Rev. M.A.Varughese
17th July 2011

Many people think that our Lord is only full of grace and mercy. They tend to forget that He is also the righteous judge, who will one day, judge the whole of humanity. This final judgment is found in the last book in the Bible, the Book of Revelations. John, the disciple, was inspired, by the Holy Spirit, to write the Book of Revelations, even as he was in exile on the island of Patmos. He was worshiping God, on the Lord’s day, when he saw visions of what is now and what is to come.

In Revelation chapter 1 – 3, John refers to 7 churches by specific names. In chapter 2 and 3, letters are written to these 7 churches. These churches are not specific churches, but they represent the whole history of the church, which can be divided into seven parts. In Revelation chapter 1 and verse 12, John saw 7 golden lampstands which represented the 7 churches and our Lord Jesus is in the middle of them all. In verse 16, John sees that our Lord Jesus held 7 stars in his right hand, which represent the 7 angels of the 7 churches. These angels were in charge of the seven churches and God addressed the letters to them. In Revelation chapter one, Jesus was in the middle of the church. But by chapter 3 and verse 20, He is standing outside at the door and knocking. He is no longer in the center. What caused this transition? We need to understand what happened in the seven different ages of the church, as revealed by the seven letters.

The 7 letters are written in the same format. Our Lord Jesus introduces Himself to each church. The letter is addressed to the angel of the church. He appreciates the good things about the church. He also admonishes the church and asks them to return to their original state or make corrections. He also gives them a warning of what will happen should they not make these changes and what will happen if they did.

The first church was the Church of Ephesus (Revelation2:1-7). Our Lord Jesus seems to tell them that though they think that they are closer to Him than anyone else, in reality, He holds all churches equally, in His hands. God says that He has seen their works and their labour. There is a difference between the two. Works is the outcome, the result. Labour is the effort that has gone into the result. God also recommends them for the way they examine people, looking at the fruits that they produce. But He admonishes them for losing their first love. Unless they repent, God will be forced to remove their candlestick. Promotions and demotions are passed on by the corrections we make of our mistakes.

In verse 8 onwards, God writes to the angel of the Church of Smyrna. God tells them that there are many who are not the children of God who have entered and now blaspheme God. Not all who are born of Abraham are counted as the seed. Only those who are born out of the promise are considered the promised child. God told the church that there are some who have not had a proper born again experience has entered the church.

In verse 12 onwards, God writes to the angel of the Church of Pergamum. Our Lord introduces Himself as One who has the sharp 2 edged sword. Our Lord then talks about the degradation from the previous church – Satan now dwells in the church. There are two administrations that are at work in the church of this age. One that belongs to God and the other that belongs to satan. But God holds this against the church, that they hold on to the teaching of Balaam. Balack was a ruler who knew that he and his kingdom were in trouble on account of the Israelites as they wandered in the wilderness. He sought a spiritual way to defeat them. He sought a prophet who would prophesy against them for money. Balaam turned out to the that prophet. But Balaam could not prophesy against them as they were so blessed by God. So he gave Balack the idea to somehow entice the Israelites to forget about their holy and divine consecration and to live like their neighbors. Then God Himself will spew them out from His Presence. God holds the church to account because they did not stop these people nor did they remove them from their midst. They allowed them to flourish.

In verse 18 onwards, God writes to the angel of the Church of Thyatira. In previous churches, satan entered in the church and later began to dwell there. In this church age, God accuses the church of tolerating the woman Jezebel so that she began to lead people astray. She was only a queen but she calls herself a prophetess.

This teaching ends here and maybe continued at a later date. Let us pray that God makes this generation a church that stands firm, uncompromising and waiting for His return. Have your way, Lord Jesus.