Revelation 2

Introduction

Tonight we will be looking at the book of Revelation.

The book of Revelation contains the story of the great war between Jesus Christ and his church versus Satan and the world.

It is not only relevant to the audience it has been written to, but it has been relevant to the church ever since it was written.

The Bible and the book of Revelation as we will see tonight, are full of warnings to the church about giving into the sin of worldliness.

One, if not the biggest problems the church faced then and also today is becoming like the world.

So what exactly is this worldliness that I am speaking of?

Worldliness is going against what the Bible tells us is right to either be accepted by those who reject God or to gratify our sinful desires.

You may notice that much of the world today openly does the things that God says are wrong and they do it without remorse.

They also find problems with those who do obey Gods commands because they are against the very sins that these people love.

There are also wordly churches that are approving of some of these sinful practices so that those who wish to gratify these sinful desires can do so in an accepting environment.

Transition

Over the next couple weeks, we will be looking at the letters to the seven churches in chapters 2 and 3 of the book of Revelation.

We will see how Jesus feels about these churches and the Christians who have made compromises with the world.

My hope and prayer is that all of us here tonight, will be convicted by the Holy Spirit to repent of our compromises with the world and follow Christ even more faithfully than ever before.

Before we actually look at the letters to the churches, I would like to make some comments on these letters in general

Background

These were seven letters actually written to 7 churches in the Asia minor area.

We will see the number 7 mentioned many times in Revelation, being symbolic of completion.

For example: we see in Revelation 1:4 , the seven Spirits of God.

We know that there is only one Spirit of God ,so the seven must be taken symbolic.

The seven spirits of God could be understood as the complete Holy Spirit.

Applying the same symbolism to our seven churches, we see this is to the complete church or the whole church until Christ returns.

One of the common themes that we will see in these letters is that they are written to the angel of the church.

Some people believe this is the pastor or a messenger at the church since the Greek word for angel can also mean messenger, but I believe commentators make a pretty good point for it actually being something like a guardian angel who watches over the church.

Another big thing in these churches was false or wordly teaching which we see as the teachings of Balaam, Jezebel, or the Nicolaitans.

All of these teachings are similar in that they are causing people from the church to give in to the ways of the world.

If we were to go to the Old Testament, we would see that Balaam was responsible for giving advice on how to make the people of God stumble into worldliness.

Jezebel was a wicked queen known for being anti-God.

Not much is known about the Nicolaitans of this time but we can imply from the context they are false teachers similar to the others.

The Church In Ephesus

English Standard Version Chapter 2

2 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.

2 “ ‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. 3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. 6 Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’

The first church that we read about is the church in Ephesus.

You may also remember another letter written to this church by the apostle Paul.

This church in Ephesus was known for sound doctrine.

We know from Scripture that there were many false prophets around back then as there are now, and this church in Ephesus recognized them by their false doctrine.

Our letter also tells us that they could not bear with those who are evil.

These Ephesians were really good at recognizing false teachers because of their sound doctrine and made sure that these people were not in their fellowship.

This is a good thing because sound doctrine is extremely important to the church.

But what was the cost?

Jesus says they have abandoned the love they had at first.

When there is controversy in the church and false prophets are recognized, it can cause people to be skeptical of one another.

They were practicing good doctrine but the love for Christ and the love for one another had diminished in the process of weeding out the false teachers and teachings.

Christ is calling them to repent and go back to the love that they were known for in that church.

He also commends them for hating the works of the Nicolaitans.

It is no surprise that the church focused on sound doctrine would recognize these people and hate their works.

To the one who conquers or overcomes, Jesus will grant to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

The one who conquers will receive eternal life.

The Church in Smyrna

English Standard Version Chapter 2

8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.

9 “ ‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. 11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.’

The church in Smyrna had gone through devastating wars in the past which most likely is what made the people who lived there poor.

This church was also going through tribulation, most of which was probably coming from the false Jews or the synagogue of Satan.

What is the difference between a false Jew and a true Jew?

The true Jew is one inwardly, one who believes Jesus is the Christ.

These false Jews in Smyrna obviously rejected their messiah.

Because of this tribulation the church was going through, there would be some suffering on their part.

The devil will throw some of them into prison to test them.

The good news is that it wont last a long time.

Ten days being symbolic for a short period of time.

To the one who remains faithful, they will receive the crown of life.

To the one who conquers, they will not be hurt by the second death.

The one who conquers will receive eternal life.

The Church In Pergamum

English Standard Version Chapter 2

12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword.

13 “ ‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 14 But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. 15 So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. 17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’

The Church in Pergamum was known for its emperor worship.

Jesus says he knows where this church dwells, where the throne of Satan is, where Satan dwells

False religion would be popular in an area like this as well as persecution of true religion.

Despite where they live and the conditions they are living in, they did not deny the faith, even in the face of death.

Even with that being said, Jesus has a few things against them.

There are people that hold to the teaching of Balaam in their midst.

That is not surprising being they live where Satan dwells.

In the days of the church of Pergamum, there were trade guilds something like a marketplace.

If you did not worship the emperor or participate in the feasts and immorality, you would most likely would have lost your job in the guild which would make it hard to provide for your family.

This made way for people in the church to compromise saying you can do both.

Not according to Jesus!

Jesus calls this church to repent.

To those who don’t repent ,He says he will come to them soon and war against them with the sword of his mouth or in other words come against them in judgement.

To the one that conquers, he will give the hidden manna, or in other words, they will have Christ.

He will also give a white stone with a new name on it that no one knows except the one who receives it.

White is symbolic of purity and according to Sam Storms in his book on Revelation, the new name given to believers on these stones symbolizes the individuals entry into a new life, status, or personality.

In other words, the one who conquers will receive eternal life.

The Church in Thyatira

English Standard Version Chapter 2

18 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze.

19 “ ‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. 20 But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 21 I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. 22 Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, 23 and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works. 24 But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. 25 Only hold fast what you have until I come. 26 The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, 27 and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. 28 And I will give him the morning star. 29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

If we remember how the church at Ephesus was known for its sound doctrine but was failing on the love spectrum, we see this church is the exact opposite

Jesus commends them for their works of love, faith, and service and that they are continually doing better in this area.

Ephesus did not tolerate false teachers but hated their works, yet Thyatira has allowed it.

They tolerate the woman Jezebel.

There likely was actually a woman in this church who was leading people astray into this immorality, her name being symbolic of the Old Testament figure.

She was teaching the church that it was okay to be a Christian and give in to the practices of the world.

Jesus gave this woman time to repent but she has refused.

Everyone who commits this immorality with her will suffer for it unless they repent from their works.

He will also strike her children or those who follow her dead.

Jesus not only walks among the lampstands but he searches every individuals minds and hearts and will give to us according to our works.

Nothing that we do goes unnoticed.

He knows where we live, what goes on in our minds, and also what we do.

To the one who conquers and keeps his works til the end, he will give authority to rule over the nations and receiving the morning star is receiving Christ himself.

Let it be known that the one who conquers will receive eternal life.

Conclusion

Looking at these four churches today, we can see what kind of things Christ approved of in their churches and what kinds of things that he condemned.

Sound doctrine was approved but not at the cost of love.

Staying faithful in the face of persecution no matter the cost was approved.

Living where Satan dwells and near his throne yet holding fast to the name of Christ was approved, yet those who gave into the temptation and followed the practices of the world were condemned.

Great love and works were approved by our Lord but not at the cost of sound doctrine.

Application

You may be wondering how this applies to us today?

I mean nobody in the United States is able to worship Caesar or how many times have we seen food sacrificed to idols?

It would seem as if this is not even relevant for us but it most definitely is.

Caesar worship and food sacrificed to idols was the sin of the times but although times have changed, there is still sin that the church is being tempted with.

I think it is very possible for us today, like the church in Ephesus, to be so devoted to sound doctrine that it causes a spirit of bitterness towards those who disagree with us, even on non-essential things such as the version of the Bible we read or what the mark of the beast means in the book Revelation.

Its possible for us to feel poor when we lose out on opportunities based on our Christian convictions when in all reality we are rich because we have the most important thing in the world, Jesus.

We live in a country with a government that hates God.

This government approves of murdering babies in the womb, distorting Gods plan for marriage between one man and one woman, critical race theory, in some cases shutting down churches.

The list goes on.

It is tempting for us to want to be accepted by the world and give in to accepting these practices as good or even give in to doing them ourselves.

I have heard some Christians say all I want to do is love people and not be worried about doctrine.

Its a great thing to love people but we have seen in these letters that when you don’t worry about doctrine, you open the doors for all kinds of evil to enter the church.

How can we be on guard against this today as Christians?

Like the church in Ephesus, we must understand the doctrines taught in the Scriptures.

This means taking time to read the Bible and study theology.

Along with our family Bible study, Lindsey and I are reading a book called the Essential truths of the Christian faith by R.C. Sproul.

Each chapter is about 5 minutes long and teaches pretty clearly a Christian doctrine.

Like the church in Smyrna, we must know that the world will hate us because it hated our Lord first.

When we are condemned by the world, or laughed at for our faith in Christ, or tempted to give in to sins accepted by the world, we must remain faithful to the one who was faithful even to death to pay for the sin of his people, our Lord Jesus.

Like the church in Pergamum, even though we live in a wicked and sinful world, we must hold fast to the name of Jesus even if we are treated unfairly because of it.

When people of this world, some of whom are even inside the church, try and get us to indulge in their sin, we must remember that Christ is coming soon to war against them.

Finally, like the church in Thyatira, we must let our love and good works be known to everybody.

If I were to ask somebody about you, would your love and good works be one of the things that you were known for?

I am sure we could all improve in this area.

We are saved for the purpose of sharing the good news of Christ and showing the love of Christ to those in our lives and we must find ways to do this in each of our unique situations in life.

To the one who conquers, they will be granted to eat from the tree of life, they will not be hurt by the second death, they will be given some of the hidden manna, they will receive the morning star.

THEY HAVE ETERNAL LIFE!

If you are worried that you don’t have what it takes to conquer, be comforted by this passage.

English Standard Version Chapter 8

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;

we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

If you are in Christ, you are more than a conqueror because of HIM.

Lets pray!