- Common characteristics
- Messages to churches; last audible message of Christ in the scriptures
- The message is to the visible church (as opposed to the invisible church, which would be all believers)
- Visible church is the local body or local church manifestation
- Church is made up of believers and unbelievers (in differing percentages)
- Sitting in a church does not make you a believer
- Example of Derwood Elder
- Invisible church has only believers
- Tone
- Jesus has something negative to say to 5 of the 7 (2 have nothing negative)
- Jesus has something good to say to 6
- One church, the 7th church has nothing good to say about it
- Four common things in all 7 letters
- Description of the Messiah
- Every letter contains the words "I know" -- God is not unaware
- Every letter has the phrase "he that overcomes" -- promise
- Every letter has the phrase "he who has an ear, let him hear" -- obedience
- Interpretation
- They are clearly 7 real churches (LITERAL)
- All 7 church types have existed throughout history (UNIVERSAL)
- [Controversial] "The historical-prophetic interpretation" -- while all types of churches always exist, one type dominates a particular era of church history (PROPHETIC)
- Letter outline
- Destination
- Description of Jesus
- Commendation
- Condemnation
- Exhortation
- Promise
- Angel
- Definition: literal angels (do concordance search in LOGOS)
- 79 results in 75 verses
- Notice Greek words
- Notice assumption: Greek word is not always present but assumed in the context
- Some think they are messengers or pastors (it is possible, but does not fit the context well. I think the author would have used a different word)
- Why the picture or image of a star?
- Over us
- Doesn't change
- Marker in the sky (helpful) -- Hebrews: ministering angels to serve the church
- Church
- Why seven? Completeness
- We are all part of the one church: universal church
- Seven churches are the local representation of the church
- Seven lamps on a lampstand remind us of the menorah
- Menorah was in the tabernacle
- Light to the nations
- Responsibility of the light to the nation is now the church's (we are salt and light)
- Seven churches of Revelation
- All scholars seem to agree on 2 propositions; the third is questioned by some
- They were real churches
- All the church types have existed throughout church history
- One particular type of church dominates an era
- Timeline (Fruchtenbaum, 2003)
- Ephesus, AD 30-100, Apostolic Church
- Smyrna, AD 100-313, Persecuted Church
- Pergamum, AD 313-600, Married Church, Age of Constantine
- Thyatira, 600-1517, Dark ages
- Sardis, 1517-1648, Reformation Church
- Philadelphia, 1648-1900, Missionary movement
- Laodicea, 1900-present, Apostasy
- Destination is Ephesus. What might be significant about Ephesus in context with the whole book?
- Meaning of the name: Desired or desirable (Fruchtenbaum)
- Important port city. Very wealthy and prosperous. At its peak in the first and second centuries
- Lots of sailors
- Largest city in Roman Asia
- Many temples in the city
- Sexuality was common in pagan worship
- Largest number of believers in the first century -- probably the most important Christian center by the end of the first century
- Commercial center status changes as the harbor and river is silted up
- Goths destroyed city in 263 AD. Earthquake destroyed it again in 614 AD. There is no church in Ephesus today
- Early church writers suggest that John was ministering at Ephesus prior to and after his imprisonment. Timothy ministered here, as did Paul
- What is the point of the description of Jesus?
- It comes from 1:13, 16, 20
- It points to Jesus overall authority and control over all the churches (and under the historical-prophetic, over all the church age)
- In other words, "I can fire you"
- God can remove a church (its lampstand)
- What do we learn about the church from the commendations?
- Deeds -- actually doing things; not just playing church
- Hard work (NIV); toil (ESV) - (Grk kopos: literally a cut, translated toil or pain)
- 1/2 Timothy, there is an issue of false teachers, so possibly the commendation is related to dealing with that issue
- They did "hard" work. Whatever the problems or issues, it wasn't easy. Sometimes there is this false thinking that everything in the Christian life has to be easy because we have to "let go and let God." But here, the needed to put effort into their service
- Perseverance (NIV); patient endurance (ESV)
- What are the conditions that require perseverance? Things don't work the first time; change happens slowly; there doesn't seem to be any effect
- Very pagan city with a lot of immorality
- The Ephesians didn't give up even when things did not go right the first time ("they were blessed")
- Related to perseverance is the phrase (you cannot bear with those who are evil). What is Jesus saying?
- They didn't compromise
- I believe they hated the sin, but I am not saying they hated the sinners
- They have tested those who claim to be apostles, and found them to be false
- How do we discover false teaching today? We compare it against the word of God
- Acts 20, Paul warns them of false teachers
- Timothy is also warned of false teachers (1 Tim 1:19,20; 2Tim 2:17-18; 2 Tim 4:3-4)
- How does false teaching slip into a church?
- If we don't know the word, we are susceptible to error
- We fall for Gnosticism (idea of secret teachings)
- APPLICATION: Highly recommend a daily reading program (both Youversion and DailyBible apps have really improved their daily reading programs). Also recommend a regular QT (5-10 minutes a day of a short devotion)
- They haven't grown weary. How do we see that today or maybe the opposite?
- Nowadays, lots of young adult believers have grown weary of the faith
- It's not your parent's faith, make it your own
- #1 suggestion: don't give up meeting together with other believers (Heb 10:24, 25)
- The verse in Hebrews is written to second generation believers who were having their doubts
- They were thinking of going back to Judaism
- We need fellowship to encourage us and give us strength
- (verse 2:6) Hate the work of the Nicolaitans
- There is no record or mention of this group in church history, so we need to imply the meaning from the word itself (three lines of thinking …)
- Nicolaitans: Greek means victor or destroyer of people. Fruchtenbaum suggest "rule over the people." In this sense the word could mean an attempt to separate the church into clergy and laity, where the clergy exercise leadership over the laity
- Elders do have authority to lead the church but they are subject to the local church. This would appear to go much farther
- Issue is not authority. The issue is the idea of gaining higher status and people come to clergy to go to God (UNBIBLICAL)
- Also, there is some suggestion that they were compromisers. They would fit pagan practices into biblical understandings in order to create peace. They took Paul's teach on "meat sacrificed to idols" to an extreme (to include sexual immorality)
- Finally, there is some literature suggesting they were Gnostics, believing in secret teachings not revealed in the bible
- What do we learn from the condemnation?
- They had lost their first love. What is the first love?
- Love for God
- Love for his word
- Two thoughts
- This is probably the second generation of believers and they don't have the same zeal and fervor as the first generation (this is very similar to the book of Hebrews)
- Wealth has pushed God to the side. This was a very rich city
- What is the solution?
- Repent
- Return
- Take action -- do the things you did at first (I believe this starts with a love for the word of God)
- What about the consequence of not returning, can you lose your salvation? What is Jesus saying?
- First of all, you can never lose your salvation for that would violate other scripture (remember our hermeneutic, scripture interprets scripture)
- Secondly, the warning is to remove the lampstand from its place. What is the lampstand and how does that help us to understand the meaning?
- It is the church. The light represents the witness
- Failure to respond will be the removal of the local body as a light in the community
- This church was removed. It does not exist today
- The promise in this letter is specific to the individuals. What does it mean "to eat from the tree of life?"
- What is eating associated with? Fellowship protects a person from losing their joy
- Who is the tree of life? Jesus
- There the promise is deeper fellowship with Jesus to the person who overcomes. Fruchtenbaum suggest participation in the future order (reward)
- For the purpose of the historical-prophetic interpretation, Ephesus is the "The Apostolic Church" and covers the period of AD 30-100
Rev
2:1-7 (ESV) "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.
2
"'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. 3 I know you are enduring patiently and
bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have
abandoned the love you had at first. 5
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. 6 Yet this
you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 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.'
2 Timothy 2:16–18 (ESV) — 16 But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, 17 and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18 who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some.
2 Timothy 4:3–5 (ESV) — 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
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