Jesus Christ chose seven churches in Asia Minor as prototypes for all of the churches. In these letters, Christ documents problems and answers for the purpose of training God’s people to avoid those things that could keep them from being over-comers and pursue the things which will speed up the process of becoming an over-comer. Christ also prescribes some promises and judgments that are designed to cleanse the churches of those things that hinder the process of becoming an over-comer. I have placed below a table of the various problems facing the seven churches, along with the remedies to those problems.
I have put more detailed descriptions of church problems and answers below:
Problem: Lack of Christ centered devotion
Church Types Affected: Ephesus, and presumably Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, and Laodicea
Description of Problem: Ephesus was doing all of the right things in terms of particular, external actions. She had right doctrine, right charity, and right focus on holiness; but she shifted away from a Christ-centered devotion to man-centered, organization-centered devotion.
God’s Answer: If the Ephesians did not repent, God removes lamp stand to start pruning process. External righteousness can never achieve the Kingdom of God, but only a cheap counterfeit. Removing the lampstand will result in the organization behaving more as it really is – a man centered organization.
What prospective overcomers must do: Return to devotion to Christ. It is only through such devotion that a Christ-centered faith can truly function in a way that pleases God.
Problem: Doctrine of Balaam
Church Types Affected: Pergamos, and presumably Thyatira, Sardis and Laodicea.Thyatira
Description of Problem:The Doctrine of Balaam is derived from the account of Balaam in Numbers 22-24. When Balak, the king of Moab, offered him money to curse Israel, Balaam wanted to do it because he loved the money. God, however, told him not to do it. God originally told him not to even go to Balak but because Balaam hounded Him to let him go because of the prospect of money, God let him go to Balak, but forbade him to curse Israel.
On the surface it would appear that Balaam’s mission failed. Balak told him that he would not pay because he did not curse Israel but blessed Israel. There is a much different back-story to Balaam. In Numbers 25, we read that Moabite women were seducing Israelite men into sexual immorality, unlawful marriages, and idolatry with no explanation for why the sudden seduction.
Jesus Christ gives John the back-story that explains these events. Balaam knew how to parse the Words of God for maximum profit. He wanted to be a profitable prophet, so he made another deal with Balak. He “taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality (Rev 2:14).” Balaam taught Balak that God’s Covenant with Israel had curses for disobedience built into the covenant: All Balak had to do was successfully tempt Israel to commit idolatry and sexual immorality, and the covenant would do the cursing.
The doctrine of Balaam is to merchandise the things of God for personal profit. The other two passages in the New Testament that speak of Balaam,2 Peter 2:14-16,Jude 1:10-12, speak of the doctrine of Balaam in terms of greed – the love of money dominates the ministry. Once this love of money dominates a ministry, a whole host of other sins become prevalent. The love of money in ministry leads to pastor who fleece the flock, feeding on the flock rather than feeding the flock. The doctrine of Balaam, departs from seeking to know God’s original intent in breathing out the Scripture, leading people to creatively parse the Word of God (or engaging in strifes of words, see 1 Timothy 6:3-5), twisting Bible interpretation to suit one’s personal desires, rather than faithfully proclaiming the full knowledge of God. This often reflected in an undue emphasis on prosperity teaching and other teachings that appeal to personal advancement as the central focus of spiritual life.
God’s Answer: God will fight those who love money and fleece the flock . Ezekiel 34 is a strong word of judgment against Bad Shepherds who exploit their flock rather than care for them. In the last days, God is going to remove the many predatory preachers that abound. He will simply take them out of the ministry by force. This sword of His mouth will enforce the originasl intent of God’s Word
What prospective overcomers must do: Abandon the love of money and the merchandising of the ministry. There is so much trying to peddle – selling “Christian Products.” We need to stop fixation on how the gospel can satisfy our material wants and focus on Christ, his great love for us, and the great mission he has for us. We are to “take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?32(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.33But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.(Matthew 6:31-33)” We must once again seek God’s original intention when we approach His Word rather than our own agendas.
Problem: Doctrine of the Nicolaitans
Church Types Affected: Pergamos, presumably Thyatira, Sardis, and Laodicea
Perhaps the most debated church problem in the letters relates to the identity of the Nicolaitans. There are two major views on this. One view was that they were followers of the deacon Nicolas who became apostate. This was not universally held and not held by the earliest witnesses. While Hyppolatus and Irenaeus affirm the apostate Nicholas view, Igatius and Clement of Alexandria refer to them as “so-called” followers of Nicholas. There is, however, consensus among the Church Fathers that the Nicolaitans had two defining features: sexual promiscuity and a commitment to Gnosticism. It is the commitment to Gnosticism that is of particular importance on the Nicolaitan doctrinal system.
The idea that thew Nicolaitans are followers of Nicolas would be highly irregular interpretation in a passage that has a tight, highly developed ornate* structure. There are six problems mentioned in the letters to the seven churches. Three of them are generic and three are specifically named. Of the three that are specifically named two of them are explicitly named after their leader- prototype. Jezebel is referred to by her name, and Balaam is referreed to by his name If the Nicolaitans were meant to refer to the followers of Nicolas, then why is Nicholas not mentioned by name but instead referred as the name of the followers?
A better way to understand the naming of the Nicolaitans is to understand that descriptive naming was often employed in Hebrew and other Ancient near eastern cultures. The name ‘Yahweh’, for example is derived from a Hebrew word meaning ‘eternal or self-existent one,’ ‘Adam’ means ‘man,’ and so on. Most Hebrew names were descriptive of some attribute of the object being named. God changed Abram’s name to Abraham when He promises that he would be a father of nations. Abraham means ‘father of a multitude.’
With this in mind, the word ‘Nicolaitan’ is compound Greek word that means “conqueror of the people.” Nicolaitans were those who believed that an ecclesiastical elite should dominate the people. This is where the Gnosticism of the Nicolaitans comes in. Rabbinic Judaism would invent the fiction of the Oral Torah that was a second revelation revealed exclusively to the priests and held the keys to understanding the written Torah that was revealed to all. Later the roman Catholic and Eastern Orthdox Churches was revive this trope and posit tradition as a second source of revelation that held the keys to understanding the Bible when used by the Magisterium. There also has never been a shortage of cult leaders who claimed secret knowledge. The common thread in all of these systems is that they posit an enlightened elite between the people and Christ, and that the people must pledge absolute allegiance to them if they want to approach Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ sees this as nothing less than idolatry and apostasy. He despises this more than any other sins that people might commit.
The Lord Jesus Christ does indeed say that He hates this more than any other sin. Christ gives us a clue in this passage that confirm interpreting ‘Nicolaitans’ as a descriptive name. He refers to this doctrine in (Rev 2:6,15) as ‘which thing I hate.’ Jesus Christ, as the Holy One, hates all sin, but the doctrine and deeds of the Nicolaitanes is singled out among all sins as the worst sin possible. Are there clues given in Scripture that instruct us which sin Jesus hates the most?
The answer can be found in Matthew 23. Jesus Christ presents a most scathing rebuke of the use of religion as a tool of oppression by the Pharisees and Sadducees. These first-century Jewish religious leaders were very skilled at using religion to oppress the people and exploit them for their own personal gain. These men loved their power, position, and privilege; but Jesus condemned even the use of title such as ‘Rabbi’, ‘father’, and ‘master. (Matthew 23:8-10)’ Jesus condemned these practices because they put mortal men between humanity and God. Christ is the only mediator between God and man (1 Tim 2:5). Throughout the chapter, Christ indicts the religious leaders of murder, extortion, creatively parsing the law, and other methods of gaming the system to their personal and political advantage.
Christ views this matter so seriously that he says of them that for these things “35That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.36Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. (Matthew 23:35-36).” Christ considered the use of religion as a prop for totalitarian tyranny a cardinal sin* that warrants apocalyptic judgment. Christ uses similar language used to describe the judgment of Babylon the Great (Revelation 18:24). Babylon the Great (Mystery Babylon) is the Mother of all harlot and abominations of the earth. This same language used to depict the judgment over the mother of all sin is used to describe the judgment over the use of religion as a weapon of totalitarianism and slavery.This is THE sin Jesus hates, and it is the description of the Greek name Nicolaitans (Νικολαΐ́της).
One of the implications of the doctrine of the Nicolaitans is the idea that ministry is the property of the elite rather than all believers. In the Apostolic age of the church, all believers were considered ministers. There was only a soft line between those with authority and the larger church – analogous to that of older brothers to younger children. The hard line was between the authority of Christ – as head of the church – and the brotherhood of believers. The triumph of Nicolaitanism resulted in the rise of a sharp clergy-laity distinction that did not exist in the days of the apostles.
Even ministries that understand that Revelation is the story of the overcoming church conquering through worship have succumbed to Nicolaitanism, believing that only an elite in the church will be the overcomers, not realizing that if our faith is the victory that overcomes the world (1 John 5:4-5), then all believers are overcomers.
God’s Answer:
God will fight against them with the “Sword of my mouth.” This means God proclaims the Word of Judgment.As such, He is exercising the confession of His own words with faith in His own infinite power. This is faith in God, not faith in faith. for more information on how Confession works, go here.
What prospective overcomers must do: Exercising the confession of God’s own words with faith in God’s infinite power.This is faith in God, not faith in faith.Additionally, pprospective overcomers should seek organic spiritual life in an Ephesian type church. For more on this, see my book See my book Ephesians:Primer for the Church. For now I will share three distinctives of an Ephesians type church.
- In an Ephesians type church, everyone is a minister
- In an Ephesians type church, authority is rationally based on spiritual empowerment
- In an Ephesians type church, leaders equip all of the saints to occupy their royal, priestly position before God’s Throne
Problem: Jezebel Spirit: counterfeit leadership, sexual Immorality and Occultism
Church Types Affected: Thyatira
Description of Problem:Jezebel is a spiritual stronghold that conforms to the historic Jezebel, wife of Ahab and daughter of the king of Tyre, as a prototype. She was extremely manipulative who sought to displace the worship of Yahweh God with her Pagan system of sexual immorality and idolatry. She ruled Israel by manipulating Ahab, who was the king of Israel.
Like the historic Jezebel, Jezebels are enabled by those who wield power and authority over others. Eradicating a Jezebel problem generally involves the additional elimination of the leadership that enables her. In other words, one must get rid of the house of Ahab to eliminate Jezebel.
God’s Answer: God executes judgment on the church to rid the church of Jezebel and those she influences. He rids the church of both her and those who have committed adultery, both figuratively and sexually, with her. He engages in this thorough so that both Jezebel and her enablers are gone from the leadership of the church.
What prospective overcomers must do: Because of Jezebel’s manipulative nature, leadership is hijacked. It will usually be necessary to remove from leadership of a church all leaders who enable her. If this is not possible, it may be prudent to leave that church and seek another fellowship to give and receive godly edification.
Because of her Satanic nature, spiritual warfare will be necessary to eliminate spiritual stronghold that can develop within an organization.
Problem: Trust in self rather than Christ (Dead Church)
Church Types Affected: Sardis, Laodicea
Description of Problem:Trust in self rather than Christ develops whenever an organization begins to think that it is superior to other organizations, and begins to relate to everyone from a position of superiority. Sardis had a “name [reputation]for being alive, but are dead. (Rev 3:1)” and Laodicea boasted needing nothing when in fact she was ”wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. (Rev 3:17).” The point is that the churches that boast of being the most from coast to coast are actually toast. These churches trust in themselves rather than Christ.
The difference between Sardis and Laodicea is a difference of degree. Sardis still had a few people in her who were actually walking with God (Rev 3:4). It is these who are keeping her comatose body alive. Christ is warning Sardis that she is almost dead. She is warned ”Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die (Rev 3:2).” She must repent and strengthen what little is left that is alive; she must strengthen those among her who still have spiritual life or she will die. Laodicea, however, is already past this comatose stage. Christ “stand[s]at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me (Rev 3:20).” Christ is standing outside of the church of Laodicea because all of the saved folk are gone. They either died, left, are fell away into the madness of the about to be apostate church. Sardis and Laodicea are i two different stages of apostasy.
God’s Answer: God will evict that type of church from his presence. As Sardis and Laodicea are in two different stages of apostasy, the end result is that God will evict them from His presence if there is no repentance. Christ will vomit them out of his mouth (Rev 3:16).
What prospective overcomers must do: If the church doesn’t repent, then flee this type of church and seek to receive and give godly edification elsewhere. We are not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:14-18).
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2 Corinthians 6:14-18 |
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“14Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?15And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?16And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
17Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.18And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” |
Problem: Persecution (Lack of Victory)
Church Types Affected: Smyrna, Philadelphia
Description of Problem:Persecution is different problem from the other problems Jesus deals with in these letters to the seven churches in that it is not the result of the church incurring guilt. Smyrna is at the beginning of a wave of persecution. Christ encourages them by promising a crown for faithfulness (Rev 2:10) Philadelphia is at the end of the persecution, having already received a crown (Rev 3:11).
God’s Answer: God sets boundaries on persecution, then executes judgment on the persecutors. Smyrna was told she would have persecution for “ten days” (Rev 2:). We do not know whether the ten days is literal is symbolic, but in either case it represents God placing a limit on the time duration of the persecution. At the end of the persecution, God turns the tables on behalf of the persecuted congregation. Christ is saying “8I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it(Rev 3:8).” Jesus Christ is identified to the church of Philadelphia as “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens(Rev 3:7).” The Key of David symbolizes the royal authority of the Messiah as the heir to the throne of David (2 Samuel 7; Isaiah 9:6-7). Christ uses His kingly power to open a door for these faithful believers that no one can shut. Successful endurance of persecution reveal great power from God to those who endure to the end.
What prospective overcomers must do: Faithfulness to God whatever may come. Smyrna was at the beginning of this process and Philadelphia at the end. First Peter reveals that supernatural power is unleashed in persecution. Power is first unleashed, viathe spirit of glory and of God, to endure during persecution, and overwhelming power is unleashed when the season of persecution ends – when thisglory is revealed. Power that canopen a door that no one can shut.
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1 Peter 4:12-14 |
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““12Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:13But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.14If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.” |
A final point on persecution releasing divine power. While we can add nothing to the finished work of Christ upon the cross, our sufferings for Christ are a participation in thr finished work. To use quantum mechanical language, our suffering for Christ puts us in quantum entanglement with the Cross; the persecuting world puts themselves in quantuim entanglement with Satan. More on this in ch 4 of The Conceptual God. For now, I can give a brief description.
At the cross, Satan entered into quantum entanglement with the body of Christ, surrendering his claims to earth to Jesus Christ’s property rights over His body. Just as Satan’s murder of Christ essentially affected full surrender of his claim to the earth, so the world will surrender its claims to the earth to Christ by persecuting and murdering those who are united with Christ. The Final Great Persecution will be global and will put the whole earth into the Cross, making it Christ’s; it will be worldwide and involve every individual on the planet playing some role in this process. Just as Christ’s suffering preceded His glory, so shall ours also be as we become glorified with Christ.
Concluding thoughts
Jesus Christ’s commendations in these letters yield to us positive things that we should be doing as a church. These would include
- Devotion to Christ first(Rev 2:4)
- Testing would-be leaders(Rev 2:2)
- Sound doctrine(Rev 2:2;3:8)
- Enforcing the standard of righteousness(Rev 2-3:2;3:8)
- love(Rev 2:19)
- Perseverance/ patience/ not denying Christ(Rev 2:2,13,19;3:8-10)
- Outreach(Rev 2:2-3,19)
Do these, and the problem areas disappear. These letters were meant as a diagnostic tool for the local church. Do the positives and avoid the negatives, and the local congregation will become a congregation of overcomers. In the next installment, I shall write of the worship service in heaven that we are privileged to partake in – the worship services that results in the judgment of God that culminates in the return of Christ.