IN CHAPTERS 2 AND 3 of the book of Revelation, Jesus dictates a series of seven letters to the apostle John, and He instructs John to send these letters to the churches in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. Though the Lord’s seven letters occur near the beginning of the book of Revelation, I chose to save these letters for last.
Throughout this study, we have been looking at Revelation theme by theme instead of chapter by chapter. I thought it would be interesting to look at the major prophetic themes of Revelation first—themes of Christ and the Antichrist, the Great Tribulation and the Battle of Armageddon, hell and heaven. Then, in light of all we have learned about God’s plan for the future, the instruction in these seven letters will be all the more compelling.
I believe these seven letters become even more meaningful as we are reminded of the Tribulation, Armageddon, and the terrifying cataclysms that are coming upon the world. We realize it’s not enough to simply play at church. The stakes are eternal. Whether in times of plenty and peace, or poverty and persecution, these letters tell us how to live as we await the Lord’s return.
The seven letters of Jesus to the seven churches in Asia Minor are some of the most powerful, life-changing passages in all of Scripture. They penetrate our hearts, dismantle our excuses, and prepare us to live in light of the prophetic future.
The core truth of Revelation is that the Lord could return at any moment, and we need to be ready when He comes. So the central question of this chapter is, “What if Jesus wrote a letter to you, dealing with the issues you face right now, and telling you how to live faithfully until He returns?”
The answer: He has.
As we study these letters, we are not reading someone else’s mail; these letters are addressed to us. So let’s hear what the Lord is saying to us through these letters—and may we respond before it’s too late.
By AD 96, when Revelation was probably written, there were hundreds of churches stretching from Rome and Greece, through Asia Minor, down into North Africa, and as far east as India. Why did Jesus choose to write to these seven churches?
Some theologians believe the seven churches represent seven ages of church history. According to this view, we are now in the seventh age, represented by the church of Laodicea, to whom Jesus said, “Because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:16).
The Word of God is so rich in meaning that multiple interpretations of the same Scripture passage are possible. For example, these seven letters may be interpreted on one level as instructions to seven specific churches in Asia Minor, on another level as instructions to all churches in all places at all times, and on yet another level as an outline of church history. And there are probably more strands of meaning woven into these seven letters.
As you read them, you will experience a moment of recognition and think, I know a church like that, or, I have a friend who fits the description, or even, That’s me! Jesus is writing this letter directly to me. These seven letters were written in the first century, yet they are still fresh and relevant in the twenty-first century. In every age and in every part of the world, the church of Jesus Christ needs a message of admonition, exhortation, and encouragement.
The first letter is addressed to the church in Ephesus—the church where John had been a pastor until he was exiled on Patmos. These letters are addressed to “the angel” of each church. The Greek word translated “angel” literally means “messenger,” and some scholars believe Jesus addressed these letters to the “messengers” or pastors of the seven churches, who would deliver them to their congregations. Here is the message to the church in Ephesus:
“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:
These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.
Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” (Revelation 2:1–7)
Ephesus was a great city in ancient times—a center of wealth and commerce with a population well over two hundred thousand. Ephesus boasted of being the site of the famed Temple of Diana, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
The apostle Paul founded the church in Ephesus and spent more time there than with any of the other churches he founded. He spent three years teaching and establishing the Ephesian Christians. Apollos, Timothy, and Priscilla and Aquila also labored there.
John, who lived thirty years beyond the death of Paul, became an overseeing pastor of the church in Ephesus. The Ephesian church didn’t meet in one church building but was divided among a number of smaller house churches that met in homes throughout the city. John was probably the overseer of this community of small, interconnected churches.
There is a lesson for us in the way Jesus deals with the Ephesian church. He found something positive to affirm before launching into confrontation. He said, “I know your deeds,” and he affirmed their good deeds right up front.
This letter tells us a lot about the Ephesian Christians. They were hardworking Christians. They rejected false doctrine and believed in accurate biblical interpretation. Jesus said, “You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate” (Revelation 2:6). A second-century church father, Irenaeus, wrote in Against Heresies that the Nicolaitans were false teachers who spread the ideas of a man named Nicolas. Other churches had fallen for the heresies of the Nicolaitans, but the Ephesians had rejected them.
The Nicolaitans taught that there’s no harm in sexual immorality, because fleshly sins won’t affect our salvation. The Nicolaitans were like many in the church today who claim that there’s no harm in sexual relations outside of marriage, that it’s healthy for Christians to consume pornography like Fifty Shades of Grey. If you have rationalized lust and immorality in your own life, then you have swallowed the heresy of the Nicolaitans, which the Ephesians rejected.
After reading the Lord’s commendations of the Ephesians, you might say, “What a wonderful, faithful, hardworking church!” Yet Jesus had one important word of rebuke for the Ephesians. I believe every Christian in the world is vulnerable to the spiritual error Jesus identifies in the Ephesian church.
Jesus said, “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first” (Revelation 2:4). The Ephesians were outwardly doing the right things—but inwardly, they had a heart problem. We easily fall into the trap of thinking that being a Christian is a matter of the right behavior. But Jesus wants us to know that the focus of the Christian walk is our love for Him. If we love Him, then our behavior will flow from that love. But if we lose our love for Him, then all our religious activities mean nothing.
The Ephesians were caring for widows and feeding the hungry, but they had abandoned their purest motivation for doing good works. They had lost their first love for Jesus. Outwardly, the Ephesian church was thriving, dynamic, and on the move. But inwardly, the Ephesian Christians were experiencing heart failure. They were doing the right things, but from the wrong motives.
Jesus, the Great Physician, is deeply concerned about our heart health. If your service in the church is not motivated by love for Jesus, then it’s only a matter of time before you set your affections on something other than Jesus. There are five specific spiritual dangers that result from allowing our love for Jesus to fail.
First danger: Compromise. When our love for Jesus grows cold, we live with one foot in the world and one foot in the kingdom of God. We compromise with the world and try to maintain a lifestyle that is half Christian, half worldly.
Second danger: Complacency. We become complacent about sin, thinking, Jesus has forgiven my sins. I’m eternally saved. I can live any way I choose without consequences.
Third danger: Coldness. We become distant toward God. We feel entitled to God’s blessings, and if He doesn’t bless us in the way we want or doesn’t meet our expectations, we blame God and treat Him coldly.
Fourth danger: Complaining. We view God as unfair. Our prayers are filled with accusations and blame: “Lord, after all I’ve done for You, how can You allow these trials in my life? You’re so unfair!”
Fifth danger: Craving the world. We look at the world around we and desire the things we see. We begin to crave wealth and power and luxury.
The Great Physician has prescribed a cure for our heart failure: “Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first” (Revelation 2:5). Retrace your steps. Find out where you mislaid your first love. Where did you wander from the path of your love relationship with Jesus? What seduced you away from fidelity to Him?
Jesus warned that if the Ephesians did not act quickly, He would remove their lampstand—a source of illumination. Jesus didn’t say the Ephesians would lose their salvation. He was saying He would snuff out the candle flame of their witness. They would cease to shine for Christ in a darkened world.
I have been to Ephesus, and I have walked among the ruins of that city. There is no lampstand, no Christian witness, no evidence that Ephesus was once a center of vibrant Christian witness. There are many other cities across Europe and North America where thriving churches once stood. Today, they are museums. Their lampstands have been removed.
If you’re just going through the motions of the Christian faith and have lost your desire for Christ, your witness for Him will go dark. Our motivation for sharing Christ with others is love—love for Jesus and love for others. If our love grows cold, our motivation for witnessing fails. We cease to shine for Him.
Let us love Jesus more than anything in life, more than the approval of others, more than our ideas and opinions, more than our pleasure and security, more than our plans and goals. If you have lost your first love, go to the Lord in prayer and ask Him to rekindle your love for Him. Remember all He has done for you. When He was dying on the cross, He was saying, “I love you.” Don’t lose your love for Him.
The Lord’s second letter is addressed to the believers in Smyrna. There are many Christians going through a Smyrna experience right now. You might be going through affliction and testing right now. If so, here is the Lord’s message to Smyrna—and to you:
“To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:
These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.
Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.” (Revelation 2:8–11)
Smyrna was the home of the shrine of Caesar. In AD 26, during the reign of Tiberius Caesar, eleven cities competed for the honor of hosting the shrine of the Imperial cult. Smyrna won the honor. The Imperial cult—the worship of Caesar—reached its peak under Domitian, the emperor who exiled John to Patmos. Domitian demanded to be worshipped as dominus et deus (“lord and god”).
In Smyrna, people went to the Imperial Shrine, burned incense before the image of the emperor, and worshipped the emperor as a god. But the faithful Christians in Smyrna refused to participate. They said, “We will only worship Jesus. He alone is our Lord and God.” They risked everything to stand publicly against the Imperial cult. Christian merchants lost customers. Christian families lost friends. Many Christians were mocked, jeered, and assaulted. Some were martyred. In about AD 156, bishop Polycarp of Smyrna was burned at the stake for refusing to worship the emperor.
The Greek word smyrna means myrrh, a fragrant resin used for making perfume. In order for myrrh to release its fragrance, the solidified resin must be crushed. At the first Christmas, wise men from the East brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the baby Jesus. The gift of myrrh was significant because Jesus would one day be crushed for our sins so that the fragrance of God’s forgiveness might be released.
Smyrna was named after myrrh, the city’s chief export. Like myrrh itself, the Christians of Smyrna were being crushed because of their love for Jesus. By enduring persecution for His sake, they released a sweet fragrance of the gospel. So Jesus gave them a message of encouragement, without rebuke: “I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! . . . Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. . . . Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown” (Revelation 2:9–10).
If you are suffering for the Lord and sacrificing for Him, then you can be comforted in knowing that He knows your afflictions. You are storing up riches in heaven, because Jesus will reward you for your endurance. The surrounding culture worships the emperor of this world, the god of this present age, Satan. But you are taking a courageous stand for Jesus in the midst of an idolatrous world. Though you are poor, you are spiritually rich.
Most Christians in America feel confident that persecution will never come here. We shake our heads when we see the horrible things that are done to Christians in other lands, but we feel safe here. I have to be candid: I believe persecution is coming to America. The warning signs are already here. If that is so, then the Lord’s message to Smyrna will become very precious to us.
If you are being crushed because of your love for Jesus, then stand firm. Be faithful—and win the victor’s crown.
The Lord’s third letter is addressed to the believers in Pergamum. The city of Pergamum was a cesspool of strange religious practices, from the worship of animals to the worship of idols. The Christians in Pergamum were surrounded by a culture of idolatry. Here’s the Lord’s message to the Christians in Pergamum:
“To the angel of the church in Pergamum write:
These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives.
Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.” (Revelation 2:12–17)
Jesus said, “I know where you live—where Satan has his throne.” Jesus was not using a spiritual metaphor. He was referring to the great Altar of Zeus, the chief god of the Greek pantheon. The altar was built in the second century BC and was undoubtedly the throne of Satan that Jesus referred to. In the late 1800s, German archaeologists excavated the Acropolis of Pergamum, including the Altar of Zeus, and the altar was shipped to Germany in pieces and reassembled at the Pergamum Museum in Berlin, where it remains on display to this day.
Because these Christians lived faithfully in the shadow of this monument to false religion, Jesus commended them, “You remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives” (Revelation 2:13).
But the church in Pergamum was not without flaws. They had permitted the false teachings of Balaam and the Nicolaitans in their midst. We find the story of Balaam in Numbers 22–24. Here’s a brief summary:
Balaam was a fortune-teller, a man who engaged in the forbidden practice of divination. During the time before the Israelites entered the promised land, King Balak of Moab summoned Balaam and offered to pay him to put a curse on the Israelites.
At first, Balaam refused to speak anything except the words God gave him—words of blessing instead of cursing. In exasperation, King Balak finally said, “I brought you to curse my enemies, but you have done nothing but bless them!” Balaam replied, “Must I not speak what the LORD puts in my mouth?” (Numbers 23:11–12).
At first glance, it seems that Balaam obeyed God. But the Scriptures tell us that God was angry with Balaam for speaking to the Moabite ruler. And at one point, as Balaam rode his donkey to meet with the king, God caused the donkey to speak. Then an angel blocked Balaam’s path, saying, “I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one” (Numbers 22:32).
As Peter later wrote, Balaam “loved the wages of wickedness. But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey—an animal without speech—who spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness” (2 Peter 2:15–16). Balaam had special powers from God but Balaam used those powers to enrich himself. He was an unfaithful prophet who was led astray by greed.
Later, in Numbers 25, the nation of Moab sent Moabite women to seduce the men of Israel into immorality and idolatry. God’s people actually began worshipping the demon-god Baal on Mount Peor. Because of this sin, God sent a plague against Israel and twenty-four thousand people died.
Whose idea was it to send these Moabite women to seduce Israel? We don’t find out until Numbers 31. There the Israelites went to war against the Midianites and killed five Midianite kings. They found Balaam among the Midianites and killed him with the sword. At that point, the Scriptures reveal that it was Balaam who came up with the idea of seducing Israel with Moabite women. The Moabites “followed Balaam’s advice and enticed the Israelites to be unfaithful to the LORD in the Peor incident, so that a plague struck the LORD’s people” (Numbers 31:16).
Though Balaam would not directly curse the people of Israel, he came up with an indirect approach to get God’s people to curse themselves through sinful acts. Balaam suggested to the king of Moab that he send Moabite women to entice the Israelites with sexual temptation. Once these women had seduced the Israelite men sexually, it was easy to seduce them into idolatry.
That’s a typical satanic strategy. If he can’t get you to do his bidding by direct attack, then he’ll work through the weakness of the flesh and maneuver you into cursing yourself. The next time you are tempted to indulge in lust, pornography, infidelity, or some other sin of the flesh, remember Balaam’s plan to seduce Israel. Don’t surrender to Satan.
This is the strategy Jesus refers to when He tells the believers in Pergamum, “There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality” (Revelation 2:14).
Jesus goes on to say, “Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth” (Revelation 2:15–16). The believers in Pergamum were seduced by the Nicolaitans. They had fallen for the notion that immorality is spiritually harmless. They said to themselves, “We’re broad-minded believers. Sexual immorality and eating meat sacrificed to idols is just part of the culture here.” It is no shame to be called narrow-minded for refusing to compromise the truth of God’s Word. Sometimes there is virtue in being narrow-minded. Jesus said, “But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:14).
Many of the Christians in Pergamum were apparently approval junkies; they wanted to be liked by their pagan neighbors. So they adopted immoral practices so they would fit in. Many Christians today are approval junkies as well—eager to compromise their Christian principles to be approved by non-Christians.
We have an obligation to love non-Christians with the love of Jesus. But we must never sacrifice God’s truth in order to love them. We must never try to win them over by watering down the demands of the gospel. We should never encourage non-Christians to join the church without repentance and salvation.
Near the end of His letter, Jesus says, “To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it” (Revelation 2:17). To understand what Jesus means about “hidden manna,” look at John 6, where Jesus is questioned by Jewish leaders who seek to trap Him. Jesus says:
Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. (vv. 49–51)
Jesus Himself is the manna from heaven, the Bread of Life that brings eternal life.
What does Jesus mean when He says, “I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it” (Revelation 2:17)? The Roman judicial system was not a system of trial by jury. A single judge would hear the case, render the verdict, and determine the penalty. If the defendant was found guilty, the judge would hand him a black stone. If the defendant was found innocent, the judge would hand him a white stone.
That’s what Jesus says here. When we commit our lives to Him and endure opposition and persecution for His sake, He gives us a white stone. He declares us innocent. He sets us free. That is His promise to the believers in Pergamum, where Satan has his throne—and that is His promise to you and me in these dark and godless times.
The Lord’s fourth letter, addressed to the believers in Thyatira, is the longest letter of the seven—and perhaps the most troubling:
“To the angel of the church in Thyatira write:
These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.
Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.
Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets, ‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’
To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations—that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’—just as I have received authority from my Father. I will also give that one the morning star. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Revelation 2:18–29)
Jesus praises the believers in Thyatira for their love, faith, service, and patient endurance. He affirms their growth in good works, telling them, “You are now doing more than you did at first.” But even though this church has many commendable traits, there’s a hidden cancer of moral compromise threatening the life of the church. This cancer has a name: Jezebel.
The Lord refers to events in 1 and 2 Kings, where we encounter Queen Jezebel. She was a pagan Baal worshipper, but King Ahab of Israel foolishly married her. She turned the king’s heart away from the Lord and persuaded him to set up temples to Baal. She also persecuted God’s prophets. There is a lesson here: Do not be unequally yoked with an unbeliever. Do not compromise your spiritual and moral principles. Beware of the “Jezebel” who wants to seduce you away from the Lord.
The “Jezebel” in Thyatira was a false and self-appointed “prophetess.” Like her Old Testament namesake, this Jezebel spread spiritual and moral compromise. Jesus said, “By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols” (Revelation 2:20). She claimed to speak for God, even while she was carrying out Satan’s strategy of seducing believers with the temptations of the flesh.
Moral compromise and spiritual compromise always go together. When we drop our guard against sexual immorality, we open ourselves up to apostasy, heresy, and unbelief. Like a fisherman setting a hook in the mouth of a fish, Satan uses lust and immorality to set the hook in our flesh. Once immorality becomes a habit in our lives, we look for ways to rationalize our sin. And as soon we start rationalizing away biblical morality, we are halfway to abandoning the cornerstones of our faith.
One of the most foolish mantras of our times—and we hear it increasingly within the church—is, “Times have changed.” What people mean is, “Truth has changed. Nobody believes in the old moral laws anymore. Nobody obeys biblical morality anymore. The old truths don’t apply to the times in which we live.”
But truth has not changed. In fact, every unspeakable sexual practice that is rampant in our culture today was just as prevalent in the Roman Empire. The Christian church was born into a world of incredible decadence and immorality. First-century Christians were surrounded by immorality of every description.
The “Jezebel” in Thyatira was teaching believers to give in to their sinful impulses—and she was luring them into apostasy. So Jesus said, “I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. I will strike her children dead” (Revelation 2:21–22).
Jesus wants us to know that polluting His church with sin and deception is a deadly serious matter. The spirit of Jezebel destroys churches, and that’s why Jesus detests it—and why He will punish false teachers like Jezebel. He said, “Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds” (Revelation 2:23).
That’s the bad news about Thyatira. Here’s the good news: “Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets, ‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come’” (Revelation 2:24–25). The Lord has only condemnation for those who would seduce the church, but for believers who hold to the purity of His gospel, He imposes no burden.
Then Jesus makes a thrilling promise to the believers in Thyatira: “To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations—that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’—just as I have received authority from my Father” (Revelation 2:26–27). Isn’t that amazing? We will reign with Him. This is the same promise Paul wrote about to Timothy: “If we endure, / we will also reign with him” (2 Timothy 2:12).
Finally, Jesus makes this promise to the faithful believers in Thyatira: “I will also give that one the morning star” (Revelation 2:28). What does Jesus mean? We find a clue near the end of Revelation: “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star” (Revelation 22:16).
If we remain faithful and obedient, Jesus will give us . . . Himself. What more could we want? What more could we ask? If we turn our backs on Satan, if we remain faithful to His truth, then we will receive eternity with the Lord Jesus as our reward.
The Lord’s fifth letter is addressed to the church of Sardis. This is a sobering letter. I pray that neither you nor your church is like the church at Sardis:
“To the angel of the church in Sardis write:
These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.
Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Revelation 3:1–6)
Jesus said, “I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead” (v. 1). Many Christians cultivate a reputation for godliness. They use evangelical jargon. They carry a big, black Bible. They have a fine-sounding statement of faith. But their reputation for being spiritually alive is a hollow shell. What a tragedy when the reality doesn’t match the reputation.
No Christian is perfect, and neither is any church. All Christians are sinners, and all churches are made up of fallible human beings. The Lord does not expect churches to be perfect, but He does expect churches to be alive. If we have a reputation for being alive, yet we are dead, the Lord cannot live His life through us.
So Jesus says, “Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die. . . . Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent” (Revelation 3:2–3). Can a dead church come to life again? Yes! In fact, Jesus gives us five steps that lead from death to life.
Step 1: Wake up! Open your eyes, take a good look at your spiritual condition, and become spiritually aware.
Step 2: Strengthen what remains! When a patient’s heart stops during surgery, the surgeon doesn’t say, “Oh well—lost another one.” That surgeon tries to resuscitate the patient and restore life. Similarly, when the heart of a church stops beating, it needs a jolt of truth from God’s Word. We need to return to the gospel and rediscover the essential truths of our faith. That’s what it means to “strengthen what remains.”
Step 3: Remember what you have received and heard. Many churches have abandoned what they have received and heard. They deny that Jesus is the only way to heaven. They deny the truth of the resurrection. They deny the authority of Scripture. The Bible says, “There is a way that appears to be right, / but in the end it leads to death” (Proverbs 14:12). To bring a dead church back to life, remember what you have received and heard.
Step 4: Hold it fast. Hang on to it! Guard it with your life! Protect the truth that you have received and heard. When unbelievers attack your faith from without, or Satan assails your faith from within, guard it, cling to it, and don’t let go.
Step 5: Repent. If you are going down a path that leads to death—change course, change direction, change your mind, and change your ways.
When a church has a reputation for being alive but is practically dead, there’s no time to lose. Take these five steps immediately! The Lord is patient—but His patience won’t last forever. If we do not respond, if we do not wake up, Jesus says, “I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you” (Revelation 3:3). The words translated “come to you” would be better translated “come upon you” or “come against you.” Jesus is not talking about the Rapture of the church. He is talking about disciplining the church.
There was a glimmer of life remaining in the church at Sardis. Jesus said, “You have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy” (Revelation 3:4). The church was mostly dead, but a faithful few remained.
If you are in a dead church right now, God may be calling you to speak up and say, “This church is nearly dead—but by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we can inject new life into this church. We can wake up, strengthen what remains, remember what we have heard, hold it fast, and repent. Let’s ask God to resurrect this church!”
The Lord’s sixth letter is addressed to the church in Philadelphia, and there is not a single word of condemnation in this letter:
“To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:
These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.
I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. (Revelation 3:7–13)
Jesus identifies Himself as the one who holds “the key of David.” In other words, He is the Messiah. In the Old Testament, God promised King David a royal descendant: “I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son” (2 Samuel 7:13–14).1 Part of this prophecy referred to David’s son Solomon (who was not yet born) and part referred to Jesus the Messiah. In many places in Scripture, Jesus is called “son of David,” or a descendant of David. So the key of David speaks of His authority as Messiah.
With the key of messianic authority, Jesus says (speaking of Himself in third person), “What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open” (Revelation 3:7). Jesus alone has the authority to open and shut the doors of history, of salvation, of heaven and hell. No other human being has the power to open and shut these doors.
One of the doors that Jesus alone has authority over is the doorway to God the Father. He said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Now, when you tell people that Jesus is the only way to the Father, you will probably start an argument. Someone may say, “You can’t say that Jesus is the only way! That’s not tolerant of other religions. That’s not inclusive. There are many paths to heaven.”
There’s no point in arguing with such people. The best response is to calmly say, “Your argument isn’t with me. It’s with Jesus. I didn’t say Jesus is the only way. Jesus said it Himself—and I believe it. If you want to argue, then you will have to argue with Jesus.”
Jesus opens doors that no one can shut, and He shuts doors no one can open. Today, Jesus invites everyone to repent and be saved—but a time is coming when He will shut the door and the judgment of humanity will begin.
Next, Jesus says, “I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name” (Revelation 3:8). Jesus is telling the Christians in Philadelphia that they may be weak by the world’s standards, but He was placing a great opportunity for ministry before them. If they seized that opportunity, He would bless them even more.
God has blessed all of us with open doors of ministry. If God has blessed you with time, then use your time to serve Him. If He has blessed you with influence, then use your influence to serve Him. If He has blessed you with wealth, then invest it in God’s kingdom. If you reject those opportunities, then He will put you on the shelf and call someone else.
The church in Philadelphia was poor and powerless, yet Jesus blessed them with an open door. Why? Because they were faithful. They did what they could with what they had. If you ever think, I’m poor and powerless, so I have nothing to offer God, remember that little church in Philadelphia. Remember the Lord’s promise: “I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut” (Revelation 3:8).
Serve the Lord with all your might, and He will pour out His blessings on your life.
The Lord’s seventh and final letter is addressed to the church in Laodicea, and it is a message of condemnation. If these seven churches represent seven ages of church history, then we are currently in the Laodicean age. And if that is so, we should weep—and tremble. The church in Laodicea is a lukewarm church, and Jesus detests lukewarmness. Tell me if this does not sound like an average respectable evangelical church in America today—a church that is neither on fire nor cold but nauseatingly lukewarm:
“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Revelation 3:14–22)
I ask you: How can there be some sixty million evangelical believers in America,2 yet our witness to the world remains so anemic? Why are we not seeing revival in America today? Why is immorality being normalized in the church? Why has the church embraced a culture of entertainment instead of a culture of Christian discipleship? Why are Christians more focused on success than on sacrifice? Why are believers debating such questions as “Does hell really exist?” and “Is Jesus the only way to heaven?” Why are so-called evangelicals casting doubt on essential biblical doctrine?
Is it not because the church has become lukewarm? Is it not because the American church has become the Laodicean church? As Elton Trueblood observed, “It used to be that Christianity was a revolutionary faith that turned the world upside down. But today Christians sit in Sunday morning church services looking at their watches, wondering what time dinner will be served, or thinking about the kickoff. And we hope that church won’t interfere with the things we would really rather be doing.”3
Jesus looked at the church in Laodicea and said, in effect, “I suffered and died for you. Yet you give Me one hour a week on Sunday mornings and tip Me a few dollars in the collection plate, as if I’m your waiter, not your Savior. I gave My life for you, but do you witness for Me? Do you tell your friends and neighbors about all I’ve done for you? Either love Me with a white-hot intensity—or stop playing church. Your lukewarmness is sickening.”
Then Jesus prescribes the cure for lukewarmness: “I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see” (Revelation 3:18).
Laodicea was a rich and prosperous city. In AD 61, Laodicea was almost completely leveled by a massive earthquake. Yet there was so much wealth there that the Laodiceans rebuilt their city very quickly—and without federal aid from Rome. The city was famed for its two principal exports: textiles and Phrygian powder, which was used as an eye salve. The Phrygian powder of Laodicea was acclaimed for its medicinal value by the second-century Greek physician Galen.4
Notice the Lord’s irony: He tells the Laodiceans to buy three things from Him—gold so that they may become rich, clothing to cover their nakedness, and eye salve for their blindness. What was Laodicea famous for? Its wealth, its textiles, and its eye salve. Jesus was telling them, in effect, “The very items you think you have in abundance—gold, clothing, and eye salve—are precisely the items you lack in a spiritual sense. You are poor, naked, and blind.”
The Laodiceans needed a white garment to cover the shame of their sin, and that garment could only come from the righteousness of Jesus. The Laodiceans could not see their poverty and nakedness, and the salve to open their eyes could only come from Jesus. He alone is the Source of spiritual insight. “Those whom I love,” He says, “I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent.”
Next, we encounter one of the most beloved verses in Scripture—that beautiful invitation from the heart of our Lord: “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me” (Revelation 3:20).
You may be familiar with the paintings of Warner Sallman (1892–1968), such as his famed Head of Christ and Christ in Gethsemane. One of his most famous paintings is called Christ at Heart’s Door, based on Revelation 3:20. It depicts the Lord Jesus knocking on the door, and all around the door are thorns and thistles, symbolizing our sin. And there’s another detail that is easily overlooked—there is no doorknob on the outside. The doorknob is only on the inside. Jesus will not enter your life unless you open the door and invite Him in.
Jesus stands at the door of your heart and knocks. If you refuse to let Him in, He will let you have your way—and you will bear the consequences. Only you can turn the knob and open the door. If you do, He will come in and eat with you and have fellowship with you and be your Friend, both now and throughout eternity.
These seven letters of John’s Apocalypse were spoken by Jesus and written to churches in the first century, yet they speak to the need of our hearts today. The book of Revelation has much to say about the future—but even more to say about the present. The Apocalypse, the revelation of God’s truth, is now.
As we take these truths that come straight from the heart of Jesus, and we apply them to our hearts today, we will secure our eternity with Christ. As the Lord says in Revelation 3:21–22, “To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”