The space inside a coffee cup is clearly smaller than the space outside the cup. The same thing works for lunch boxes, cars, sports arenas, and oceans. But God’s Word demonstrates an amazing, un-earthly property. The deeper in we go, the bigger it gets. Surface understanding yields to seeing original motivation, which opens discerning broader application, and so on. Each new layer unwrapped reveals even more profound truths.
So, my latest experience should not have been a surprise.
I just returned from a tour of the ‘Seven churches of Revelation’ in Turkey and the island of Patmos in Greece. Our guides, Pastors Tim and Cindy Remington (The Altar Church, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho) have led many tours of the Holy Land and early church sites around the Mediterranean world. They highlight the biblical principles that affected the original inhabitants apply equally to us today. Walking the same streets, touching the same pillars, and seeing the same hills transformed historical names into real people living real lives.
In the late first-century, the Roman emperor Domitian ordered the Apostle John to be boiled in oil. When John miraculously survived, Domitian banished him to the prison island of Patmos. But John didn’t quit. He baptized new converts from among fellow prisoners at a small beach on the Aegean Sea and prayed many hours in a cave high on the island’s mountain. Tradition says Jesus met John in that cave. We do know the Lord showed John fantastic visions of future events now recorded in the “Book of Revelation.”
Strangely, the Lord began his sweeping preview of the ages with short, prosaic letters to seven 1st-century churches in what is now western Turkey. The messages were certainly important to those congregations, but seem monstrously non sequitur compared to the immense scale of the rest of the book. But when we look deeper, we see that the Lord spoke not only to the growing congregations of John’s time but also foretold distinct phases of the church age from inception right up to our present day.
The letter to the church in Ephesus (maiden of choice) recognized their patient labor and intolerance for evil. But rebuked them for losing their first love. This corresponds to the fledgling church from 30 to 100 AD. They were busy sharing and growing, but forgot why and fell asleep.
The letter to the church in Smyrna (myrrh, a spice that must be crushed to release its aroma) acknowledged their works in the face of poverty and tribulation. It also warned of the great persecutions to come by the commands of Roman emperors from 100 to 313 AD. The Lord encouraged them to remain faithful even to the point of death so that the second death would have no power over them.
The letter to the church in Pergamum (mixed marriage) commended them for their good works, but admonished them for allowing idol worship to pollute their faith. This phase began in 313 AD when Constantine endorsed the Edict of Milan, which legalized Christianity in the Roman Empire, and ran until about 590 AD. Christianity suddenly became the “in” religion and interwove itself into the political powers.
The letter to the church in Thyatira (continual sacrifice) approved of their growing charity and service, but chastised them for tolerating rampant idolatry and sexual immorality. From approximately 590 until 1517 AD, sin ran wild under the guise of piety. The church did not repent and morphed into a religious system.
The letter to the church in Sardis (remnant) applauded the believers who did not adhere to the pervasive religious establishment, but warned them to strengthen the faith that remained. On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his “Ninety-five Theses” to the door of All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg, Germany. He called out the Church’s hypocrisy of selling entrance into heaven and encouraged the small remnant who relied upon God’s grace alone. This phase ran into the 1700s.
The letter to the church in Philadelphia (brotherly love) honored the believers who kept God’s word and did not deny his name despite their weakness. From the 1700s into the early 1900s, the church sought the lost with a fervor that begat revivals and great awakenings. These moves of God produced major missionary and evangelistic efforts in every corner of our planet.
The letter to the church in Laodicea (rule of people) rebuked the people for relying on their own resources rather than what God provided. They forget that apart from him, they could do nothing. Their self-sufficiency made them indifferent and blinded them to their desperate need. This prophesied a church run by people rather than the Spirit and described the attitude invading many churches from the 1900s to the present day.
Fortunately, the Lord always preserves a remnant who live his truth despite the world’s coercion to live a lie. Paraclete associates are among them, God’s servants called to come alongside ministries struggling against Laodicean lethargy.