Church WithOut Walls International-Europe
  • Home
    • ANBI
    • Privacy Verklaring
  • DE
    • Weekly Thoughts (D) Wöchentliche Gedanken >
      • Weekly Thoughts (D) Wöchentliche Gedanken - PDF
  • EN
    • Weekly Thoughts >
      • WEEKLY THOUGHTS >
        • John's Monthly Newsletter
      • Weekly Thoughts serie in PDF format
    • About John Fenn
    • About Wil & Ank Kleinmeulman
    • Books written by Ank Kleinmeulman >
      • About Ank - author
  • ES
    • PENSAMIENTOS SEMANALES (Weekly Thoughts) John Fenn >
      • PENSAMIENTOS SEMANALES (PDF)
  • FR
    • Pensées Hebdomadaires
    • PDF à lire et/ou imprimer
    • A propos de John Fenn
    • A propos de Wil & Ank Kleinmeulman
    • Vidéo en anglais
    • Nous contacter
  • FI
    • Viikottaisia ajatuksia >
      • WEEKLY THOUGHTS / Viikottaisia ajatuksia
      • Weekly Thoughts / Viikottaisia ajatuksia - PDF
    • John Fennistä
    • TV7
  • L
    • LV
    • LT >
      • Weekly Thoughts (LT) Savaitės Mintys >
        • E-Book
      • Straipsniai >
        • Kaip mes suprantame, koks turi būti surinkimas
        • Krikštai
        • Kaip veikia 5 tarnavimo dovanos namų surinkimuose?
        • Grįžimas prie paprasto tikėjimo
        • Garbinimas
        • Namų surinkimai Naujajame Testamente
        • Išgelbėjimas
        • Tikėjimo išpažinimas
        • Kaip prasidėjo CWOWI?
        • Dažnai pasitaikantys klausimai
      • Video LT
  • NL
    • Weekly Thoughts - nederlands >
      • WEEKLY THOUGHTS (NL) Wekelijkse Gedachten >
        • Weekly Thoughts NL pdf
    • Over / bio van John Fenn
    • Over / bio Wil & Ank
    • Wat wij geloven
    • Onderwijs - MP3
    • Boeken van Ank Kleinmeulman
    • Doneren / gift overmaken?
    • Conferentie >
      • Conferentie LT - 2025
    • Artikelen >
      • Hoe “Church Without Walls International” is ontstaan
      • Hoe een samenkomst van een CWOW huisgemeente eruit ziet
      • Waarom samenkomen in een huis?
      • Wat is een huiskerk en een huiskerk netwerk?
      • HuisKerken: Waarom – Wat – en Hoe?
      • Ank deelt over Wat & Hoe van Huiskerken (VIDEO'S)
  • PL
  • PT
    • "O pensamento da semana em Português"
    • PT-pdf
  • RO
    • Gânduri săptămânale >
      • Gânduri săptămânale - PDF
  • RU
    • Джон Фенн
    • Сид Рот «Это сверхъестественно»
  • Donate
  • Events
  • TV
  • Contact

The 7 churches of The Revelation, 1 of 4

8/13/2022

0 Comments

 
Hi all,
The Lord's messages to the 7 churches in The Revelation, chapters 2 and 3, have been understood in different ways for centuries. Some of what the Lord says seems very harsh, including a threat to one church to blot their names from the Book of Life. 
 
They are filled with cultural references that we, over 1900 years later, miss. Some understand the 7 as church ages, with our time being the last, the time of Laodecia, the rich church that thought it needed nothing. This series is not about debating views, but will focus on the cultural elements which when understood, make for an 'ah ha' moment and 'now that makes sense'. 
 
The situation
In The Revelation 1:10 the apostle John, who has been exiled to the island of Patmos, off the coast of modern Turkey, has a visitation from the Lord. More than that, he says "I was in the Spirit" and saw the Lord in glory. He uses the same term later, in 4:2 when he was 'in the Spirit and heard a voice saying, Come up here' and was taken to heaven. 
 
There in chapter 4, he saw the Father on His throne, with the rainbow over it, the clear flooring before it, and the cherubs crying out 'Holy, Holy, Holy' around Him. In chapter 5 he sees the Lamb that had been slain but is now alive, 'take the book out of the right hand of Him who sits on the throne' - so we see the Father in chapter 4, and the Lord in chapter 5, given the scrolls and opening them one by one, which is the rest of The Revelation of Jesus 'which the Father gave to Him'. (1:1)
 
Being 'in the Spirit' can mean a couple things, including being taken away out of one's body in the Spirit realm to heaven, or seeing the Lord in glory - a glory that might kill the frail earth body if a person were to see the Lord in glory. Moses we are told spoke to God face to face as a man speaks to a friend, and clearly he was 'in the Spirit' when that happened. Later, in the flesh, he had to be physically moved to a cleft in a rock to shield himself from the glory of the Lord. Paul wrote in II Corinthians 12:2 that when he went to heaven he didn't know if he was in his body or out of his body. Such is the way of being 'in the Spirit'. 
 
When you are 'in the Spirit' our earth body is not a factor and you can experience things you wouldn't be able to if you remained in your body. One day we will receive glorified bodies, which Paul explained in I Corinthians 15, which are made of heavenly material in a higher state of existence, so can handle the unshielded glory of God. As the apostle John wrote in I John 3:2: "...we will see Him as He is" on that day. 
 
John sees the Lord in glory
John says in 1:11 he was 'in the Spirit' and heard a voice behind him - the Lord in glory - saying, "What you see, write it down and send to the 7 churches in Asia: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicia." 
 
In v16-18 the Lord says "I am the one who was dead but now is alive forevermore" and that He held 7 stars in His right hand. The significance of this is that the Emperor Domitian had issued a coin that had an image of his dead son. He claimed to talk to his dead son in seance's and issued a coin showing his dead son holding 7 stars, which stood for the 7 main regions Rome had conquered. So when John sees Jesus and He says "I was the One who was dead but am now alive forevermore", and He has 7 stars in His right hand, it is an 'in your face' rebuke to the Emperor and assurance to the believers the True and Living King is theirs!
 
Chapter 2:1-7 is the letter to Ephesus
Acts 19 records the amazing things that happened in Ephesus. It was the principle city of a Roman state in modern Turkey known as 'Asia'. It was a small state on the western-central coast, and the 7 principle cities are the ones the letters are directed to. 
 
When he first went to Ephesus Paul found about 12 men who he assumed were believers, but they told him they had only heard of John the Baptist. Paul had asked them if they had received the Holy Spirit since they believed - showing us that even then there was often a time gap between being born again and receiving the Holy Spirit. I find it amazing that upon first meeting these men, that's what Paul is most concerned with - have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed? It was important to him, maybe a good point for us as well. 
 
Paul ended up teaching in a school for 2 years, and the Word spread throughout the state of Asia. That region had a 'siesta' from about 11am until 4pm (16:00), so most likely that is when Paul taught. People were so zealous for the Lord they burned their books on the occult, and caused a huge disruption in the economy. 
 
The estimate is that Ephesus had about 250,000 people, and it is beautiful even in ruins. The temple to Diana was one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world. Covered and tiled sidewalks with inlaid mosaics, a 24,000 seat amphitheater which has been used even in modern times (Elton John and Sting played there, and it's still in use today). When they burned their occult books a riot ensued with many gathered in the amphitheater demanding answers. Paul wanted to address them but had to be taken out of town for his own safety.
 
With 250,000 people in the city, I've seen estimates that for the economy to have been affected to the point a riot broke out, about 10% or 25,000 people were probably believers. That's huge! Paul's later letters to Timothy were about organizing resources among the (house) churches of the day, and how to raise up leaders, dealing with those in need and much more. If we allow 50 people per house church, that's 500 house churches they had to organize, with some becoming full time in ministry serving and coordinating resources for all the needs. 
 
Timothy died in Ephesus in the year 97, shortly after John was exiled to Patmos. He preached to a crowd who then turned on him and beat him severely, and he died 2 days later from his injuries.
 
It is shortly after his death that John receives a word from the Lord for Ephesus: "You've lost your first love. Repent." Get it back. You're doing good things, but in your heart, repent and put me back on the throne of your heart, in so many words. He said to remember the former days, and that is good instruction for us. Religion makes us 'human doings' instead of 'human beings'. And that is what Ephesus was guilty of - in their hearts they had lost their first love even while doing good things for others. On the outside all looked good, but the Lord sees the heart. 
 
He also commended them for hating the teaching of the Nicolaitanes, which He also hates. That word has been debated for centuries, for it means 'victory of/over the people'. The company Nike and the name Nicolas have the same root - thus 'victory' (nike) over the or of the people' (laity) - nicolaitane. 
 
This would suggest it was about a growing tendency to form a hierarchy, taking authority and participation away from the people. It would complicate their simple home gatherings, transforming them closer to the auditorium structure of today - into a 1 person speaks at each meeting with a few others with authority to do so as well. And some without that authority to participate. It could be argued that tendency towards hierarchy came into fullness when Christianity was legalized about 200 years later. Constantine took over pagan temples and turned them into buildings for the people of God, called people out of the home meetings - that new structure required such a hierarchy like the pagans for such a structure.
 
Jesus threatened to take away their candlestick unless they repented. He would shut the church down if they continued in their error - that was the threat. Ephesus was indeed destroyed in 262 by the Goths, and later abandoned when its harbor silted up. It is in ruins today. 
 
The take aways are that they had lost the zeal in their hearts for the Lord while still doing 'Christian' things. They (perhaps) were becoming lazy, allowing selected individuals tell them what God was saying rather than the participation oriented house church format of sharing what He was doing in their hearts. Jesus concludes His instructions in 2:7: "Let him who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches..."
 
The same is true in our day - some would have no doubt read the letter John sent to them, and repented. Others 'didn't have an ear to hear what the Spirit is saying', and went about their business as usual. For us, don't stir up guilt or condemnation or self-doubt for that's not in you by the Spirit. The Lord convicts, not condemns. Conviction is all about God and brings us to Him. Condemnation is all about you and drives you away from God. 
 
More cities, more lessons to glean next week....until then, blessings,
John Fenn
www.cwowi.org and email me at [email protected]

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

      John Fenn

      If you want to subscribe

    Archives

    June 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012

    RSS Feed

Church WithOut Walls International.eu (C) 2025
to donate
Photo from widakso