Text:
Revelation 1:1-end
The
relevance of the study of the letters to the seven Churches cannot be
overemphasized. In living our lives and in everything we do, we need proper
knowledge to guide us. Studying the Word of God helps guide us in our
activities and helps prevent us from drifting away from the truth. Thus, this
study of the seven letters to the seven churches is very relevant to the Church
of this day. Even blessings were pronounced unto those who read, hear and keep
the words of the prophecy written therein (Revelation 1:3).
The
last part of Revelation 1:3 told us that the time of the prophecy of the things
written is at hand. If at that time, it was said that the time is at hand, then
you can imagine how close we are now. Many times, we live our lives as if the
day of our Lord will never come. Satan keeps us so busy with so many things
that we hardly think that our Lord will return one day. We must endeavour to
live our lives ever ready and never fall for this ploy of Satan. Those who died
and did not miss it are those who while they lived, were conscious of the
return of our Lord Jesus Christ.
priests.
For us to effectively exercise our authority as kings we must also be ready to
play the role of a priest. A priest consecrates himself to God and denies
himself of anything that can draw him away from God; he is a person that sets
himself apart to God; he purifies himself from any filthy thing that defies.
Anybody
that wants to be used of God can make himself available and God will use him.
But the challenge is that most times, we are not ready to make the sacrifice to
wait on him, rather we envy those who are spiritual giants. You can also be a spiritual
giant who can hear and understand the voice of God clearly. All it takes is to
pay the sacrifice of waiting on him; being committed to him no matter your
circumstance; remaining a worshipper even in good and bad times.
Your
ability to understand revelations or things shown to you by God can be enlarged
when you become more mature spiritually. Just like a child understands the
events of life better as he gets older, so also our understanding of spiritual
matters increases when we become more mature spiritually. We are doing harm to
ourselves when we refuse to give attention to the word of God, read, study and
meditate on it. The more we read, study and understand the word of God, the
more we become mature spiritually and the more we will be able to have answers
to the mysteries of the Kingdom and understand more clearly the revelations God
is bringing our way.
The
seven Churches that these letters were written to are:
-
Ephesus: The name means something that is longed for,
something admired and loved.
-
Smyrna: This name is from the word myrrh. This was a church
under persecution.
-
Pergamos: The name means marriage; this church was typical of
the middle age church mixing with the world; the compromising church.
-
Thyatira: Means continual or unending sacrifice; it was
typical of the Roman Catholic Church; It emphasized the things of the world and
idol worship rather than God. The corrupt church.
-
Sardis: This name means remnant. It was seen as a dead
church which still had a few men and women that did not compromise. The
Reformation church.
-
Philadelphia: signifies brotherly, it was regarded as the faithful
Church.
-
Laodicea: This name means people’s right. It illustrates the
final stage of apostasy; where people will claim to be Christians but abandon
the very principles of the Kingdom.
There
are four (4) fold applications of the study of these letters to us:
ð
It has a local application
to the Churches in John’s days. It revealed the actual state of these churches
in those days.
ð
The second
application is to the Churches in this day in preparation for rapture. It can
help us see our individual state as a Church preparing for the coming our Lord
Jesus Christ.
ð
It has an
individual application in our lives so that we can be changed by virtue of the
Word.
ð It is prophetic and discloses the spiritual history of the Church.
