Rev 1:9-20 theme verse Rev 1:17-18
The praise and honor and glory be to our heavenly Father who seeks true worshipers who worship Him with the Spirit and truth.
In this twenty fifth Sunday after the Pentecost, I pray that His grace of the application of all the benefits which Jesus earned for our salvation and also the glorious ministry of the proclamation of His kingdom by the power of the Holy Spirit may be full in our life. Last week, through the first Epistle of John, lastly among general epistles, after looking at how the early church could defeat the attack of Gnosticism, we who are facing up with the temptation of the end era, decided to live the life of righteousness and love through the union with Christ for the glory of God the Father. This week we would like to check where we stand as looking at the messages of Christ to seven churches of Asia Minor in the Book of Revelation together.
1) The Book of Revelation was written by the Apostle John. After the Pentecost, he did missionary work with Peter in Jerusalem and Samaria. According to church tradition, it is said that in AD 44, he fled to Asia Minor to escape the persecution of Herod Agrippa I, where he led the seven churches in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea and then in the end of the first century, the Johannes communities became to grow with various races. And then as Domitian who became the Roman Emperor in AD 90 and began persecuting Christians since they did not bow down to the emperor, Clement who was the father of Roman church was martyred and the Apostle John was captured in AD 95 and exiled to the island of Patmos, where religious and political prisoners were exiled at that time. At that time, he wrote the Book of Revelation there to encourage the believers of the seven churches he was caring for to make them to have a hope even in the midst of tribulation, and to live in the end era, washing their scrolls and waiting for the Lord’s second coming. The themes of this Book of Revelation are; a) Since God is the sovereign Lord of history, B) and also Jesus is victorious over Satan and the world already, c) when the world, typified by Babylon and two beasts are opposed to God’s people, the Saints were encouraged to overcome them by relying on Sovereign God and His Son, victorious Jesus Christ to receive eternal rewards in the new heaven and new earth.
2) Looking at each message which was given to seven churches, first, to the church in Ephesus where “star-like” leaders such as Paul, Timothy, and the Apostle John ministered, after John first introduced the Lord as the One who holds seven stars which represent his ministers in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands which represents his churches, so that the Lord is the One who governs his ministers, the church, and the ministry, he said Jesus knew they worked hard and endured. Here, since the Greek word κόπος (kopos) translated as “work” means “excessive fatigue or exhaustion due to work, etc,” and also the Greek word “ὑπομονή (hypomonē)” translated as “endurance” means “endurance in trials,” so Jesus said they sacrificed themself until the exhaustion and endured steadfastly in trials. Also, as Paul warned the Ephesian elders in Acts 20:28-31 about the false teachers from outside and even from within the church, and also as John instructed to test the spirits in 1 John 4:1-6, it is said Jesus said they carefully examined whether the traveling ministers were genuine or not, guarding themselves from false teachings, while hating the actions of the Nicolaitans. Here the Greek word Nicolaitans has the meaning of “subduing the people,” so some scholars infer that these people are church leaders who were authoritative to try to rule over the church members so that the church discerned these arrogant leaders and protected themselves. However, John said that the Lord rebuked them for forgetting their first love. Through this we can know that not only what and how to do for the Lord is important, but also why we do it also is important. Therefore, John said the Lord told the church in Ephesus to recover their first love, confess their sins and repent, and then restore their fellowship with the Lord, that is, prayer, Bible reading, meditation, obedient service, and worship. I pray that all of us here will not lose our love for the Lord and our zeal while standing firm in the truth.
3) Secondly, we would like to look at the Lord’s message to the church in Smyrna. The city of Smyrna was founded around 1100 BC, yet was destroyed by the Kingdom of Lydia around 600 BC and was left in ruins for more than 300 years. And then, around 290 BC, after Alexander the Great conquered Asia Minor, he rebuilt the city in this place because of its optimal port, warm climate, and beautiful scenery. After that, Smyrna became a center of trade and commerce, and even after it was conquered by Rome, it was further developed as a resort for Roman aristocrats. So as the Roman aristocrats had a huge influence on the city's economy, Smyrna was passionate about worshiping the Roman emperor. And also many Jews who lived here and held commerce, in order to gain approval for Judaism from Roman empire, used Christianity as a scapegoat so that they expelled Christians who believed in Jesus from the merchant guild, calling them “traitors to the emperor,” with constant persecution of the church. So eventually, due to the instigation of the Jews, Roman empire severely persecuted the Christians of Smyrna so that Polycarp, a disciple of the Apostle John and successor to John as the pastor of the church in Smyrna in 115 AD, was martyred by being burnt at stake, since he responded to the Roman governor who was encouraging apostasy, that “During 86 years of my life, the Lord has never wronged me even once. How can I deny Him?” and also many other church leaders were brutally executed. So after the Lord who introduced Himself as the One who died and rose again identified Himself with those who were suffering, He said that He knew their faithfulness to Him, calling them rich, even though in the center of Roman emperor worship, they were martyred in a cruel manner because they did not confess the Roman emperor as their Lord, and were excluded from the guild and had to live a life of poverty, and exhorted them not to be afraid in the face of suffering, because the Lord knows the devil's plan and also controls all situation and gave them a promise of the crown of life if they were faithful to the end. As such, it costs a lot to become a true Christian who is faithful and devoted to the Lord, especially even though in the end era when the tribulation and persecution will increase, I believe that God's people should become faithful to the end, not to fear in the face of suffering, to be truely rich in the eyes of God.
4) Thirdly the church in Pergamum was the northernmost of the seven churches. Pergamum was a natural fortress city built on a rugged mountain 390m high. It was built by Lysimachus during the Diadochi period after the death of Alexander the Great and became the capital of the Asia Minor during the Roman era and was the second largest in size after Alexandria, and a medical facility called the ‘Asclepius’ where the Roman emperor visited for treatment, even with a library with about 200,000 books. In addition, in this city, there were temple of the first Roman emperor, Augustus, and the temples of Emperors Hadrian and Trajan, as well as 12 m high altar of Zeus, with temples of various Greek gods, and even an altar to the ‘Unknown God’, and the oldest of which was the temple of the Egyptian god Serapis, sot the Lord said it was the place where Satan’s throne was and even where Satan resided. In the midst of all this spiritual situation, Antipas, the bishop of the church in Pergamum, refused to say “Caesar is the Lord” and was eventually martyred by being burned in a brass bull. However, even their minister bravely stood up to persecution and were martyred, among them, there were some who caused them to sin to bow down to the Roman temple, following the teachings of the Nicolaitans and of Balaam who refers to the prophet Balaam in Numbers 22-25 who sold his gifts to make money and ended up making the Jews bow down to pagan altars and commit fornication so that eventually 24,000 people died. Therefore, the Lord told them to repent, and if they did not, He would judge them with a sharp sword, that is, the word of the Lord. However, those who overcome will be given spiritual manna, the bread of the word and a white stone as at that time, the judge put a white stone in a bowl when declaring a person innocent at the time, or this white stone was used as a ‘ticket’ to enter the banquet, so that they would be justified and participate in the feast of Christ on the last day. I pray that we who are here will not be tempted to compromise with the world to achieve worldly success, by falling into Satan's trick of "If we cannot overcome the saints, join them", rather we may remain faithful to the Lord as pure brides engaged to Christ.
5) Fourthly, the church in Thyatira was the smallest city, but the Lord sent the longest message. Thyatira was a military city and a commercial center with many guilds so idolatry and immorality were rampant there. And in particular there was a temple to Apollo, the “god of sun.” So after the Lord introduced himself as the “Son of God,” Jesus recognized their sacrificial ministry based on love, faith, service, and patience. However, no matter how much they loved the Lord and served sacrificially and patiently, it is said that they tolerated Jezebel, the queen who tempted the Israelites to add Baal worship to the religious rites of Israel. As such, in Thyatira, there was a woman who called herself a prophetess and taught the believers how to compromise Christianity with the Roman religion and the customs of the guilds, so that the Christians there would not lose their jobs or lives so that the Lord rebuked the believers who fell for this compromising temptation to repent and hold what they have, however, those who do not repent and follow Jezebel would eventually be sentenced to death. And also while exhorting them to firmly resist evil, He promised to those who hold on to the word of the Lord to give authority to rule over the nations and the morning star. In this way, we must avoid other extreme like the church of Thyatira, who loved, served the Lord, and kept their faith, but compromised with the world and was tolerant of false doctrines, rather maintain the biblical balance of keeping the truth and the ministry with love.
6) And fifth, Sardis was the capital of the Lydian kingdom established around 1200 BC and had a strong military force, abundant gold and silver, and also prospered as a center of trade as it located in the ‘King’s Highway’ connecting Africa, Asia, and Europe. Although the Lydian kingdom was destroyed during the reign of Cyrus II of New Babylon, it still prospered commercially and enjoyed prosperity until the New Testament era. So, as a result, there was a Jewish community with a long history and a huge synagogue that was over 100 meters long. Due to such prosperous situation, the Sardis church was also a large church with the largest chapel in Asia among the early churches, after being established by the Apostle Paul and nurtured by the Apostle John. However, unlike other early churches at the time, since there was no major conflict with the Jews in the Jewish synagogue, and perhaps because of this, the Romans and Greeks did not persecute the Christians in Sardis, the Sardis church could enjoy peace and comfort, but spiritually, it completely lost its vitality as a church fighting against the world, and eventually died. So, the Lord, who is the head of the church and leads the pastor and can give new life through the Holy Spirit to the dead church of Sardis said to wake up and repent and follow the remnants who were dressed in white, not to worship idols, and to keep and obey the word of the Lord and promised that those who overcome will wear in white like them. In this way, we must always check whether we are slowly dying in comfort, and we must hold on the Lord together with those who are dressed in white, whom the Lord has left in His church.
7) And sixthly, the city of Philadelphia, where the Philadelphia Church is located, was developed by Attalus II Philadelphia, who ruled the Pergamum region around 150 AD, for his younger brother as Philadelphia means ‘brotherly love.’ With its fertile land and commercial location, it grew in a short period of time and became a large city in Asia Minor and the Jewish community exerted strong influence based on the merchant guild. However, Philadelphia had a fatal problem of frequent earthquakes, so in AD 17 and AD 23, two large earthquakes occurred and the city was devastated, so that the city gradually declined due to continued aftershocks. However, when Emperor Tiberius reduced Philadelphia’s taxes, the citizens built a temple to worship the emperor. In addition, the Jewish guilds not only refused to give Christians to work and prohibited them from entering the synagogue, but also accused the Christians being traitors to the Roman Empire, so the Philadelphia Church was persecuted while being very weak. However the Lord told the Philadelphian believers that the Jewish gathering was the “synagogue of Satan” and that some of them would bow down at the feet of the Philadelphia church and gave them the blessing of the open door so even though they were driven out of the Jewish synagogue, the door of ministry and the door of heaven were wide open to them, and that if they held on to the crown they had already received and conquered, He promised that they would become pillars of the temple. In this way, although the Philadelphian church were a small church and poor due to the persecution of the Jews, considering these situations and difficulties as opportunities for ministry, as they faithfully took on the ministries given to them, we too must hold on to the Lord who controls all situations and carries out His will in any situation and overcome the given spiritual battle.
8) And finally, Laodicea, where the Laodicea Church is located, was a city built by King Antiochus II of Syria in the mid-200s BC, named after his wife Laodice. Since it was located on the Silk Road, business and banking flourished, and also because of the fertile land, livestock farming and agriculture developed, so that the glossy black wool fabric of this place was famous and the church was the most prosperous and wealthy among the seven churches. But to Laodicea, water was lacking so they brought the hot spring water from Hieropolis and the cold water from the melting snow of Colossae through aqueducts, but this water became lukewarm while coming through the aqueducts. And on top of that, it was mixed with lime, making it thick and nauseating so Laodicea, which had bad water, had many eye and ear diseases, so they invested a huge amount of money to develop eye drops and medicine for ear diseases, and even established a medical school there so that the eye drops here were particularly famous. So the people of Laodicea boasted that they lacked nothing. And there is no record of conflict between the Jews and Christians, perhaps because they were all immersed in material abundance. However, the Lord, who is the Amen, the Truth and the True Witness, likened this church to their water, saying, “You are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold,” and rebuked their lukewarm faith that was just “good for good,” neither any passion and devotion to the Lord, nor any cold discernment for the truth so that He said, “I will vomit you out of my mouth.” However, because of their wealth, the special eye salve they had developed, and the famous shiny black woolen cloth, they did not even accept the Lord’s rebuke, so the Lord told them to buy spiritual gold, wear white clothes to cover their shame, and apply spiritual eye salve to their eyes so that they could see. And also He told them, “I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me,” and promised that he would let the one who overcomes sit on the Lord’s throne with him. Through this church in Laodicea, we can know that the most fearful enemy of our churches today, who are materially, technologically, and rationally more developed than ever before and who live in a modern age without worldly persecution or oppression, is lukewarmness and spiritual ignorance. I believe that we all must become those who are spiritually rich with the passion for the Lord and cold discernment of the truth.
9) As we have seen so far, through the Lord’s messages to the seven churches, we can also see that these dangers exist for us 2000 years later. I mean, we may be like the church in Ephesus, working hard and maintaining the orthodoxy of the church, yet losing our first love for Christ. Or like the church in Thyatira, we may maintain our love and devotion to the Lord, yet lack the discernment necessary to maintain the purity of the church, and compromise with the world. Or like the church in Pergamum, we may be too tolerant to the evil or the world, to grieve the Holy Spirit. And like the church in Sardis, we may slowly die in comfort. Or like the church in Raodicea, we may rely on material wealth and external growth, and make the Lord, who is knocking on the door, wait outside. Or we may ignore the church who keep their faith even in tribulation and poverty like the church in Smyrna or underestimate the church who are faithful even in small abilities, like the church in Philadelphia. As such I believe that the messages to the seven churches in the Book of Revelation are actually spiritual thermometer given to us to help us check our spirituality and lives and ministries. Judgment will certainly come to this world. And that judgment begins first in the house of God. Therefore, after realizing that the Lord is the One who can accurately see into the depths of our human hearts and the current state of the church as He introduced Himself to each church, we have to pray for the discernment that the Lord gives us so that we do not judge God’s people by our wrong standards and so that we can be established as a balanced church. That’s why the Lord said, “whoever has ears, let them hear what the Holy Spirit says to the church.” I hope we all may wake up and listen to the words the Holy Spirit gives us and obey them, to overcome this last age while enjoying the eternal richness that our Lord gives us, while anchoring on Jesus Christ, the unshakable rock, and balancing love and truth, and enduring tribulation and temptation.
Key Questions as Small Group Activity
Q While hearing the Lord’s messages to seven church, if there are any messages which comforts or prick you, after thinking what/why was that, I hope we could share our thought and experience with our team members together to learn from each other.
Love you. Thank you. God bless you.
Prayer Note
Dear ( God’s attribute which you found Today ) God!
Thanks for ( something you received through the sermon or even during the week )
Praise, gratitude and glory be to You, Lord!
Today, I realized my sin (pains) that ( the sin God reminded through the sermon ),
please forgive (or heal) me and help me not to repeat ( the sins you recognized ).
I learned that ( something you learned through the sermon )
Please help me to live in that ( learned way of life )
I pray in ( Jesus’ attribute you find ) Jesus’ name. Amen.
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