07.06. The Letters to the Churches (2:1-3:22)

The Letters to the Churches (Rev 2:1-29, Rev 3:1-22)

This section describes what John saw and heard regarding the seven churches of Asia.

Ephesus The Ephesian church was commended for their deeds and perseverance. They were also praised for staying doctrinally pure by testing false apostles and not willing for evil to be present. They rejected the teaching and deeds of the Nicolaitans. They were reprimanded for having left their “first love”. They are called to “repent and do what they did at first”. Their “first love” would refer to their love for God. The deeds would be the outworking of this love. John writes about this principle in John 13:35, 1Jn 3:17-18 and 1Jn 4:20. Luke, in Acts 4:32-35 also describes how loving God worked itself out through the generosity shown by the believers.

Smyrna

First, Jesus re-affirms his deity. He then affirms their tribulation and poverty and lets them know that they are about to suffer, that they will be tested and have tribulation for a time. Jesus encourages them to be faithful until death and they will receive the crown of life.

Pergamum

Jesus acknowledges that they live where “Satan’s throne” is and that they did not deny their faith even when one of them was martyred. They were reproved for tolerating those that committed sexual immorality and sacrificed to idols. They also had some who followed the teaching of the Nicolaitans. They are commanded to repent. Tolerance of evil within the church leads to reproof by Jesus here and in Thyatira.

Thyatira This church is commended for their deeds, love, faith, service, and perseverance. They are reproved for tolerating Jezebel, who proclaimed to be a prophetess and was deceiving and teaching sexual immorality and eating things sacrificed to idols. Regarding the “deep things of Satan, as they call them” John MacArthur writes: This pre-Gnostic teaching said that one was free to engage the sphere of Satan and participate in sins of the body without harming the spirit. Since the spirit belongs to God, their twisted logic went, what does it matter if the body attends idolatrous feasts and engages in sexual immorality? They imagined themselves to be free to explore the satanic sphere and then brazenly come to worship God.ⁱⁱⁱ Leon Morris concurs with this in his commentary.

They did not hesitate to engage in grossly sensual practices, maintaining that these concerned only their bodies but that their souls were pure. It could well be that we have here an early representative of this kind of teaching.^iv

Sardis This church had a reputation of being alive, yet was dead. The only commendation is that there are a few who are still upright. The church is called to repent.

Philadelphia This church is commended for their deeds, having kept the word of Jesus, and not denying Jesus. This church is promised that they will be kept from the “hour of testing” that is coming on the whole world. Many commentators take this promise to have a wider, secondary application in that the true believers will be raptured prior to the tribulation.

Laodicea This church is rebuked for being lukewarm. They had an attitude of self-sufficiency and smugness.