Church history according to Jesus.
According to Revelation 1:11, the book was written to seven congregations in Asia, modern Turkey. For 2,000 years scholars have wondered why such an important message would be sent to these churches. They weren’t the most important of their day, let alone now. True, Ephesus was a leading city of the time, but the church there was small and so were the others. Why wasn’t the book written to the Church in Rome, for example? Surely the Lord knew that Rome would be the capital of Christianity for much of church history, the perfect addressee for such a timeless message.The answer lies in the realization that the letters of Chapters 2 and 3 have a representative as well as a specific purpose. They can actually be read with four levels of application.
Four Levels of Application
The first level is historical. These seven churches really existed and each was experiencing the particular problem to which the Lord referred as He dictated the letters to John.Second, since all the churches were to read all the letters, they were also admonitory to all.
Third, since both the challenge and promise with which each letter ends are personal rather than corporate, the letters were for individuals as well as congregations.
And fourth, read in the order in which they appear they outline church history and so are prophetic. They chronicle the gap between the 69th and 70th weeks of the prophecy of Daniel 9:24-27. Unbeknownst to us, our visit to the sites of these churches was designed to emphasize the prophetic nature of the letters.
Seven Churches of Rev 2 and 3: Part 1 – Grace thru faith
Church history according to Jesus.
gracethrufaith.com
