LEARNING DAILY

 

Revelation 1:10-11, I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, saying “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “What you see write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos. To Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”

 

Do you ever get distracted when sitting in church?  Of course, you have.  Your attention gets drawn to the person walking out of the service for some reason, the whispers behind you, the child who has had enough of “sitting and being quiet, and of course the thoughts of where you might eat later or what will be prepared for the meal after church – all distractions.

 

Imagine John, alone on the island of Patmos, so involved with his meditation or contemplation of the Lord, being very intent on spiritual things; there were no distractions.  I wonder what he was pondering while in such deep spiritual thought!  Was he thinking about the walks and talks when he was with Jesus?  Was he thinking about the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of the Lord?  Was he thinking about the signs Jesus gave about His second coming and wondering if today was the day?  During this time, he heard a voice that he describes “as of trumpet”, a loud voice so it cannot be missed by him.  The One speaking is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.  The description He gives of Himself expresses His deity and His eternal being.  Consider his reaction in verse 17a when he saw the One talking to him was the Lord, “And when I saw Him I fell at His feet as dead” (the bold words are my emphasis).  And we wonder how we might react when we get to heaven and see Him.

 

I wonder why the Lord instructed John to write to these churches.  I have taught that these seven churches represent seven church ages and explain the triumphs and the failings during each church age.  I suppose there will be some agree and others who disagree.  I do think that each church has warnings for present-day Christians to be aware of that could tempt or lead them away from their faith.  For that reason, it is worth the time to examine what the Lord said about each church and see what the warning is for us today.

 

There are similarities about each church.  Each was written to the “angel of the church of ….” This most likely refers to the “bishop” over the church.  John communicated with the churches through human messengers that would relate the messages to those in the church.  Perhaps the churches communicated with John at other times through this means.  Each church is told a general condition that is causing difficulties within the church.  The warning is clear - repent or risk finding the work they are given to do weakened or less effective.  It is interesting that the problems faced by these seven churches would occur over and over again in the churches throughout history. 

 

With that in mind, it is worth the time to study what the Lord said to and about each church and see what we can find out about the church (in general) of today.

 

If you receive this blog through email, you can go to the regular blog page by moving your cursor to the top of the page and click on LEARNING DAILY header.  Then you can see the archived articles and comment section. You can also leave a comment by clicking on the date in the Comment Section.