"Ding: You've Got Mail"

Revelation 2:1-11; 3:1-6

“Leave it in the Mailbox”

Sanford and Son episode....Lamont checks the mail one day and bring the mail inside to look over it. While he going through the mail, he gets to the light bill…water bill…gas bill....and Lamont asks him what are they going to do about the bills, and Fred’s response was to “put them back in the mailbox.” Today, we check the mail and often times we put God’s mail back only to entertain the “junk mail” or mail that is labeled “occupant.” #CheckYourMail

The Big Idea of the Message

The church must lament its sins and ask for forgiveness from God and the world around us.

The Seven Churches

The messages to the seven churches, which occupy the focus of chaps. 2 and 3, have received the most intense homiletical attention. While that may be regrettable in terms of the remainder of the book, even the casual reader would have to recognize the remarkable applicability of these letters to the postmodern church. In fact, pastors in every age of the church seem to have recognized the value of this congregational counsel. To grant this pastoral value to the letters to the seven churches is to recognize something of a universal quality to the messages contained here. First, almost any church—even a contemporary congregation—has more in common with one of these historic congregations than with the others. For example, in some parts of the world, churches are:

Smyrnan churches, suffering almost overwhelming persecution and yet remaining true to their witness to Christ.

Philadelphian churches with an open door of missionary effectiveness.

Ephesian churches, busy but with misplaced priorities and thus not functioning out of a pure love for Christ.

Sardian congregations with a reputation for vitality but largely ineffective in what they do.

Pergamian churches, married to the world with moral virtue fading or nonexistent.

Thyatiran churches have delved deeply into heretical doctrines,

Laodicean churches are neither hot nor cold but just lukewarm.

Beyond that, as mentioned above, the universal value of the two chapters resides in the fact that people and churches remain much the same throughout history. What might be a bit disturbing to the interpreter is to note that five of the seven churches receive rather harsh critiques from the Lord of the lampstands, while only two of them are relatively free from such assessment. Unquestionably, to conclude that two churches out of seven are fulfilling their calling according to the plan and purposes of God, in any era, would be suggesting too much. However, more often than not, the majority of those churches claiming Christ as head demonstrate more qualities of the less commendable churches in Revelation 2–3. Finally, note the consistent pattern in the messages to the churches. The message to each church is addressed to the city where the church resides and more specifically to the angel of that church. Then the ultimate author of the book, the Lord Jesus, reveals himself in each case in a way that is uniquely applicable to the problems and prospects of that individual local church. There follows an assessment of the church, which is sometimes positive (Philadelphia), sometimes negative (Thyatira), and sometimes mixed (Sardis). A negative assessment is followed by either counsel or threat or both, and comfort and commendation also follow when there is need. In each of the letters to the seven churches is a concluding promise accompanied by an admonition. Once again, the promises are uniquely applicable to the seven historic congregations in Asia Minor but, by extension, valuable for all generations. Perhaps these were Johannine churches in the sense that John was involved either in the founding of the churches or in some pastoral assignment for the churches of that area. Other conjectures have to do with the suitability of the particular assets and liabilities associated with these seven churches in order to give a general message to whatever New Testament churches throughout the burgeoning Christian world might read the Apocalypse.

“Duty Replaced Devotion” Rev. 2:1-7

Painting a picture of church life in Ephesus on the basis of v. 2, one can possibly affirm that the church at Ephesus was a diligent, hardworking church characterized by great patience in the apostolic endeavor, a love for moral purity, and an unquestioned orthodoxy, which made the congregation quite different from her sister churches in Pergamum or Thyatira. Some of these issues are reemphasized in v. 3 where the author, once again, utilizes the concepts of patient endurance and the enduring of hardships in the name of Christ. Here, the word for endure, bastazō, is used rather obviously in contrast to its understanding in v. 2 where the indication is that the church could not bear or tolerate those who were wicked. While they could not bear or tolerate the wicked, they did bear and tolerate hardships in Christ’s name. The particular method of that toleration is explicitly illustrated, “You … have not grown weary.” Both persecution and the pursuit of doctrinal purity wear down those of weak faith and commitment. Once again the picture is of the near perfect congregation. “They had correct doctrine, but not a correct heart.”

Isaiah 29:13 ESV

And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,

The charged leveled against this church is “Your work is/was more valuable than your worship.” How, someone may ask, could a church as perfect as that of Ephesus possibly fail to love Christ or God appropriately? The key word is first, not love. As with romantic love between a man and woman, first love always involves passion. Yet there was not passionate pursuit of an intimate relationship with Christ in the church. Perhaps Ephesus had succeeded well in many areas, but the maintenance of that success had become more important than the motivation for service—namely, the love for Christ. “If our church’s activity is about us rather than about Jesus, he’ll remove his presence from it.” Ephesus falls out of love with Christ when they stopped maintaining their relationship after their passion passed. The hardest work with people is building relationship, not maintaining the relationship. “What got you to the top is what you need to keep you on top.”

abandon (aphiemi) — to stop doing something, with the implication of complete cessation; refers to leaving or abandoning a place, a person, or a thing, including a belief.

love (agape) — to have love for someone or something based on sincere appreciation and high regard with affection, loving concern.

“Live through faithfulness and not fear” Rev. 2:8-11

At this point John makes an accusation, which, if read by any Jew, would have been one of the most astonishing accusations of the book. The Jews perpetrating this slander, in fact, are not Jews but “are a synagogue of Satan.” However, John is not questioning their ethnic derivation; rather he is indulging in the same argumentation the apostle Paul used when he said, “For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel” (Rom 9:6–8).

English Standard Version Chapter 9

6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.

Paul’s argument that “a spiritual Israel” exists is designed to suggest that the real essence of Jewry (i.e., the business of being the people of God) is bound up not with ethnic derivation but with spiritual obedience to God. Those Jews who had been guilty of the slanderous accusations against the Christians had not only rejected the Jewish Messiah but had also indulged in behavior clearly forbidden by Jewish law in order to guarantee their own physical and financial well-being. Consequently, John did not hesitate to say that though they claimed to be Jews, they were not the people of God and were, in fact, a part of the synagogue of Satan.

tribulation (thlipsis) — trouble that inflicts distress, oppression

poverty (ptocheia) — state of being deficient in means of support

slander (blasphema) — to speak against someone in such a way as to harm or injure his or her reputation (occurring in relation to persons as well as to divine beings)

The Smyrnan Christians are encouraged not to fear any of these sufferings. Faith and fear cannot exist together. Either you live in fear, or you live in faith.” 2 Timothy 1:6 says “for God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.” However, rather than following this prohibition against fear by the promise of alleviation of difficulty, the Lord offers instead the promise that some of them were going to be sent to prison as a part of testing and that they were going to experience tribulation “for ten days.” Further, some were to anticipate martyrdom since the Lord urges them, “Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

The promise to the church is that if they are faithful unto death, the Lord will give them a crown. First, recall that the famous golden street that wound up Mount Pagus was studded like a crown with various public edifices and temples of notable architectural achievement. Therefore, for Smyrnans to speak of the city itself as “the crown” was not unusual. But the Lord’s message to the suffering saints of Smyrna is that the city itself may be a crown in the aesthetics of the builder and the beholder; but a permanent crown of life, a crown enduring forever, would be the gift of the risen Christ to those who were faithful even to death.

“Your reputation does not match your reality” Rev. 3:1-6

The problem at Sardis is also a matter of relationship. In Sardis the question is the relationship between reputation and reality. The reputation of the church at Sardis was life, but the reality was that they were dead. Is the intent to suggest that the church was in decline due to a failure in evangelism, which would eventually issue in the total demise of the congregation? Does it mean that the church was successful numerically but spiritually had become quiescent to the point that nothing significant was happening in the spiritual life of the congregation? Or does it mean that the church had died theologically and embraced some heretical belief? The third seems unlikely in the description except for the fact that later in the message there are “a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes.” This phrase might suggest that Sardis was not just a spiritual failure but that its death throes were occasioned by the deliberate activities of some members of the fellowship. “There are those who try to live of reputation while denying their actual reality.”

Osborne says, “It is a sad thing when the only accomplishment (‘deed’) of a church is what it names itself, especially if the reality shows the name to be a lie, as here.” Aune focuses on the word kai in the text, noting that “the author uses the antithetical device of paradox and indicating that the kai linking the two parts of the statement is adversative. The contrasting metaphors are ‘life’ and ‘death’ which represented moral and spiritual vitality morbidity.” Smalley takes special note of the lack of any commendation for Sardis, thus abandoning the pattern of message to the first four congregations. Whatever the exact meaning and the cause of this omission may have been, the consequences are, in this case, what really matters.

The church is not brokering life but death, and its prospects for the future are as dim as those of the citadel’s overconfident defenders in the sordid history of Sardis.

The mandate for Sardis is “wake up,” a present active Greek participle with the sense of “awake” or “watchful.” This is preceded by a present middle imperative of ginomai, which means “become.” The church, then, is told to “wake up” or “be watchful” and strengthen whatever remains that is also close to death. The Lord’s judgment is that he has not found the deeds of the church at Sardis to be complete in the sight of God. “Complete” is a translation of the perfect passive participle of plēroō and is one possible rendering. The word often carries the idea of being “full” or “filled.” The offense is that Sardis has not filled the standard expected by the risen Lord. Further counsel urges the saints of Sardis to remember two things—that which they received and that which they heard—and to be obedient to that heavenly vision through repentance. That which had been received would have to reflect the word of God, salvation, and all the manifestations of the grace of God. That which they had heard probably represents the message of redemption. The prospect of a visitation from the resurrected Christ would normally be viewed with pleasant anticipation. But like the day of the Lord, for which some hoped, a visitation from God is a threat to the church at Sardis. If the people of Sardis fail to stir from their slumber immediately, then the Lord will come as a thief (kleptēs), and the church will never realize the hour in which he came. Allusion to the fate of the city of Sardis in days long past is obvious here. Just as the overconfident city, unaware of the enemy scaling its walls, fell when least expected; so, too, the church at Sardis, with its reputation for life, stood at that moment imperiled by a thief-like visit from God, which would result in its destruction. The threat suggests that dead and dying churches are frequently oblivious to either their condition or to the imminent threat.

Churches with reputations for life but who, nonetheless, harbor primarily death are common enough in any age. One feature of many of these is the presence within the church of saints who have not succumbed to the death that is all around them. Sardis was no exception. Singled out in Sardis is a group that is said not to have “soiled their clothes.” J. Massyngberde Ford references an inscription found in Asia Minor, which cautioned anyone from appearing in soiled garments for the worship of the gods since this would dishonor the god. Sardis itself was the center of the dyeing industry; and hence, the clothing industry throughout Lydia was prominent. Soiled garments would be noticed by a citizen of Sardis. The fact that some in Sardis had not soiled their garments is probably an indication of righteous and holy living and might suggest that part of the problem at Sardis was similar to that found at Thyatira and Pergamum. Those, however, who had participated in separated and holy living were promised that they would be ambulatory with the Lord himself. This walk would continue in holiness since they would be dressed in white. This promise has special significance for these who “hunger and thirst after righteousness.” Paul gave expression to the profound frustration of his heart, lamenting that “When I want to do good, evil is right there with me.… What a wretched man I am!” (Rom 7:21–24).

Finally, to walk in white is precious to the true lover of God. The reason for this walk in white with Christ is because these are worthy (axios). However, this achievement is not the accomplishment of the overcomer but is a bestowed or imputed worth based on the sacrifice of the worthy Lamb. Revelation 12:11 declares, “They overcame him / by the blood of the Lamb.” This is the same Lamb who alone is found “worthy” to open the seven-sealed book (Rev 5:9).Next is a promise that the names of those who had not defiled their garments would not be blotted from the Book of Life, but rather their names would be acknowledged before the Father and his angels. This particular promise occasions a bit more debate. The Old Testament background for such a promise is found in Exod 32:32–33 and in Ps 69:28. Pseudepigraphal books reference the Psalm 69 passage and speak of an actual register of Israelite citizens. In Athens the name of a condemned person was deleted from the town registers prior to the execution of that individual.