presbyteries and councils.
d. A church directed by the leading of the Holy Spirit is a rarity, and largely unknown.
2. The One who holds the seven stars
a. The stars are the leaders (pastors) of the church
b. The fact that these leaders belong to Christ makes their leadership and message authoritative and responsible.
c. As such, they are responsible to Christ and will give an account to Him. (cf. James 3:1)
B. Their Reputation (vs. 1,2)
1. Their fame (v. 1) - a name
a. The doctrine of justification by faith had been recovered during this period.
b. That recovery resulted in works produced by faith. (cf. James 2:17,20)
c. Because of their activity, they were considered to be a spiritual church.
1) This is what man saw from the outward appearance.
2) What the Lord saw was their internal lack. (cf. I Sam. 16:7)
2. Their failure (v.1) - dead
a. They were spiritually dead.
b. Activity is not synonymous with spirituality. (cf. Mk. 6:31)
c. "The Lord is never deceived by the outward attractiveness of a well-kept mausoleum, knowing that on the inside there are the bones of dead men." (Strauss)
d. "Given to recover the truth at the Reformation in the most mighty operation of the Spirit of God since the days of the Apostles, Christendom has sunk into spiritual death." (Newell)
3. The forecast (v.2,3)
a. The works they had begun had never been completed.
1) They still clung to many of the rituals and practices of the previous age.
2) They were to hold fast the truths that had brought them out of Rome and their pagan superstitions.
3) They were to strengthen their beliefs and works.
4) With the little spiritual vitality they had, they must try to nurse themselves back to health.
b. The judgment of the Lord would come upon them "as a thief" unless they returned to the Lord and His Word.
c. Barclay observes that a church "is in danger of death when it begins to worship its own past...when it is more concerned with forms than with life... when it loves systems more than it loves Jesus Christ...when it is more concerned with material than spiritual things."
C. Their Remnant (vs. 4,5)
1. Those who were not corrupted
a. By that which was dead
b. "They are not in contact with the spiritual death around them which is here counted as defilement, as in the Old Testament was considered the touch of a dead body."
c. This period of the Protestant Reformation produced many heroes of the faith, and saints who walked with the Lord in truth. (cf. I Kgs. 19:18; Isa. 1:9; Rom. 11:5)
2. Those who were commended - "walk with Me in white"
a. It was a walk of fellowship (cf. Gen. 5:22; I Jn. 1:7)
b. It was a walk of righteousness (cf. Rev. 19:8; II Cor. 5:21)
3. Those who were counted (v. 5) - "book of life"
a. In the O.T., the Book of Life contains the names of all Jews. (cf. Ex. 32:31-33)
b. In the N.T. all humanity has their names recorded in the Book of Life. (cf. Rev. 20:12,15)
c. The reason to blot one's name out of the Book:
1) As Christ died for all mankind (Rom. 5:6,8; II Cor. 5:14,15)
2) As they reject Christ their names are blotted out.
d. Conversely, the acceptance of Christ as Savior assures one's name of being included in the roster of God's children.
e. It is a confirmation of the believer's safe position in Christ.
4. Those who were confessed (cf. Mt. 10:32; Lk. 12:8) "Those who have put their trust in Christ and thus overcome by faith have the privilege of being recognized as the saints of God throughout eternity..." (Walvoord)
5. Those who were challenged (v.6) We need to take heed to the trends about us, and determine to stand true to the Lord.
VI. LOYALTY (3:7-13) Philadelphia - "brotherly love"
A. The Christ - His Attributes (v.7)
1. He is sinless (holy) (v.7) - totally separated unto God and totally separated from all evil (cf. Heb. 7:26)
2. He is straightforward (v.7)
a. "True" means "genuine"
b. He is not a false Messiah.
c. He taught with authority (Mt. 7:28,29)
d. He spoke only that which was true. (cf. Jn. 14:6)
e. "He is genuine, in nothing is there mere empty claim or pretense." (Lenski)
3. He is Sovereign (v.7) - "key of David" (cf. Isa. 22:22)
a. As Eliakim was given the rule over the House of David, so Christ has been given the rule over all God's kingdom.
b. The key is the symbol of His authority, and this authority was given to Him over heaven and earth. (cf. Mt. 28:18)
B. The Commendation (v.8)
1. For their service
a. Their works - enough said
b. Their witnessing - "an open door"
1) This is the age of great missionary activity second only, perhaps, to the apostolic church.
2) This was the age of great revivals throughout the western world.
2. For their strength ("power")
a. "Little" - the same word used of Zacchaeus (Lk. 19:3)
b. The same used of believers in general. (Lk. 12:32)
c. "The Philadelphian assembly was unimportant in the world's eyes, probably few in number, poor in poverty, and low on the social scale." (Newell)
d. Yet like David it has fought a valiant battle against the Goliath of unbelief.
3. For their stand
a. They were loyal to the doctrines of the Scriptures.
b. They were loyal to the Christ of the Scriptures.
C. The Conquerors (v.9)
1. Who is a true Jew? (Rom. 2:29)
2. The true Jew is one who has received Christ as his Messiah - these claimed Jewishness, but had not received Him; they were now in a false religion.
3. One day, they would worship their Messiah alongside of the Gentile believers.
D. The Comfort (v.10)
1. The reason for the comforting words is that as Christ waits patiently for His return to take up His kingdom, these saints have been patiently waiting for His coming. (cf. II Thess. 3:5; I Thess. 1:10)
2. The rescue (v.10)
a. From the "hour" - primarily denotes a season. In this case, seven years.
b. From "the temptation" or trial
1) Not any trial, but THE trial with a definite article.
2) Refers to the Tribulation Period.
3) The promise is that no believer will pass through this judgment.
a) Directed particularly at Israel (Jer. 30:7) b) "The whole habitable earth" (Gr.)
3. The return (v.11a)
a. His coming will occur without delay. (Rev. 3:3; I Cor. 15:52; I Thess. 5:2)
1) "I am making no delay."
2) "Quickly" intends to keep us ever watchful for His return.
b. There are no prophecies that need fulfilling before the Rapture.
c. They were to keep on watching ("hold fast").
d. They would be rewarded with a crown for waiting for His return. (II Tim. 4:8)
E. The Compensation (vs.12,13)
1. Pillars
a)"The Philadelphian Christians will be permanent like a pillar in the temple, and speaking figuratively, they will stand when all else is fallen." (Walvoord) b) It is their assurance of eternity with Christ.
2. Permanence - "They shall go no more out" They will have permanent residence in the very presence of God.
3. Prominence The names signify that they will be completely identified with God in every aspect. (cf. I Jn. 3:2)
VII. LUKEWARMNESS (3:14-22) Laodicea
A. Introduction
1. The historical period: 1950-Tribulation
2. Explains the condition of the church in the last days (cf. I Tim. 4:1-3; II Tim. 3:1-5)
3. Their description: gratified, satisfied, petrified
4. Local churches need not follow the example of Laodicea.
B. Their Predicament (vs.15,17b)
1. Not a physical predicament
a. No signs of persecution - such does not happen to a church bent on accomodation.
b. No signs of poverty
c. No signs of outside trouble of any kind
d. Physically they were well off.
2. Theirs was a spiritual problem.
a. Three kinds of spiritual conditions:
1) Hot - cf. Acts 17:6 Thessalonica; Acts 17:11 Berea
2) Cold - cf. Heb. 5:11-14 the scattered Jewish church
3) Lukewarm - cf. Rev. 3:16 Laodicea
b. They had allowed themselves to become tepid.
c. Their condition was nauseating to the Lord - "spew thee out of my mouth" (v.16)
1) It was a mixture of the world and Christianity. (Too much of the world to be happy with God; too much of God to be happy with the world.)
2) The state of having lost their fervency - "thou art neither...hot"
a) We are to be fervent. (Rom. 12:11)
b) "hot" = to boil
c) We are to burn in the service of the Lord.
d) God would rather have us either freeze or boil, but nothing in between.
3. Further condemnation (v.17)
a. They were "wretched." - miserable: "just enough religion to make them wretched" (A.B. Simpson)
b. They were "miserable." - pitiable, contemptible (cf. Heb. 3:10 - disgusting)
c. They were "poor."
1) In spite of their material wealth, the Lord calls them poor.
2) Cf. Smyrna - "a rich, poor church" (Rev. 2:9)
3) Cf. Laodicea - "a poor, rich church"
d. They were "naked."
1) Laodicea was a great clothing center known for its particular brand of black wool.
2) The Lord saw through their exterior trappings. (Heb. 4:13; I Sam. 16:7)
3) The Lord saw only the filthy rags of their pretense.
C. Their Pride (v.17a)
1. The church had its own opinion of itself. -They were rich.
a. They had all they wanted.
b. They were independent.
c. They had need of nothing.
d. They had no need to trust Christ as a result.
2. The church had a great spiritual need.
a. They needed revival. (cf. II Tim. 3:5)
b. We are in grave danger when we begin to feel that we have need of nothing and can do things our way.
D. Their Provincialism (v.17b)
1. The church was blind.
2. The church was short-sighted.
a. Blind to her own needs - we seldom recognize our own shortcomings. (cf. I Cor. 11:28-31)
b. Dead to missionary vision
c. No burden for souls
d. No vision - "the people go off on a tangent" (Prov. 29:18)
E. Their Prescription (vs.18-20)
1. A rekindling of their faith - "gold tried in fire" (cf. I Pet. 1:7)
2. A replacing of earthly treasures with heavenly (cf. Mt. 6:19,20)
3. A readorning of the covering - "white raiment" (cf. Rev. 19:8)
4. A restoration of their sight (cf. Jn. 4:35)
5. A repentance of their ways - to turn around (cf. Rev. 3:3)
6. A readmittance of Christ into the church (v.20)
7. Conclusion : Proverbs 23:26