At the opening of the Book of Revelation, Christ appeared to the Apostle John who was in exile on the Isle of Patmos, and delivered to him seven letters for the Seven Churches in Asia. These letters are a series of admonitions and encouragements to the contemporary churches as they existed in 96 A.D. But more than this - for Revelation is essentially prophecy - the circumstances withing these Seven Churches abviously foreshadow successive developments within the church during entire dispensation which was to come. Let us briefly review these seven seccessive church eras. 1. The Church at Ephesus Church - The Apostolic Church. This was the Apostolic Church as it existed in 96 A.D. Doctrinally correct, and having been under the watchful eyes of the apostles themselves, it had been active in evangelizing that generation. The gifts of the Spirit were still manifest in power. Evil in the Church had been detected and firmly dealt with. Nevertheless, the Apostolic Church had developed one serious defect. It had lost its first love. This was serious fault indeed, and tended no good for the future of the Church. From the Church comes the Bride of Christ, and there must be nothing less than a perfect love between the Bride and her Bridegroom. The loss of this first love promptted the Lord to warn the Ephesian Church to repent at once, Else I will come unto thee quickly and remove thy candlestick out of his place 2. The Church at Smyrna - The Church of the Persecution The Apostolic period was followed by a distinctly different era. Pegan Rome began to practice meperor worship and since Christians refused to give worship to any but the true God they became outlawed sect, and subject to imprisonment, to confiscation of goods, and even to death. In fact, it became a crime to be a Christain. Apparently, satan hoped by such fierce persecutions to extinguish the light of Christianity from the earth. For two centuries a series of bitter persecutions raged against the Church. Believers were subject to cruel and fiendish tortures; some were burnt at the stake, others we fed to lions. Christians were forced to worship in the catacombs to escape the malignant hatred of the Satan-inspired rulers of pagan Rome. It would seem that the Church of Christ was destined to a speedy demise; but surprisingly enough this was far from the case. When one martyr perished, two arose to take his place. The effect of the persecutions actually resulted in the purification of the Church. Superficial and worldly professors who had no taste for the hardship that fell to the lot of believers at that time, soon severed their connections from a religion which seemed to have such and umpromising future. 3. Church at Pergamos - The Church of Imperial Favor. At the beginning of the forth century, another great change occured in the Church. Between the years 302 - 312 A.D., the most severe persecutions of all occured. But then a surprising event happened. The Emperor Constantine professed to see a cross in the sky with the words, By this conquer He became a communicant of Christianity, and issued an edict of toleration, bringing an end to the persecution by the state. Later, he proclaimed Christianity to be the religion of the Empire. This event, no doubt, was hailed with rejoicing by believers everywher, supposing with some reason, that this development augured a bright era of prosperity for the Church. Just the opposite occured, however. The union of the Church with pagan Rome resulted in a serious deterioration in its spiritual power. All sorts of heathen practices were soon introduced into rituals of the Church. It now was popular to be a Christian, and unconverted heathen were baptized into the Church in great numbers. 4, The Church at Thyatira - The Papal Church. Within another century or two, an additiona develop:ent occured that was to have a profound effect upon the Church. The Bishop of Rome announced himself as the supreme ruler of Christendom. As the Imperial Empire declined, and finally fell to pieces, leaving a political vacuum, the Pope stepped in and eagerly usurped this power to himself. Soon the union between the Church and the world was complete. Satan had once claimed, in the presence of Christ, that the kingdom of this world had been delivered unto him, and he gave them to whom he would. Though the Lord indignantly redused the devils offer, the Pope, the pretended successor of Christ, was bothered by no such scruples. He now boldly claimed temporal authority over kings of the earth, crowing them and deposing them as he saw fit. The mystic rites of Babylon the Great were gradually merged with Christianity. As Christendom and the world become one, the pure religion of Christ almost disappeared from the earth. Indulgences which had no basis in the Scriptures were auctioned off by Papal agents, and the traditions of men were substituded for the gospel. As a starting evidence of apostacy, arrogant and corrupt popes unashamedly sired illegitemate childrem in the city of Rome. And when their wickedness shocked even the dessolute population, they added to all the evils they had committed by brazenly claiming infallibility. And thus it was that when the sixteenth century rolled around, the leadership of the once glorious church had been quite usurped by the Harlot Babylon. This then was the state of things just before the Great Reformation. 5. The Church at Sardis - Church of the Reformation But God had a few faithful ones in Sardis. Martin Luther following the dictums of the Church, had tried to find peace of soul by every means offered by the Roman priests; by saying prayers, counting beads, doing penances, fasting on special days, making pigrimages, repeating Hail Marys. Calling on special saints - but all were to no avail, until at last, when he was almost in despair, he heard from heaven those glorios words The just shall live by faith. This might Bible truth that Luther heard, soon spread like fire over Europe. Other reformers came on the scene and the revival that followed began to quicken the flickering flame that still burned within the Church. Nevertheless, the Reformation was incomplete. It did not go to far enough. Churches had been broken away from the bondage of Rome, but they were still spiritually dead. Thou hast a name thou livest, but thou art dead. The coming out from Rome was a step in the right direction, but it was not enough. 6. The Church at Philadelphia - The Faithful Church. Then came anothe era in the Church. Revival fires under John and Charlse Wesley broke out. Other God-anointed evangelists such as Jonathan Edwards, Charles Finney, William Booth, and D.L Moody came on the scene and began preaching holiness and separation from the world. Great revivals swept across America and Britain. The message of the Coming of Christ, again found a place in the Church. What caterpillar, the cankerworm and the locust had eatedn, was now little by little, being restored, until at last the great Pentocostal message in its fulness was preached and practiced by the Church. This was the era of the Philadelphia Church, To this faithful Church the Lord gave a special Promise, the promise of an open door - an open door to evangelize the world, and when the task was completed, an open door to heaven! The Philadelphia Church was to be kept from the hour of the Great Tribulation that was to come upon the World. Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, i also will keep thee from the hour of temptation which is to come upon all the world to try them that dwell upon the earth (Rev. 3:10) 7. The Laodicean Church - The Lukewarm Church. Contemporary with the Philadelphia Church was yet another - the Laodicean Church which was all the Philadelphia Church was not. This Church boasted of its riches, and that it was increased with goods, and had need of nothing. Professing Christianity, it was a lukewarm in its experience as it was complacent in its material prosperity. Laodicea came under the most scathing denunciation of the Lord. He is seen standing outside the dook knocking, waiting for someone to grant Him admittance. Being unresponsive to the Lords pleading, laodicea is told that because of its lukewarm condition, unless immediate repentance was forth-coming, He would spue it out of His mouth. With these conditions portrayed in the latter part of the third chapter of Revelation, the Church age comes to an end. The faithful Philadelphia Church gathering couraged by her Lords word, prepares herself and awaits the call of the Bridegroom. The Laodicean Church, complacent in tits wealth and self-sufficiency, is utterly ignorant of events about to transpire, but is soon to be jolted in a rude awakening to its state, which is one of poverty, nakedness and blindness. Finally, in speaking of the Seven Churches, there is one point that should be added, we have noted that these seven letters were first, messages to the local churches in Asia as they Existed at that time, and second, that they carried a prophetic foreview of the church during its seven stages of history. To this we should add that Christs word, regardless of when and whom spoken, have a universality of application. These letters to the Seven Churches carry a message to every local church that has existed during this age, regardless of its time in history. Christ and His words are timeless. Heaven and earth may pass away, but His words shall not pass away until all be fulfilled. This then is the situation that exists in the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, just before the notable events of Revelation 4, begin to transpire. End Times Prophecy. Apostle A.T Mogaladi Mighty God Worshipers Ministries +2772 703 5722
Posted on: Thu, 17 Oct 2013 08:10:43 +0000
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