Today
we are journeying through Revelation chapter 2 and 3, let’s have a glimpse of
the social, political, economic and political milieu of the 7 churches. Some of
the cities were rich while others were impoverished and some were of commercial
importance. Laodicea was the wealthiest city. Sardis was also a city of great
fame and wealth. Thyatira which stood at crossroads was known for its trade
guilds. Philadelphia a city of commercial importance was located at the gateway
to the high central plateau and had flourishing vineyards. From the detailed
hints in the two chapters, there is evidence of harassment especially by the
adherents of the imperial cult who expected some sign of reverence for the
emperor cult and Jewish groups who disliked the Christians because of their
belief that Jesus was worthy of divine honour. Mistreatment of Christians seems
to have been spasmodic and periodically escalated into very serious regional
persecutions. The pagan expectations caused tension to the social detriment of
Christians. The letters hint that some Christians considered taking a more
accommodating, less exclusive stance toward pagan society. As mentioned in the
introduction, imperial cult was practiced strongly in Asia and in most of the
eastern Mediterranean regions of the Roman Empire. Cities competed vigorously
for the privilege of being declared neokoros, an official centre for imperial
cult. A neokorate symbolized for these cities civic pride and devotion to the
imperial cult.
Christians
who held that Christ not Caesar was Lord were facing increasing hostility. For
instance, the Smyrna church is warned against the coming opposition; Philadelphia
is told of an hour of trial coming on the world; John is already exiled to the
island of Patmos because of the testimony of Jesus Christ and so on. In such
situations, some of the believers began to advocate for compromise. John writes
to encourage the Christians to resist staunchly emperor worship and stay
faithful even to the point of death (Rev. 2:10).
The first letter is to the church in Ephesus. The city was famous
for its temple of Diana or Artemis, (Acts 19:27). The temple priestesses were
dedicated to cult prostitution. Jesus
affirms the Ephesians’ positive actions-their deeds, hard work and perseverance
and also notes their shortcoming-they had forsaken their first love. They no
longer had the same passion for Christ as when they first believed. Their work
was no longer motivated by love. He then calls them to repent and do the things
they did at first (Rev. 2:5). In addition, He warns His church of impending
judgment if they did not repent and at the same time adds another commendation
concerning their doctrinal purity (they hated Nicolaitan teachings). Finally,
He then promises a blessing to those who heed the word, that is, tree of life
and the paradise of God.
The second letter is to Smyrna church. Jesus starts by
acknowledging their trials, poverty and a spiritual wealth that no one could
take away. After commending the church in Smyrna for their spiritual victories,
Jesus warned them of coming persecution. However, He gives hope to His church and calls them to remain
faithful in their suffering. He then makes
a final promise to the believers in Smyrna that he who overcomes will not be
hurt at all by the second death (Rev. 2:11).
The third letter is to the believers in Pergamum. On its
acropolis, Pergamum had dedicated a high altar to Zeus and a temple to Athena
and was the first to support the imperial cul. First, Jesus affirms the
church’s positive actions-they did not renounce their faith in Jesus. The
believers lived in a difficult place, surrounded by pagan influences, yet they
held fast to Christ’s name and did not deny Him during difficult times. One
Christian in Pergamum named Antipas was killed as faithful witness.
Nevertheless, Jesus took note of their sin-some of the people held to the
teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating
food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality and the teaching
of the Nicolaitans. Jesus then issues a clarion call to repent of their sin. Finally,
He makes a promise to the overcomers-hidden manna, a white stone, and a new
name.
The fourth letter is Christ’s message to the church of Thyatira. Thyatira was a
wealthy industrial town. Jesus affirms the church’s positive actions-their
deeds, love and faith, service and perseverance. Then He also notes their sin-they tolerated that woman Jezebel who by
her teaching she misled Christ’s servants into sexual immorality and the eating
of food sacrificed to idols (Rev. 2:20). It seems the church was engaging in
sexual immorality and dipping into in idolatry. Jesus calls the church of
Thyatira to repent of their sin and encourages those who had remained faithful.
Finally, Jesus registers His promises to the
believers in Thyatira-to him who overcomes and does Christ’s will to the end, will
be given authority over the nations and victory over all enemies, and the
Morning Star (Jesus Himself).
Sardis was one of the oldest and best defended cities in the
region. It was a strong pagan religious center. The fifth letter was addressed
to the church in this city. Jesus condemns the lifeless state of the Sardis church-they
had a reputation of being alive, but were spiritually lifeless (Rev. 3:2).
Jesus then calls them to repent lest they be caught off guard
when Christ returns. After the warning, He
encourages the faithful remnant who had remained faithful and had not soiled
their garments. Jesus makes a final promise to the believers in Sardis-that
those who overcome will be dressed in white and their names will never be blotted
from the book of life
The sixth letter is to the Philadelphian church. Philadelphia
was a center of pagan worship and was known as ‘Little Athens’ indicating the
philosophy, religion, and immorality of the large city of Athens were present
in Philadelphia. Jesus affirms the church’s positive actions that though they
had little strength, they kept Christ’s word and did not deny His name (Rev.
3:8). Because of this, the Lord promises them an open door of blessings. He
then condemns the enemies of the Philadelphian believers; those who persecuted
the believers. Jesus encourages the Philadelphian believers regarding His
future coming so to hold on to what they have. Their faithful endurance would
serve as a blessing. Jesus provides a final promise to the believers in
Philadelphia and to all believers-him who overcomes He will make a pillar in
the temple of His God.
The seventh and the last letter is addressed to the church in
the city of Laodicea. Laodicea had no water supply, so water from hot springs
six miles south of the city was brought through aqueducts to serve the
community. By the time this water reached the city it was lukewarm. So when the
Lord calls them Lukewarm, they could easily identify with the Lord’s reaction
to their lukewarmness. In contrast to the other six churches, Jesus begins the
message with condemnation-“you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either
one or the other!” (Rev. 3:15-17). With their indifference came a spiritual
blindness; they claimed to be rich, blessed and self-sufficient. Jesus calls
the Laodicean church to repent of its sin. Their material wealth had no eternal
benefit, so Jesus commands them to come to Him for true, spiritual riches. He
then makes a promise to the believers-that to him who overcomes, He will give
the right to sit with Him on His throne.
What is the relevance of the above to the contemporary church
and to every individual Christian? Each of the messages in the letters to the
seven churches in Asia includes information appropriate to each church, and
from these messages we can draw lessons applicable to our individual lives
today and the body of Christ in every generation. We are called to heed the
word, repent and make appropriate changes in our individual lives and in the
body of Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. For instance, like the
Ephesians church, we can easily fall prey to a cold, mechanical observance of
religion; we may tend to focus solely on doctrinal purity and activities, to
the exclusion of true love for Christ; there are myriad of teachings that are contrary to God’s
word. Today sexual compromise-homosexuality and prostitution has become a
normal thing and many religions have become complacent and are accommodating
immoral people in the church. Jesus desires purity among His people, and I
believe church leaders have a responsibility to rebuke and remove false
teachers from the church. Today’s church, is full of unsaved people going
through the motions of religion but are spiritually dead. It’s time the church
preaches the true gospel like the early apostles did. Finally, for the churches
which are flourishing, rich and secure,
we should never allow the deceitfulness of
wealth and the desires for other things to come in and choke the word, making it
unfruitful. The desired response to God’s reproof is zealous change and true
repentance. In addition, no amount of zeal
for the truth or moral righteousness can replace a heart full of love for Jesus.
What is the Lord saying to you through the above letters to
the 7 churches in Asia?
Mingi pendoz,
Kachel
