03.08. Divided Into Three and Four
Divided Into Three and Four
We should notice that in the messages to the first three churches the call to the hearing ear precedes the promise to the overcomer which is the last word. Thus we have the seven messages divided into two groups of three and four, a division that is often found in the Word of God. The parables of Matthew 13:1-58 and the seven trumpets and seven vial judgments of Revelation are examples of such division. The conditions found in the first three churches do not continue on to the end of the Church’s history, whereas the conditions manifest in the last four churches do. The Ephesus period passed into the Smyrna condition of persecution when the whole Church suffered cruel oppression and sometimes death for the Lord. When the period of persecution stopped, the Smyrna condition ended and the Pergamos period of the Church and the State united began. The Church joined hands with the pagan world, and out of this condition the Thyatira state and system of Romanism emerged.
Thus the conditions described in Ephesus, Smyrna and Pergamos have passed away, while that set forth in Thyatira has continued to this day and will to the end. So also has the condition of Sardis (Protestantism) continued on to this moment. And we believe that at least something of the moral conditions of Philadelphia have continued in an individual way and will till the Lord comes for His true Church. Then we have the last stage or condition of Laodicea, which goes on to the very end. In the first three churches the call to the hearing ear is addressed to the whole Church, but in Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea the overcomer is addressed first, which means there is a remnant of true believers that overcomes. Then follows the exhortation to hear what the Spirit says to the churches. This marks out the position of the remnant in these last four churches as being separate from the general body of the church. The call to hear is especially addressed to the overcomers, for only they will hear the voice of the Lord by His Spirit.
Beginning with Thyatira there is no hope of the recovery of the whole church. The condition of apostasy is irreparable, so a remnant is recognized and the Lord’s coming introduced as the only hope (Revelation 2:21; Revelation 2:24-25).
Having had before us these general observations on the messages to the seven Churches, we are now ready for a detailed study of each communication.