DECODING REVELATION 4

Jesus gave the apostle John the message he was to write down and send to the 7 churches . Before John’s exile, the Emperor Domitian was persecuting the Jews and the Christians in Rome around the time of 93 A.D. John was first tortured in boiling oil because of his faith in Christ. God protected him and the oil did not harm him, he was then banished to the tiny island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea. John was there less than 2 years and was released after the death of Domitian in 96 A.D. John died of old age in the city of Ephesus around 100 A.D.

THE LETTERS TO THE 7 CHURCHES- these were letters of praise and warning to 7 literal churches during the end of the first century A.D. During this time Christians were hated, despised, and were being tortured and killed for their faith. This was not an easy time to preach the word of God. These letters also refer to different types of churches or individuals in our present day.

1.EPHESUS- Losing our first Love

a. A dynamic church- they were a busy, working, dynamic congregation doing the work of the Lord.
b. A dedicated church- they were dedicated to doing the work of the Lord, no matter how long the days or hours.
c. A determined church- they did not give up, they were patient as they served and they became even more faithful in times of persecution.
d. A disciplined church- the people in this church could not stand “those who are evil”. They were patient when it came to serving and suffering, but not when it came to the people in their church sinning.
e. A discerning church- they fought hard to remain pure in their doctrine. During a time where church leaders were teaching false doctrine and claiming they were successors of the apostles, the Ephesians would have none of it and barred these people from their church.

Externally the church of Ephesus was commendable in every way. But God knew they were lacking in the excitement, devotion and the love of new believers when they first come to Christ. They had allowed their faith to become a religion of “doing” instead of a relationship of “loving”. Jesus was warning them that they had lost their “love’ for him and urged them to remember that love, repent and turn back to him, and to repeat the faithful steps they once took as a new believer on fire for the Lord.

2. SMYRNA- The Suffering Church

Smyrna was a city lined with ornate Greek and Roman temples. During this time, the citizens worshipped the Emperor who provided peace, safety and a quality life for them. It was a political worship out of gratitude for the Emperor’s laws and structure he gave their city. Those who di...d not worship and give their loyalty were considered “bad citizens” and under constant pressure to conform to the Emperor’s demands.

a. Pressure-The church in Smyrna was very poor, they met in houses, tombs, outdoors- wherever they could find a quiet place to gather. They suffered day after day, constant pressure and threat of torture to conform and worship the Emperor.

b. Poverty- Their poverty was due to their faith in Jesus. They were being robbed, looted, treated like outcasts, and kept from getting any kind of job to take care of their families.

c. Persecution- This was a time after Jesus’ death and the apostles had been traveling from city to city teaching the word of God given to them directly by Jesus. In each city, they appointed leaders to continue these teachings after the apostles left. Polycarp was the leader of the church of Smyrna and he was the disciple of the Apostle John. At the same time there were a group of Jews who did not believe that Jesus is the Messiah. These Jews formed a cult and spread their false teachings throughout the cities. The Romans were tolerant of religious belief as long as priority worship was given to the Emperor. The church in Smyrna was being persecuted by both the Emperor’s Roman government and the Jewish cult -what Jesus called” a synagogue of Satan”. Both Jews and Romans participated in the torture and killing of Polycarp in 156 A.D. Given the opportunity to deny Christ and save his own life, Polycarp welcomed death and considered it and honor to die for the One who died for him.

God had no warning for this church, he gave them 2 commands: to be fearless and faithful. Rev 2:10 “be faithful unto death”. God was asking this church to remain faithful and be fearless through their time of severe persecution, even if it meant their own death. Often, when times get tough we run the other way. But God was telling us to remain right in the middle of our suffering and stand strong in faith. The Christians in Smyrna were not recognized by anyone in the city, but they were recognized by Christ. Rev 2:9 “I know your troubles: I know that you are poor- but really you are rich!” How great the reward in heaven to those who have suffered and died in the name of Jesus Christ.

3. PERGAMUM- Satan’s City

Pergamum was the capital of the Roman government for 400 years when God wrote the letter to its church. It was a royal city, it had a large library, 2nd only to the largest library located in Alexandria, Egypt. This made it the intellectual center of the area and was also the center for Ro...man authority. The city sat high up on a rocky hill that stood so huge, and boldly dominated the land. From a distance you could see the enormous altar to Zeus, which looked like a throne carved into the side of the mountain. This is what God referred to as “Satan’s throne” in Rev 2:13.
After the evil Roman Emperor Diocletian died, Constantine won control over the Empire. Constantine declared the whole empire would become Christian. The unholy marriage of church and state resulted, and Christianity was being forced upon people, almost like the emperor worship had been. There is no evidence that Constantine was a believer in Jesus Christ. Pagan temples became churches, pagan holidays became Christian holidays, pagan statues became Christian icons and pagan priests slipped into positions of Christian influence. The Church life in Pergamum has spilled over into our modern day churches ever since.

a. Circumstances- God knew the difficulty of the church trying to hold firm to their beliefs in a city overcome with sin.
b. Conviction- God was pleased with their faith in him even as they were persecuted, and they did not surrender any of their doctrine.
c. Courage- God knew the church was courageous unto death. Rev 2:13 refers to Antipas, God’s faithful witness who died because of his faith in Jesus Christ.
d. Compromise- Satan knows all of our weaknesses; he used the weakness of the church in Pergamum to compromise their faith. Just as Balaam did in the Old Testament Numbers 22-25. The Church was indulging in pagan practices and it was beginning to compromise their faith all together. They began to tolerate sin, worldly standards crept into their fellowship and it was hard to distinguish between the actions of the church and the pagans.
e. Demand- God demanded the church to clean up their mess and change their ways, or he would “fight against them with the sword that comes from his mouth”. Rev 2:16
f. Deliverance- God promised to reward the people who overcame and separated themselves from the pagan practices in their community and their church.

4. THYATIRA- The Adulterous Church

Thyatira was not a city of grandeur or culture, it was known for its trades of bakers, bronze workers, clothiers, cobblers, weavers, tanners, dyers, and potters etc. God was pleased with this church for the most part, but the one shortcoming of this church was they allowed an adulterous woman in their midst.

a. Laboring- The church was known for their service of good deeds.
b. Loving- They had a strong love for Christ and for each other; but they lacked discernment.
c. Loyal- They were loyal to their faith, dependable and reliable.
d. Longsuffering- They were patient and did not give up during times of persecution. They held strong to their faith in Christ.
e. Maturing and Growing- They were becoming more loyal, more loving, more patient and more serving as when they first began.

Rev 2:20 “you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a messenger of God. By her teaching she misleads my servants into practicing sexual immorality and eating food that has been offered to idols.” There was a cancer in the body of the church, a weed in the garden, in Thyatira. Satan’s strategy was to introduce evil into the church through a woman who promoted sexual immorality. Jesus gave the immoral woman time to repent but she did not want to, so he cast his judgment upon her. The message for the church was to repent if they were involved in immorality and to continue overcoming if they weren’t involved.

5. SARDIS- The Dead Church

The message begins in Rev 3 to warn the church to “wake up”. This church had a reputation for being alive in the spirit but they were spiritually dead. Sardis was filled with people who were Christians in name only, they did not have the love for Christ in their heart. On the outside things looked great, but the Lord who has eyes of flaming fire can see inside the heart of a person. Jesus spoke to the Pharisees about their faith; they gave money, said prayers, fasted, and did it all publically so the people would be impressed. But Jesus called them hypocrites, outwardly they appeared righteous but inwardly they were full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

In the church at Sardis there were 3 groups of people

1. The unsaved- people who did not believe that Jesus is our savior.

2. Carnal Christians- people who believed, but lived their lives like the unsaved.

3. The faithful Christians- people who believed and also lived their lives accordingly.

There were a few faithful people holding this church together. When the spirit of God leaves the individuals in the church, the whole church dies. God commanded the people repent and overcome this spiritual deadness that had infiltrated the church. Matthew 10:32 says if we confess Jesus before men, he will confess us before the Father.

The church at Sardis was going through the motions, they had not even realized they had lulled themselves to sleep over the years. Christians don’t lose their salvation, but if the holy spirit departs from their lives, they become dead to the things of the Lord. When the majority of the people in the church become spiritually dead, there is no life in the church and as the members go, so eventually will go the church.

6.PHILADELPHIA- The Faithful Church

The Lord Jesus was pleased with the church at Philadelphia. This church did not meet modern standards of success, but of spiritual success.

The church in Philadelphia was in the time period following the “reformation” in the early 19^th century. The reformation happened as a result of the Roman Catholic Church being the primary religion during that time. Religion had merged with the government which gave the Catholic Church financial and political gain. They used pressure to convert all of the people to Roman Catholicism. In 1517 Martin Luther had a list of 95 grievances against the Catholic Church, he nailed them to the door of the church at Wittenberg. The Pope was furious, so he shamed and banned Martin Luther from the church. Many Christians agreed with Martin Luther and followed him into what we now call the protestant church. The word protestant originated because the people protested the laws being forced upon them by the Roman Catholic Church. Some of the grievances Martin Luther had against the church were:

a. That people could not 'buy off' their sins by paying money to the Church, only God could pardon sins, not the Church.

b. That people were naturally sinful and that they should seek salvation by believing in God, making pilgrimages to Holy places and by doing good works.

c. That priests should be subject to the law of the land in the same way as ordinary men and women.

d. That priests were not divine beings.

e. That all people should be allowed to read the Bible, not just priests. The Catholic Church believed that if all people were allowed to read the Bible they would form their own opinions and that the Bible would become more important than the Church.

f. That the Church should not display rich images of Saints and crucifixes and that priests should not wear elaborate clothing.

g. That priests did not have the power to turn the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ during Communion.

God’s church had become corrupt over time and he had to bring it back to the truth that Jesus taught while he was on earth. Philadelphia was a wonderful example of this. It was a time of missionary outreach, revivals and the start of Christians becoming educated in the word of God, by reading and studying the bible for themselves. In the midst of a pagan region of the world, Philadelphia believed the word of God and remained faithful to it. Most importantly they did not deny the name of Jesus Christ. There was so much controversy about the deity of Christ, but Philadelphia stood strong in their belief of who Jesus was- God in the flesh, the Lord and savior of mankind.

God promised this church that they would be safe from the hour of trial known as the tribulation. He also promised that he will come quickly, he tells them to hold tight to their faith and that no one will take the crown that is waiting for them. God was very pleased with this church.

7. LAODICEA- The Disgusting Church

The last church to receive a letter from Christ, is a church that has lived without Christ for so long they haven’t even noticed his absence. Jesus stands at the door knocking to be allowed back into the hearts of the people there.

Laodicea was a wealthy city, primarily from producing woolen cloth. It was a wealthy banking center in the area and was under Roman rule. Laodicea was very close to 2 other cities that had the same type of churches. Laodicea represents the last period of churches in history before Jesus comes back.

1. Compromising Church- The people in this church were described as being “lukewarm”. Neither on fire for the Lord, or with a cold heart. They were indifferent. They were afraid to take a stand on anything, afraid to offend people, they made decisions in order to please to influential people of the church.

2. Conceited Church- The people thought they were rich but Christ called them “ wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked. Materialistic pride crept into their church and their values were compromised.

3. Christless Church- Christ is standing at the door knocking. He desires to be let into our hearts. It is not enough to live according to the world, going through the motions of church. But to truly love, honor and have faith in our Lord Jesus, while proving it by our actions and not being afraid to announce his glorious name to the world.

Conclusion:

The letters written to the churches in Revelation are 7 churches during 7 different Ages. The first 4 churches followed one another in history. The last 3 did not succeed one another in the same way. When the Church in Philadelphia opened the door of revival and unending faithfulness, the dead Church in Sardis did not end. We still have the Roman Catholic Church today and churches full of spiritually dead and lukewarm believers. When the Catholic Church began expanding all over Europe, the reformation of Protestants did not end and it still continues today. Today is the period of the Laodicean Church, lukewarm, rich in worldly things, but spiritually poor. The prophetic history of the Church was given to the Apostle John at the end of the first century, and it is plain to see that 2000 years after he wrote them, they have been so literally fulfilled. This time in history is God’s grace period, a time where he gives us the chance to choose him, remain faithful and repent of our sins. After the grace period is over, he will begin to unleash his wrath upon a disobedient, unloving, unbelieving, self centered and Satan influenced mankind. I pray that everyone chooses to accept Jesus Christ as Savior and are not left to endure the 7 year tribulation period which is coming very soon.