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EPHESUS

The Ephesian Church represents the Apostolic time period, which closed out around A.D. 100. God tells that he knew that they were right in shunning False Doctrine. He knew that they were diligent in their efforts, and would not quit. However something was wrong despite their zeal. They hadn’t “lost” their first love, but rather “left”. It refers to a departure from the Cross, and is so serious that it will lead the Church to ruin unless Repentance is forthcoming. They fell from Grace, which meant that they had stopped depending on Christ and the Cross. God was calling them to repent and go back to the Cross. The “Nicolaitanes” means “Laity-conquerors.” They are preachers who exploit the people instead of spiritually developing them, which all false doctrine does. The Lord hates this, and so should we.

SMYRNA

The church of Smyrna refers to the Martyr Church, with the time span being approximately from A.D. 100 to about A.D. 300.  We find out in this passage that Christ is the beginning of things referring to Creator, and the End of all things referring to His total and complete control.  Smyrna was poverty stricken outwardly, but the Lord proclaimed them spiritually rich; the Church at Laodicea claimed to be rich, but the Lord said they were poor.  We also learn in this section that God doesn’t consider Jews who reject Christ as truly Jewish.  He regards the worship of Christ rejecting Jews to be Satanic.  Verse 10 of chapter 2 is believed to represent the ten major persecutions Rome hurled at the Church of that day, spanning about 200 years.  Many paid with their lives.

PERGAMOS

Pergamos is referred to as the State Church, which laid the groundwork for the Catholic system; its timespan was approximately A.D. 300 to A.D. 500.  We see again the symbol of the Word of God here being a sharp 2 edge sword.  Verse 13 tells us that Satan had become part of this Church, but despite the terrible condition of this Church, some were holding fast to tChrist and were continuing to look to the Cross.  The persecution was coming from within the Church itself.  The Church of Pergamos was committing spiritual adultery, meaning they had shifted their Faith from the Cross to other things, with money being the underlying cause, which refers to the State Church. From verse 15 we find out that At Ephesus it was the “deeds of the Nicolaitanes” and now it’s the “doctrine”.  This refers to unscriptural Church Government, which grossly exploited the people.  The Spirit is saying that all Church Government must, without fail, be Scriptual.

THYATIRA

This Church is called the “Papal Church” signifying the beginning of Catholicism; it began about A.D. 500 and continues unto this hour.  Verse 18 presents Christ in the role of Judgment, as He must be concerning the Church going into idol worship.  Verse 19 reveals that some in this Church, as wrong as it was, continue to love the Lord; the Lord knew who they were.  “Works” are mentioned twice, with the last being in a negative sense, meaning they were depending on this instead of Christ and the Cross.  In verse 20 the Lord is speaking of spiritual fornication and adultry, which means they had forsaken Christ and the Cross for other things(Romans 7:1-4).  The Church did not heed the Message, and, in fact, continues in thier “Salvation by works” unto this day, which, of course, is a False Doctrine. Verse 22, the “bed” refers to false teachers who taught Salvation by works, which was spiritual adultry.  Again, there was a warning to repent.  One can look at the works of an individual and ascertain exactly where thier Faith is.  True works proclaim the Fruit of the Spirit.  Verse 26 is talking about “HIS works” and not “our works”; pure and simple, it is what Jesus did at the Cross on our behalf.

SARDIS

The Sardis Church is referred to as the “Reformation Church,” which began about A.D. 1500 and continues more or less unto this hour.  We see the Lord in this passage beginning with words of censure, i.e., “Dead spiritually.”  In verse 2 of chapter 3 we see this Church is exhorted to look into its real condition and they need to come back to the Cross, or they will lose their way completely.  Their works were based on a dead Faith, which always produces bad works.  We see that Judgement will come, but Sardis will not see or hear due to spiritual deafness and spiritual blindness.  Verse 4 tells us that the Lord always has a remnant.  Verse 5 proves to us that names CAN indeed be blotted out opposing the eternal security belief.  In the end here we see that The Spirit is saying that Righteousness cannot be obtained without Faith in a spotless Sacrifice.

PHILADELPHIA

The Church of Philadelphia is referred to as the Missionary Church, and had its beginning in about the year 1800, and continues unto this hour.  We find in verse 7 that Christ has total authority and in verse 8 the “open door” refers to the way being made for the Gospel to be sent to the entirety of the world.  The phrase “Little strength” is not an indication of spiritual infirmity, but of few in number.  However these few [speaking of those who truly know the Lord] have touched the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Verse 9 is telling us that God doesn’t recognize the spiritual claims of national Israel and continues to refer to the coming Kingdom Age, when Christ will rule Personally over the entirety of the Earth, with Israel restored.  Israel will then bow at the feet of Christ, Whom the Gentiles accepted.  Verse 10 affirms that the Church will be Ruptured out before the Great Tribulation.  Verse 11 warns us that the Devil will use religious men to try to move us away from our Faith in Christ and the Cross.  We find that the “over-comer” is the one who trusts explicitly in Christ and what He did for us at the Cross.  In the end here we have The Spirit saying we must be ready for the Rapture, which can only be done by Faith constantly exhibited in Christ and His Finished Work.

LAODICEA

This church is the “Apostate Church”; we do not know when it began, but we do know it has begun; it is the last Church adressed by Christ, so that means the Rapture will take place very shortly.  Verse 15 characterizes that which is prevalent at this present time; that half measures won’t do.  If a person is lukewarm towards something, it means he hasn’t rejected it, but at the same time he has by no means accepted it; in the Mind of God, a tepid response is equal to a negative response.  There is no prospect of Repentance in verse 16 on the part of this Church, or Restoration.  In fact, there is Divine rejection.  In verse 17 we see the Church equating the increase in material goods with spiritual Blessings, which they were not.  The tragedy lay in the fact that while this Church gloated over material wealth, she was unconscious of her spiritual peverty; again indicative of the modern Church!  Verse 18 tells us that what they needed to “buy” could not be purchased with money, but only with the precious Blood of Christ, which price has already been paid; but the modern Church is not interested.  We also find in this verse that true Righteousness in found exclusively in Christ, and is gained only by Faith in His Finished Work; this tells us that the Laodicean Church is extremely self-righteous; not having the Righteousness of Christ, they are “naked” to the Judgement of God.  Christ, having been rejected by the Church, now appeals to individuals, and is doing so presently.  In plain language, the Spirit is telling the church to WAKE UP and COME BACK TO THE CROSS!

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