Pre-Introduction

Today I would like to read all of Revelation 2 and 3. You’ll notice that we do not have an Old Testament reading today. This is simply because the New Testament reading is so unusually long.  We are reading all of chapters 2 and 3 in order to consider the letters to the seven churches all at once. We will come back to each of the letters individually in the weeks to come, but today we will consider them as a unit. The letters to the seven churches form a distinct section of the book of Revelation. Some important general observations need to be made about these letters before we delve into each letter specifically and individually. Let us give ourselves now to the reading of God’s holy word.

New Testament Reading: Revelation 2-3

“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.’ ‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’

And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.’ ‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.’

And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword.’ ‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’

And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze.’ ‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works. But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. Only hold fast what you have until I come. The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. And I will give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.’ ‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.’ ‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you. Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.’ ‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches’” (Revelation 2–3, ESV).

Introduction

In previous sermons I have emphasized that the book of Revelation is a worldview book. It shows us how things really are in the world. Things are not always as they appear. It is possible to interpret the world around us – the things that we see with our natural eyes; the events of human history – in a variety of ways. But God has revealed something of himself to us. He has shown us something of who he is and what his purposes are. The whole of scripture is indeed a record of God’s revelation, but the book of Revelation itself reveals in a most vivid way through its visions lifting us up to that we might see things as God sees them.

The book opens our eyes to realities concerning God and the Christ. Who are they? Where are they? What have they accomplished? What power and glory do they possess? This we touched upon last week. But the book also opens our eyes to the reality of what God and his Christ are doing in the world today and were they will bring human history in the end.

To put it briefly God and his Christ are establishing a kingdom now. The kingdom was inaugurated, or begun, at Christ’s first coming (remember the announcement of John the Baptist and Jesus saying, “the kingdom of heaven is at hand”? (Matthew 3:2; 10:7)). And the kingdom will be consummated, or made perfect and complete, at Christ’s second coming. In Revelation 11:15 the end is described and we read these words: “Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever” (Revelation 11:15, ESV). Here is a description of the consummation of Christ’s kingdom – in the end the kingdom will cover all.

But what is Christ doing now? He is advancing his kingdom. He’s building it. He doing the thing that we pray for when we pray, “thy kingdom come.” He is destroying Satan’s kingdom while advancing the kingdom of grace, bringing more and more into it and keeping them in it by the proclamation of the gospel and the preaching of the word. That is what God is doing now. Father, Son and Holy Spirit are advancing the kingdom of Christ.

Remember the introduction to the book of Revelation. The theme of “kingdom” is there from the start. John reminds us in 1:6 that Christ has “made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen” (Revelation 1:6, ESV). In 1:9 John refers to himself as our “brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus…” (Revelation 1:9, ESV). And remember that in 1:13 John begins to describe to us the vision that he saw of Jesus Christ and the first thing that he said about him was that he looked like a “son of man.” I spent some time a few weeks ago trying to demonstrate to you that this title, “son of man”, comes from Daniel 7. There we are told of a vision that Daniel the prophet saw. He also saw “one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him [the son of man, who is the Christ] was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed” (Daniel 7:13–14, ESV). In Revelation this one like a “son of man” appears to John. This time he is not going to the Ancient of Days, as he was in Daniel’s vision, but is coming from him. And he is not going to receive “dominion and glory and a kingdom” in the future, for he has it now! He has dominion. He has glory. He has his kingdom. This is Jesus the Christ. He is the King. His kingdom is here now. And his kingdom is advancing. It is moving from inauguration towards consummation.

But we might ask the question, where is it? Where is this kingdom of God that is supposedly in the world today? I know where the kingdoms of this earth are. I can see the worldly powers. I can pull up a political map and see the boundaries. I can see the rulers. I can see the citizens. There they are in plain sight! But where is the kingdom of God? Who is the ruler? Who are the citizens? Where is the territory?

Revelation reveals it to us, friends.

We’ve already been introduced to the king of this kingdom. He is the son of man – “the first and the last… the living one.” The one who “died… [who is] alive forevermore… [who has] the keys of Death and Hades” (Revelation 1:17–18, ESV). He is the king.

And the citizens have also been identified. It is those who are loved by God, who have been freed from their sins by the blood of Christ who have been made into a kingdom (Revelation 1:5–6, ESV). The citizens of this kingdom are those who have faith in Christ. They are the elect ones. They are the regenerate ones. They are the one who’s sins have been washed by the blood of the Lamb.

And something has already been said concerning the territory. The citizens of this kingdom do not have a territory now – they do not possess a land – but are living as sojourners. The book of Revelation was originally addressed to some of the citizens of Christ’s kingdom and they were living in Rome – specifically in Asia Minor. They had duel citizenship, then. They were citizens of Rome, living in Roman territory. But they were also living as citizens of Christ’s kingdom, and in that respect, they were sojourners. The same is true for you and me. We too have a duel citizenship. We are citizens of this earthly kingdom. We are, in that sense, at home. But we are principally citizens of the heavenly kingdom. In that respect we are sojourners wandering in a foreign land. This is not home, then. For Christ’s  “kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36, ESV).

This will not be the case forever though. The book of Revelation describes to us the day when “The kingdom of the world [will] become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever” (Revelation 11:15, ESV). Indeed the day will come when “the dwelling place of God [will be] with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God” (Revelation 21:3, ESV). In other words, at the consummation – when Christ returns – the kingdoms of this earth will be no more, and the kingdom of Christ will be all there is. This will be his territory and ours. No longer will we have duel citizenship – no longer will we wander as sojourners – indeed we will be truly home.

The reason that I wanted to consider the letters to the seven churches broadly is because a lot is revealed here concerning Christ’s kingdom as it is now. We know that the kingdom was inaugurated, or begun, at Christ’s first coming, and we know that it will one day be here in full – Revelation is clear about these things – but the book also communicates a great deal about the kingdom as it is now.

Remember that in 1:19 Christ spoke to John saying, “Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this” (Revelation 1:19, ESV). The Revelation of John is broken into two major sections, then. The first section deals with things “that are” from John’s perspective. The second section deals with things “that are to take place after this” from John’s perspective. The divide between the two sections is 4:1. Chapters 2 and 3 are therefore saying something to us about how things are in Christ’s kingdom.

Christ The King Walks In The Midst Of His Churches To Inspect Them

In chapter 1 Christ is seen walking in the midst of seven lampstands which represent the seven churches. In chapter 2 it becomes clear what he is doing there. Christ the king is walking in the midst of his churches to inspect them. It was true then and it is true now. Christ the king walks in the midst of his churches to inspect them. He, like a good king, is concerned for the well being of his kingdom. He inspects the kingdom to observe the state of things.

Notice that he walks, not in the midst of individual Christians, inspecting them individually, but in the midst of local churches. He walks in the midsts of local churches and judges them corporately. This is incredibly significant. When we come to faith in Christ we are indeed rescued out of the kingdom of darkness and transferred into the kingdom of light as an individual, but not to walk in isolation, but rather belonging to a kingdom.

The Christian life is a communal thing. We are together the body of Christ, each member doing it’s part. We together make up Christ’s flock. We are individual stones, but joined together we become the temple of God. Christ did, not die merely for individuals, but for his church  – “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word” (Ephesians 5:25–26, ESV). There is a sense in which we come to Christ individually and personally, but not to walk in isolation. To be a Christian is to belong to Christ’s kingdom, you being one of many citizens. And the kingdom becomes a visible thing as the citizens gather in local churches. That is how Christ’s kingdom is organized in these last days. The citizens of the kingdom of God are to gather together in local churches consisting of officers and members.

Friends, you are living in disobedience if you are a Christian who refuses to join a local church. You might be a Christian – it may be that you have authentic faith in Christ (who am I to judge that?) – but I can say with certainty that you are a disobedient Christian if you are walking in this world alone, detached from the local church. The only exception that I can imagine is a Christian living in a place where there is no local church to join. In that case they ought to pray that God provide a church. Perhaps they should move, if possible.

Have you noticed that Bible is a church book? It screams “church” from beginning to end. The word “church” simply means “gathering, congregation, assembly”. Since the fall God has been “gathering” a people for himself, calling them out of the world to worship and to serve him. Notice I did not say “people” but “a people”, that is, a community. His design was to have a people – a kingdom – citizens who together call him Lord. This was true under the Old Covenant and it comes to prominence in the New. Everything in the New Testament is about the arrival and advancement of Christ’s kingdom through the advancement of the church. The four gospels tell us about the coming of the kingdom of God through the life, death, burial and resection of Christ. The kingdom is “at hand”. And we are told of Christ’s choosing, training and commissioning of his Apostles. They are sent by him to expand the kingdom. And what did they do? The book of Acts tells us what they did. They preached the good news and they planted local churches with officers and members as men and women turned from their sins to Christ. After the book of Acts we have Paul’s letters. And who did he write to? He wrote to churches! And if he did not write to churches, he wrote to pastors who were pastoring in churches. The whole of the New Testament screams “local church”.

Revelation is no different. It was addressed to local churches. Christ is seen walking in the midst of those churches – he is the king and he is walking through his kingdom. His kingdom can be observed in this world, not by looking on a map, and not by imagining all individual Christians scattered throughout the world, but by looking to the local and visible church.

Why do Christians sometimes object to joining a local church? Usually they we will say, the church is filled with hypocrites. We must be careful here. I would agree that there are some churches that are not really churches, and those should be avoided. But something else should be noticed – imperfect churches are still true churches.

Notice some things that all of the letters  to the seven churches share in common.

One, notice that in each instance Christ introduces himself to the particular church in way that draws upon the vision that John saw of the Christ as he walked in the in the midst of the lampstands – it is that Christ who addresses each of the churches. “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands” (Revelation 2:1, ESV). “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life” (Revelation 2:8, ESV). We will find that the particular way that Christ introduces himself will correspond to the particular way in which the particular church is struggling. Christ has all that we need to thrive as local churches.

Two, notice that in each letter Christ says the words, “I know…” For example to Ephesus Christ says, “I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake… but I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first” (Revelation 2:3–4, ESV). To Smyrna he says,  “I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich)…” (Revelation 2:9, ESV). To Pergamum he says, “ know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast my name…” (Revelation 2:13, ESV). In every letter Christ says, “I know”. Christ is not blind to the condition of his churches.

Three, notice that the churches, by in large, are found in a poor condition. Five of the seven churches are rebuked in these letters. Of the five that are rebuked two are on the verge of being removed. The first church, Ephesus, is warned “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent” (Revelation 2:5, ESV). And the last church, Laodicea, is also on the verge. To them Christ says, “I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:15–16, ESV). These two churches are on the verge of loosing their right to be called a church. Churches two and six – Smyrna and Philadelphia – are only commended. Christ warns them in this way, saying, “be faithful” and “hold fast”. The middle three churches – Pergamum, Thyatira, and Sardis – are mixed. Some have gone astray and some have remained faithful. Those who have erred are warned, those who have remained faithful are commended and are encouraged to remain faithful.

It should be noticed that the letters to the seven churches are probably are organized according to their geographical location – they are listed in the order in which a letter carrier would probably take the letter from John on the Island of Patmos to the churches, starting on the west coast of modern-day Turkey, working north, moving inland and then coming south. But there is also a literary structure to be noticed. The first and last churches mention are in the worst shape. The middle three are also bad. Two and six are doing well. We have a chiastic structure the that goes A, B, C,C,C, B, A. The structure serves to emphasizes the sorry state of these churches with the beginning, middle and end positions belonging to churches in need of firm rebuke.

What’s the point?

To say, “the church is filled with hypocrites” is no excuse for avoiding local church membership. The churches of Christ have always been impure, some more than others. Have you ever read Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth? What a mess! And yet Paul called them a church. Five of the seven churches mentioned in Revelation are impure – two are on the verge of being removed. But impure churches are still churches.

Christ is Lord of his church, not you. He is the one who “knows his churches”, and he is the one who has the authority to “remove” them. He is the one who“vomits” churches “out of his mouth”. A Christian should labor to find a healthy church, but it is wrong to avoid a church because it is impure in some way. Some churches should be avoided at all costs, their corruption being so great that they are no longer truly churches. But an impure church is still a true church.

Chapter 26 of our Confession provides a wonderful summery of the Bible’s teaching on the church. Let me read paragraph 3 to you.

“The purest churches under heaven are subject to mixture and error; and some have so degenerated as to become no churches of Christ, but synagogues of Satan; nevertheless Christ always hath had, and ever shall have a kingdom in this world, to the end thereof, of such as believe in him, and make profession of his name.”

Two things: One, even the purest churches have some mixture and error in them. Get over it and be obedient to Christ and join if you are Christian. Two, it is possible for a church to so degenerate that it becomes no church of Christ, but a synagogue of Satan. Where that line is God only knows. But let us recognize that it is possible for a church to so degenerate doctrinally or morally that it ceases to be a church. I think it is right to pray for churches that have degenerated morally or doctrinally that Christ would either bring them to repentance or vomit them out of his mouth – one or the other – for the sake of his name. But that is Christ’s work, not ours. I’ve seen him do it. We ought to tremble at the thought of it. We can warn people concerning unhealthy churches, but Christ must remove them. He is Lord of his church.

Christ The King Speaks to His Churches Urging Them To Walk Faithfully 

Notice, briefly, that Christ speaks to his churches urging them to walk faithfully. He calls his churches into existence by his word, and he purifies his churches by his word. His word is what has called us out of the kingdom of darkness an into the kingdom of light. And it is his word which dictates how his churches are to be. It sounds obvious, but it is a truth greatly neglected in our day. Many churches have decided for themselves what they will be. But God’s word regulates what we shall be.

We will consider carefully Christ’s words to the seven churches in the weeks to come, but for now see that Christ is always about the work of refining his bride by his word and Spirit. He commends us where we are strong, and he rebukes us where we are week. He calls us to repentance. He even threatens to judge us. To rebellious ones in Pergamum, for example, Christ said, “Repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth” (Revelation 2:16, ESV).

Isn’t interesting that Christ spoke to each of these seven churches, not privately, but publicly? His commendations and his rebukes were public. He did not send a private message to each, but spoke to each in a book that would be circulated to all.

The reason is this: We can all learn from the successes and failures of other churches. These seven churches represent all churches. There were seven of them, remember, and the numbers in Revelation have symbolic force, seven being the number of completeness or perfection. Those churches represent all churches, and their successes and troubles were not unique to them but are common to all. For example, I’m sure that when Ephesus read what was said to Pergamum they were edified by that word too, being encouraged by those areas in which they were strong and lead to tremble concerning the areas in which they were weak, lest they fall in the same way.

And isn’t it interesting that each letter concludes with the words, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Revelation 2:7, ESV). What was said to Ephesus, then, is said to all.

Notice also the way in which Thyatira was warned. There were some in that church who were sexually immoral. Christ speaks to them saying, “I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works” (Revelation 2:21–23, ESV). This warning was given to some in Thyatira, but through them the warning was made to all. And the punishment for the sin would come upon the unrepentant adulterers, but all of the churches would see it and “know that [Christ]… searches mind and heart, and…will give to each… according to [their] works” (Revelation 2:21–23, ESV).

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Revelation 2:7, ESV).

Christ The King Urges His Churches To Walk Faithfully Given The Victory He Has Won

Lastly see that these letters are written to urge local churches, and the Christians who are in them, to walk faithfully with Christ given the victory he has won.

Here is another feature that repeats in each letter. Christ holds out the promise of reward to each of the churches if they would only be faithful. To Sardis, for example, Christ promises that “The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels” (Revelation 3:5, ESV). To Laodiceans Christ says, “The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne” (Revelation 3:21, ESV). The churches are urged to walk faithful in light of the victory he has won. The book of Revelation from chapter 4 onward will tell the story of Christ’s victory again and again from different vantage points. The whole of the book, then, becomes an encouragement to Christians to walk faithful with Christ given the victory he has won.

Conclusion 

A broad and general consideration of the letters to the seven churches ought to make us sober concerning the seriousness of the Christian life. In earlier sermons I emphasized how comforting it is to know that Christ is with us, walking in the midst of the churches. Indeed it is comforting to know that he, the first and last, the one who died and is now alive forevermore, the one with the keys to hades and death, walks with us in this world. It is comforting indeed. But does it not also make you tremble with a holy and reverent kind of fear. Jesus judges, my friends. I know it is unpopular to say so, but it is true. Jesus judges. He will judge in the end, and he judges now.

We ought to fear the Lord as individuals, knowing that he see all things and that he judges the thoughts, intents, and actions of men.

And we ought to fear the Lord as a church, knowing that he walks in our midst to inspect us. He has called us out of darkness and into light so that we might upheld his truth, walk in love towards one another, and live holy before him. May we tremble at the thought of falling short in any of these things. May we labor to be one of the church to who Christ says, “well done. Now persevere.”