ZOLA LEVITT

Zola Levitt is a Hebrew Christian, lecturer, radio talk show host ("Heart of the Matter," KPBC Dallas,) host of Zola Levitt Live on National Christian Television and an author with over forty books in print. He appears in several Christian documentary films and periodically serves as a tour guide in Israel.

Levitt's books and other study materials are available through your local Christian bookstore. You may also use the order form in the back of this book to order directly from the author.

Seven Churches

They were not the only churches in the world, of course, but they were the ones the Lord Jesus Christ Himself chose to examine.

He appeared to John in a vision—His only recorded earthly appearance in the Church Age (Saul of Tarsus did not actually see Him; Acts 9:7-8)—and His first messages were about the condition of seven particular churches. Evidently they were chosen as examples for all time, with their hopes and dreams, their frustrations and problems.

The society of first century Christianity with its fledgling church fellowships has been more studied than that of any other group of any time in human history. What were they like, what did they do and what did their Lord think of them? And most important of all, what can we learn from all this?

They are referred to as the Seven Churches of Asia since the Romans called their province in western Turkey "Asia". When we say Asia today we refer to that massive part of the eastern hemisphere which includes Russia and China, but the Seven Churches were located in Asia Minor where Paul conducted his missionary journeys. Though they were relatively close together and living under the same government and comparable social conditions, each of the Seven Churches seems to have had its own peculiar style and tone. The Lord recognized that and He was frank and to the point in His comments.

Write!

The Lord made His appearance only to John but He wanted us all to have the advantage of what He said. He commanded the aged apostle to write it all down in three categories:

Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter; (Rev. 1:19).

John was to write "the things which thou hast seen", which is to say he was to describe Christ as He appeared that day. Apparently we are all to appreciate that the humble Carpenter of Galilee presents quite a different image in this age:

His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;

And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.

And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength (Rev. 1:14-16).

That the amazing character John saw was really Christ is very clear:

I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death (Rev. 1:18).

In writing “the things which are", John chronicled carefully the Lord's remarks about the seven churches, John's contemporaries. In writing "the things which shall be hereafter", John wrote nineteen chapters of prophecy concerning the Tribulation Period, the Second Coming, the Millennial Kingdom, the Great White Throne of Judgment and the finale of God's plans, a description of the conditions in eternity.

We are concerned here with "the things which are", or in particular, the Seven Churches of Asia.

Ephesus: The First Love Lost

In the salutation of each of the short messages the Lord gives a description meant to identify Himself. He commanded John,

Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; (Rev. 2:1).

Jesus was pleased with certain matters He found at Ephesus:

I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted (Rev. 2:2).

But He found a major fault in the otherwise well-intentioned church body:

Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love (Rev. 2:4).

This is most serious. The Lord is discussing the phenomenon of unchristian good works, it seems. The Church at Ephesus was to be commended for the things it had done. The people in that body would not tolerate false teachers, and they labored for the cause of the cross. But what good was it all if they had forgotten Christ? He was their First Love—they had all come to faith through Him. If now they proceeded only to good works and had forgotten Him, how were they different from any group of benevolent unbelievers?

We have many non-Christian groups in the world today who do fine works—the charities that abound in our society, the efforts that all of us sincerely make through our governing bodies to care for the poor and the sick, and the general goodneighborliness to be found among Americans and the other nations everywhere. Good works are not necessarily the exclusive province of believers. So if the unbelievers can organize to provide food and shelter for the indigent and if the unbelievers can support charities and agencies dedicated to the enrichment of all of society, wherein lies the difference? How does one discriminate the good workers of the world from the good workers of the church?

The answer lies, of course, in the love of Jesus Christ. The unbeliever does not know or love Jesus but the believer is to make this his "first work".

Even within the truly believing church we may find more of an emphasis on the works of the church than on the love of Jesus Christ. We have all attended churches where the emphasis is placed on membership or social activities or a high level of scriptural study, but the person and nature of the Savior Himself has been subverted to the labors. The reverse is also possible, of course, where the believers so intensely praise the Lord at such length that little else gets done and they edify only themselves. James tells us that “Without works faith is dead".

The healthy church, then, is to find a right balance between sincere love of Christ and the accomplishment of His purposes through service in this life. In no case is a church to proceed with works if they have forgotten their love of Christ.

We could go on and on to discuss what the Lord declared most precisely in one verse, but the matter is clear. Our Lord takes serious exception to a church that does not love Him first and foremost.

The Lord commends the purity of the doctrine of Ephesus in an important point:

But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate (Rev. 2:6).

It is not quite clear just who the Nicolaitanes were or what they believed, but scholars have arrived at two likely theories from other sources. Possibly they were followers of the proselyte of Antioch, Nicholas (Acts 6:5), and they began to advocate license in their Christian walk. They seemed to think that the deeds of the flesh had nothing to do with the spiritual life and were thus in violation of the many admonishments of the New Testament regarding the behavior of the believers.

The second theory comes from a literal translation of the word Nicolaitane, which means "to conquer the people". This may refer to the establishing of a hierarchy or a priestly order in the early church, dividing the believers into superior and inferior ranks. In reality the brotherhood of Christians is an equal one (Matt. 23:8) and we are all level at the cross. There are no important Christians. The Church is entirely a group of convicted sinners. In reality the leadership of a proper church are servants of the people; pastor means shepherd, and the pastor is commissioned to "feed the flock"; elders and deacons were to serve the people in spiritual and administrative roles respectively. There is no man after the cross who is spiritually superior to any other man. Those churches who establish an order of ranks and levels of importance among their clergy are guilty of this very heresy.

It is perfectly correct, of course, for those in the church with spiritual gifts to exercise those and to lead the brethren in those areas. Teachers teach, administrators administrate and givers give. Because of the way the gifts have been distributed by the Holy Spirit certain brethren will predominate in certain areas. The idea, however, of any Christian bowing down to any other Christian is abhorrent to the true Gospel. Peter displayed a fitting Christian humility on the occasion of the salvation of the first Gentile:

And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him.

But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man (Acts 10:25-26).

The Lord concludes His message to Ephesus with a statement He will repeat at the end of each and every message. Seven times He solemnly dictated,

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; (Rev. 2:7a).

Smyrna: Persecution

The issue with the church at Smyrna seemed to be persecution. This situation begins to suggest the prophetic nature of the seven churches. Some analysts hold that they describe seven periods of the Church Age, in order, in their characteristics. Thus if Ephesus were representative of the apostolic church, then Smyrna would represent the following two centuries or so when the Christian Church suffered under despotic domination by Rome. A close comparison of the churches with church history as a whole tends to support this theory, though it is difficult to be dogmatic about it.

In any case, Smyrna suffered but held on. We find no condemnation from the Lord in the case of this church but only a heartening message that it should persevere.

The Lord first turns His attention to deceivers in the church at Smyrna:

I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan (Rev. 2:9).

This verse is difficult to interpret and gives rise to a certain amount of anti-Semitism. It would appear the Jewish people were persecuting this church from a cursory reading. Rather, however, the scripture describes people who were not Jewish but said they were for their own purposes. The biblical meaning of the term Jew, from Judah, is "praiser of God". Evidently there was a group in the church posing as true believers, praisers of God, who were not that at all. They belonged to the church for sundry other reasons. Possibly they wished to trade with the church members and facilitated their purposes by meeting them under pleasant circumstances.

The situation puts me in mind of an insurance company to which I applied for a job when I was a student. It was a requirement of this corporation, one of our nation's largest insurers, that all of its agents go to church every Sunday in order to make contacts with the church people. I protested that I had never been to church since I was Jewish (this was long before I was saved). The manager soothingly told me that I could go to the church anyway since my purposes really weren't religious but simply to make profitable personal relationships. Due to the change in the church over the long period since the first century I was being counseled to pretend that I was a Gentile in order to do my worldly works (belong to the "synagogue of Satan").

It is interesting to note that posing as a Jew gained one a logical entrance to the church at Smyrna, indicating that there must have been many Jews in that congregation. Growing a beard, wearing fringe on the garments, and the other mannerisms of Judaism would constitute a first-class disguise as a Christian in those days. How things have changed!

We also see from the above verse that those in Smyrna endured poverty but the Lord calls them rich. Their poverty was merely worldly and they were rich in the spiritual things that really mattered. We will see in our seventh church the Lord's opinion of worldly riches and their bearing on spiritual things.

The Lord warns Smyrna of impending persecutions even worse than those of the time:

Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life (Rev. 2:10).

Most Bible commentators avoid the phrase "ye shall have tribulation ten days" since it is hard to identify this particular number. But a knowledge of Jewish history and tradition sheds a great deal of light in this case. What is being spoken of in the verse is a time of waiting until some culminating event. The figure of ten days fits very rationally into the seven feasts of Israel: there are ten days between the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement (Lev. 23:24; 23:27).

These ten days deserve some discussion. The Feast of Trumpets was a time of deliverance, as with the trumpets of Jericho or Gideon's trumpets. The trumpet has ever been God's signal of triumph, as it will at the Rapture of the church (I Thess.4:16). But the Day of Atonement, on the other hand, was the day of life or death to the Jew. On this day each year the high priest would enter the Holy of Holies in the Temple and make the ultimate sacrifice for the national sins of Israel. If God accepted, then the nation would be spared for another year. If not, presumably the Jews and possibly the whole world might be destroyed in a moment. There could be no more momentous day in every year than Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Thus the ten days between the two feasts were a time of great repentance and personal examination on the part of each Jew. They came finally to be known, and are still known in the orthodox synagogue today, as the "Ten Awesome Days". With eternal life hanging in the balance, the Jew considered the condition of his soul before God for that exact period until the ultimate resolution that was to follow.

Likewise in the New Testament the apostles waited exactly ten days between the ascension of the Lord to His Father and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Since the time between the festival of First Fruits (now called Easter) and that of Pentecost was exactly fifty days, and since the Lord was with His disciples forty days (Acts 1:3), then the disciples must have waited again for ten awesome days. The outcome for the Jew was always that God accepted the sins on behalf of the nation, and the outcome for the apostles was that they were empowered in the mightiest of ways by the Holy Spirit.

Finally, we can arrive at the period of ten days fitting prophetically into God's plans for the end of the age. By consulting the feasts many scholars reasonably assume that Trumpets symbolizes the Rapture of the church, and Atonement the Second Coming of the Lord. The Tribulation Period itself, seven years long, would therefore end on a Day of Atonement (since the Lord puts a stop to the war of Armaggedon immediately when He returns) and so it had to start on a Day of Atonement. It is also a reasonable assumption that in some upcoming year the Rapture will occur on Trumpets and then ten days later the Tribulation Period will get under way with the Antichrist's covenant with Israel. Again, the world will wait ten awesome days. The difference in this case, however, will be that the world, entirely unbelievers since we are speaking of the time immediately after the Rapture of the true church, will get not a triumphant event but the Antichrist instead. In any case the time of waiting is again exactly ten days.

Thus in the verse above it is very reasonable for the Lord to warn Smyrna of persecution lasting ten days, but then, to say "be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life". This suffering but truly believing church would receive the heavenly reward of the crown of life when they have endured the ultimate period of waiting.

The last word to Smyrna contains an especially appropriate message in light of their hard times:

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death (Rev. 2:11).

After His formula statement the Lord reminds those under tribulation that they will not suffer the second death. This most awful punishment describes complete and irreversible separation from God. Everyone suffers one death (except the church alive at the time of the Rapture). But the church is resurrected unto life and the unbeliever unto judgment. At the final Great White Throne of Judgment the unbeliever will suffer what is called the second death, through which he will be eternally separated from God. The believers do not come under this final judgment at all since their sins were forgiven at the cross.

No Christian, then, fears death since it leads only to eternal life with God. But the unbeliever must suffer the second death, a thing truly to be feared. Smyrna seemed to need just such an encouraging word from the Master Himself in regard to their final position with God.

Pergamos: The Worldly Church

The church at Pergamos, the capital of the Asian province before Ephesus, was forced to dwell in the world, "where Satan’s seat is":

I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and has not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth (Rev. 2:13).

Every church is "in the world" but is not necessarily "of the world", to use the Master's own words. Pergamos is commended for holding to the Lord's name and not denying their faith, even in their difficult circumstances. The faithful Antipas is singled out, and evidently the church continued in its spiritual walk after his martyrdom.

But it seems to be a principle of church life that the body of believers within the big population centers have a harder time holding to the faith than those in the provinces. It's harder to keep one's faith intact in New York or Los Angeles than it is in Kansas. The worldly diversions continue to tempt the flesh, and while the spirit may be ever so willing, the flesh invariably remains weak. Those in Pergamos were prey to the materialistic and sinful doctrines of the setting and the Lord goes on to comment on that:

But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication (Rev. 2:14).

Balaam was a false prophet who tempted the children of Israel to marry women of Moab and not to take seriously their divine separation from the other nations (Num. 31:15,16; 22:5; 23:8). The world and the church have no legitimate business with each other (James 4:4) except the discussion of salvation in Christ. The sins of Israel mentioned in the above verse contradicted two of their most basic laws and undermined their calling as the chosen people of God. Likewise in any age, the siren calling of the world inevitably weakens the testimony of the called out ones until the sins of the believers make a mockery of their supposed faith.

The Lord comes back now to a complaint He had of the church of Ephesus:

So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate (Rev. 2:15).

We notice that what in Ephesus was merely "the deeds of the Nicolaitanes" has now become "the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes". What must have first been only a tendency of a small group—to perhaps establish a priesthood and greater and lesser levels within the church, now had the force of real doctrine. In the prophetic schedule of the seven churches, Pergamos would represent the Church of Rome which, shot through with a clerical hierarchy, abused the laity and abused the Lord. The wretched excesses of the Crusades and the Inquisitions were the result of an all-powerful clergy coming down without restraint or scriptural sanction on the believers and unbelievers of whatever district they superintended.

We have the remarkable situation in some churches today where the congregation might actually be opposed to the policies of some central governing body or even of its local ministers. We have made hierarchies of church officials willy-nilly, in utter opposition to the scriptures, and then we must rebuff or even revolt against their policies as to the conduct of the church. Sadly, some of the biggest mainline denominations, which contain large numbers of true believers, have occasionally found themselves under the rule of those obviously unlearned in even the most basic principles of the faith. We were never to have such governing bodies in the church for reasons that are all too clear in many denominations today.

The Lord never gives up on a church, and whatever He cites as shortcomings among the seven churches are always redeemable. With Pergamos as with the others He concludes by urging repentance, indicating that any church body, or individual believer for that matter, can now find his way back to the true and narrow path.

Thyatira: A Church Divided

The Lord has a double message for the church at Thyatira, which suffered from having a "double congregation". Evidently the church contained a faction that were far too worldly, backsliding into sins similar to those at Pergamos; but a believing remnant were also to be found. We don't have to look awfully far to find this situation in our modern churches.

After the salutation the Lord begins with a fine commendation for the church as a whole:

I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first (Rev. 2:19).

The later works had exceeded those at the beginning so that the church had been making progress. There was much good to be found at Thyatira.

But the Lord goes on:

Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols (Rev. 2:20).

The sins of Thyatira are those mentioned in connection with Pergamos (Rev. 2:14) but in this case are identified with Jezebel rather than Balaam. Balaam encouraged worldliness but Jezebel advocated the deadlier sin of idolatry.

A look at the life of Jezebel in the Old Testament shows the appalling depths to which the worship of false gods can descend —and this from the Queen of Israel! Her husband was King Ahab, not really a more spiritual soul than Jezebel, but rather an immature, tantrum-throwing, hen-pecked unfortunate. Ahab wanted his ivory palaces and his comfortable off-season retreats, while Jezebel wanted the northern ten tribes to worship Baal. Forging letters from her husband, the black-hearted queen conducted palace intrigues and assassinations. She reveled in the supposed power of Baal and she targeted the prophet Elijah as her personal public enemy number one. For his part Elijah respected her; his sojourn in the wilderness was out of fear of the powerful idolatress who virtually ruled the northern kingdom. God rescued his depressed prophet and rejuvenated him, but Jezebel went on and on wreaking spiritual destruction. She finally died with fitting violence at the hand of Jehu, through whom the Almighty, His patience exhausted with the pagan ways of the north, took His vengeance.

We no longer chase after gods like Baal in our modern churches, but rather gods like buildings, money and social prestige. But it's all the same to the Lord; idolatry is idolatry— the spiritual form of adultery.

The Lord notes that in the case of Thyatira opportunity for repentance was given but not taken:

And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not (Rev. 2:21).

To the true believers of Thyatira, however, the Lord gives a heartening message:

But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden.

But that which ye have already hold fast till I come (Rev. 2: 24-25).

The true believers are to persevere despite the influence of the backsliding portion of the church and the world around them. The Lord assures them that they have burdens enough and He will require nothing further from them under the circumstances. They must have been doing a good job with the faith since the Lord counseled more perseverance in almost every other case.

But the believers of Thyatira had satisfied their Savior, a spiritual position to be desired by every one of us.

The reward for true faith is overwhelming:

And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: (Rev. 2:26).

Indeed in the Kingdom to come, when all accounts of the Church Age are in, some Christians ignominious in this world will reign as virtual kings. The disciples believed this implicitly and even approached the Lord about their relative positions in the millennium. Many Christians set their sights on this life in practice. They desire to achieve a satisfying spiritual position and a clear conscience in the faith, and these things are validly desirable. But too often we lose sight of the fact that there are magnificent rewards in the age to come, and that that age is the real point of the Christian faith. It is not so much that we should desire importance or sway over our fellow men, but rather that we fully realize that a resurrection to greater things is the ultimate reward of all who hold fast to the faith. If Christianity were meant for this life only, it could be seriously asked if it were indeed a satisfying religion. Many of the worldly religions provide blessings in the flesh and the unbeliever, as we have pointed out, does many good works. But the fact that the King is coming separates the true faith from all other of men's ideas on how to please God. The Lord holds up to the faithful at Thyatira the very best of all His blessings in order to bolster them in their walk.

In the end, the true believers will get Jesus Himself—His love, His compassion, His company, His intimacy:

And I will give him the morning star (Rev. 2:28).

I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star (Rev. 22:16).

In considering the situation of Thyatira we have a simple choice to make. Which of us would prefer a relationship with Jezebel to a relationship with Jesus Christ?

Sardis: A Dying Church

The church at Sardis provides us that sad picture of the grand old church building that once was filled with joyful believers but now is dying and almost empty. These churches are to be found nearly everywhere and they typically suffer from a want of good teaching and truly spiritual leadership. The believers can't get anything when they come so they simply don't come. Left behind is a diminishing congregation of malnourished diehards.

The Lord is very clear about Sardis:

And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.

Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God (Rev. 3:1-2).

The idea of death in a church expresses that the people are living strictly in the flesh. It is the flesh that dies; the spirit never dies.

The Lord hasn't given up on Sardis, of course, and He points to some things in the church that are sick but not dead as yet. The Lord urges the congregation to reclaim those spiritual works that are not dead and He gives clear warning that nothing less than the Second Coming and the Kingdom hang in the balance:

Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee (Rev. 3:3).

The image of the thief who comes by surprise is from I Thessalonians 5, where Paul discusses how the world will be unaware of the Lord's coming. The believer should never be unaware that the Lord is returning, but the world will be as unalert as a householder is of a thief in the night. The "Day of the Lord" is under discussion here and it indicates the entire period of the Tribulation, the Second Coming and the Millennial Kingdom. This is when the Lord will truly have His day and only those who truly expect Him and wait in hope for His coming will participate with Him.

There is a danger then that some church members will not be part of the Lord's plans for the future. He made this point most emphatically in the Gospels, saying that there would be weeping and gnashing of teeth at the end and that He will have to tell some "I never knew you". It is not enough therefore, at least in the case of Sardis, to just keep coming to a dying church. Evidently they will not have faith enough for the Lord to consider them a part of the true church; they are simply not saved.

It is imperative then for the dying church to pull itself together, get the Bibles out again and rejuvenate their relationship with the Lord. The truest sign of the dying church is those missing Bibles. I once taught at a church where I noticed the people entering before the service empty-handed. I spoke to the pastor briefly, telling him that I would be referring to the Bible quite a bit in the lesson that evening. He replied, "That's good, we have one." In the worst of the apostasy of the Church of Rome, we can safely assume that each church had one Bible, if only one of those ornate huge print versions on a lectern up front. But obviously the Lord's standards call for a Bible per person, not a Bible per church. It is a safe assumption that Sardis had its troubles because it simply didn't know the Word. A church cannot die if it is carrying out the Word of God. The faith will be there and the works will be there.

The Lord singles out a small remnant for commendation in the church at Sardis:

Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not

defiled their garments; and shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy (Rev. 3:4).

Walking with the Lord in white is a magnificent reward pictured at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb:

Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints (Rev. 19: 7-8).

The bride of Christ, the faithful, will have pure white garments signifying their perfection before the Lord. The type goes all the way back to the Tabernacle and the garments of the priesthood. Pure white indicated absolute righteousness before God and so the costumes of the priests and the hangings of the Temple were instead sewn with colors—scarlet, blue and purple (sacrifice, heaven and royalty). The colors of Christ had to be mixed with the white of the garments, indicating that the wearers were perfect only in Him. Ultimately we will be perfect in ourselves, our sins forgiven at the cross and our bad works burned away at the Judgment Seat of Christ (I Cor. 3:11-15). The reward of white garments is inestimably and eternally significant. It goes to all true believers.

The Lord lays particular stress on the accompanying rewards for those in the white garments:

He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels (Rev. 3:5).

To those at Sardis, apparently without detailed knowledge of the Bible, the Lord clearly defines His terms. It is not only that they will wear white, but they will remain in the Book of Life and will be known to the Father and the angels. To the unread but faithful ones Jesus takes particular trouble in emphasizing the completeness of their reward.

In the prophetic system of the churches Thyatira and Sardis conform to the churches before and after the Reformation. It must be remembered that the Medieval and Renaissance congregations simply did not have Bibles. It wasn't a case of their not wishing to read the scriptures, but of the fact that the scriptures were not made available. The Church of Rome declared that the ordinary folk should not read the scriptures but be guided by the interpretations of the clergy, and this is true to some degree today in this church. Vernacular Bibles were still hard to come by in the period following the Reformation and so the congregations went about their faith largely ignorant of the Word.

With the invention of the printing press and the proliferation of translations available today there is not the vaguest excuse for any church to be without Bibles. Those which are will inevitably find themselves in the sick and dying state of Sardis.

Philadelphia: The True Church

There is no quibble at all with the church at Philadelphia. His message contains nothing but commendations for that faithful fellowship:

I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast not denied my name (Rev. 3:8).

The "open door" indicates that the church reaches out to its community and that people coming in will find Christ there. It was a witnessing church that had kept Christ's Word and never denied His name.

Having a good church is just that simple.

Evidently the church was experiencing some problems with those who pose as true believers, just as in the church at Smyrna (Rev. 2:9):

Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee (Rev. 3:9).

In this case the charlatans will yet make amends for their hypocrisy. The image is given of the untrue ones bowing before the faithful and coming to the full realization that the Master loved those who stood steadfast.

Now the Lord makes a most heartening promise in relation to the Tribulation Period, saying that Philadelphia will be spared that awful time of judgment:

Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth (Rev. 3:10).

The above verse is often used as evidence that the Rapture will precede the Tribulation Period, and that the true church will betaken out of the world before the Antichrist comes to do his bloody work. It is a very strong proof text; "the hour of temptation which shall come upon all the world" is a most fitting description of the Tribulation Period and nothing else (see Matt. 24:21). It is clear that Philadelphia, and apparently all the churches like that body, will be kept from the punishments described later on through the Book of Revelation.

It is important that we appreciate that none of the other churches received this particular promise of the Lord—as if to say that the churches flawed with unbelief and heresy will endure the Tribulation. As we can surmise from many other scriptures, the faithful and true will go with the Lord in the Rapture, and those who are not the true believers, even if they prefer to be known as Christians, will face those awful times.

The Lord then encourages ongoing faithfulness:

Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown (Rev. 3:11).

The implication here is that unbelieving men can yet infiltrate the true church and spoil its testimony. In view of the situation with the world, the hypocrites and the heretics, no Christian can really relax. The testimony must be kept pure and forceful right up to the return of the King.

In the prophetic scheme Philadelphia seems to represent the strong and true church that emerged after the Reformation but before the apostasy of the end times. Many observers of today's church life feel that they see the Philadelphians everywhere— witnessing churches strong and true—surrounded on every side by faltering and weak churches in error. Scripture indicates that just before the end times, or Tribulation Period, there will be a weakening of many churches (II Thess. 2:3) and indeed as we come to the final church we read of a problem all too apparent in modern Christianity.

Laodicea: Apostasy

The Lord is very discouraged with the church at Laodicea and really has nothing good to say about the state in which He finds it:

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 spue thee out of my mouth (Rev. 3:15-16).

With hot water one can make coffee or tea and with cold water one can refresh himself. But what is to be done with tepid, lukewarm water? The Lord says He will spit out this church for being in that mediocre state.

The large liberal denominations again come to mind. They bear the name Christian and indeed a cross appears on the steeples of the church buildings. They wouldn't be caught saying that they hate Christ, of course, but neither do they love Him. They wouldn't be caught doing no good works, but all of their works are in the flesh. They wouldn't be accused of saying the Bible is false but they won't say that it is true either. This middle ground, this hypocrisy, seems to displease the Lord more than a straight-forward stand of unbelief. He would rather have them admit to their lack of faith than to patronize the Gospel with some pretense of loyalty that has no real meaning. Indeed throughout the pages of the Gospel we never find the Lord in His earthly ministry criticizing an unbeliever. The Lord fraternized with sinners all the time and witnessed to them patiently. It was a different story in the Temple, however, where He found those lukewarm ones, the berobed priests whose selfrighteousness got the best of their ability to learn from the Messiah Himself. The Lord took a whip to them (John 2:12-17).

The church acts today as if God hates sinners. God has never hated sinners; He says He hates hypocrites.

Our liberal churches are often found in a state of wealth in the modern world and the Lord has much to say about that:

Because thou sayest, I am rich and increased with goods, and have 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, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see (Rev. 3:18-19).

Gold is the symbol of God—the Lord wants them to try God and then they will be truly rich. Earthly gold they already have, but it is spiritually of no effect. The white raiment we discussed above in connection with the church at Sardis; the Lord appeals to the lukewarm church to make every effort to qualify for this level of purity. Medicine to combat the blindness of the lukewarm church is also available from the Lord.

Lest they think that Jesus is merely a rebuker and hard to please, He extends as with the other erring churches the chance of true restoration:

As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent (Rev. 3:19).

A Final Word

In conclusion the Lord states three verses applicable to any kind of church throughout the age. He first presents His own position and attitude toward all men:

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me (Rev. 3:20).

The above verse used so often in witnessing to the lost is here applied principally to the churches, which paradoxically contain some of the lost. Throughout the age of faith Jesus Christ stands waiting; in fact He stands knocking at the door. In like manner in the Gospels the Lord stressed the simplicity of coming to true faith: "Ask and it shall be given unto you", "Seek and ye shall find". The picture of the One who laid down His life for His friends standing at a door and knocking should melt any unbelieving heart.

The Lord then presents in brief form the magnificent reward awaiting those who will come to Him:

To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne (Rev. 3:21).

And finally there repeats again the ringing cadences of that magnificent admonition given to all men of the church age that they might take a fitting example from the triumphs and tribulations of those early church fellowships:

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches (Rev. 3:22).

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