Christ's Comments About the Church at Sardis

"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. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy." (Revelation 3:1b-4 - King James Version)

This church had a good image. People in the community thought that these Christians were fine people. There is no hint of persecution or suffering. Yet their image was false.

They had a show of religion and righteousness. However, the heart of their Christianity was not beating. Their outward appearance had no inward reality.

This church was like the Pharisees that Jesus criticized. Jesus said, “How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees. You are hypocrites! You are like tombs that are painted white. Outside, those tombs look fine. But inside, they are full of the bones of dead people, and all kinds of unclean things are there. It is the same with you. People look at you and think you are good. But on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and evil.” (Matthew 23:27,28 - International Children's Bible)

This should make us examine ourselves and our church. We may appear to be godly on the outside, however, God looks at the heart. No matter how good a life you live, it is vain if you do not have a relationship with the Lord. Your heart, your spirit must be clean.

The first step is to obtain forgiveness of sin by trusting in Jesus Christ as your Savior. Jesus died on the cross for your sin. He rose from the dead because He is God and death could not hold Him.

You must believe that your sin is so evil that Jesus had to die to remove its stain on your life. He took your place. When a person prays to God and based on Jesus' sacrifice asks for forgiveness, God grants pardon and eternal life.

As born again Christians, we also must watch our hearts. It is possible for us to become cold towards the Lord, and to allow sin to have power in our lives. We can go through the motions of religion without being right with God.

We must keep close to the Lord. We must daily forsake sin. We must concentrate on our relationship with God not tradition and ritual. We must avoid becoming religious zombies with a powerless religion.

We should also examine our church. It may seem good on the outside, but if it is not following God and the New Testament then we should either seek to revive it or leave it. If its spirit is dead, we cannot serve God though it.

Verse two gives the Lord's solution to this church's lack of life. This church was asleep. They needed to wake up and become active again. They still had a little life in them but it was growing weaker and weaker. They were falling far short of what God required of them.

What a sad picture this verse presents! And sadder still, it is a picture that fits many churches today. They have gone asleep. They are busy reliving the past or dreaming about the future, while the present slips away.

Wake up! Revive the fires of outreach and evangelism! Draw upon the power of God's Spirit! Take the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, and go out to battle the forces of evil that are winning victory after victory as you sleep on the sidelines! Wake up!

Verse three continues Christ's call to revival. Jesus wanted this church to remember the Gospel. It seems they had forgotten the very basis for the Christian Faith.

They were to remember what they had experienced. They were to remember the past joys, past zeal and past victories. Not in order to live in the past, but to give them a desire to have once again what they had lost.

Jesus was encouraging them to pray like David did, “Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation.” (Psalm 51:12a - King James Version)

They were to remember the Gospel and obey it. They had already accepted it and been saved. However, the Gospel by its nature requires that we witness and tell others about Jesus. This was what they had forgotten.

They needed to reach out to those who were lost and confront them with the choice they must make about Jesus Christ. Repentance and renewed evangelistic efforts were needed.

Jesus' warning to this church was historically fitting. The city of Sardis was a mighty fortress. Yet in spite of its strategic position and military power, twice it was conquered by enemy armies.

According to history, both times it was defeated because of the failure of its watchmen to warn of the danger. This church was sound asleep spiritually, they would not even notice the judgment of Christ approaching them until it was upon them.

Verse four offers some hope for this chruch. Within this dying church, there was a handful of people who faithfully served the Lord and had not compromised on their Faith.

Even in the midst of moral decay and dead religion, there are always the few faithful ones. In Israel during the reign of wicked king Ahab, there were seven thousand who had not worshiped the idol Baal. Jesus will reward the faithful few.

The Letter to the Church at Sardis: A Description of Christ

"And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; . . ." (Revelation 3:1a - King James Version)

Jesus begins this letter by presenting Himself as the One with the seven spirits and seven stars. The seven spirits represent the Holy Spirit Who empowers the seven churches. Each church has its own source of power.

Jesus mentions this because this church was not using the power available to it. It needed reviving. It needed to wake up. It needed new life.

The seven stars represent the pastors of the seven churches. Jesus is the One who controls His ministers. He places, guides and removes people from leadership. He is the One in control. It seems that this may have been a warning to the pastor of this church. If he did not act to lead this church into revival, Jesus could remove him from the scene and place someone else there.

Church at Thyatira: Promise, Prophetic, Application

"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.'" (Revelation 2:26-29 - English Standard Version)

Jesus closes this letter with a glorious promise. Each of the seven letters ends with some promise. This promise about ruling over the nations seems to refer to the coming reign of Christ upon this world. The Bible tells us that the saved will reign with Jesus for a thousand years upon this earth. Those who reign with Christ will be given the power He speaks about in these verses.

Some believe that this letter represents the period in history called the Dark Ages from about 500 AD to 1500 AD. As a result of the increasing connection of Christianity with government during this period, many leaders within Christianity were political not religious men. They had little concern for the truth and allowed a great many compromises based on political wisdom not the Word of God. The decisions made by such men have greatly influenced Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant groups.

The main lesson from this letter is to avoid compromise. Throughout Christian history, there have been those who sought to bring together the Christian faith and other religions. These attempts have resulted in an undermining of the Gospel among some Christian groups.

Without the Gospel, Christianity is no better than any other religion. However, with the Gospel, it is far greater because the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation.

Compromise undermines the Bible; it replaces worship in spirit and truth with idolatry; it destroys Scriptural moral standards; it brings God's judgment.

We should support freedom of religion. We should respect the beliefs of others. However, we should not give up the truth of God's Word.

Christ's Comments About the Church at Thyatira

"I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first. Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, 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; 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. But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden. But that which ye have already hold fast till I come." (Revelation 2:19-25 - King James Version)

Jesus begins His comments with praise. This church had much to commend it. The members of the church showed a sacrificial love for God and one another. They had great faith and trust in God. They were active in serving others. They were patient even in difficult times. They were doing more for the Lord now than they had ever done. This was a busy, loving, growing church.
It would be good if Jesus could say about us what He said in this verse about the church at Thyatira.

However, this church was not perfect. They had a bad problem. To understand this criticism, we need to remind ourselves of whom Jezebel was and what she was like.

Jezebel was the wicked wife of weak king Ahab. She promoted the worship of the Canaanite god, Baal. She sought to destroy all the prophets of the Lord God. She manipulated her husband, Ahab. She led the people of Israel away from God. In the end, God judged her and she died a horrible death.

Within the church at Thyatira was a lady who was a New Testament Jezebel. Possibly in an effort to avoid persecution, this lady promoted the compromising of Christian principles. She, like many today, sought to water down those areas of Christian teaching that are distinctive and make it the same as other religions of her day.

The Roman gods were not unlike Baal, whom the original Jezebel worshiped. Their worship involved all sorts of immoral sexual practices. To compromise with the Roman temples would lead not only to idolatry but also to immorality.

To compromise with non-Christian religions and cults today would remove the Gospel from our preaching and leave people helpless and hopeless. We cannot seek common ground with those who deny that Jesus is God and that salvation is through Him alone as a free gift. Anyone who suggests that we do is a modern day Jezebel. Such a person will be judged by God.

God had already warned this lady about her teaching, yet she refused to listen. God is slow to bring punishment against the wicked. He seeks first to warn. He wants those who are doing wrong to turn to Him and avoid His judgment. He desires that people repent and ask for His forgiveness. God is merciful, loving and kind.

Verse twenty-two shows what happens when God's mercy runs out and His judgment does fall. This seems to be the final warning for the one promoting compromise and also those who accepted her teaching. Jesus will turn her bed of spiritual fornication and immorality into a bed of sickness, disease and death.

God has often used sickness as a means of punishment. Paul warned the church at Corinth that God was judging them for abusing the Lord's Supper. He wrote in First Corinthians chapter eleven verse thirty, “That is why many in your group are sick and weak. And many have died.” (International Children's Bible)

God's patience should not be mistaken for weakness or inability. God warns; God waits; God punishes. We all need to quickly confess our sins, so that God will forgive us and not punish us.

Verse twenty-three suggests the extent of the coming punishment. Those who have followed this false prophetess into forsaking the truth will lose their lives if they do not repent. The judgment of Christ will reveal His knowledge of those who are guilty in thought and action. He will measure out a fitting punishment to each one.

This warning may sound harsh to us. However, the Bible warns that disobedience to God results in death. Romans six verse twenty-three tells us, “When someone sins, he earns what sin pays – death. But God gives us a free gift – life forever in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (International Children's Bible) Since everyone is a sinner, everyone deserves what sin pays – death.

However, God offers everyone something better – eternal life: that is, eternal fellowship with Him as opposed to eternal separation from Him. This is a gift. It does not cost us anything. It cannot be earned and it is not deserved. It can only be accepted.

Jesus died to pay for our sin. He rose from the dead to prove that He was God and that all He claimed was true. A person who trusts Jesus to get them to heaven has accepted God's gift of eternal joy.

Jesus continues His letter to this church with words of encouragement for those who have not followed this Jezebel. It seems that this faithful group was a small minority within this church. Their struggle against compromise was difficult and uphill.

Jesus urges them to continue to combat false teaching. Jesus will give no other task to them, nothing else to weigh them down. They are simply to faithfully continue in their struggle for the truth.

The Letter to the Church at Thyatira: A Description of Christ

"Write this to Thyatira, to the Angel of the church. God's Son, eyes pouring fire-blaze, standing on feet of furnace-fired bronze, says this" (Revelation 2:18 - The Message)

The letter to the church at Thyatira is the longest of the seven letters. Thyatira was the home town of Lydia who is mentioned in Acts chapter sixteen. This city was famous for its dyes.

Each letter begins with Jesus describing Himself in some way. In this letter, Jesus presents Himself as the Son of God. Thyatira's main temple was dedicated to Apollo, the so-called sun god. Jesus, as God's Son, is more powerful than Apollo or any other idol.

Christ's eyes blaze like fire. This suggests His ability to see all things. Nothing can be hide from his penetrating gaze. His feet being like bronze points to the judgment about which He warns this church. He will destroy those who ignore His warnings.

Church at Pergamos: Promise, Prophetic, Application

"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it." (Revelation 2:17 - New American Standard Bible)

The one who trusts in Jesus and gains spiritual victory in Him will be given manna. This is God's provision for all our needs: both physical and spiritual. If we depend upon God, instead of worldly wisdom and compromise, God will look after us.

He will also give us assurance of His favor and blessing upon our lives. The one who denies his faith will not have this assurance because he will be out of God's will. He also will not be able to depend upon God to care for him.

Some believe that this church represents the period of Church History from about 316 to 500 AD. This was a time of great change within Christianity. The conversion that Constantine claimed resulted in a huge flood of people claiming to be Christians. Many of them brought their heathen practices into the Church.

Rather than reject these people, many of the churches compromised in many areas. They did not want to lose the sudden popularity that had come their way. Not only were many compromises made in worship but the large number of unregenerate people coming into the Church lead to moral decline as well.

The merging of government and Christianity soon produced a political structure ruling over the churches. Power was taken away from local congregations and given to groups of clergy. Those Christians who refused to go along with the trend away from New Testament practices suffered persecution as heretics.

The doctrinal system of Augustine in the early part of the fifth century gave the Christian persecutors an excuse for their wicked attacks on those who refused to accept the changes within Christianity. He taught that people had no choice in whether they were saved or not. So if God used spiritual force to bring people to Christ, why not use physical force as well.

The main lesson for us to learn from this letter is the importance of obeying the Faith laid down in God's Word. We are not free to worship and serve God as we desire, we must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth, if we want to please Him.

Although we should seek to be at peace with all people, we cannot compromise the truth in order to be accepted by others. We also cannot change the teaching of Scripture for our own advantage or pleasure. God will judge us by His standard not by any that we create.

If we will stand true to the Bible, God will take care of us and give us personal assurance of our relationship with Him. If we ignore God's Word, we can expect to suffer under his judgment.

Christ's Comments About the Church at Pergamos

"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, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives. Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold 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. Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth." (Revelation 2:13-16 - New International Version)

Pergamum was a city filled with idolatry. It was the first city to dedicate a temple to the worship of the Roman Emperor. It was a city where Satan was very active in promoting false worship and immoral living. Jesus describes the city as Satan's home.

Yet in the midst of such a wicked place, the Christians had continued to witness for Christ. One of them, Antipas, had been killed because of his faithful stand for Christ. The church could be proud of their steadfast witness in the face of opposition.

However, Satan attacks not only from without but also from within a church. Inside this church, there were problems. Jesus points out some faults that existed.

In order to understand verse fourteen, we must examine the historical Balaam and what he did. We find this in the book of Numbers. I will not get into the details, let me just briefly summarize the events.

As the nation of Israel marched towards the land of Canaan, Balak, king of Moab, became afraid. Wishing for any possible advantage he could get, he sent for the prophet Balaam. He offered Balaam a rich reward for cursing Israel. Balaam wanted this reward but God prevented him from cursing the people of Israel.

Because God would not allow him to curse them, Balaam suggested to Balak a way that they could get God to curse Israel. They sent some beautiful young ladies into the Israelite camp. These ladies seduced the young Israelite men into worshiping idols and sexual sin. This brought God's judgment down upon the nation. Balaam earned his reward.

Balaam, therefore, represents those in religion who are interested in personal gain and satisfying their physical desires. They will make any compromise necessary for their own benefit.

Within the Church at Pergamum those who held to the doctrine of Balaam would have encouraged compromise in order to ease the persecution. They would encourage Christians to be on good terms with the ungodly in order to avoid trouble. They would argue for a relaxing of moral standards.

“It is all right to worship in the pagan temples,” they would say, “after all we can worship Jesus while others worship their idols.”

There are many who hold to the doctrine of Balaam today. Statements such as, “We all worship the same God in our own way,” are based upon this idea.

You can see this doctrine being accepted when Christians call sexual sin an alternative lifestyle, when clergy talk more about social issues than they do the Gospel, when churches hold inter-faith services with non-Christians, and when there is no noticeable difference between the way Christians and non-Christians live.

Pergamum had some who held to Balaam's compromising ways. Among Christians today, there are many like this.

Jesus had more criticism for this Church. In the letter to the Church at Ephesus, Jesus mentioned the Nicolaitans. That church hated them. This church had accepted some of them into their midst.

The Nicolaitans taught that the clergy should rule over the lay people. They also sought to setup a power structure among all clergy. They wanted to be rulers. This church had allowed them in and slowly they would take over.

This church was compromising on moral issues and their stand for the Faith. They were allowing power hungry people to take over. The control of the church was slowly falling into the hands of an elite group. The lay people were being told to go along with what the leadership decided because they knew what was best.

Jesus was angry with this Church because of this. Yet this sounds like a lot of churches today!
Christ calls this Church to repentance. Jesus demanded that this Church change and throw out those who would turn her away from the true Faith. Those who would compromise, those who would encourage immorality, those who would seek personal power, were to be removed from the Church.

If they did not do this, Jesus Himself would! He warns that He is prepared to act and act quickly against those who dishonor His Name. His sword would go into action.

Most Bible scholars take this as a reference to the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Jesus would use His Word to expose those who are false Christians and judge them.

All of our religious activities will be judged by the standard of God's Word. Jesus is not concerned with sincerity; He is concerned with truth. A person can be sincere and yet be wrong. Jesus demands that we base our Christian stand upon the Bible and not compromise.

The Letter to the Church at Pergamos: A Description of Christ

"And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write, These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword." (Revelation 2:12 - New King James Version)

Pergamon was an ancient city on the river Caicus in modern day Turkey. Today it is known by the name Bergama. The river is now called Bakir. This city was important both before and after the Romans ruled it. Under the Romans, it was the capital of a province.

The Church at Pergamon was the third church to which Christ told John to write. I am dividing our study of each of Christ's letters into five parts: a description of Christ, His comments on the church, a promise to overcomers, the prophetic meaning and an application for today. This posting will consider the description of Christ in the letter to the church at Pergamon.

Like all the other letters, this one is addressed to the angel of the church. This refers to the Pastor of the church. He is God's chosen messenger to the local congregation.

Jesus presents Himself as having a two-edged sword. This sword speaks of the judgment of Christ. He is able to punish those who deny the Faith.

The Church at Pergamon was suffering persecution. Some were beginning to compromise. They feared the sword of man. Jesus reminds them that He carries a sword as well. We should not fear man who can only destroy our physical bodies; we should fear God Who has power over body and soul!

Jesus said, "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matthew 10:28)

Church at Smyrna: Promise, Prophetic, Application

"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death." (Revelation 2:11 - New King James Version)

In this final verse of the letter to the Church at Smyrna Jesus offers encouragement to these poor and suffering saints. Jesus often encouraged those who had ears to hear His message. What He meant was that those with spiritual ears should listen. Every Christian can learn from what Christ said. Everyone who desires to come to God can learn from the words of Christ. Those who are stubborn, proud or refuse to accept what God says have closed their ears and cannot hear the message of life.

Jesus refers to the one who wins the victory. In God's eyes, the victorious ones are those who have trusted in Jesus as their Saviour. They may suffer defeats in this life but the final victory is theirs because Jesus has won victory over death, hell, Satan and the grave. First John chapter five verse four tells us that our faith is the victory that overcomes the world.

Those who have victory in Christ cannot be hurt by the second death. The second death is eternal separation from God. Instead of the second death, the Christian has eternal fellowship with God and eternal peace, joy and happiness.

Some believe that the letter to the Church at Smyrna prophetically describes the period from about 150 AD to 316 AD. This was the time of great persecution by the Roman government. The Roman Emperors sought to completely destroy the Christian Faith. Thousands of Christians died.

Until about 250 AD, this persecution was localized. In some cities, Christians suffered little while in others many died. During the reign of Emperor Decius, persecution of Christians became Roman policy. They were accused of establishing a state within the state because their allegiance was to Christ not to the Emperor.

As a result of this increased persecution, many who had claimed to be Christian forsook the Faith rather than face death. The words of Jesus to the Church at Smyrna calling them to remain faithful does fit this period of Church History. To this period belong groups such as the Montanists in Asia Minor, the Novatians in Italy and the Donatists in North Africa.

There are two important lessons from this letter for us.

First, if you are not a Christian, you do not have riches in heaven. If a person is not trusting Christ and Him alone for his eternal hope, he does not have victory. If a person has never asked Jesus to be his Saviour, he is headed for the second death.

If you want to know more about Christianity, or have questions regarding becoming a Christian, you can post a comment on this post, or visit http://www.billygraham.org/SpiritualHelp_Index.asp. This is the website for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

The second lesson is for Christians. You may be going through a difficult time. You may be suffering for your Christian Faith. Jesus wants to encourage you.

Do not be afraid. Hold on to your faith. You have a reward in heaven and a crown of life waiting for you in heaven. Trust Jesus and obey Him no matter what the cost.

Christ's Comments About the Church at Smyrna

"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. 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." (Revelation 2:9,10 - King James Version)

Jesus begins this letter by stating that He knows what is going on in Smyra. Jesus assures this church that He is aware of their suffering. It has not gone unnoticed by Him. He is with them.

Jesus says that they are poor. The Greek word translated “poor” means “possessing absolutely nothing.” Smyrna was a center for the Roman Imperial Cult. The people worshiped Caesar as God. Refusal to acknowledge Caesar as a god could result in exclusion from the powerful guilds, which controlled the trades in the city. Unemployment and poverty would result for most Christians. Physically they had nothing.

Jesus goes on to say that they are rich! What He means is that they had great spiritual riches. They had no earthly treasure but they were storing up a huge treasure in heaven, an eternal reward for their faithful stand under persecution.

This church was also suffering as a result of slander. We are told that people were saying bad things about these Christians. They, like Jesus, were probably being falsely accused of being rebels against Rome. Their refusal to worship Caesar would be used as evidence to support this.

Those spreading these accusations were Jewish. They did not worship Caesar, but their religion had his approval. Often in the New Testament, we find Jewish people leading out in persecution against Christianity. In 196 AD, the Jews in this same city of Smyrna were among those who demanded the death of Polycarp, a highly respected Christian leader of his time.

Jesus says that these people are not true Jews. They were of Jewish descent, but for at least two reasons they were not worthy of the name.

First, their hatred and persecution of Christians was contrary to the spirit of the Old Testament. Under the Old Testament law, foreigners living in Israel had equal civil rights to the Israelites. There were certain laws they were required to keep if they lived in Israel.

However, no where in the Old Testament were the Jews commanded to attack those living in other lands on religious grounds. I should mention that what has been said about Jews applies with even greater strength to those who claim to be Christians. Those who have persecuted others in the name of Christ are not true Christians. They are a Church of Satan.

The other reason why these Jews were not true Jews is that the New Testament says that the true children of Abraham are those who have placed their faith in Christ. They are spiritual Jews not physical, since they have accepted Jesus as the fulfillment of the Old Testament Messianic prophecies.

Jesus says that those doing the persecuting were a synagogue of Satan because they were serving Satan not God. This should not be taken as an attack on all Jewish people. It is applied to these individuals because they, like people of many different faiths have done, were using their religion as an excuse for wicked deeds.

In verse 10, Jesus encourages these suffering Christians of Smyrna. Jesus has no words of criticism for this church, only encouragement. Humanly speaking they had much to fear, however, Jesus tells them not to fear but rather to trust Him.

He warns them that the persecution they face will continue and even increase. Many of them faced the possibility of imprisonment and even death for their Faith.

This was a church that had many problems. Jesus did not promise to remove their difficulties. He did not promise that they would not suffer. He did not promise that they would be rich. He did not promise that they would die in peace and comfort.

Most of them would remain poor their entire lives. Many would suffer for Him. Some would even be tortured and brutally slain. The promise of Jesus was not an easy life bu a glorious resurrection.

Jesus Christ, Who defeated death, waits to give a crown of life to those who die for their faith in Him. All that He requires is that you remain faithful to Him and He will give you a great reward. What Jesus offers those who trust Him when they reach heaven makes any suffering in this life seem insignificant.