Intro to the Seven Letters (Rev 2–3)
Intro to the Seven Letters (Rev 2–3)
The Lord
Jesus Christ commanded John twice to write letters to the seven churches in
Asia: “to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to
Philadelphia, and Laodicea” (Rev. 1:11,19).
The Addressed Churches
The seven
churches addressed were existing churches during the time of St. John. Still,
they also represent the universal church, every place where God’s people gather
for worship, fellowship, and outreach.
The Lord
Jesus Christ specifically chose the seven churches because they were in the key
cities of the seven postal districts of the Roman empire in Asia, currently
modern Turkey. They were thus the central points for disseminating information.
The seven
cities appear in the order that a messenger traveling on the great circular
road that linked the churches would visit them. Thus, after landing at Miletus,
the messenger(s) bearing the Book of Revelation would have traveled north to
Ephesus (the city nearest to Miletus), then Smyrna in a clockwise circle,
Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.
Even with
their problems, which appear in the letters, God saw these seven churches as “golden”
in Christ (Rev. 1:12). They are the golden lampstands amid the darkness of the
world in which God has placed them.
The Letters
The seven
letters are in Chapters 2 and 3. Each letter contains some or all of the
following features: the correspondent, the commendations, the concerns, the
commands, and the counsel.
These
letters (messages) sent to these particular churches were from the Lord Jesus
Christ to minister to their spiritual needs. In each letter, the Lord Jesus
Christ quoted different aspects of His appearance, power, and authority,
mentioned in the vision of “the One like the Son of Man,” and recorded in
Chapter 1. These aspects reveal the glory, the power, and the authority of God,
in Christ.
The Rebuke
the Lord
Jesus Christ rebuked five of the seven angels of the churches (Smyrna and
Philadelphia being the exceptions) for tolerating sin in their midst. The
problems in those five churches ranged in severity from waning love at Ephesus
to total apostasy at Laodicea. Any church of any age could have a mixture of
the sins that plagued these five churches.
The Exhortations and
Promises
The seven
letters close with an appeal: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit
says to the churches” (Rev. 2:7; 2:11,17,29; 3:6,13,22). These appeals show
that the message is for the seven churches of St. John’s time and everyone
today. They emphasize the sober responsibility believers have to hear the voice
of The Spirit of God in the Scriptures.
He also
promised “him who overcomes” (Rev. 2:6,11,17,26; 3:5,12,21). Everyone who
believes that Jesus is the Son of God is born of God. Through this faith, they
overcome the world (1 John 5:4–5). In both Greek and English, the verb “νικῶντι; overcome”
is in the present tense. In Christ, overcoming is an everyday experience.
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Excerpt from: Revealing the Father through the Book of Revelation, by Hegumen Abraam Sleman
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