Continued from last post:
Did you ever have a best friend? Someone with whom you had a lot in common;
someone you hung out with constantly; someone you would trust with your most
important secrets and possessions? John,
the guy who wrote down what became the book of Revelation in the Bible was, and
had, a best friend – Jesus. When Jesus
was on this earth John was his closest buddy and as Jesus was dying on the
cross he trusted John enough to ask him to take care of his mother Mary as if
she were his own mother. (John 19: 26, 27)
And when it came time to reveal (the definition of Revelation) the end
time prophecies, Jesus once again turned to John, someone he could trust.
In the first chapter of Revelation we
learn that John was in exile on a little island called Patmos because he
refused to stop preaching the Gospel of Jesus to anyone who would listen. By this time John was an old man and one
Sabbath morning, while he was praying, a loud voice behind him made him turn
around and there was Jesus, his old friend.
Jesus was clothed with the glory of heaven and was standing amid seven
lamp stands while holding seven stars in his right hand. Jesus explained to John that the seven lamp
stands were the seven churches in Asia and that the seven stars were the angels
of the seven churches.
Who
are the seven stars, or angels, of the seven churches? Some say they are literal angels assigned to
guide and watch over the churches, but because the messages sent to the
churches contain reprimands, we have to conclude that the seven angels/stars
cannot be perfect heavenly beings. The
stars must represent flawed humans, so the logical conclusion is that they
represent church leaders such as priests, pastors, elders, etc. And what are the seven churches? Jesus himself lists them in Revelation 1:
11: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira,
Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.
Middle East Turkey and the
location of the seven churches
As we
have seen in previous studies, prophecies
often have a dual application. The
characteristics of the literal seven churches in Asia Minor (modern day Turkey)
parallel the spiritual characteristics of the Christian church as a whole
throughout its history. So as we study
what Jesus says about the seven churches we will be applying it to the history
of Jesus’ true followers for the past 2000 years.
But that is only half the story. Along with the spiritual characteristics of
the church at different times, we will also learn what worldly experiences the
church went through. In Revelation
Chapters four and five we are shown something that occurs in heaven. God, on his throne, is holding a book with
seven seals securely closing it. The
Lamb of God – Jesus – takes the book from God.
The Lamb has “…seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven
Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth.” Rev. 5: 6
Jesus is the leader, the horn, of all seven churches, and the Holy
Spirit (the eye) watches over and guides the
seven churches through their experiences. (see Appendix 2)
