Structure of These Letters


Christ's letter to each of the seven churches in Asia sketches its chief strengths and weaknesses. Yet when speaking to each of the last six churches, He addresses primarily its members on the eve of His return. The counsel He provides relates especially to the forms which they will assume in the Last Days.

Each letter has four parts: (1) a salutation designed to remedy some deficiency in the Christology of that church, (2) an acknowledgment of the service which that church has performed, (3) an exhortation pointing out good things that should be shored up and bad things that should be eliminated, and (4) a promise designed to satisfy the particular aspirations of that church. The exhortation has one or more of the following elements: criticism, warning, prediction, commendation, and assurance. When examined in detail, the contents of each letter demonstrate that we have correctly identified the churches that Christ intended as its recipients.


The Message to Each Church


Ephesus/New Testament Churches
Message Element Message Relevance to This Church
Salutation Christ walks in the midst of the seven candlesticks. This church thought of itself as encompassing the whole church. Christ informs Ephesus that as history unfolds, there will be other churches also.
Acknowledgment He notices seven instances of work, patience, and discernment. In its achievements, this church was superior to all the others. It excelled especially in its ability to distinguish truth from error.
Exhortation/
  Criticism		 They have lost their first love. In the course of a few centuries, the remnant of New Testament churches lost their zeal for service and their devotion to Christ.
Warning He may remove their candlestick. Ephesus will not survive until Christ's return.
Commendation They have rejected the Nicolaitanes. The Nicolaitanes, which means "conquering of the people," probably represent those in the early church who wished to give leaders more power at the expense of local-church autonomy and individual soul liberty.
Promise Overcomers will eat the tree of life in the midst of paradise. The members of this church, so dedicated to work and separated living, denied themselves much pleasure. Christ reminds them that the hope of the faithful is to live forever in a place where pleasure abounds.


Smyrna/Persecuted Churches
Message Element Message Relevance to This Church
Salutation Christ is the ever-living One who rose from the dead. As those facing death, the members of this church need to understand that Christ has conquered death.
Acknowledgment He notices their works, tribulation, poverty, and persecution by the synagogue of Satan. The chief persecutor of true religion has always been false religion.
Exhortation/
  Prediction		 They will be cast into prison and will suffer tribulation ten days. Although all true believers in Smyrna will be taken at the Rapture, the church will reappear when intense persecution breaks out anew during the Tribulation (Matt. 24:9-10).
Assurance If they are faithful unto death, they will receive a crown of life. They must understand that death is merely a bridge to an exalted life.
Promise Overcomers will escape the second death. One motive driving them to accept death as the penalty for faith is fear of the second death. Christ promises them that the second death will not touch them.


Pergamos/Pentecostal-type Churches
Message Element Message Relevance to This Church
Salutation Christ bears the sharp two-edged sword. This sword is the Word of God, which they have dishonored by giving greater authority to experience.
Acknowledgment He notices their works, and their faithfulness under persecution. This church has never shrunk from persecution. Under the Communists, for example, the Pentecostals maintained a good testimony for Christ.
Exhortation/
  Criticism		 They tolerate those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, the prophet who, in return for favors, drew Israel into gross sin, and they tolerate also the Nicolaitanes. No church is more infested with crass profiteering, blatant immorality, and unashamed worldliness than modern Pergamos. Modern Pergamos has also been friendly to ecumenism, another movement that transfers more power to church hierarchies.
Warning If they do not repent, He will catch them by surprise and fight against the unruly with the sword of His mouth. When Christ returns, the leaders of this church will face judgment according to the strict measure of Scripture. The evildoers will be punished severely (Matt. 24:48-51).
Promise Overcomers will receive the hidden manna and the stone with secret writing. To answer the craving of this church for private revelation, God will share wonderful secrets with every overcomer.


Thyatira/Medieval Churches
Message Element Message Relevance to This Church
Salutation Christ is a glorious Being with eyes of fire and feet of brass. The true picture of Christ is a corrective to the idols that this church has condoned.
Acknowledgment He notices six instances of works, charity, service, faith, patience, and works again, the last better than the first. This church has produced many people who have devoted their lives to religious and charitable work. This church has also founded countless charitable institutions. The works of this church have been more outstanding in modern times than before, as many Thyatirans in missions around the world have devoted themselves to selfless assistance of the poor and needy.
Exhortation/
  Criticism		 They have Jezebel in their midst. Jezebel is the papal church. The papal church has promoted fornication by imposing celibacy on those who pursue a religious vocation. The sin of eating "things sacrificed unto idols" is a reference to the mass.
Warning Because she has had opportunity to repent, He will bring great trouble upon her and upon her lovers, and He will kill her children. The Tribulation will fall especially hard on Roman Catholic countries.
Assurance Upon the rest in Thyatira, He will put no other burden than to hold fast what they have already. So long as the rest in Thyatira stay clear of Rome, Christ in His mercy will overlook their many faults.
Promise Overcomers will receive power over the nations. Also, they will receive the morning star. The leaders of Thyatira have sought power and splendor. Christ offers Thyatira true power and true splendor.


Sardis/Reformation Churches
Message Element Message Relevance to This Church
Salutation Christ has the seven spirits and the seven stars. Sardis has a carnal pride in its superiority to the other churches, some in Sardis even priding themselves as absolutely right. Christ reminds them that He is not so parochial.
Acknowledgment He notices their works, which are deficient. Their true condition does not match their good reputation. Though once alive, this church is now almost dead. Indeed, little vital Christianity remains in northern Europe and other former strongholds of the Reformation church. This church has never been outstanding in works, because most of its people have centered their lives on family and business. By the time Christ returns, Sardis will retain little interest in charitable and evangelistic endeavors.
Exhortation/
  Warning		 They must remember their traditions, hold fast, and repent. If they do not watch, He will come upon them as a thief, when they are not expecting Him. This church has stubbornly resisted new insights on prophecy, instead holding to false systems of interpretation. In consequence, Sardis is blind to signs of the times, and the coming of Christ will take it by surprise.
Commendation A few names in Sardis are worthy to walk with Him in white. Still today, some in Reformation circles strive for personal holiness and for personal devotion to Christ.
Promise He will not reject overcomers. Rather, He will give them white raiment and confess them before the Father. Many people in this church have never had much spiritual ambition beyond a desire to be known as good Christians. Christ promises overcomers the public standing they seek.


Philadelphia/Fundamentalist Churches
Message Element Message Relevance to This Church
Salutation Christ is holy and true and holds the key of David. What He opens no one can shut, and what He shuts no one can open. At some time in the lives of many Philadelphians, victimization by unholy liars in the church has brought them into peril of spiritual disillusionment. But Christ assures them that He is holy and true. Also, despite the many reverses this church will suffer, Christ exhorts them not to doubt His sovereignty.
Acknowledgment He notices their works. Because they have kept His word and have not denied His name, He will set before them an open door. Because this church has sought to obey the Scriptures and to honor Christ, He will take them alive into heaven.
Exhortation/
  Prediction		 The synagogue of Satan will worship at their feet. When evil church leaders and other persecutors come to judgment, they will be forced to bow down in respect before those they have oppressed.
Commendation They have kept the word of His patience. This church has patiently waited for Christ's coming, maintaining its watchfulness even when other churches decided that His coming was not imminent.
Assurance He will keep them from the hour of temptation. As a result of being raptured, Philadelphia will escape the Tribulation.
Warning They must hold fast what they have, lest any man take their crown. The people of Philadelphia must be wary of attempts to draw them into compromises. By such compromises they would forfeit the special privileges that Christ offers them.
Promise Overcomers will be pillars in the temple of God, so that they need "go no more out." Upon them will be inscribed the name of God, the name of the New Jerusalem, and Christ's new name. Most of the people in Philadelphia have come there from other churches. They are weary of the sacrifice and maltreatment that, in their quest for vital Christianity, they have suffered by leaving decayed churches. Christ assures them that He will give them a permanent home.


Laodicea/Modern Evangelical Churches
Message Element Message Relevance to This Church
Salutation Christ is the Amen, the faithful and true witness, and the beginning of God's creation. This church has freely affirmed "Amen," has defended the authority of Scripture against liberalism, and has insisted that the world arose by creation and not evolution. But in maintaining these doctrines, Laodicea has tended to ignore the Person whom these doctrines adorn.
Acknowledgment He notices their works, and His verdict is that they are lukewarm. In the brief history of this church, little has been accomplished, since most of its people live largely self-indulgent lives.
Exhortation/
  Criticism		 They are self-deluded in thinking they have everything. In reality, they have nothing. Outwardly this church is very successful. It has large congregations, sumptuous facilities, and extensive exposure in the media. Yet it teaches an easy-believism that gives security without salvation.
Warning As many as He loves, He will rebuke and chasten. Most of the people in this church will not take part in the Rapture. The shock of being left behind and the rigors of the Tribulation will bring the elect among them to a saving knowledge of Christ.
Assurance Any who repent will enjoy fellowship with Christ. After the Rapture, it will not be too late to accept Christ. Any in Laodicea who then repent will be saved.
Promise Overcomers will sit with Him in His throne. Though they may for a time suffer exclusion from Christ's presence, the overcomers will someday enjoy intimate fellowship with Christ, even sitting by His side upon His throne.