Letter to the Seven Churches–Laodicea

Outline: Seven Churches – Laodicea
Passage: Revelation 3:14-22
Discussion audio (1 hour 36 minutes)

This seventh letter concludes the series of letters found at the beginning of Revelation. Towards the beginning it was noted that Revelation may be seen as a work of dramatic theater. With the seven letters the main characters of this drama are introduced, the broad outlines of the major conflict are defined, and the earth-side setting is laid out. We know that truth will overcome, but the question remains, how? The remainder of Revelation dramatizes how the conflict between good and evil, truth and lies, and the church and the world will play out.

This seventh letter to Laodicea contains more echoes of earlier letters than any other letter. As such, it seems to be a fitting conclusion and summary of the series of seven letters. The letters began (in the prelude to the letters) with a throne room scene in the heavenly temple. The letters end back with an image of the temple (Philadelphia, #6) and the throne (Laodicea, #7).

For those belonging to certain Christian traditions, this letter to Laodicea is one in which long-standing traditions and interpretations must be set aside, at least for a little while, in order to hear what the letter is and isn’t saying. It must be read and interpreted foremost in the context of this first Act and Scene of the Revelation drama.

Letter to the Seven Churches–Sardis

Outline: Seven Churches – Sardis
Passage: Revelation 3:1-6
Discussion audio (1 hour 26 minutes)

We turn the corner on the series of letters. This is letter number 4 – now past the midway point in the series. Like its chiastic counterpart, letter number 3 to the church in Pergamum, this letter is addressed to a church that is going through severe problems – the letter contains no commendations; only warnings and exhortations.

On the outside the church in Sardis appears to be vibrant and healthy; but Jesus, who knows all, sees otherwise – it is dead. Although we cannot know for certain precisely the manner, the church in Sardis has managed to find a way to avoid all tribulation and persecution that should have been expected for a Christian church at that time and place. Therein lies the problem: in avoiding persecution, the church has managed to compromise its faithfulness to Jesus. It has wandered away from the true source of Spirit and Life, seeking security and stability in the practices of the world.

The precise type of temptations we face today, in regards to accommodating worldly practices, differ from that faced by the church in Sardis. But we can apply the general principle found in this letter: anything that leads us to depend on the security offered by the world above that offered in Jesus is faithlessness; i.e., sin. No matter how “religious” we may appear, even to ourselves, if we are not depending upon Jesus completely in every part of our lives, we do not have the Spirit and Life – we are dead.

The good news is Jesus does not give up on anyone, even those that may be “dead.” He has the power to resurrect and bring to life even those that have died, if they choose to respond to his breath of life. The church at Sardis was spiritually dead, but Jesus did not give up on it. He sent this letter to “wake them up” so that they might choose to receive the Spirit Jesus wanted them to have.

Letter to the Seven Churches–Thyatira

Outline: Seven Churches – Thyatira
Passage: Revelation 2:18-29
Discussion audio (1 hour)

Yesterday, we discussed the fourth of the seven letters in Revelation, the letter to Thyatira. It is the middle letter and the longest of the seven letters. As was noted in earlier sessions, we are interpreting these letters according to a chiastic structure that places this letter as possibly the most important and key to all of the letters.

One of the most distinguishing features of this particular letter is that there really isn’t anything new that is introduced. It borrows words, phrases, and imagery from the first three letters. It is as if all of the good and bad characteristics of the first three churches are all found in this fourth church, Thyatira. The church itself appears to be sharply divided between those who have been led astray vs. those who remain faithful. This letter contains words that, more strongly than in others, indicate that this letter is to be read and heeded by the other churches. All the preceding characteristics make perfect sense if we see this fourth letter as central to the seven and see it as the key to the whole series.

There are some indications that imply this letter is also a concise summary of the book of Revelation itself. The imagery of Jezebel and all the Old Testament allusions it brings up parallels much of what can be seen in Babylon that follows later in the book. The confrontation of Elijah with Jezebel (through her “prophets”) on Mt. Carmel may be a pattern that John had in mind when he wrote Revelation. If this is the case, the theme of Revelation is not principally about end-times or even history, but rather about the conflict that God’s people have always had with those who belong to Satan, and about the confidence that God’s people can have in God’s faithfulness to them.

Letter to the Seven Churches–Pergamum

Outline: Seven Churches – Pergamum
Passage: Revelation 2:12-17
Discussion audio (1 hour)

We continue in our journey through the first act of Revelation – the seven letters. This one is to the church in Pergamum which appears to be having some serious problems in its faithfulness to Jesus. The imagery presented in this letter seems rather violent and threatening.

The main point of discussion is how to reconcile what appears to be contradictory teachings given by Paul and John in regards to eating food offered to idols. We took some time discussing the difference between morality and ethics and how scripture seems to point to God’s judgment being based on ethics rather than on morality.

This letter contains additional imagery and symbolic language that we covered:

• The sword coming out of Jesus’ mouth and the nature of the war this entails
• The relevance of “hidden manna”
• The relevance of the “white stone”
• The interpretation of “a new name”

Letter to the Seven Churches–Smyrna

Outline: Seven Churches – Smyrna
Passage: Revelation 2:8-11
Discussion audio (54 minutes)

Smyrna, the second of the seven churches of Revelation, is undergoing a time of tribulation. Tribulation is one of the motifs found in Revelation and although it is frequently interpreted as severe persecution and natural disaster occurring right before the end, for John in this particular letter anyway, tribulation is about the present and ongoing pressure to conform and be acceptable to the world.

This letter is one of two (the other being the letter to Philadelphia) that contains no warnings from Jesus. It contains only an exhortation to “fear not” and “remain faithful unto death.” The promise is a “crown of life,” a symbol of victory.

The key to the interpretation of this letter is the cryptic phrase, “ten days.” It is the only obvious allusion back to the Old Testament and it is a reference to the ten days of testing requested by Daniel (Daniel 1). Daniel’s situation was the pressure to conform and accommodate to the worship of the gods of Babylon. The church in Smyrna is to see herself as experiencing a situation similar to that of Daniel in Babylon. Just as Daniel was able to remain faithful and was rewarded accordingly by the God of Israel, the church in Smyrna is exhorted to remain faithful to Jesus and whether or not individual Christians live or die physically, their reward of eternal life is already secure in Jesus.

This letter is yet another message of hope and promise: Jesus identifies with his church and walks with them through their tribulations and tests. There is no need to fear because Jesus has already conquered and the promise of victory is sure.

Letter to the Seven Churches–Ephesus

Outline: Seven Churches – Ephesus
Text: Revelation 2:1-7
Discussion audio (44 minutes)

The first scene of Revelation has been introduced and now the action begins. I feel that in the past, these seven letters were sometimes glossed over as not being terribly relevant for our times (except the one to Laodicea). As we will begin to see, each letter was meant to be read by every other church, and by extension is applicable in some way to us today.

We spent the first part of this session discussing the general format of each of the letters. By understanding the format it can help us discover what is important in each letter.

We also discussed the chiastic nature of the seven letters in that the main point of the series of letters is likely to be found in the middle letter (to Thyatira) rather than at the end (to Laodicea). Looking forward to future sessions we will be comparing the last three letters to the first three letters (in reverse order, respectively, to correspond with the chiastic nature). We will also look at the letters as a whole at the end of Act One.

The main issue with the church in Ephesus is its preoccupation with doctrinal purity at the expense of love. The exhortation to this church is to return to the middle where one has both discernment between truth and error while loving one another. It seems like a very relevant exhortation for churches today.

This letter once again emphasizes that Jesus is already here – is come – rather than is coming exclusively in the future. It is an important point for us to recognize because if we do not live with his presence today, there is no point in us looking for him to appear physically at some future day.

(I’ve begun recording our discussions. I’ve also gone back and recorded my side of the “discussions” for the first four sessions.)

Letter to the Seven Churches–Introduction

Outline: Seven Churches – Intro
Text: Revelation 1:9-20
Discussion audio (56 minutes)

We enter into John’s first vision as the scene is set for the letter to the seven churches of Asia. The imagery and allusions John employs find their basis in Jewish literature (Old Testament as well as intertestamental writings and traditions), Greco-Roman religious mythologies (the goddess Hekate, cosmology), and Greek literature (Greek drama form). John uses imagery and forms familiar to his audience in order to find common ground with as many as possible.

Perhaps the point John is attempting to communicate to his audience is that Jesus is the one, universal God that walked among his people, walks among them today, and will always walk among them, whatever troubles they may face and have to endure.