Revelation 2:1-3.22

Book of Revelation, I’ll direct your attention to chapter 2 of the book, and I want to read the first seven verses. We’re going to be looking, Lord willing, at chapters 2 and 3 this morning of the book. Under the angel of the Church of Ephesus write, these things say, he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven goals, golden candlesticks. I know thy works, and thy labor and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them, which are evil, thou hast tried them, which they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars, and has borne, and has patience, for my name’s sake, hast labored, and hast not fainted. nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember, therefore, from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works, or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. But this thou hast, that thou hadest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He that hath an ear, let him hear with the spirit saith unto the churches. To him that overcometh, I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. And God blessed to us his sacred and holy word. We said that the book of Revelation can be somewhat overwhelming for the average Christian. You’re dealing with things that are in some ways difficult to understand. It is, for you, you might find it confusing. Everybody seems to see the book differently. Even for the mature Christian, there are areas of the book that are troublesome to interpret. It’s true that Revelation is a complex book. And I understand it requires a good knowledge of the Old Testament, particularly of the major and minor prophets. But revelation reveals a great wealth of information concerning the salvation we have in Christ and the victory that Christ has achieved for his people. Now, last week, we looked at the preface of the book, and we talked about Christ among the seven golden candlesticks. And this morning, Lord Willie, we want to look at the letters to the seven churches. And I’m going to be brief on all these. I don’t know how much Keith is going to cover when he reaches chapters, you know, two, two and three, but I will try to leave him plenty of room for his studies. Here at the book of emphasis, it’s just just a synopsis. We have praise here for their hard work. for their rejection of evil, for their perseverance and patience. The one criticism that stands out is that they left their first love, which I take is love for Christ. Exortation to them is repent and do the works you did it first. And then the reward that is mentioned is that they’ll have the right to the tree of life. now let me just focus on this phrase leaving your first love if i could perhaps hit that thought this morning for an application here the fervent love you once had for christ and you have for christ hopefully now should motivate all your action and all your devotion to the Lord Now the problem is that sometimes that can diminish. We have been studying many times in the book of Song of Solomon before our communion services, how there is at times a drifting away, an estrangement from Christ by the church. And the book is really always seeming to be about being with the Lord, you know, being drawn closer to fellowship. with Christ. Now a church can depart from that fervent love which characterized all its activities at one point. This may gradually occur. People may start out in a very fervent manner in serving the Lord. In over a period of years, the church can drift away from real fellowship. with Christ. The church may carry on its various active programs and still adhere to a sound confession of faith, but lose the love for Christ as a motivation for worship. As Scripture teaches, no matter what great works you do, if you have not love or charity, in this case for Christ, it profit you nothing. Right? As 1st Corinthians, Theans 133 indicates. So love for Christ must be the basis for your doctrinal Psalms. Otherwise, it’s just a rote mechanical response. This is what we always believed. The danger is that unless the church returns to the worship and service of Christ out of a heart, a love for Christ, they will lose their status as a true church. As he says here, as I will come and take away your candlestick. That’s a pretty serious charge to make. Over a period of time, their doctrinal soundness will fade away. They’ll lose the basis for it. So here is a strong warning to any church. The main thrust of it is your love for Christ must be foremost in all the activities of the church in all that we do as a church. And so we see. the emphasis here with regard to Ephesus. Any other thoughts on that? Let’s go to the church at Smyrna. Now, can I have Russell, would you mind reading verses 8 to 11 for me? And under the angel say at the first fear none of the Yshah tribulation. Now, with regard to Smyrna, we have, first of all, praise for the church. Praise. They have gracefully born suffering and poverty. He tells them even though you’ve suffered and you’ve born poverty, you are really spiritually rich. And the indication, of course, is the treasure that we have in Christ as far exceeds all the earthly treasure that this world has to offer. There is no criticism here. So we don’t have a condemnation of anything here. We have, with regard to exhortation, do not fear what you shall suffer, but be faithful unto death. That’s the exhortation. And the reward, he promises them a crown of life. Now, let me just focus on this phrase in verse 10. Be thou faithful unto death. If we could take that as a thought to develop. You know, Christians are going to face tribulation in this world and there is going to be suffering for Christ. Jesus told us that we shouldn’t marvel if the world hate us. We should expect that to happen. The Lord doesn’t promise to take away all your difficulties. Nowhere in scripture does it say when you come to Christ, everything is going to be peaches and cream, the rest of your life. You may have to face the most extreme test of your faith, and that is the threat of death, if you continue to serve Christ. Down through the centuries, think of all the blood of the Christian martyrs that has stained the ground of this earth. Many have been put to death. Whether we talk about the Roman Coliseum, whether we talk about under the Roman Catholic Church, and their inquisitions and so forth, in foreign countries, you know, people have been put to death just because they’re bringing the gospel of Christ into it. The promise is that if you’re faithful to Jesus Christ, even to the point of death, you are promised to special reward. Here’s what 2 Timothy 212 says. If we suffer, we shall also reign with him. If we deny him, he will also deny us. If you suffer and you remain faithful to Christ, you don’t deny him, you will get to sit with Christ on his throne, as Chapter 321 tells us, you will share in his real glory, and you have a part in meeting out judgment according to Revelation 20. If you deny Christ, if you disown the Lord, if you would say, I do not know the man, Matthew 26, 72, then you will be disowned by the Lord on the great day of judgment. And he will say, I know you not. And of course, unless one repents, like Peter, after he denied Christ, one would be in serious condition. He talks about here a crown. That is a… an indication that we’re kings, that we get the reign with Christ, and he talks about life here, because we get to live with Jesus Christ, an eternal state of joy and happiness. We just sang Psalm 16, there’s this joy and happiness when being in the presence of the Lord. Now, that Psalm has to do with the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, but because he was raised, we also are raised, and we also are raised, and we also enjoy the benefits of his resurrection. And so we have here the idea of being faithful even under death. Any questions about this church of Smyrna? I just want to comment briefly as a note here. You notice the phrase in verse 9 when he talks about those who say they are Jews and they’re not, but are of the synagogue of Satan. This indicates to us that though they were being purses, persecuted by the physical Jews, the people who were of the nation of Israel. But the indication is they’re not really Jews. They’re not true Jews. Who are the true Jews? Who are the true sons Abraham? People who are being persecuted, in fact. They’re the true people of Abraham, that’s right. And we’re the circumcision. We are the circumcision. We are the circumcision. sons of Abraham, who have faith in Christ, and we are the heirs of the promise and so forth. And so that’s the indication. So they are, what their whole worship, he says here is connected with the synagogue of, he calls them the synagogue of Satan, which is pretty serious, isn’t it? It shows us how far the Jews had fallen and how far away they were, in many cases, from the truth of the Lord. teaching salvation by works and so forth. All right, let’s move on if you have no other questions or anything to say about this. Let’s go to Pergamos, and Mark, would you read verses 12 to 17 for us? A Pergamos, what is the praise given to this church? Well, hold fast Christ’s name. They have held fast Christ’s name, and they have not denied the faith. The criticism is that they tolerate idolatry. sexual immorality and various heresies. The exhortation is, repent, or Christ is going to come, and he’s going to judge those in the church that hold these evil doctrines. These evildoers are going to be punished. The reward is they’ll have the hidden manna and a white stone with a new name. Now, when you live in a society dominated by satanic influence, where Satan’s seat is, as he says here in verse 13. You have to be careful. You have to be watchful because of the influence of that society, lest you get caught up in the sinful activity that is all around you. And Christians have to resist Satan during times of persecution. This is from the outside. But then within the church, there’s also the Dane. of keeping the church pure from false doctrine. So here, on the outside, they get the persecution. On the inside, we have false doctrine being promoted. False doctrine inevitably leads to sinful behavior. Thus, we have some form of idolatry or sexual sin here associated with this church. Those faithful to Christ as marked. as Antipus was, are always recognized and always honored by the Lord. He calls them his faithful witness and so forth. Any questions about Pergamos here? All right, why don’t we go on to Thyra-Tira? Keith, could you read verses 18 to 29 for us of chapter 2? And under the angel of the church and Thayatira. Retire. Now the praise to this church is, of course, their love, their service, their faith, their patience are greater than at the first. They have made progress spiritually in all these areas. The criticism is it tolerates idolatry, sexual immorality, and heresies. The exhortation to the church is that judgment is coming upon the evildoers and the church. hold on to what you have until Christ comes. And the reward is that you’ll get the rule over the nations and you’ll be given the morning star. Now Thyra Tyra was a major trade city. So it was dominated by various trade guilds, if you would, or unions. We know that there were linen workers there. Lydia is mentioned as one. They were woolworkers, garment makers, leather workers, tanners, potters, and so forth. And these trade unions were associated with various deities. Each trade guild or union would have its own god. And if you wish to be successful in society in this particular area, then you had to belong to a trade guild. That would put you, give you status in the community. But Membership in the guild required idol worship, worshipping the god of the guild, and participation in their guild festivals, which they held. And here you would be required to offer a sacrifice to the god of the guilt and participate in various sexually immoral activities associated with the festival. Now, this presented a difficult situation for. the believer. If he quit the guild, he would lose his status in society. Financially, he would be hurt, and socially he would be hurt. He may suffer want and hunger and persecution. He may be the object of ridicule and be shunned. If he remains in the guild, then he has to sacrifice the idols and attend these immoral feasts. So here’s the real. the dilemma that the people had. Now, in this difficult situation, it seemed like this woman who’s called a prophetess, Jezebel, has a solution. I don’t think Jezebel is her real name. I think it’s a name given to her that reveals something about her character. Jezebel in the Old Testament, you remember, was the wife of King Ahab. She came from the tire area, and she brought bail worship to the nation of Israel. And we have the idea of this woman is bringing in false gods, or the worship of false gods, into the church. Sort of the same idea. In Book of Revelation, they all people in churches and characters and so forth are given various names, but it’s because of what they represent, what they’re doing. And so I think this is why she’s called Jezebeth. Her solution appears to be this. Well, if you want to overcome Satan, you have to know him well. You have to know what is called the depths here of Satan. And so to conquer sin, you have to be thoroughly acquainted with sin. You have to experience it fully. And therefore, you should attend the Guild Festivals. You should involve yourself in committing fornication because it will enable you to become a better Christian. There you go. You know. So go ahead and engage in the idol worship and in the sexual fornication. And this is what she is indicating to the people of God. Now, such a preposterous solution provokes the anger of Christ, rightly so, against her. And he promises to judge these evil doers immediately unless they repent. The lesson here is that the Christian can’t compromise. with the world just to make their lives more, their life more comfortable. Baring Christ’s cross may mean that we suffer loss and hardship in this world. So you have a duty to keep yourself, as the scripture says, unspotted by the world. To live differently from society around you. You never need to know the depths of Satan. Never. That’s a lie. In fact, just the opposite should be true. If you look through the epistles, for example, in 1 Corinthians 1420, Brother, be not children in understanding how be it in malice, be your children. When it comes to understanding the things of God and you know, you ought to be mature. But when it comes to evil things, I’d rather you be children and be ignorant of these things. Ephesians 5, verses 11 and 12. Have no fellowship with the unfruit of works of darkness, but rather reprove them, for it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret, let alone participate in it. It’s a shame to speak of about it. And then in Ephesians 5.3. But fornication and all uncleanness, let it not be once named among you as become a saint. So remember this. Any teaching that comes along and tells the church, let us do evil that good may come is a damning doctrine. It is harming to your soul, at least to the damnation of your soul. Do not believe that, lie. Because this seems to be the lie that was spread of the church at Thyra Tire. Any thoughts on this or any other things I need to touch on? Okay. Let’s go to the church at Sardis then. Tim, would you mind reading us chapter 3 verses 1 to 6? To the church at Sardis, he gives first praise. You see the same things happening repeatedly throughout all these. A few have walked faithfully among you. The criticism is you have a name that you live, but actually you are a dead church. The exhortation is, is strengthen the things that remain. Remember what you’ve been taught. And the reward that’s promised is the faithful will be honored, clothed in white raiment, and never blotted out of the book of life. Now, you’ll notice, there’s so little to commend in Sardis that he actually starts out with a complaint. You notice? Which is unethedal little to commend in Sardis that he actually starts out with a complaint. usual, because usually he starts out with the praise. I had to go down a few verses to get to the actual praise. In this church, there’s plenty of religious activity, but no inner spirituality for the most part. Now think about that a moment. The church was a well-run organization. Outsiders could look at the church and they see an active church, having all kinds of things going on. Maybe they would think it was an ideal church. But as someone has said, there are a few things better organized than graveyards, and yet there is little life there. Those who run it and those who are groundkeepers, the only people alive. Everybody else is dead. Well, that’s sort of like the way the church was. And Jesus Christ, who has the seven spirits of God, which we said was the seven-fold spirit, here his fullness of the spirit, is the one who can grant life to the church. Because his spirit can enliven the church. Thus, we see the reason why he comes in that capacity. Yet the people don’t even realize their sad condition. Therefore, they’re not even seeking a remedy for the problem. Now, the scripture says there are a few, or at least were a few, who remain faithful. They were not defiled by the deadness. of the rest of the church, going to verse four, at least there were some there that were faithful. What a lesson this teaches about how Christ views the church. He is fully aware of the true state of any church. Look at the mega-churches who claim to be, you know, on fire for God. And they have people, you know, they’re hoarding, come in in hordes to these churches. And they seem to be, growing by leaps and bounds, consider those churches who have all kinds of religious activities going on. It’s like a beehive with people coming and going. Also think in terms of those churches. Well, perhaps in the past have had a great reputation for serving Christ, but they’re just living on that reputation for the spiritual life that used to be there has all but disappeared today. You see, it diminishing. all these things could be looked at with regard to this situation. To those churches who were once sound in the faith, they need to strengthen the things that do remain, as he says in chapter 3 here in verse 2, the things are still good and beneficial. You need to strengthen those things and repent of failure elsewhere and get that squared away. What need there is for the manifold graces of the spirit to be actively working in the lives of the people of God in a church. Because this makes your works living and useful to the Lord. Any thoughts on this before we move on on this particular church? All right, Russell, would you mind reading the letter to the Philadelphia Church in verses 7 to 13? And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia, these things, he then at the key of it, and no man shutteth, and shutteth, and no man open it, because thou is capable. Try them, that do all he shall go no more out. My God, which is new, comeeth down out of heaven. All right, here we have the letter to the church at Ephesus, or Philadelphia. And only good is spoken of this church. There is no condemnation of the church, and that is good. Praise is this. They possess a little strength. They are told to continue to persevere in the faith, and to keep the word of Christ as they’ve been doing, and they have not denied Christ. These things are all positives with regard to this church. The criticism we said is not. The exhortation, hold on to what you have so that no one takes your crown. Don’t get corrupted. The reward is that that you’ll have a place in God’s presence. The name of God and his city will be written upon them, and they’ll have Christ’s new name. The message to the church at Philadelphia, I think, does provide an encouragement for small or weaker churches, which remain faithful to Christ, who keep Christ’s words, his commandments and ordinances as he is given them to the church, the doctrines of the gospel being faithfully defended and maintained by the church. You’ll receive Christ’s blessing. Christ doesn’t overlook small groups, but he is concerned to help them. And Jesus Christ, you’ll see that we see here, has all the power and authority. He has the key of David. He has the royal authority, as king, and he promises to provide an open door of service for the church. He says in verse 8, behold, I have set before thee an open door, no man can shut it. Now, they’ll have a wonderful opportunity, I think this is the indication, to proclaim the gospel, bear witness for Christ. I don’t have time this morning to look up 1 Corinthians 16, 9, 2nd, Corinthians 2, 12, Colossians 4, 3. They all use this idea of open door. Paul talks about a door is open for me, you know, and I can preach the gospel here, there, and so forth. You can those up for yourself. And I think the same idea, I think, is here. It indicates also the operation of God’s grace in the hearts of people, creating ears that are willing to listen and minds that are eager to embrace the gospel as Acts 1447 would indicate to us. And the implication is this open door is not just an opportunity, but an opportunity that God is going to work in to actually bring about the salvation of people. And the third indication under this situation is this. That all opposition of their enemies and all their persecutors cannot shut the door. Christ has opened this door, and despite what they do, they can’t shut it. They don’t have the power to do. So the gospel is going to be successful, and it will progress because Christ has kept the door open for them. Christ’s blessing upon His Word is not an insignificant thing, is it? It brings spiritual life. It brings growth. It’s better for a church to be small, to be of little strength, to be faithful, than to be large and lethargic, right? As we have a smaller or weaker church, let us pray. God give us an open door like this. And the service for service would be granted to us. So the church in Philadelphia. Any comments on that before I move on? Okay, let me read verses 14 to 22, and we look at the last church at Laia here. And the angel of the church of the Laeo deceans right, under the angel of the church of the Lae deceans right, these things set the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God. I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot. I would thou wert cold or hot. So then, because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest I am rich and increased with goods and of need of nothing, and knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable and poor, and blind and naked. I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich, and white raiment that thou mayest be clothed, that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear, and an anoint thine eye with I-sab, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chase, and be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, knock, if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will see him, and will sup with him and he with me. To him that overcomeeth why I grant to sit with me in my throne, even I also overcame, and am set down with my father in his throne. He hath an ear, let him hear with the spirit seth under the churches. There is no praise for the church at La Eadaea. The criticism is that they’re lukewarm, and they don’t realize that spiritually they are wretched and miserably. and poor and blind and naked. That’s pretty serious. The exhortation is be zealous and repent. Seek from Christ those things that will remedy your situation. And the reward is you get to share Christ’s throne. Now, the church at Laudacy was famous for being a rich place, a rich city. This is a rich city, and so the church evidently evidently had wealthy people in it. the more influential people. The people imagined their spiritual wealth was a sign of God’s favor to them. I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing. Verse 17. We’re doing well. So what is portrayed here is sort of a proud, a fluent church which thought of itself as strong and influential. However, there was little dependence upon Christ because they thought they were self-sufficient. And the scripture urges, therefore, in verse 10, in Romans 12, 10, I should say, the scripture urges us to be fervent in spirit serving the Lord. But we read about the church at Laidaecia that they were lukewarm. Neither hot nor cold, and Christ says he’s ready to spew them out of his mouth or repudiates. them. Sadly, many churches are like this and are completely ignorant, blind to their true spiritual condition. They think their church is great, but Christ finds it disgusting. Christ is urges them to repent and to seek fellowship with him because they lack spiritual discernment and they lack an appreciation of Christ’s presence. among them. So here’s a good lesson. We have to evaluate the church from a divine perspective. How does God view the church? Not from a human perspective. For the human perspective, we don’t have needed nothing. Everything’s great. From God’s perspective, boy, you are way far away from where you need to be. Any other thoughts? Any thoughts on this on this section? Okay, so this this closes the first section here. We’ve looked at the setting of the book, the appearance of Christ among the seven churches and so forth. We talked about the commission of John and the letters now to the seven churches. That takes us through chapter three. Let’s close then with a word of prayer. Russell,