Greetings, Church family,
The pastoral team continues to expound the messages of the seven churches. The first major division of Revelation opens with the vision of the glorified Christ walking among the seven lampstands as High Priest (Rev. 1:9–20). He is here pictured as fulfilling the covenant promise given to ancient Israel: “I will also walk among you and be your God, and you will be My people” (Lev. 26:12). In walking among the churches, Christ is serving them individually. He knows everything about each one of them. Much more than that, he has the solution to their problems and needs. This is why he commissions John to write the things revealed to him and pass them on to the churches (Rev. 1:11). Each of the messages to the churches begins by introducing Christ and concludes with an appeal to listen to the Spirit. In between is Christ’s special message suited to the actual situation, condition, and needs of the respective church to which it is addressed, together with the historical situation of the city where the church was located. Christ makes visits to help each church prepare to meet the coming crisis. If the churches want to make a decisive “turnaround,” they need only to listen to the messages of the One who knows them. These seven churches were the real churches of Asia Minor. The fact that “seven” is a symbolic number in the book of Revelation, standing for fullness and totality, suggests that in writing to the seven churches in Asia, John was writing to the whole church throughout history.
The churches to which the seven messages were addressed are listed in a specific geographical order. The cities where these seven churches were established (cf. 1:11) were located on main interconnecting Roman roads at intervals of about thirty to forty miles, thus forming a circuit. A person visiting these cities would travel in a semicircle beginning with Ephesus, closest to Patmos, and move in a clockwise direction north to Smyrna and Pergamum, and then southeast to Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and, finally, Laodicea. It is possible that the messages to the churches were carried along this route. “Letters delivered to these seven cities would easily circulate in the surrounding areas; and since every letter had to be hand-written, each letter would need to be sent where it would reach most easily the greatest number of people.”
The characteristics used were relevant and particularly suited to the situation of each of the local churches and the specific problem(s) each faced: Pastor DeSilva preached on Ephesus from Ephesus (Rev. 2:1–7): He reminded us that false teachers threaten this church, and it has lost its first love. Jesus comes to that church as the one holding “the seven stars in his right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands” (2:1). He is the one who has complete control over the church, which is in danger of losing her place as a lampstand (2:5). I preached on Smyrna from (Rev. 2:8–11): To the suffering Christians in Smyrna going through dire persecution, Jesus presents himself suitably as the one who himself was once dead and came back to life (2:8). He assures them that he has experienced what they are presently going through. He gives them a promise of resurrection (2:10–11).
Pastor Kim will preach on Pergamum this Sabbath from (Rev. 2:12–17). For the next few Sabbaths, the pastoral team will continue to preach about the other churches. Brothers and sisters, the book of Revelation is a revelation of who Jesus Christ is and what we become when we unite with him. The book of Revelation, above all, is an excellent appeal to God’s people not to be constantly looking into the things of the world, not to be stuck in the sorrow and the troubles of this world, but to lift our eyes, to see Jesus in heavenly places, to know that we have been elevated in these heavenly places with him. When we see this fresh status that we have in Jesus, then we can get excited about praising Him and serving Him. AMEN! May God keep us faithful as we wait for His soon return.
Pastor Evadne Henry
Excerpts from the book, “Revelation of Jesus Christ: Commentary on the Book of Revelation,” by Ranko Stefanovic, Andrews University Press. Kindle Edition.