Jesus Speaks to the Church (Revelation 2-3)

I know some folks are not fond of the book of Revelation. It is a strange book and not easily understood. But if you understand Revelation correctly there is an encouraging message that is full of hope for the Church. The message of the book of Revelation is simple, if you don’t get lost in the details: Jesus has won the victory! If we are with Jesus we will win. That’s it! But I think the reason so many people miss the message of this book is because they do not see Christ at the center of it.

The book of Revelation begins with a vision of Christ. The Christ that John saw on the isle of Patmos was a glorified Christ. Jesus has been exalted into heaven. He is ruling the world, even though the world does not want Him as their Ruler.

Christ is in heaven, and the Church is still on the earth. But John sees a glorified Christ in heaven standing in the midst of seven lamp stands, or candlesticks. The whole scene reminds us of the Levitical priests serving in the Tabernacle. Heaven and earth are separate realms. But there was one place where heaven and earth intersected and that was in the Tabernacle that Moses built in the wilderness for the people of Israel. Later Solomon built the Temple. That was where the presence of God dwelt among His people and heaven intersected with earth. Today that place where heaven touches earth is the Church. Christ is in the midst of the lampstands. Jesus is here with us today! And believers have been seated with Christ in heavenly places (Eph. 2.6). And this glorified Christ has a message for His Church.

He addresses seven Churches, all of which were located in the Roman province of Asia Minor, which is the modern country to Turkey. The fact that there are seven Churches indicates fullness or completeness. ALL of the Churches, in every place, and for all times, are being addressed through these specific congregations. Jesus is speaking to the whole Church!

There are certain people in the world who are so powerful and influential they command our attention. The President commands the attention of our nation and of the whole world. When he talks, people listen. The chairman of the Federal Reserve commands the attention of the financial world. When she talks it can upset the financial markets around the world almost instantaneously! Now Jesus occupies the highest position of power in earth and in heaven. When He talks the Church ought to listen.

But sometimes I wonder if the Church is really listening to Jesus. The Church is in trouble. We are facing attacks from the outside and corruption on the inside. And that is what makes these letters in Revelation so relevant. The troubles we are facing today are nothing new. Whatever situation the Church might be in today is probably addressed in some way in the letters to the Churches in Revelation. Christ’s voice continues to reverberate down through the centuries of time to the Churches of today. We need to hear what Jesus has to say. Are we listening? What does Jesus have to say to His Church?

“Good Job!”

To some Churches Jesus says “good job!” Most of the Churches in Revelation were commended for something. Almost every Church has something good going on and Jesus will find it. Jesus is not a harsh and critical taskmaster who always finds the negative.

I know some people who never seem to find anything good about the Church. They are always critical. Always complaining. But that is not how Jesus treats the Church. He commends what He finds to be good. But what Jesus commends may not be what people are looking for in the Church. For example, we often think in terms of attendance numbers or building projects as a measurement for the health of the Church. But Jesus does not mention those kinds of things to these Churches. What does Jesus look for in a Church? (We usually ask what WE want in a Church or what other people want. What Jesus wants is infinitely more important!)

 

Jesus commends Churches that are mature, stable, and consistent.

The Church at Ephesus was that kind of Church. To them Jesus said:

“I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary” (Revelation 2:2-3 ESV).

Ephesus had worked hard and had done so consistently without vacillating. They had discernment and were able to recognize what was good and what was evil. It is interesting to remember that this is the Church to which the Apostle Paul wrote that leaders are supposed to

“equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ” (Ephesians 4:12-15 ESV).

The Ephesian Church had grown up strong. Stability and consistency follow maturity. A lack of maturity is seen in how people are not able to recognize things that will harm them spiritually. And babies usually don’t do anything for anyone else. They have to be cared for and are completely selfish. Everyone starts out as a baby, but we do not expect people to stay that way. Jesus looks for growth and maturity.

 

Jesus commends Churches that withstand the pressure from an evil culture.

That described the Church at Pergamum:

“I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells” (Revelation 2:13 ESV).

That was a Church in an evil place. There are places in the world where Satan seems to have a stronghold. There may even be violent persecution in these places. The Church must always be prepared for opposition. We are living in times when there is an increasing hostility toward the Church. Many Christians are being persecuted and killed in certain places in the world. This should not surprise us. Jesus said the world would hate us because it hated Him first. There is tremendous social pressure on the Church today to conform to the world. Some Churches can’t stand the pressure and allow themselves to be swept away in the current of culture.

Every Church has to make the decision to conform to the pattern of the world or to follow Jesus and be counter-cultural. There will always be a price-tag for declaring our allegiance to the Kingdom of God. We just have to decide if we are more interested in being accepted by the world around us or if we want to be accepted by Jesus.

There is no reason why this Church cannot be a Church that Jesus would like.

I don’t think that means there is some kind of pattern that we can just impose on a particular congregation. Each Church may be very different, but still be pleasing to the Lord. The consistent theme in these letters is faithfulness to Christ Himself.

“Shape Up!”

But Jesus does not always commend the Church. There are times when He has to tell the Church to shape up. The letters in Revelation contain some serious rebukes for the Church. Some people don’t think Jesus can talk like this, but He can! It is not because He hates the Church but precisely because He loves the Church that He rebukes her when she goes astray.

We have to remember that Jesus is in a unique position to assess and then rebuke the Church. Jesus sees everything, even those things we can’t see. Our assessment of the Church is often flawed. We might have personal and selfish agendas when we assess the Church. But Jesus loves the Church. He purchased her with His own blood.

I like to think of the Lord as our Great Physician. He is interested in the health of the Church. Doctors have to be willing to speak the truth to their patients because it could be the difference between life and death. Even when doctors have to inflict pain, it is always to save and to heal. The same thing is true of the Great Physician. The Church is called the Body of Christ. Jesus wants His body to be healthy.

 

Take Your Temperature

Two of these Churches in Revelation needed to take their spiritual temperature! It is amazing how certain ailments can take hold of the Body of Christ even when things look good outwardly. Sometimes Churches do not even realize that a certain spiritual problem has taken hold. We might think we are doing fine when there is actually something wrong.

Churches today need regular check-ups in certain areas of the Christian life. And when Jesus points out an area of particular concern we can be assured that it is something important, not trivial.

Love

The Church at Ephesus had some strong points, but was ailing in one particularly important area:

“But I have this against you: that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first” (Revelation 2:4-5 ESV).

Love is the most important Christian quality. We simply can’t be lacking in this area and be pleasing to Jesus. What good is a Church that doesn’t love? Of course we should love each other. But the most important love, our FIRST LOVE, the love from which all other love flows, is love for Jesus Himself.

Ironically, it is often the Churches that are the most concerned about Bible teaching and doctrine who lose their first love. Fine points of theology can become replacements for the Lord Himself. There is such a thing as a cold orthodoxy. And Churches who don’t love Jesus will be bad at loving each other also.

Christian charity is a benevolent, unconditional love that is put into action. Love is the fire that warms the entire Body of Christ. The world will know we are Christians by our love.

 

Usefulness

There is one Church in Revelation to which Jesus had nothing good to say. It was because of the condition of being spiritually lukewarm.

“I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:15-16 ESV).

What Jesus is saying is that this Church had lost its usefulness. Cold water is good for something. It can quench your thirst on a hot day. Hot water is good for something. You can cook a meal with it. But what is lukewarm water good for? It is good for nothing in particular, unless it is either cooled down or heated up! There are some Churches that have fallen into a condition that renders them useless to the Lord and His purpose. These Churches are good for nothing in particular.

This condition is so serious it makes Jesus want to puke! Jesus did not die for us so we could be useless. He died to sanctify us, or make us holy vessels that are useful to God’s purposes on earth.

 

Check for Infections

Jesus also wants His Body to check for infections. These are things that invade and cause sickness. These infections don’t belong in the Body and have to be aggressively removed. Jesus mentions two kinds of infections, which are often interrelated:

 

Error

False teachers and false teaching can infect the Body of Christ. The Church at Pergamum had caught this kind of infection:

“But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans” (Revelation 2:14-15 ESV).

The teaching of Balaam refers to an episode from Israel’s history. When Israel was invading Canaan the King of Moab wanted to stop them. So he hired a false prophet named Balaam to curse Israel. But God would not allow Balaam to do that. So Balaam told Balak, the King of Moab, to tempt the Israelite men with sexual sin. And in the ancient world worshiping an idol and sexual activity almost always went together. There were teachers in the Church at Pergamum who were teaching Christians to go back to their pagan ways while still calling themselves Christians. It was a compromise with the world.

The Nicolaitans were a group of false teachers who probably taught that it was acceptable for Christians to mix their Christian faith with paganism and fleshly indulgence. This is a practice known as syncretism. You take a little bit of his religion, a little of that philosophy, and maybe even a little bit of Christianity, and you mix it all together! This is an approach that makes a lot of sense to our culture where truth is relative. The result is that you can justify almost any kind of sinful lifestyle. False teaching almost always leads to sinful living.

 

Immorality

The Church at Thyatira had also been seduced, perhaps literally, by a false teacher:

“But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols” (Revelation 2:20 ESV).

Maybe this false teacher was telling the Christians in Thyatira that when you come up to a higher level of knowledge you will realize that these little pleasures don’t really matter. “If you are really spiritual it doesn’t matter what you do with your body. After all, God created the body with its appetites and desires. It would almost be wrong to deny the fulfillment of what God Himself gave you. And God loves you. He wants you to be happy.”

These arguments sound very modern. The Devil doesn’t really change His tactics.

The Church is still being seduced by worldliness. The lie is that you can live an immoral lifestyle and still be acceptable to God. But God will judge the immoral person who refuses to repent. There is no ambiguity about this issue in Scripture, but there are many false teachers trying to justify ungodliness.

Jesus loves the Church and that is why He is telling her to shape up. Rebuke is a sign of love and concern. The opposite of love is not anger or rebuke. The opposite of love is indifference.

“Don’t Quit!”

Some Churches are commended: “good job!” Other Churches are rebuked: “shape up!” But all of the Churches are encouraged: “don’t quit!” Each and every letter written to the seven Churches ends the same way. Jesus gives a glorious promise to those who overcome. This theme of overcoming then runs through the rest of the book of Revelation. Jesus Himself has already won and everyone who is with the Lord will also overcome.

The trouble is that it will be a difficult path from earth to the New Heavens and the New Earth. There are going to be obstacles. We have enemies. There are all kinds of distractions and temptations trying to get the people of God to quit believing and serving Jesus.

Sometimes when you see someone who just became a Christian, with all of that joy and enthusiasm, you are wondering if that person will continue in the faith. There are people who come to Christ and are enthusiastic for a time and then something happens and they fall away. But this can happen to a whole Church! Satan makes it very difficult to serve the Lord. And so Jesus encourages His Churches.

To encourage the Churches and motivate them, Jesus holds out several promises to those who overcome or who are faithful to the end. (It is important to notice that these promises are not fulfilled in this world!)

We will have Eternal Life

Eternal life is so foreign to our experience it is hard for us to wrap our brains around what it is.

“To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God” (Revelation 2:7 ESV).

The tree of life was in the Garden of Eden. Man was made to live forever. But when they sinned the way to the Tree of Life was blocked. In the book of Revelation the Tree of Life is back. The Bible begins with man losing the Tree of Life and it ends with man gaining the Tree of Life. The Tree of Life is access to the very source of life. But it is more than just biological life. This is spiritual, eternal life. In other words, it is a Divine kind of life. The Tree of Life is God sharing His very life with His people. In the World to Come we will spend eternity in the presence of God. We will see His face. That is really living! If we overcome we will have access to the Tree of Life.

How do we overcome? By being faithful until we die!

“Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10 ESV).

Those who keep the faith until the end will win. We win because Jesus has won! In the ancient Olympic Games, the crown, which was kind of like a wreath, was given to the victors. Those who overcome this world by following Jesus will win the victory over the greatest enemy the human race has ever faced: death.

If you are faithful to Christ, death cannot hurt you. As we face various obstacles in this world we have to remember that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ, not even death. What is the worst thing that can happen to us in this world? The worst thing the world could do to the saints is kill them. But that just changes our address! Christians are victorious even over death. So what is there to be afraid of in this world? We are often intimidated by things that should not scare us. We give up and we give in far too easily sometimes because we fail to remember that we are more than conquerors through Christ.

 

We will Reign with Christ

The final promise is that those who overcome by being faithful to Jesus in this world will reign with Jesus in the World to Come:

“The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father” (Revelation 2:26-27 ESV).

“The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne” (Revelation 3:21 ESV).

From one perspective we are already kings who are reigning with Christ. But it should be obvious that we don’t have full authority in this world. Not everything goes our way and that can be discouraging. Sometimes it almost seems like we serve the Lord and accomplish nothing. But this world is sort of like the training ground. If things are not going well for the Church these days we need to remember that this is not our time to reign. But we do see Jesus reigning. And when He has completely put down all opposition to His reign He is going to give His people a BIG promotion!

So don’t quit following and serving Jesus. The retirement plan is out of this world!