Four Messages

REVELATION 2:1-3

Ephesus

"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).

There are certain similarities in all the messages to the seven churches. Each message begins with a description of Christ given by Himself and then includes a description of Christ taken from the vision in Revelation 1.

"From Him who is holding the seven stars and walking in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks": a message from Jesus as He walks in the midst of His church, holding the angels of the churches.

To each of the churches Jesus declares His knowledge concerning them. "I know thy works" (Rev. 2:2).

Many times we think that we're hiding things from God. No way! He knows our works. More than that, He knows the motivation behind our works. Some of the works will be burned - those done for vainglory (to be seen of men), about which Jesus said, "You have your reward" (Matthew 6:2, 5). Every man, one day, will be judged according to his works - what manner or sort they are (Rev. 2:23, 20:13).

Jesus continues to the church of Ephesus, "I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience, and how you cannot bear them which are evil: you have tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and have found them liars" (Rev. 2:2).

In the early church there were itinerant ministers who went from church to church. There were two companies: those who were apostles (they claimed apostleship and the authority of apostleship), and those who went around as prophets ministering to the local bodies.

In time these traveling ministers became a problem in the church because of false prophets. These deceivers would come into a church and really rip things up. To guard against this, a manual was written to warn the church against the false prophets and how to spot them. If one came along and prophesied, "Thus saith the Lord, 'Prepare a big turkey dinner'!" - he was not to eat of it. If he ate of it, he was a false prophet. If he declared to you by the Spirit that you were to give him gifts, he was a false prophet. He was to stay for two days. If he stayed any longer and tried to sponge off you, he was a false prophet. This advice was intended to keep these itinerants on the move and to prevent them from profiting from the churches.

In Ephesus the Christians exercised discernment on those who came in and claimed to be apostles but were not. "You found them to be liars." The Lord commended them for their discernment.

He commended them for their holiness. They would not bear those which were evil. He commended them for their work, their labor, and their patience. "And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast labored, and not fainted" (Rev. 2:3).

Ephesus was a working church according to Christ's description. In labor they did not faint. They had patience and discernment. They had all of these things going for them.

REVELATION 2:4-5

Return to Your First Love

Yet, the Lord said, "Nevertheless I have this against thee, because thou hast left thy first love" (Rev. 2:4).

Ephesus was a church that was still going through the motions but they had left the emotions. They were no longer motivated by the love of Jesus Christ. They were now being motivated by pressure, habit, form, or ritual.

What a sad day when your ministry turns into a job! Paul said, "For the love of Christ constraineth us" (2 Corinthians 5:14). It was the love that drove Paul onward.

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal... And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor... and I have not love, it profiteth me nothing (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).

I can have a lot of things going for me. I can be the hardest and most diligent worker in a church. I can give myself tirelessly to the spreading of the Gospel. But if I have not love, if I have left my first love, it profits me nothing. Jesus said that, though you have all this going for you, you have left your first love.

"Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works" (Rev. 2:5).

Many people say, "Oh, you've lost your first love." You don't lose it, you leave it. If you lose something, you never know where to pick it up again. You don't know where to find it. If you leave something, you know where to pick it up again. Jesus tells us how to pick it up again.

The three R's: "Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen." Remember that love that you once had? "Repent." Then Repeat. "Do the first works." Come back to that first work of love. It is first above everything else. Do your first works over again, those works motivated and prompted by love.

To most of the churches Jesus said, "Repent." There is the necessity of repentance in most churches. There were only two to whom He didn't have to say "Repent."

Repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. (Rev. 2:5).

Unless there was a repentance, a return to that first love, Jesus would remove the candlestick from its place. Where was its place? In the presence of Christ, for He walked in the midst of the candlesticks. Jesus is saying, "I will not stay around a loveless church." This is a very solemn consideration.

Unfortunately, as we look at the church today - so filled with factions, fighting, and divisions - in many cases the candlestick has been removed from its place. You go to church but you don't feel the presence and the power of Jesus Christ. Instead, you feel the factions and all the pressures and strain. Jesus said, "I won't stay around a loveless church."

REVELATION 2:6-7

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

"Nicolaitanes" comes from two Greek words: nikao and laos meaning "establishing a priesthood over a laity." The church of Ephesus hated that establishment of a spiritual hierarchy. Jesus said, "Which I also hate."

Why? Because, in our minds, it suddenly puts some men closer to God than others. God doesn't want anyone to feel far from Him. He wants every man to feel close to Him. God doesn't want you to feel that you have to go through someone to get to Him. He wants you to come directly to Him in His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus has opened the door to God for every man alike, and He doesn't want anyone to stand in your way of coming to Him. To each church Jesus said, "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give..."

To each church there is a blessing to the overcomers. It is interesting to note, and I do bear witness, that in every church, even the most apostate, there are the individual overcomers who truly know Jesus Christ.

To the church of Ephesus He promised, "To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God" (Rev. 2:7).

In the Garden of Eden God had given to man the fruit of the trees for his meat. Two specific trees were mentioned. There was the tree of knowledge of good and evil which man was forbidden to eat, and the tree of life which, if a man ate of it, he would live forever.

Adam and Eve had their choice of the trees. It would seem to me that they would have chosen immediately to eat of the tree of life. Why would they choose the tree of knowledge of good and evil over the tree of life? Why would they eat of its fruit before the fruit of the tree of life? The knowledge of good and evil, however, was more important to them than life.

In reality, man has the same choice today. You can't blame Adam for all your evils or troubles or ills, because God has given you the choice of the tree of life, if you'll just partake of it. The cross of Jesus Christ is life to those who believe and trust in Him. You have the opportunity to partake of that life in Christ.

A lot of people have intellectual hang-ups. They have made their intellect their god. Because they cannot fully understand or comprehend the meaning of the incarnation and its purpose - the substitutionary death of Christ - they do not partake of the tree of life, though the opportunity is there for them.

When Adam ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, God banished him from the Garden. The cherubim stood above the Garden with a flaming sword to protect it lest man would return, eat of the tree of life, and live forever in his sins (Genesis 2:9, 16-17; Genesis 3:24 ).

That cherubim was not stationed there as a judgment of God but as a representative of the mercy of God. God in His mercy didn't want man to go on forever in this corrupt, sinful body. For man's sake, He put the cherubim there to keep stupid man from the garden lest he would eat of the tree of life and go on living forever in a body corrupted by sin.

Too many times people see God as a God of judgment and wrath when, in reality, He's a God of love and mercy. But they misinterpret the mercy of God for judgment. God was protecting man from himself by placing the cherubim at the entrance to the Garden to keep man from reentering.

The tree of life is in the midst of the Paradise of God, wherever that may be. He that overcomes will have the opportunity to eat of that tree. We'll partake of the tree of life!

Historically, Ephesus is the early church, the apostolic church that existed up until the time of the death of John (c. 99 A. D.). Even at the time of John's writing, the fire of love had begun to wane a bit in the early church. When they first started out they were fervent. They went everywhere preaching the Gospel. The love of Christ was driving them throughout the world. Now, they were already becoming a bit established, leaving the first love.

REVELATION 2:8-9

Smyrna

Historically, Smyrna is the church that followed Ephesus. It continued for the next couple of centuries (second to fourth centuries) and went through such tremendous persecution from the Roman government. It is thought that perhaps as many as six million Christians were martyred for their faith during the Roman government's attempt to wipe out Christianity.

"Unto the angel of the church in Smyrna" (Rev. 2:8).

If the "angel" refers to the local bishop of the church, the bishop of Smyrna was Polycarp, a disciple of John, martyred in his 90's. The government planned to kill this aged man by burning him at the stake. As the fagots were gathered around him, the executioner said, "I hate to see an old man die. Just recant Christ and we'll set you free. Then you can live your last days in peace."

Polycarp said, "For over eighty years I have served my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Not once has He denied me. I shall not deny Him."

The executioner said, "The fire will be hot."

Polycarp said, "Not nearly as hot as the fire you'll experience!"

The executioner lit the fagot. At first the flames leaped up around Polycarp but didn't touch his body. Seeing this, the executioner took a spear and thrust him through. The blood that poured out extinguished the fire. The Christians took his body and gave him a Christian burial.

It is significant, in a church whose members should suffer persecution and tribulation and have many martyred, that even the bishop of the church was put to death. The early leader was not above the people he ministered to; he shared in the trials and sufferings with his flock.

Unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive (Rev. 2:8).

Because they were to be martyred, Jesus is reminding these Christians of His triumph over death. "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live" (John 11:25). Jesus said, "Because I live, ye shall live also" (John 14:19). By reminding them of His triumph over death, He's giving them courage and strength for the hour when they would be facing death.

To the church at Smyrna John was told to write: "I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich)" (Rev. 2:9). This is in contrast to the church of Laodicea that said, "We are rich," but Jesus said, "You're poor."

The estimate of ourselves is one thing, but His estimate of us is far different. The estimate of the church of Smyrna of themselves was that of poverty. Jesus said, "Thou art rich." "Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith?" (James 2:5).

"I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan" (Rev. 2:9). Most of the persecution that came in the early church was instigated and inspired by the Jews. Wherever Paul went, the Jews followed him and stirred up agitation in each city against him.

The term "Jew" refers to one who practices Judaism. It isn't a nationality. You can actually proselyte and become a Jew, that is, a worshiper of God through Judaism. Some Jews were claiming to be worshipers of God but they were not. They had their synagogues, but Jesus said of them that they were the synagogues of Satan.

The Jews said to Jesus, "We are of our father Abraham. Who your father is nobody knows." Jesus said, "If your father were Abraham, then you would have believed in me, for Abraham testified of me." Jesus said, "You are of your father the devil, and you do his works" (John 8:31-47).

REVELATION 2:10-11

To the church of Smyrna He said, "Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison" (Rev. 2:10). The Lord recognizes that Satan is behind all the persecution and tribulation of the church. Jesus said to His disciples, "In the world ye shall have tribulation" (John 16:33). The devil works through people even as God works through people. We need to realize that Satan is behind the inspiration and works of many people.

"The devil shall cast some of you into prison, that you may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days." The "ten days" could refer to the ten great periods of tribulation under the Roman government. "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life" (Rev. 2:10).

Jesus has nothing bad to say about the church of Smyrna. No call to repentance. Smyrna is the church that will be purified by persecution, They'll be martyred and experience great tribulation. Tribulation never hurt the church. It always had a purifying effect. Jesus is encouraging them to be faithful unto death and He will give them a crown of life.

There is the crown of life. There's also a crown of righteousness. Paul said,

There is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing (2 Timothy 4:8).

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).

The second death is explained to us in Revelation 20, when all the world (excluding Christians) stands before the Great White Throne Judgment of God. Death and hell will give up the dead. Whosoever's name is not found written in the Lamb's Book of Life shall be cast into Gehenna, the second death.

Those who overcome shall not be hurt of the second death. "Blessed and holy is he," the Scripture said, "who hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power" (Rev. 20:6).

When Jesus comes again to reign upon the earth and establishes His kingdom, Satan shall be bound for one thousand years and placed in the abyss. During this period Jesus will reign upon the earth in righteousness. The church will be reigning with Him as kings and priests. At the end of the thousand years, Satan will be loosed for a short season and will go throughout the world again to deceive the nations. He'll gather a great army to try to destroy Christ and to drive Him out of Jerusalem.

At times Christians come to me and say, "At the end of the thousand years, what if I'm deceived by Satan?" I answer, "Impossible!" " Blessed and holy is he that has part in the first resurrection: on such the second death has no power." You'll be in your new body, and there's no way you'll come into conspiracy with Satan at that time.

This short season will be a trial for those who have never had a trial as far as their Christian walk is concerned. Those who have been forced to live righteously during the kingdom age will be given an opportunity to do otherwise. The surprising thing is that so many will take it!

REVELATION 2:12-17

Pergamos

"And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write, These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges, 'I know thy works and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat [throne] is.' " The city of Pergamos was a city filled with sensuous worship of pagan deities.

"And thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith" (Rev. 2:12-13). A faithful remnant in this city of pagan worship is holding fast to the name of Jesus Christ. "Even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth" (Rev. 2:13).

Jesus knows the works of the church of Pergamos - holding fast to His name in a pagan world, not denying the faith even at the martyrdom of Antipas, one of its members.

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

The worship of these pagan deities was usually marked by the most abominable practices. The pagan temples had priestesses who were actually prostitutes, and the revenue for most of the pagan temples was gained through prostitution. Part of their religious rites involved sexual orgies with these priestesses.

In that area of Asia the Gnostics said that everything material was evil. Their belief was that God had nothing to do with the material world. Therefore, it didn't matter what you did to your body. They taught that you could do anything you wanted, because God wasn't concerned with your evil body. He was only concerned with your spirit. Thus, the Gnostics allowed all kinds of lasciviousness. Peter warned against this in his epistle (1 Peter 4:1-3).

In Pergamos some were saying, "We can do whatever we want! We're Christians and we're covered by grace. The body doesn't count, anyhow." Even though they were now professing Christians, they advocated worshipping in these pagan rites. This was the doctrine of Balaam - the worship of idols and committing fornication.

"Also you have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes" - the establishment of a priesthood. Jesus said, "Which thing I hate." The Lord's word to them was, "Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth" (Rev. 2:15-16).

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; to him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it (Rev. 2:17).

The "hidden manna" is that life in Jesus Christ. He said, "I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger" (John 6:35).

The "white stone" was actually the stone of acceptance or approval and was used in voting. A white stone signified a "yes" vote and a black stone a "no" vote. Some clubs have adopted a similar practice today. White or black balls are dropped into a ballot box whenever an applicant is considered for membership, and he is rejected, or black-balled," if someone drops in a black ball.

Jesus said that He will give us a white stone - "Accepted." I've been accepted by God in Christ. The white stone has "a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it" (Rev. 2:17).

Two evils had begun to creep into the church - the introduction of idolatry and the introduction of a priesthood. The church of Pergamos historically is the development of the church-state system under Constantine in 316 A.D. It was the beginning of the Roman Catholic Church.

REVELATION 2:18-22

Thyatira

"And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass." "Brass" always symbolizes judgment in the Scriptures. "I know thy works, and love, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first" (Rev. 2:18-19).

This church had a lot of things going for it. Thyatira was one of the most active churches around. Works, love, service, faith, patience; tremendous characteristics - yet, the Lord said,

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

That Jezebel system is the introduction of idolatry into the church and spiritual fornication. These things also took place with the nation Israel and, thus, Israel was rejected by God.

I gave her space to repent of her fornication and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds (Rev. 2:21-22).

Is the church going to go through the Great Tribulation? I must, answer, "Yes, a part of the church will be going through the Great Tribulation." The part of the church that does go through is the church of Thyatira, the woman Jezebel who failed to repent of her spiritual adultery and spiritual fornication.

Those who want to make a case of the church going through the Tribulation - this is the case that they can make. The unrepentant church of Thyatira will go into the Great Tribulation.

When God, in the Ten Commandments, specifically forbid their making any images or likenesses of things in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water beneath, why do they adorn their churches with images of Jesus, Mary, or the saints?

REVELATION 2:23-29

"And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works. 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 you have already hold fast till I come. And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. And I will give him the morning star. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches" (Rev. 2:23-29).

The promise to the overcomers is that beautiful promise of ruling with a rod of iron in the Kingdom of God and being given the morning star, Jesus Christ. The rod of iron signifies the type of reign during the kingdom age. People will be forced to be good. Our duties as the church reigning with Christ will be to enforce His righteousness.