Will someone explain the 7 churches that was addressed in Revelations?

[Radagast]

Thanks... And I must admit that I do not know exact geographies and time periods... But I am pretty sure we are hook and sinker in the Laodicean age.

Who is we, exactly? How much do you know about Christians outside the USA?

 

[Yeshua HaDerekh]

I was wondering if the 7 churches that were addressed in Revelation correlated to 7 denominations of faith of today and if so which ones.

They were all Eastern Asiatic Churches...now Eastern Orthodox.

 

[faroukfarouk]

Well thank you for this information. It is excellent and useful. I am fixing to watch the teaching you advised right now. God Bless.

The dividing of the names among the letters to the 7 churches of Asia into periods of history implies that spiritual conditions are supposedly static and identical worldwide. Whereas I do believe that there is considerable evidence that a revival can be going on in one country, while another may be sparse and barren spiritually. This is why I would see these different conditions as being tendencies that may occur, rather than strict periods of history.

 

[Radagast]

They were all Eastern Asiatic Churches...now Eastern Orthodox.

I'm not sure about the other 6 cities, but Ephesus is now just a collection of ruins.

 

[Douggg]

I was wondering if the 7 churches that were addressed in Revelation correlated to 7 denominations of faith of today and if so which ones.

No. What to get out of the messages to the seven churches is how we Christians are supposed to behave until Jesus comes.

Revelation 4-5, John is taken to heaven and prepared to see the events right before Jesus returns from heaven down to this earth in Revelation 19.

Revelation 6-19 are about the events of the seven years right before Jesus returns in Revelation 19.

 

[thesunisout]

I was wondering if the 7 churches that were addressed in Revelation correlated to 7 denominations of faith of today and if so which ones.

I believe the 7 churches represent the body of Christ writ large, and the different spiritual conditions it can be in. I also believe it represents different eras of the church in general. Right now, we are in the age of the Laodician church, at least in western culture.

 

[Radagast]

I also believe it represents different eras of the church in general. Right now, we are in the age of the Laodician church, at least in western culture.

Because you believe that every church in western culture is in the same spiritual condition?

 

[Yeshua HaDerekh]

I'm not sure about the other 6 cities, but Ephesus is now just a collection of ruins.

All the Churches in that area were all historically Eastern Asiatic. All the churches in that area now, that are left are Eastern Orthodox. They are likely under Constantinople or Greek. Otherwise they have relocated and are in the US.

Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Ephesus and All Asiana

About

 

[Heart2Soul]

No. What to get out of the messages to the seven churches is how we Christians are supposed to behave until Jesus comes.

Revelation 4-5, John is taken to heaven and prepared to see the events right before Jesus returns from heaven down to this earth in Revelation 19.

Revelation 6-19 are about the events of the seven years right before Jesus returns in Revelation 19.

Thank you for your response.

 

[rockytopva]

The reason that John's material to the Seven Churches who resided within Asia-Minor is so important is that these major Christian centres sat square in the middle of the known world; as such, they were essentially the cradle of the New Testament Church.

In the Book of Galatians, which was of course written maybe 30 to 40 years before the Book of Revelations, Paul seemingly laments over the deteriorating congregations who resided within the province of Galatia which was located just to the East of these seven churches, so we know from both Paul and John's material that the early Church within this region was suffering from a number of major ailments which had not been addressed by the time of the Book of Revelations.

The problem with the populist idea that the Seven Churches supposedly relate to the various ages of the Church is essentially two-fold; first, the Christians of the day would have realised that John was writing to Churches that existed in their day and many who were well traveled were undoubtedly aware of many of the issues that John speaks of.

The second is that the 'church-age' theory does not hold any real weight as the Church of any given time period simply has too many aspects to it, where some are hot, others are lukewarm and others are cold, which is what we see not only in our larger countries but throughout the other non-English speaking countries. What we tend to do in Anglo-centric countries is to presume that God only speaks to those who maybe live in English speaking countries.

Edit: Typo "too not two"

I believe in the seven churches as congregations in the first few chapters of Revelation...

Ephesus - Messianic - Beginning with the Apostle to the Circumcision, Peter
Smyrna - Martyr - Beginning with the Apostle to the Un-Circumcision, Paul
Pergamos - Orthodoxy formed in this time... Pergos is a tower... Needed in the dark ages
Thyatira - Catholicism formed in this time - The spirit of Jezebel is to control and to dominate.
Sardis - Protestantism formed in this time- A sardius is a gem - elegant yet hard and rigid
Philadelphia - Wesleyism formed in this time - To be sanctioned is to acquire it with love.
Laodicea - Charismatic movement formed in this time - Beginning with DL Moody, the first to make money off of ministry

The Lambs book of life is sealed with seven seals
The seven stars are all Christians of seven different congregations
The seven candlesticks are the seven church congregations

I believe that Ephesian age began in Jerusalem
I believe that the Smyrnaen age began at Damascus
I believe the Pergameon church began at Constantinople
I believe the Thyatirean church began at Rome
I believe that the Sardis church began in Germany
I believe the Philadelphian church began in England
I believe that the Laodicean church began in the United States

So there are time frames and geographies to each church congregation.

But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days. - Daniel 12:13

I also believe that we will stand in one of the congregation lots in the last day.

 

[rockytopva]

I believe in the seven churches as congregations in the first few chapters of Revelation...

Ephesus - Messianic - Beginning with the Apostle to the Circumcision, Peter
Smyrna - Martyr - Beginning with the Apostle to the Un-Circumcision, Paul
Pergamos - Orthodoxy formed in this time... Pergos is a tower... Needed in the dark ages
Thyatira - Catholicism formed in this time - The spirit of Jezebel is to control and to dominate.
Sardis - Protestantism formed in this time- A sardius is a gem - elegant yet hard and rigid
Philadelphia - Wesleyism formed in this time - To be sanctioned is to acquire it with love.
Laodicea - Charismatic movement formed in this time - Beginning with DL Moody, the first to make money off of ministry

The Lambs book of life is sealed with seven seals
The seven stars are all Christians of seven different congregations
The seven candlesticks are the seven church congregations

I believe that Ephesian age began in Jerusalem
I believe that the Smyrnaen age began at Damascus
I believe the Pergameon church began at Constantinople
I believe the Thyatirean church began at Rome
I believe that the Sardis church began in Germany
I believe the Philadelphian church began in England
I believe that the Laodicean church began in the United States

So there are time frames and geographies to each church congregation.

But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days. - Daniel 12:13

I also believe that we will stand in one of the congregation lots in the last day.

1 And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.
2 And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?
3 And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. - Revelation 5

Also consider the book of life is sealed with seven seals, and that the Lamb is the only one worthy to open the book. Thus the lambs book of life. In that this is a book only Jesus is worthy to open, also suggests it contains seven divisions to the Christian church.

 

[Ronald]

Not only are they messages to specific churches, but they are messages to Church types throughout the Church Age. We also see individuals that are causing the problems within these churches, sinners of all types, sin we can see within ourselves.
You can have a mixture of these in one church.
Only two churches did not get a rebuke and warning to repent: Philadelphia, the faithful church and Smyrna, the faithful/persecuted church. Ephesus was a doctrinal church in word but lost their love. You get these kind that teach accurately but are cold, hit you over the head with their bibles. You have worldly churches that allow liberal ways, a lukewarm church that is rich and in need if nothing, a dead church with no growth and only a few members alive, then one with false doctine, an area were Satan dwells.

So we can see most of them are warned to repent or else and it is clearly a message for us today as well.

 

[One Of The Elect]

I was wondering if the 7 churches that were addressed in Revelation correlated to 7 denominations of faith of today and if so which ones.

Interesting thought. I once thought this too. That certainly could be the meaning. I also thought each letter addresses everyone's state of being. I think to understand the messaging we have to understand things like meaning of each name of the churches. This I believe denotes something about the character of the church. The meaning of the names and practices of like the Nicolatians whose leader Nicolas, believed the pastoral heads have power over laity. But, interestingly enough Nicolatian does not mean power of the pastoral heads , but victory of the people. That would refer to victory of laity. Other things like understanding the meaning of the 7 stars and 7golden lampstands and 7 spirits of God. I believe the seven stars in the letter to the Church of Ephesus which means: (Permitted- to let go) are the seven main stars of the belt of Orion. In ancient Hebrew times Orion to them represented THE WILL OF THE TRUE SHEPHERD. Job38:31 Can you bind Pleiades chains or loosen the reins of Orion? Meaning: Can you bring the constellations in their seasons. Answer: No! Only the Lord can. Can you loosen the reins of Orion?= Can you force the will of the True Shepherd? No! nothing happens before its time. Can you bind Pleiades chains?=Put the false churches in chains? The answer is yes, The will of the True Shepherd demands it! The 7 golden lamp stands are 7
Menorahs the 7 spirits are the 7gifts of the Holy Spirit. So- forth and so- on. This will be an interesting discussion. Maybe through responses we can all share different ideas. I have written about the understanding of the letters. I would like to hear everyone's views too. Thanks for bringing it up. God Bless!

 

[toLiJC]

I was wondering if the 7 churches that were addressed in Revelation correlated to 7 denominations of faith of today and if so which ones.

what is important about that passage(Revelation 2-3) is that it reveals typical mistakes churches might make or what typical mistakes churches must not make

Blessings

 

[One Of The Elect]

Okay so I think what you are saying is it is addressing a character profile of which all of us fall into one of those 7. Correct?

I would say this is correct. Someone else here brought this up.Like Smyrna- which means( Anointing Oil- Myrrh.) This is the anointing oil for burial. I believe the witnesses will come from this mind frame. For they are the "Anointed Ones" And in this letter Christ's name as Judge is "WHICH WAS DEAD AND IS ALIVE"Which speaks to His resurrection and this too will happen to the Witnesses.

 

[One Of The Elect]

Not only are they messages to specific churches, but they are messages to Church types throughout the Church Age. We also see individuals that are causing the problems within these churches, sinners of all types, sin we can see within ourselves.
You can have a mixture of these in one church.
Only two churches did not get a rebuke and warning to repent: Philadelphia, the faithful church and Smyrna, the faithful/persecuted church. Ephesus was a doctrinal church in word but lost their love. You get these kind that teach accurately but are cold, hit you over the head with their bibles. You have worldly churches that allow liberal ways, a lukewarm church that is rich and in need if nothing, a dead church with no growth and only a few members alive, then one with false doctine, an area were Satan dwells.

So we can see most of them are warned to repent or else and it is clearly a message for us today as well.

I think we are on the same train of thought. I also believe the letters reveal who will be martyred. If you notice during the time of the ancient Hebrew Christians of Philadelphia ( assuming you know some of the history) when all other groups were being martyred the Church of Philadelphia was spared this. Not spared persecution though. I believe people of this mind frame will be alive to see the return of the Lord. And will be those who are are caught up into the heavens with the Lord and His angel at that last trumpet after the dead in Christ rise first. This is at the end of the trib. God takes this remnant, (their souls out of their bodies) and transforms them who are still alive. But, what they will see, what they will go through? I can not imagine.

 

[miamited]

Hi heart2soul,

As with many passages of the Scriptures, you'll get at least a couple of different understandings. So, I'll throw in mine and you are free to do with it as you will. I've very often found that fervent prayer and beseeching God for wisdom through His Holy Spirit is of inestimable help regarding questions or difficulties that one comes across when studying the Scriptures.

These were letters, comments directed towards actual groups of believers meeting in the cities that are mentioned. I think it good to understand that the word 'church', in those days and as used by Jesus, is merely an indication of those who have been 'called out'. We're not talking about buildings or denominations as we have today. In those days, as Paul and the other apostles and believers went from town to town, city to city, they preached the gospel and some who were hearing their words believed what Paul was telling them. They expressed, in whatever way it was expressed in those days, trust and faith in God for the forgiveness of their sin through the sacrifice of Jesus and became a part of the 'church'. So, when Jesus speaks of the 'church' in a given city, he is merely saying that he is addressing the believers in that city. Those who believed in him.

These letters are believed, by some, to have been written sometime in the latter quarter of the first century. So, these people in these various cities had been meeting for a number of years. As has always happened with man's understanding of the things of God, error had crept in to some of these groups and so Jesus is 'nipping' such problems 'in the bud'. In the early establishment of his church, those who had believed and trusted in the gospel of God, Jesus sent these letters to these groups of people in each of these cities to quickly attempt to correct these practices.

Yes, these letters have had application to the 'church', those who have believed the truth, throughout the days since Jesus' ministry. There are, as I see it, groups of believers who still hold to some of these practices, but it is sometimes difficult to weed them out because they are spiritually discerned. When, for example, Jesus mentions that one 'church' is where Satan resides, I believe that he is not meaning that we will actually see Satan standing among their fellowships, but that they will be practicing some of the lies of Satan. They will be professing faith in Jesus, but their practices will belie their real effort.

Jesus said that Satan is the father of lies. That he came to steal and destroy. What he is going to be stealing is the souls of those who have placed faith in Jesus. We also read in the Revelation that after the birth, life and death of Jesus that Satan, although here referred to as the devil, went out to make war against those who have believed the testimony of Jesus. This passage speaks of the day that Israel had a baby, which is Jesus. It tells us that when Satan realized that he wasn't going to defeat Jesus, a reference to Jesus' resurrection, that he then went out to make war with the 'christians', those who have believed the testimony of Jesus. While Israel, the woman, went out into the desert.

So yes, I believe the letters were actually intended for the groups of fellowships in the day in which they were written, but that they still hold truths that believers need to be cautious in adopting within their groups even today.

God bless you,
In Christ, ted

 

[HenryM]

7 churches from Revelation are not Christian churches.

That doesn't take away secondary layers and meanings from the letters (for example Christian church age narrative), but primarily, seven letters in Revelation are not directed to Christian churches, nor to churches present at the time John wrote them. Those letters are primarily for assemblies in great tribulation in end times, when new gospel - Revelation 14:6-12 - will be in effect.

Wording in those letters is foreign and often opposed to wording Paul used in his epistles. Close analysis reveals massive references to Old Testament and basically no references to Paul's teachings, making those letters primarily directed to Jewish assemblies in end times.

The word "church" used in those letters is the same Koine Greek word that's used all over in Greek translation of Old Testament. In other words, in Koine Greek Bible the same word "church" is not exclusively used for Christian church, but is also used throughout Old Testament for Israeli assemblies, gatherings etc.

Those who are interested for example of detailed study of seven letters from Revelation can read this book online: Commentary on Revelation - Christian Classics Ethereal Library

 

[One Of The Elect]

I'm not sure about the other 6 cities, but Ephesus is now just a collection of ruins.

This is true. That is why I believe today the letters speak to the Temple of Man and the state of being he is in- and why knowing the meaning of the names of the churches is important. Also, within the letters the Lord points out the good and bad traits within. And in these letters Christ' title as Judge is revealed.

 

[Radagast]

I would say this is correct. Someone else here brought this up.Like Smyrna- which means( Anointing Oil- Myrrh.) This is the anointing oil for burial.

Actually, Smyrna is just the name of a specific place (the city still exists, and is now called İzmir). I don't believe that the name has any hidden meaning.