Overview
Of utmost importance in reading the messages to the seven churches is grasping how they should be understood and to whom they are addressed. The book’s contents indicate a particular time and place (The Seven Churches in Asia Minor). Nevertheless, in Revelation 1:19, it states it is also prophetical
“Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now, and what will take place later.” Revelation 1:19
It can be said that the messages were for both the churches at that time but also for those who would come after, particularly those in the last days. Interestingly, the letters have an additional application for the different modern churches and individuals. As you are reading, you may see yourself in one of the churches. All of the messages end on a very personal level,
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Revelation 3:22
Notice, the plural is not used, but instead, John uses the singular. It doesn’t say “ears,” but rather “ear.” Each person should therefore read as it talks to you directly. While the message is to a congregation, it does no good if we look at the message as applying to someone else.
Layers of Application
The beautiful aspect of these seven “letters” and their audience is the layers of application. We have seen above that one layer is the literal churches of Asia Minor. Next, we must keep in mind if it is prophetical. Third, the messages can be for almost any modern church. There are examples of the kinds of things that can go wrong in any church. Finally, and the most important, is the message to the individual. After all, the body of Christ is not limited to buildings and denominations. A congregation made of solid and committed followers of Christ individuals will result in a robust and productive church for servitude.
The messages were not sent out separately but rather as a whole book. This indicates the value of each church reading and understanding the trials of each congregation. Here is where empathy (not judgment) can go a long way to “enduring to the end.”
But there is still yet another layer of application dealing with its prophetical message of “…what will take place later.”
The History of The Church
We live in a modern society where there are attempts to destroy history because of the bad things that have happened years ago. If this is the reason for killing history, little history would remain.
Memorials of the past are judged by whether they were pure or not. But individuals and organizations are more effective if they can objectively look back and appreciate the struggles and mistakes of those who went before us. One writer suggested the importance of learning from the past in these words.
“We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us and His teaching in our past history.” E. G. White
The writing of the entire Bible is based on learning from the journey of God’s people, both the good and the bad, to not only learn but to have hope.
For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide, we might have hope. Rom 15:4
Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did.1 Corinthians 10:6
God has laid out an underlying revelation of how the church would fare during different points of history. The book of Revelation claims to be a prophecy and must be approached as prophecy and messages to churches and individuals (1:3, 22:7, 10, 18-19). Like bookends, Revelation starts with the prophetic platform and ends with the same (1:3, 22:7, 10, 18, 19)
And he said to me, “Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand.
Revelation 22:10
Therefore, it is appropriate to view the messages to the seven churches as prophetical for John’s perspective. Here is another layer that many Christians would like to avoid because it forces us to see the bad things done in the name of Christ throughout the aging of the church. At the time John wrote the letters, the course of the church was unknown to him. But God knew the trials yet to come for His people. Despite the trials and tribulation, it gives us hope for the future of God’s people. We must remember, these messages didn’t come from John. They came from God the Father.
As we get deeper into the study of Revelation and begin to look back at the history of the church, we will see there are seven eras in church history as symbolized by the characteristics of each of the seven churches:
| Church | Era |
| Ephesus | 1st Century of Christian Era |
| Smyrna | Persecution of the 2nd and 3rd centuries |
| Pergamum | Church of Compromised 4th and 5th centuries |
| Thyatira | Middle ages |
| Sardis | Reformation and Post-Reformation |
| Philadelphia | Missionary movements of the late 18th century |
| Laodicea | End of time church |
Summary
The messages to the churches are multi-dimensional. It has layers of information and application. First to the believers for which it was originally written (inclusive of all the churches in the area not addressed in the book: [Colossae (Col 1:2) Hierapolis (Col. 4:13), Troas (Acts 20:5, 2 Cor. 2:22) And Miletus (Acts 20:17)]
Next, the message is for all churches of all ages, but particularly for those at the end of time. Most importantly it is for individuals (those who have an ear), regardless of the organized church they associate with or identify themselves. Lastly, it gives us a two-thousand-year-old history of the challenges of the church from John’s time to ours. By looking backwards, we can see clearer those things “yet to come.”