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Rev. 1:3; 22:7; 2:1-29; 3:1-22
I. The church in Ephesus depicts the end of the stage of the initial church during the last part of the first century
II. The church in Smyrna prefigures the suffering church under the persecution of the Roman Empire from the last part of the first century to the early part of the fourth century
III. The church in Pergamos pre-symbolizes the worldly church, the church married to the world
IV. The church in Thyatira pre-symbolizes the apostate church from the ordination of the papal system in the latter part of the sixth century to the end of the church age
V. The church in Sardis prefigures the protestant church, from the reformation in the early part of the sixteenth century to Christ’s coming back
VI. The church in Philadelphia prefigures the church of brotherly love, the recovery of the proper church life, from the early part of the nineteenth century to the second appearing of the Lord
VII. The church in Laodicea foreshadows the degraded church life of the brothers from the latter part of the nineteenth century to the Lord’s return
[Revelation is a book of prophecy (Rev. 1:3; 22:7), for the revelation it contains is in the nature of prophecy. Most of the visions refer to things to come. Even the seven epistles to the seven churches in chapters two and three, in the sense of signs, are prophecies regarding the church on earth until the Lord’s coming back.]
The seven churches signify [prophetically the progress of the church in seven stages. The first epistle, to the church in Ephesus, affords a picture of the church at the end of the first stage, during the last part of the first century. The second epistle, to the church in Smyrna, prefigures the suffering church under the persecution of the Roman Empire, from the last part of the first century to the early part of the fourth century, when Constantine the Great brought the church into imperial favor. The third epistle, to the church in Pergamos, pre-symbolizes the worldly church, the church married to the world, from the time Constantine accepted Christianity to the time the papal system was established in the latter part of the sixth century. The epistle to the church in Thyatira depicts prophetically the apostate church, from the ordination of the papal system in the latter part of the sixth century to the end of this age, when Christ comes back. The fifth epistle, to the church in Sardis, prefigures the Protestant church, from the Reformation in the early part of the sixteenth century to Christ’s coming back. The sixth epistle, to the church in Philadelphia, predicts the church of brotherly love, the recovery of the proper church life, from the early part of the nineteenth century, when the brothers were raised up in England to practice the church life outside all denominational and divisive systems, to the second appearing of the Lord. The seventh epistle, to the church in Laodicea, foreshadows the degraded church life of the brothers in the nineteenth century, from the latter part of the nineteenth century until the Lord’s return.]
[The church in Ephesus depicts the end of the stage of the initial church during the last part of the first century. “Ephesus’’ in Greek means desirable. This signifies that the initial church at its end was still desirable to the Lord; the Lord still had much expectation in her.]
[The crucial words in the Lord’s epistle to the church in Ephesus are love, life, and light. The basic requirement for having the church life is our love toward the Lord. There is no problem, of course, with the Lord’s love toward us. He has loved us and He continues to love us. The problem is with our love toward Him. Although we have loved Him in the past and may love Him now, there is the danger that our love for the Lord Jesus might fade. The epistle to the church in Ephesus warns us of this. This epistle also gives us a clear revelation of the source of the degradation of the church life — the fading of the first love. Love gives us the position, the ground, the right, and the privilege to eat of the tree of life. Love gives us the supply of life. If we love the Lord, we shall have the full right to enjoy Him as the tree of life, as our life supply. Light always follows life, issuing out of the abundant supply of life. Life, therefore, gives us light. It is vitally important that we love the Lord. If we have love, then we shall have the life symbolized by the tree of life and the light signified by the lampstand.]
[In Revelation 2:7 the Lord says that to him who overcomes He will give to eat of the tree of life. For the proper church life and the recovery of the church life, that is, for the proper growth in the Christian life, what we need is not merely the mental apprehension of teachings but the eating in our spirit of the Lord as the bread of life (John 6:57). Even the words of the Scripture should not be considered merely doctrines to teach our mind but food to nourish our spirit (Matt. 4:4; Heb. 5:12-14).]
[The matter of eating the tree of life brings us back to the beginning, because at the beginning there was the tree of life (Gen. 2:9, 16). The tree of life always brings us back to the beginning where there is nothing but God Himself. In the church life, again and again we need to be brought back to the beginning, forgetting all other things and enjoying Christ Himself as the tree of life.]
[But to enjoy Christ requires us to love Him with the first love. We must love Him above all things, above our work for Him and whatever we have for Him. By simply loving Him we shall be brought back to the beginning where we care for nothing except the Triune God Himself as our life supply in the tree of life. This is the proper way to maintain the church life and to be kept in the church life.]
[In Greek Smyrna means “myrrh,” a sweet spice which, in figure, signifies suffering. In typology, myrrh signifies the sweet suffering of Christ. Thus, the church in Smyrna was a suffering church, prefiguring the church under the persecution of the Roman Empire from the latter part of the first century to the early part of the fourth century.]
The church suffered the slander of the Jews. [In Revelation 2:9 the Lord Jesus said that He knew “the slander of those who call themselves Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.’’ This indicates that persecution came from religion, from the unbelieving Jews of the synagogue of Satan. The slander of the Judaizers toward the suffering church was their evil criticism of her.]
The church also suffered the persecution of the Roman Empire. [In 2:10 the Lord speaks of the church in Smyrna having tribulation “ten days.’’ As a sign, these ten days indicate prophetically the ten periods of persecution which the church suffered under the Roman Emperors.]
To overcome in this epistle means to overcome persecution by being faithful unto death. The Lord said, [“Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life’’ (2:10b). Here, as elsewhere in the New Testament, the crown denotes a prize in addition to salvation. The crown of life as a prize to those who are faithful unto death in overcoming persecution denotes the overcoming strength, which is the power of the resurrection life (Phil. 3:10).]
[“He who overcomes shall by no means be hurt of the second death’’ (Rev. 2:11b). The second death is God’s dealing with man after man’s death and resurrection. It is, therefore, the final settlement (Rev. 20:11-15). Because the overcomers have overcome death through their faithfulness unto death under persecution and have left nothing requiring further dealing by God, after their resurrection they will not be “hurt,’’ touched, by the second death, the death after resurrection. This indicates that those who do not overcome persecution will be hurt by the second death. This is for a believer to suffer some dealing from the Lord after he has been resurrected.]
[In Greek Pergamos means “marriage,’’ implying “union,” and “fortified tower.’’ As a sign, the church in Pergamos prefigures the church which entered into a marriage union with the world and became a high fortified tower, the equivalent of the great tree prophesied by the Lord in the parable of the mustard seed (Matt. 13:31-32). When Satan failed to destroy the church through the persecution of the Roman Empire in the first three centuries, he changed his strategy. He sought instead to corrupt her through Constantine’s welcoming her as the state religion in the first part of the fourth century. Through Constantine’s encouragement and political influence, multitudes of unbelieving ones were baptized into the “church,’’ and the “church’’ became monstrously great. The church has been called out of the world and has been separated from the world to God for the fulfillment of His purpose. However, by being welcomed by the Roman Empire, the church went back to the world and, in the eyes of God, even married the world.] [Because the church, as a chaste bride, is the spouse to Christ, her union with the world is considered spiritual fornication in the eyes of God.]
Now you can see why the leading ones in your locality always speak against the world and the worldly things. We must only have eyes for Christ and forsake the world.
[In Revelation 2:13 the Lord Jesus said to the church in Pergamos, “I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is.’’ Satan’s dwelling place is the world. Because the church entered into union with the world and became worldly herself, she began to dwell where Satan dwells — in the world.]
[In 2:14 the Lord said, “I have a few things against you, because you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat idol sacrifices and to commit fornication.’’ Balaam was a Gentile prophet who caused God’s people to stumble. For the sake of reward (2 Pet. 2:15; Jude 11), he brought fornication and idolatry to God’s people (Num. 25:1-3; 31:16). In the worldly church some began to teach the same things. When the worldly church disregarded the name, the person, of the Lord, she turned to idolatry, which issued in fornication.]
[In Revelation 2:15 the Lord went on to say, “You also have those who hold in like manner the teaching of the Nicolaitans.’’ Nicolaitans is an equivalent of the Greek word nikolaitai, the root of which is nikolaos, composed of two words: niko, meaning “conquer’’ or “above others’’ and laos, meaning “common people,’’ “secular people,’’ or “laity.’’ Hence, nikolaos means “conquering the common people,’’ “climbing above the laity.’’ The Nicolaitans, then, must refer to a group of people who esteemed themselves higher than the common believers. In the church in Pergamos their works (Rev. 2:6) progressed into a teaching. They not only practiced the hierarchy but also taught it. This hierarchy destroys the function of the believers as members of the Body of Christ, thus annulling the Lord’s Body in expressing Him.]
[In 2:17 we have the Lord’s promise to the overcomers of this stage. To overcome here means specifically to overcome the church’s union with the world, the teaching of idolatry and fornication, and the teaching of the hierarchy.]
[In 2:17b the Lord says, “To him who overcomes, to him I will give of the hidden manna.’’ Manna is a type of Christ as the heavenly food enabling God’s people to go His way. A portion of that manna was preserved in a golden pot concealed in the ark (Exo. 16:32-34; Heb. 9:4). The open manna was for the enjoyment of the Lord’s people in a public way; the hidden manna, signifying the hidden Christ, is a special portion reserved for His overcoming seekers who overcome the degradation of the worldly church. While the church goes the way of the world, these overcomers come forward to abide in the presence of God in the Holy of Holies, where they enjoy the hidden Christ as a special portion for their daily supply. This promise is fulfilled today in the proper church life and will be fulfilled in full in the coming kingdom.]
[The Lord also promised the overcomer in Revelation 2:17 that He “will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written, which no one knows but he who receives it.’’ A stone in the Bible signifies material for God’s building (Matt. 16:18; 1 Pet. 2:5; 1 Cor. 3:12). In our natural being we are not stones but clay. Because we have received the divine life with its divine nature through regeneration, we can be transformed into stones, even precious stones, by enjoying Christ as our life supply (2 Cor. 3:18). Those who do not follow the worldly church but enjoy the Lord in the proper church life will be transformed into stones for the building of God. As indicated by the color white, these stones will be justified and approved by the Lord. The overcomers will be justified by God and approved by the Lord. Therefore, they will be the materials for the building up of God’s temple according to God’s New Testament economy.]
[The church in Thyatira is the church in apostasy. Thyatira in Greek means “sacrifice of perfume’’ or “unceasing sacrifice.’’ As a sign, the church in Thyatira prefigures the Roman Catholic Church, which was fully formed as the apostate church by the establishment of the universal papal system in the latter part of the sixth century. This apostate church is full of sacrifices, as demonstrated in her unceasing mass. This apostate church will remain until the Lord’s coming back.]
[The church in Thyatira is a continuation of the worldly church, pre-symbolized by the church in Pergamos. The church in Pergamos had the teaching of the Gentile prophet Balaam and the teaching of the Nicolaitans, that is, the teaching of a clerical system. The Catholic Church continues these teachings, the teaching of Balaam to bring people into idol worship and fornication and the teaching of the Nicolaitans to build up the hierarchy. In the Catholic Church today there is a strong teaching concerning the building up of a religious organization with its hierarchy.]
[One of the crucial points in the epistle to the church in Thyatira concerns the woman Jezebel. The Lord refers to her in Revelation 3:20. “I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My slaves astray to commit fornication and to eat idol sacrifices.’’ This is the very woman prophesied by the Lord in Matthew 13:33, the woman who added leaven (signifying evil, heretical, and pagan things) into the fine flour (signifying Christ as the meal offering for the satisfaction of God and man). This woman is also the great prostitute of Revelation 17, who mixes abominations with the divine things. The pagan wife of Ahab, Jezebel, was a type of this apostate church.]
[In verse 26 the Lord says that to the one who overcomes He will give authority over the nations. This is a prize to the overcomers of reigning with Christ over the nations in the millennial kingdom (20:4, 6). This promise of the Lord strongly implies that those who do not answer His call to overcome the apostate church will not participate in the reign of the millennial kingdom.]
[In 2:28 we have another aspect of the Lord’s promise to the overcomer in this stage. He says, “I will give him the morning star.’’ The morning star here refers to the coming Christ. At Christ’s first coming, the wise men, not the Jewish religionists, saw His star (Matt. 2:2, 9-10). At His second coming, He will be the morning star to His overcomers, who watch for His coming. To all the others, He will appear only as the sun (Mal. 4:2). Only the hidden overcomers, those who enjoy Christ as the hidden manna, will see the hidden Christ appearing as the morning star to those who love Him.]
[Sardis in Greek means “the remains,’’ “the remainder,’’ or “the restoration.’’ As a sign, the church in Sardis prefigures the Protestant Church from the time of the Reformation to the second coming of Christ. The Reformation was God’s reaction to the apostate Roman Catholic Church, signified by the degraded church in Thyatira. The Reformation was accomplished by a minority of the believers, the remainder. Hence, it was the restoration by the remainder.]
[To the messenger of the church in Sardis the Lord says, “I know your works, that you have a name that you are living, and you are dead’’ (Rev. 3:1). The reformed Protestant Church has been considered by many to be living, but the Lord says that she is dead. Hence, in her dead condition, she needs the seven living Spirits and the shining stars.]
[In verse 2 the Lord says to “establish the things which remain, which were about to die.’’ “The things which remain’’ are the things lost and restored by the Reformation, such as justification by faith and the open Bible. Although these things were restored, they “were about to die.’’ Hence, the Protestant Church needs revivals to keep things alive.
In verse 2 the Lord also says, “I have not found your works completed before My God.’’ Nothing begun in the Reformation has been completed by the Protestant churches. Therefore, the church in Philadelphia (3:7-13), signifying the church in recovery, is needed for the completion. In the eyes of God, there are no completed works in the so-called reformed churches.]
[In 3:5 we have the Lord’s promise to the overcomers of this stage. To overcome here means to overcome the deadness of the Protestant churches, that is, to overcome dead Protestantism. The whole of verse 5 is the Lord’s promise to the overcomers. It will be fulfilled in the millennial kingdom after He comes back.]
[In 3:4 the Lord says, “But you have a few names in Sardis who have not defiled their garments, and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.’’ Garments in the Bible signify what we are in our walk and living. To defile the garments means particularly to stain them with deadness. Death is more defiling before God than sin (Lev. 11:24-25; Num. 6:6-7, 9). In this verse the defilement denotes anything of the death nature. The defilement in Sardis was not the defilement of sin but the defilement of death.
Speaking of those who have not defiled their garments, the Lord says, “They shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.’’ White not only signifies purity but also approvedness. White garments here signify the walk and living which are unspotted by death and which will be approved by the Lord. It is a qualification for walking with the Lord, especially in the coming kingdom.]
[The Lord says in 3:5b, “I will by no means erase his name out of the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.’’ The book of life is a divine record of the names of those who partake of the blessings God has prepared for them. These blessings are in three stages: the church, the millennial kingdom, and eternity. All the believers will share in the blessings of the first and third stages, but only the overcomers will share in the blessings of the second stage, that is, the blessings in the millennial kingdom. Those who cooperate with God’s supplying grace and mature in life in the church age will be given the prize of the entrance into the millennial kingdom and the participation in the divine blessings in that stage. This means that their names will not be erased out of the book of life during the millennium.]
[In Greek, Philadelphia means “brotherly love.” As a sign, the church in Philadelphia prefigures the proper church life recovered by the brothers who were raised up by the Lord in England in the early part of the nineteenth century. Just as the reformed church, prefigured by the church in Sardis, was a reaction to the apostate Catholic Church, prefigured by the church in Thyatira, so the church of brotherly love is a reaction to the dead reformed church. This reaction will continue as an anti-testimony to both apostate Catholicism and degraded Protestantism until the Lord comes back.]
The church is keeping the Lord’s word. [In Revelation 3:8b the Lord Jesus says, “You have a little power and have kept My word.’’ One outstanding feature of the church in Philadelphia is that she kept the Lord’s word. According to history, no other Christians have kept the Lord’s word as strictly as those in the church in Philadelphia. The church in Philadelphia, the recovered church, does not care for tradition; she cares for the word of God.]
[In 3:8 the Lord also says that the church in Philadelphia has not denied His name. The brothers who were raised up by the Lord in England in the early part of the nineteenth century did not take any name other than the name of the Lord. The word is the Lord’s expression, and the name is the Lord Himself. The apostate church has deviated from the Lord’s word and has become heretical. The reformed church, though recovered to the Lord’s word to some extent, has denied the Lord’s name by denominating herself with many other names. The recovered church has not only returned to the Lord’s word in a full way but has also abandoned all names other than that of the Lord Jesus Christ. The recovered church belongs to the Lord absolutely, having nothing to do with any denominations (any names). To deviate from the Lord’s word is apostasy, and to denominate the church with any name other than the Lord’s is spiritual fornication. The church as the chaste virgin betrothed to Christ (2 Cor. 11:2) should not have any name other than her Husband’s. All other names are an abomination in the eyes of God.]
[In 3:8a the Lord says, “I know your works; behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut.’’ As the One who has the key of David and who opens and no one shall shut (v. 7), the Lord has given the recovered church “an open door which no one can shut.’’ Since the recovery of the proper church life began, in the early part of the nineteenth century, until now, a door has always been wide open to the Lord’s recovery.]
[“Because you have kept the word of My endurance, I also will keep you out of the hour of trial which is about to come on the whole inhabited earth, to try them who dwell on the earth’’ (3:10). This promise actually refers to the rapture of the overcomers before the great tribulation. “Trial’’ in 3:10 undoubtedly denotes the great tribulation (Matt. 24:21) “which is about to come on the whole inhabited earth,’’ as indicated by the fifth, sixth, and seventh trumpets with the seven bowls (Rev. 8:13-9:21; 11:14-15; 15:1; 16:1-2). The “trial’’ may also include the supernatural calamities of the sixth seal and the first four trumpets. The Lord promises the recovered church that He will keep her “out of the hour of trial’’ (not only out of the trial but out of the hour of trial) because she has kept the word of His endurance. This promise of the Lord, like that in Luke 21:36, indicates that the saints who have kept the word of the Lord’s endurance will be raptured before the great trial.]
[In Revelation 3:11 and 12 we have the Lord’s promise to the overcomers in Philadelphia. To overcome in this epistle means to hold fast what we have in the recovered church.]
[In verse 11 the Lord says, “I come quickly; hold fast what you have that no one take your crown.’’ The recovered church has gained the crown already. However, if she does not hold fast what she has in the Lord’s recovery until the Lord comes back, her crown may be taken away by someone. Being a reward from the Lord, this crown needs to be kept until He comes back.]
[In 3:12a the Lord says, “He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall by no means go out anymore.’’ In 2:17 the overcomer becomes a transformed stone for God’s building. Here the overcomer will be made a pillar built into the temple of God. Because he is built into God’s building, “he shall by no means go out anymore.’’ This promise will be fulfilled in the millennial kingdom as a prize to the overcomer.]
[In 3:12b the Lord goes on to say concerning the overcomer, “I will write upon him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which descends out of heaven from My God, and My new name.’’ Here the Lord speaks of the New Jerusalem. The New Jerusalem is not a physical city but a composition of the believers. This composition will appear first in the millennium as the totality of all the overcomers. These overcomers will bear the name of God because they have God’s nature in them; and they will bear the name of God’s city because they are God’s city. This means that the overcomers will be the New Jerusalem.]
[In Greek, Laodicea means the “opinion, the judgment, of the people or of the laymen.” The church in Laodicea as a sign prefigures the degraded recovered church. Less than a century after the Lord recovered the proper church in the early part of the nineteenth century, some of the recovered churches (“assemblies’’) became degraded. This degraded recovered church differs from the reformed church signified by the church in Sardis; it also differs from the proper recovered church signified by the church in Philadelphia. The degraded recovered church, signified by Laodicea, will exist until the Lord comes back.]
[“I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I am about to vomit you out of My mouth’’ (Rev. 3:15-16). Once the recovered church becomes degraded, it is lukewarm — neither cold nor hot.]
[According to verse 16b, the Lord is about to vomit the lukewarm ones out of His mouth. Once we become lukewarm, we are not fitting for the Lord’s move and shall be vomited out of His mouth. When the recovered church becomes degraded, she is in danger, unless she repents to be hot in seeking the rich experiences of the Lord, of being vomited out of the Lord’s mouth. To be vomited out of the Lord’s mouth is to lose the enjoyment of all that the Lord is to His church.]
[In verse 17 the Lord continues, “Because you say, I am rich and have become rich and have need of nothing, and do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.’’ The degraded recovered church (“assembly’’) boasts of her riches (mainly in the knowledge of doctrines). She does not realize that she is poor in life, blind in sight, and naked in conduct.]
[In verse 18 the Lord goes on to say, “I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined by fire that you may be rich, and white garments that you may be clothed and that the shame of your nakedness may not be manifested, and eyesalve to anoint your eyes that you may see.’’ To buy requires the paying of a price. The degraded recovered church needs to pay a price for the gold, the white garments, and the eyesalve, which she desperately needs.]
[In Revelation 3:20a the Lord says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.’’ The door here is not the door of individuals but the door of the church. The church in Laodicea has knowledge, but she does not have the presence of the Lord. The Lord, the Head of the church, is actually standing outside the degraded church, knocking at her door. This means that, in a very practical way, the degraded recovered church is Christless. This church has Christ in name but not in presence. In actuality, the Lord is outside her door.]
[In 3:20b and 21 we have the Lord’s promise to the overcomers of this stage. To overcome here means to overcome the lukewarmness and pride of the degraded recovered church, to buy the needed items, and to open the door for the Lord to come in.]
[In verse 20b the Lord says, “If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him and he with Me.’’ According to the Greek, the word dine signifies the principal meal of the day at evening. To dine is not merely to eat one item of food but to partake of the riches of a meal. This may imply the fulfillment of the type of the children of Israel eating the rich produce of the good land of Canaan (Josh. 5:10-12).
The dining promised in Revelation 3:20b is not only for the future but also for today. If we are overcomers, when the Lord comes in the kingdom we shall have the special privilege of eating with Him. Before that day, however, we may enjoy His dining with us.]
[In verse 21 the Lord says, “He who overcomes, to him I will give to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.’’ To sit with the Lord on His throne will be a prize to the overcomer that he may participate in the Lord’s authority in the coming millennial kingdom. This means that the overcomers will be co-kings with Christ ruling over the whole earth.]
[The seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3 not only signify prophetically the progress of the church in seven stages but also symbolize the seven kinds of churches in church history: the initial church, the suffering church, the worldly church, the apostate church, the reformed church, the recovered church, and the degraded recovered church. The initial church had its continuation in the suffering church; the suffering church turned into the worldly church; and the worldly church became the apostate church. Hence, the first four churches eventually issued in one kind of church, that is, the apostate church, the Roman Catholic Church. Then, as a reaction to the apostate church, the reformed church came into existence as another kind of church, a church not fully recovered. Following this, the recovered church was raised up as a full recovery of the church life. By the degradation of the recovered church, the degraded recovered church came into being. These four kinds of churches — the Roman Catholic Church, the reformed church, the recovered church, and the degraded recovered church — will remain until the Lord comes back. Undoubtedly, only the recovered church can fulfill God’s eternal purpose, and only she is what the Lord is after.]
