Revelation 2 - What Did Jesus Say to the Seven Churches? What Would He Say to Us?

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John over the next two chapters will give a message to the seven churches in Asia Minor. Each of the letters to the churches has a similar structure which is as follows:

· An address to a particular congregation.

· An introduction of Jesus.

· A statement regarding the condition of the church.

· A verdict from Jesus regarding the condition of the church.

· A command from Jesus to the church.

· A general exhortation to all Christians.

· A promise of reward.

To the Church in Ephesus

2 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. 2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. 4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. 5 Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. 6 But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

The first letter is written to the church in Ephesus, which is modern day Turkey. Ephesus was one of the biggest and most influential churches in the 1st century. The angel of the church was referred to in chapter one as one of the seven spirits around the throne of God. He also refers to the seven gold lampstands, which are most likely representative of the church on earth. In this case although there are 7 literal churches, it can also stand figuratively for the church of all ages. 

 This was a famous city in the ancient world, with an equally famous church. Paul ministered in Ephesus for three years (Acts 19:1, Acts 19:10, Acts 20:31). Aquila and Priscilla, with Apollos served there (Acts 18:24-28). Paul’s close associate Timothy (1 Timothy 1:3) worked in Ephesus. According to strong and consistent historic tradition, the Apostle John also ministered there. - Guzik

“Surely it was a place of great privilege, of great preaching.” (Robertson)

In a positive sense, the Ephesians worked hard, persevered, and had been able to root out wicked false apostles. They also endured suffering for Jesus' name. But Jesus had this against them, "they had forsaken their first love".  You might they say they were doing a lot of things for Jesus, but they didn't it wasn't based on their relationship with Jesus. It became more about what they were doing rather than who they were doing it for. Jesus also tells them to repent from their works righteousness and come back bearing fruit by abiding in him alone. Apparently they hated the works of the Nicolaitans, where were one of the groups of the false teachers. 

Who were the Nicolaitans?  Irenaeus (writing in the late second century) described what he knew of the Nicolaitans: “The Nicolaitanes are the followers of that Nicolas who was one of the seven first ordained to the diaconate by the apostles. They lead lives of unrestrained indulgence. The character of these men is plainly pointed out in the Apocalypse of John, as teaching that it is a matter of indifference to practice adultery, and to eat things sacrifice to idols.” (Against Heresies, book 1, chapter 26. From the Ante Nicean Fathers Volume 1, page 352)

In summary, the Ephesians still had great potential but needed to repent and turn back to Jesus so that their work flowed from their relationship with him. When we as a church are just about doing good works without proclaiming why we are doing them, we are just like any other social service agency. We are not the church of Jesus Christ! 

From what Ignatius wrote, it seems that the Ephesians returned to their first love without compromising doctrinal purity. That isn’t always an easy balance to keep, but the Ephesians apparently kept it, at least for a time.

To the Church in Smyrna

8 “To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. 9 I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown. 11 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.

The church in Smyrna was not a wealthy church in a material sense, but they were faithful to Jesus and therefore rich. They were being persecuted by the Jews. Jesus calls them a "synagogue of Satan", which are pretty strong words. 

The Christians of Smyrna knew poverty because they were robbed and fired from jobs in persecution for the gospel. Early Christians joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven (Hebrews 10:34). This kind of economic persecution was one important reason why Christians were poor in Smyrna. Even today, this is a common form of persecution against Christians. - Guzik

They were persecuted and put in prison. "The Christians of Smyrna knew poverty because they were robbed and fired from jobs in persecution for the gospel. Early Christians joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven (Hebrews 10:34). This kind of economic persecution was one important reason why Christians were poor in Smyrna. Even today, this is a common form of persecution against Christians."

Some of the believers in Smyrna would become martyrs dying for their testimony to Jesus. Jesus promised them a crown in heaven and that they would not be hurt at all by the "second death".

Those who overcome in Jesus will never be hurt by the second death. The second death is hell, the lake of fire (Revelation 20:14 and 21:8). Though Satan threatened and attacked their life, Jesus promises His overcomers that death is conquered for them.

The second death was a Jewish rabbinic expression for the total extinction of the utterly wicked.” (Barclay)

“All men die, but all are not killed with death… Oh, it is a woeful thing to be killed with death.” (Trapp)

To the Church in Pergamum

12 “To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. 13 I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives. 14 Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. 15 Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. 17 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.

As we saw in the letters of 1, 2, and 3 John and the letter of Jude, there was all kinds of false teaching perverting the gospel. Pergamum had many good qualities as a city. 

 Pergamos: This was the political capital of the Roman Province of Asia the Less. When John wrote, Pergamos had been the capital city of the region for more than three hundred years. The city was a noted center for culture and education, having one of the great libraries of the ancient world, with more than 200,000 volumes. Pergamos: This was also an extremely religious city. It had temples to the Greek and Roman gods Dionysus, Athena, Demeter, and Zeus. It also had three temples dedicated to the worship of the Roman Emperor. Some 50 years before Smyrna won the honor of building the first temple to Tiberius, the city of Pergamos won the right to build the first temple to worship Caesar Augustus in the province of Asia.

There were many people in Pergamum, who maintained faith even in the midst of death. We don't know much about Antipas, who became a early martyr in the church. Though they were doing a lot of good things like the Church in Ephesus, the teaching of Balaam infiltrated the church. 

Balaam combined the sins of immorality and idolatry to please Balak, the king of Moab, because he could not curse Israel directly.

When Balaam counseled Balak, he taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel. The stumbling block was connected with idolatry (to eat things sacrificed to idols) and sexual immorality. If the church in Pergamos had those who did hold the doctrine of Balaam, it showed they had tendencies towards both idolatry and immorality.

So you can see in each of these churches though they had good qualities, the false teaching and immorality of the culture around them slowly infiltrated the church through deceptive people and naive believers. It also shows the immaturity of the believers that they could be so easily duped with the false teaching, which resulted in behavior unbecoming of the gospel. 

While we need to be in the world, we can't be of the world. Our world is very much the same today. It is easy for the church to water down the gospel or tolerate sexual immorality based on the rationalization the world makes for such behaviors. 

To the Church in Thyatira

18 “To the angel of the church in Thyatira write," These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. 19 I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first. 20 Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. 21 I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. 22 So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. 23 I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds. 24 Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets, ‘I will not impose any other burden on you, 25 except to hold on to what you have until I come.’ 26 To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations— 27 that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’—just as I have received authority from my Father. 28 I will also give that one the morning star. 29 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

You can see a lot of the same themes are present in these first four churches. They are faithful in their service and deeds and possess love and faith, but they tolerate false teachers, in this case Jezebel. She led the church into sexual immorality and food sacrificed to idols. Jesus has given her a time to repent but she was unwilling to heed Jesus' warning. 

There would be a day when Jezebel would reap what she sowed, as would all those who practiced sexual immorality with her. There was also teaching about "deep secrets". This related to the Gnostic teaching of secret knowledge that was given to a few privileged people. For the others who had not succumbed to Jezebel's teaching, Jesus promised if they held on they would rule the nations. Jesus would give them the "morning star". 

The center of the corruption at the church at Thyatira was a woman Jesus called Jezebel. This may not have been her literal name, but a title that clearly represented a self-styled prophetess within the church, after the pattern of Jezebel in the Old Testament (1 Kings 16-21 and 2 Kings 9:30-37).

Here, Jesus described the specific sin of this woman “Jezebel.” Mainly, she was an immoral and ungodly influence on others, and led others into sin. Jezebel led others into immorality and idolatry.

Here, Jesus described the specific sin of this woman “Jezebel.” Mainly, she was an immoral and ungodly influence on others, and led others into sin. Jezebel led others into immorality and idolatry.

 Even when there is the immoral and idolatrous influence of a Jezebel, Christians can overcome and keep Jesus’ works until the end. We must not become overly discouraged at immorality and idolatry around us, even among Christians. God’s work will still go on through His overcomers.

To him I will give power over the nations: Jesus promised that His people will reign with Him. Here, there is a special promise to those who overcome the threat of immorality and idolatry. To them, Jesus offered a share in His own kingdom.

What are some of the false teachings you see today in the church that mirror some of what these four churches faced? Why do you think these churches were so susceptible to false prophets and teachers like Jezebel? What can the church do to protect itself from Satan's strategy to destroy the church from within?