![]() ![]() The church is the backbone of the development of the Christian religion over the world. According to his review, “it consisted of a company and fellowship of faithful and holy people gathered together in the name of Christ Jesus, their only king, priest, and prophet, worshipping him aright, being peaceably and quietly governed by his officers and laws, keeping the unity of faith in the bond of peace and love unfeigned”.(Dever, nd). According to the review of Dever, a church generally contains all the elect and the statements of the God. The refrain which Jesus says over and over again in these letters is this: "He who has an ear, let me him hear what the spirit says to the seven churches." (v.Abstract Church is the places where the Christians are generally make their prayers to holly Christ. There's two HUGE things we can take away from just these first two letters: not to forsake our first love, and to persevere through the tough times. Will we perservere with Jesus when persecution comes our way? Keep trusting in the one who will give you the crown of life. The church at Smyrna knew that being faithful to Jesus was more important than life. What we can learn: Just as Jesus warned in the letter, persecution came to the church there, and they took his words to heart. how then can I blaspheme my King and Saviour?" It's named after the bishop of Smyrna in the second century, who according to Christian tradition was martyred (killed) for his faith. In modern day Smyrna (now called Izmir), there's a church called St. Be faithful even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life." (v.10) I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Jesus warns them of the trials to come, saying "Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. The letter to the church in Smyrna can pretty much be summarised in one word: Persevere. Letter Two: To the Church in Smyrna (Revelation 2:8-11) ![]() Just like it was for the Ephesians, it's a big reminder for us to never abandon our deep love for our God and Saviour. I fall away from the zeal of wanting to know and love him more and more. Sometimes I think I'm just like the believers at Ephesus - I go to church, do ministry, and yet somehow get caught up in the stuff of this world and don't put my love for God as the most important thing in my life. What we can learn: I don't know about you, but I find this letter pretty confronting. ![]() Jesus calls them to repent, and return to him, before judgment comes. They had somehow strayed away from their strong faith in Christ that Paul had commended them for in his letter to them a few years before. Somehow, the church at Ephesus had got preoccupied with the stuff of this world - maybe they were distracted by all they could achieve in their city, all the books that could be read, all the buildings that could be designed. The ruins found at the ancient city of Ephesus today show us that it was a pretty impressive place - when you walk in, you can look down the ancient street and see a huge majestic, multi-storied structure. "Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love." The Ephesians are recognised for earnestly working for God, persevering through the trials, and for not listening to false teachers who have come their way (v.2-3, 6). Letter One: To the Church in Ephesus (Revelation 2:1-7) Let's take a look at the first two, written to the churches in Ephesus and Smyrna. In most of the letters, Jesus commends the churches for their strengths - but he also, often very strongly, reprimands them for their weaknesses. Not only was I able to see that these places were in fact real locations, but I was also able to learn a bit about the cities and the people there, and understand the seven letters more clearly. Real churches, real issuesĪ few months ago, I had the amazing opportunity to travel to the remains of these seven historic cities, located in modern-day Turkey. So with that in mind, why don't you grab your Bible, or visit before we go any further? There's great stuff for all of us in these letters. While they're written for seven distinct churches of the time, the repeated command "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches" (Revelation 3:22), reminds us that they're also written for the church today - that's us! In this series of articles, we're going to look at two chapters that were written directly to these seven churches. This letter we now know as the book of Revelation and it's found, fittingly, at the end of the bible. But it also included letters written to each of the seven churches by name. This letter, written by John about what Jesus had revealed to him, spoke of many things to come. Over 1900 years ago, seven churches received a letter. ![]()
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