10 Days of Awe - Day 7
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Revelation 2:7a
Jesus’ words to the seven churches are also His words to the Church today, and were written for OUR benefit to guide us through these last days. Anyone interested in prophecy should take a good look at the 7 letters in Revelation. The Churches are an excellent inventory of the church as it was and the different denominations today, but more importantly, an excellent comparative history of the Church. Using these letters as an allegory for church history isn't a new idea, but it is gaining popularity and I'm seeing more prophetic scholars use them as a model. Below is a break-down from many sources, mainly from the teachings of Marilyn Griffin.
The first church in Ephesus covers a time prophetically from about 30 AD to 100 AD. The term Ephesus means "desirable one", but I believe The Lord is showing us that they were abandoning their root teachings when he tells them, "Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent" (Rev 2:4). This is also the time for Ignatius of Antioch and The Epistle of Barnabas talked about in yesterday's post.
The next church is Smyrna, covering a prophetic timeframe of about 100-313 A.D. These days begin the persecution of Christians under Nero and Domitian. The Lord tells them, " Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life" (Rev 2:10). With the temple in Jerusalem destroyed, allegorical and spiritualized text are becoming the norm, and "replacement" theology is on the move. The Lord says, "I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan (Rev 2:9).
Pergamum runs the prophetic span of 313-606 AD. This is the birth of the Constantinian Era of the Church. The Lord says, "But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate (Rev 2:14-15). Basically he is slamming them for Pagan practices in the Church and for establishing a governing hierarchy within the Church. Rome did this when they superimposed their system of government over the church, and replaced the Feasts with Holidays.
Thyatira covers 606-1517 AD and could be characterized as "The Papal Age". I won't get into my own opinions here, but let the Lord speak, "because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death (black death????); and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works" (Rev 2:20-22).
The Church starts to wake-up during the span of Sardis 1517-1648 AD. Formalism and Orthodoxy end, the Reformation and Renaissance begin. However, the church still holds on to some of the ideas of the previous churches. The Lord writes, "I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent" (Rev 3:1-3). These are the days of Martin Luther and John Calvin. These men were great theologians, but were marred by the anti-semitism of the past.
We should want all Churches today to be like the church in Philadelphia (1648-1900 AD), "I know you have little strength, yet you have kept My word and have not denied My name" (Revelation 3:8c). We perhaps see a reference to the rapture when he tells them, "Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth" (Rev 3:10). This is one of two churches that do not receive a negative report. Not surprising, as these are the times of Spirit-lead theologians such as Jonathan Edwards, John Wesley, George Whitefield, William Carey, David Livingstone, D.L. Moody, Johann Bengel, John Darby, Jo Seiss and Cyrus Scofield. The Puritans take The Word to the Americas and It is truly spreading to the four corners of the Earth.
Which brings us to today, the church in Laodicea. " I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked..." (Rev 3:14-22). I don't know about you, but sometimes I feel the sermon on Sunday morning is a little lack-luster. Where are the tidings of Christ's soon coming? Where are the urges to repent? I get the sense that we are fed a gospel of "it's all good all the time" or "say this verse (out of context) and be blessed". I see a church unprepared for and unaware of what is coming.
PRAYER:
Hasten the day, Lord, when You return to Your remnant. Father, we pray You sound the alarm loudly so that our people wake up before it is too late. We praise and thank You Father, for You are gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. You are good to all; and have compassion on all You have made. In Jesus Name, Amen.
For personal reflection today, consider how you are a witness with your mouth. When you give advice from the Bible do you let people know that it came from the Bible? I often hope for an opportunity to share Christ with others, but then I'm dismayed when they aren't open to it. I've got to remember that it's not my problem, but theirs. My reward isn't contingent on their acceptance of my words.
Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near. Revelation 1:3
Jesus’ words to the seven churches are also His words to the Church today, and were written for OUR benefit to guide us through these last days. Anyone interested in prophecy should take a good look at the 7 letters in Revelation. The Churches are an excellent inventory of the church as it was and the different denominations today, but more importantly, an excellent comparative history of the Church. Using these letters as an allegory for church history isn't a new idea, but it is gaining popularity and I'm seeing more prophetic scholars use them as a model. Below is a break-down from many sources, mainly from the teachings of Marilyn Griffin.
The first church in Ephesus covers a time prophetically from about 30 AD to 100 AD. The term Ephesus means "desirable one", but I believe The Lord is showing us that they were abandoning their root teachings when he tells them, "Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent" (Rev 2:4). This is also the time for Ignatius of Antioch and The Epistle of Barnabas talked about in yesterday's post.
The next church is Smyrna, covering a prophetic timeframe of about 100-313 A.D. These days begin the persecution of Christians under Nero and Domitian. The Lord tells them, " Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life" (Rev 2:10). With the temple in Jerusalem destroyed, allegorical and spiritualized text are becoming the norm, and "replacement" theology is on the move. The Lord says, "I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan (Rev 2:9).
Pergamum runs the prophetic span of 313-606 AD. This is the birth of the Constantinian Era of the Church. The Lord says, "But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate (Rev 2:14-15). Basically he is slamming them for Pagan practices in the Church and for establishing a governing hierarchy within the Church. Rome did this when they superimposed their system of government over the church, and replaced the Feasts with Holidays.
Thyatira covers 606-1517 AD and could be characterized as "The Papal Age". I won't get into my own opinions here, but let the Lord speak, "because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death (black death????); and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works" (Rev 2:20-22).
The Church starts to wake-up during the span of Sardis 1517-1648 AD. Formalism and Orthodoxy end, the Reformation and Renaissance begin. However, the church still holds on to some of the ideas of the previous churches. The Lord writes, "I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent" (Rev 3:1-3). These are the days of Martin Luther and John Calvin. These men were great theologians, but were marred by the anti-semitism of the past.
We should want all Churches today to be like the church in Philadelphia (1648-1900 AD), "I know you have little strength, yet you have kept My word and have not denied My name" (Revelation 3:8c). We perhaps see a reference to the rapture when he tells them, "Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth" (Rev 3:10). This is one of two churches that do not receive a negative report. Not surprising, as these are the times of Spirit-lead theologians such as Jonathan Edwards, John Wesley, George Whitefield, William Carey, David Livingstone, D.L. Moody, Johann Bengel, John Darby, Jo Seiss and Cyrus Scofield. The Puritans take The Word to the Americas and It is truly spreading to the four corners of the Earth.
Which brings us to today, the church in Laodicea. " I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked..." (Rev 3:14-22). I don't know about you, but sometimes I feel the sermon on Sunday morning is a little lack-luster. Where are the tidings of Christ's soon coming? Where are the urges to repent? I get the sense that we are fed a gospel of "it's all good all the time" or "say this verse (out of context) and be blessed". I see a church unprepared for and unaware of what is coming.
PRAYER:
Hasten the day, Lord, when You return to Your remnant. Father, we pray You sound the alarm loudly so that our people wake up before it is too late. We praise and thank You Father, for You are gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. You are good to all; and have compassion on all You have made. In Jesus Name, Amen.
For personal reflection today, consider how you are a witness with your mouth. When you give advice from the Bible do you let people know that it came from the Bible? I often hope for an opportunity to share Christ with others, but then I'm dismayed when they aren't open to it. I've got to remember that it's not my problem, but theirs. My reward isn't contingent on their acceptance of my words.
Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near. Revelation 1:3