The book of Revelation: So powerful, yet so mysterious.
The book begins with letters written specifically to seven churches in what was then known as Asia Minor. It is said that in ancient times, the leading council of Asiarchs met each year in a revolving succession of seven cities of Asia Minor: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Cyzicus, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. Six of these cities were included in John�s list, and John replaced the city of Cyzicus, far to the North, with the more central Thyatira.
The churches were located about 50 miles apart, forming a rough circle in Asia. It is thought that these cities may have even been postal centers serving several geographic regions.*
All of the cities still stand, and are now found in modern Turkey. However, according to a missionary couple in Turkey, sponsored by my church, less than 1% of the population in these modern cities are Christian. Thus it can be sadly said that the churches John addressed no longer exist.
But if these letters are addressed to non-existent churches, why do we need to worry about them at all?
Revelation 1 gives us the first clue: “And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands…and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.” (Rev. 1:12,20)
The seven-branched lampstand, also called a menorah, has always been a symbol of Judaism. The fact that each of the seven local Christian congregations was symbolized as an entire menorah would have likely suggested to John, the one who wrote Jesus’ words, that the messages were for the larger church, the full people of God.* Each of the churches were beacons for God, and since we are part of this larger church, we are each members of “the full people of God”, and we are all called to be “beacons” for God, this message addressed to each of us!
When we take a look at who is dictating these letters, we get another clue to their importance:
“Then He placed His right hand on me and said: ‘Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.'” (Rev. 1:17b, 18)
Interestingly, in ancient palaces, the one holding the keys was an important official, the only person controlling access into the king’s presence. Jesus, in His death on the cross, holds the keys to accessing the Father. He also holds the keys of death and hades. Thus, the One addressing John in this book is none other than Jesus Himself, and when Jesus says it, we can know it is something we need to pay utmost attention to!
So if Jesus is dictating the letters, and if they are meant for the church at large, then they are full of lessons for each of us today.
The very first lesson we can learn comes from examining the order of address. The basic format of each of the letters is the same. Each letter starts off with 1) Who the letter is addressed to. Next, 2) A certain attribute of Jesus is emphasized for each individual church. Then comes, 3) The commendations, then 4) The criticism; and finally, 5) The promise given to “him who overcomes”.
After stating who the letter is for, Jesus emphasises His authority by identifying a specific attribute of Himself. It is always a different attribute, and it in contemplation of the attribute of Jesus in each of the areas that the letter gains authority.
Next we find the commendations. We know that most of these letters were written to correct certain behaviours, but before Jesus even mentions the areas to be corrected, He emphasizes the areas that bring Him joy. There is a silly song that says, “A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down…” There is great wisdom in this song!
And then, even after administering the correction, Jesus doesn’t leave the churches to contemplate their grave sin. Instead, He wraps up each letter with a promise to anyone who pays attention to the words of correction!
So what is the lesson to be learned?
We often find ourselves in positions where we need to administer correction. As parents, we must correct our rebellious children, as managers, we often deal with errant employees, as pastos, we deal with errant parishioners, and in our relationships, we often have to deal with relational problems. We would do well to follow Jesus’ example in these necessary exchanges, by first and foremost making sure that we have the required authority for administering correction, and only proceeding if that authority is truly ours! We would then do well to remind the ones we must correct, first and foremost, that they are loved and appreciated, and that they have many fine qualities. Only then should we bring up the criticisms, and we would do well to follow Jesus’ example in wrapping up such exchanges with a promise of what will happen if our words are heeded!
Why not think about this the next time you are required to administer criticism?
The next seven lessons in this series will be looking individually at what each of the seven letters have to teach the church today. Please join us next week for Studies on the Seven Churches of Revelation, Part 2: The Church in Ephesus.
In His love,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart, Speech-Language Pathologist, mother of two teens, Author and Moderator for The Nugget, a tri-weekly internet newsletter, and Scriptural Nuggets, a website devoted to Christian devotionals and inspirational poems, with Answers2Prayer Ministries.
* Taken from commentary given in The Archaeological Study Bible, New International Version, Copywright �
2005 by the Zondervan Corporation, pages 2043, 2045-2047.
(To access the entire “Studies on the Seven Churches of Revelation” mini-series, please click here.)