Missional Application of the Seven Letters: Emphasize Warnings and Promises

It is clear from the seven letters that the reward of eternal life with Christ is conditioned upon perseverance. Persecution is not the only pressure that threatens the church and her mission so perseverance is not only to be thought of in terms of enduring suffering, but also persisting in doing good, in pursuing holiness, and in loving well.

Throughout the study of the seven letters we have seen that faithfulness to the witness bearing mission of the church requires fidelity to God as the sole object of worship and does not allow for a syncretistic blending of allegiances or affections. Moreover, the mission requires the church to keep itself clean from the stain of immorality and pursue holiness. Love is also an essential element of the witnessing task given to the church – a love for God, love for brotherhood of believers, and a love for the unbelieving neighbor. In summary, the church is to be a contrast people, their uniqueness serving to draw the world attention and ire.

Jesus takes the mission of the church quite seriously and threatens to come in judgment upon those churches that forsake, compromise or abandon their missional calling. It is, I believe, the duty of the the church and especially its pastors to issue these warnings to its members on behalf of Jesus, calling her to become “conquerors” and so fulfill the mission given to them and attain the promise of eternal life in the kingdom.

In five of the seven letters Jesus issues explicit warnings and calls to repentance. Jesus threatens to come to Ephesus and remove her lampstand if they did not return and “do the works they did at first” (2:5). The church at Pergamum would face Jesus waging war against them with the sword of his mouth if they did not repent of their toleration of false teachers leading them into idolatry and immorality. In Thyatira, Jesus had given Jezebel and her followers ample time to repent, but proving unwilling they faced judgment including being thrown onto a sickbed and death. Jesus will come against Sardis like a thief in the night if the church does not wake up. The Laodicean church is about to be spewed out because they have become indistinguishable from their culture and hence useless.

Maybe even more significant are the conditional promises given to each church. In each of the seven letters the inheritance of salvation is made conditional upon “conquering” (νικάω). Implied in these promises is a threat that those who do not conquer (or “overcome”) forfeit the promised inheritance in the future kingdom. Two examples will suffice to emphasize the nature of these implied warnings. To the church at Smyrna Jesus says, “The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.” Implied in these words is the warning: those who don’t conquer will suffer a second, eternal death. Also consider Jesus words to the church at Sardis, “The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life.” Again, it only those who conquer will have their names indelibly written in the book of life. Could the stakes be any higher?

When considered together, the seven letters present the church with an urgent plea to overcome all that will threaten her ability to faithfully complete her mission of bearing witness to the world. Conquering always includes maintaining belief and refusing to give into disbelief, but it also includes overcoming sin that is a stain on the church's witness, false teaching that threatens to shipwreck the church, resisting idolatry and immorality and, in summary, being the distinct people of God.

Moreover, it is clear that conquering or overcoming must be a persistent activity; one does not conquer once, but must continue conquering, persevering to the end. Even those churches that were commended are called to persevere in their faithful witness and lay hold of their eternal reward.

This concern for perseverance in faith must inform the teaching ministry of every pastor; yet, several factors conspire to make many pastors reluctant to emphasize these and the many other warning passages of Scripture as well as the conditional nature of many biblical promises.

Of course, threats and conditions will never be popular, even when the pastor is only communicating a threat made by the church’s Lord. But even courageous pastors are often reluctant to teach the biblical warnings. The main reason, I believe, is the lack of clarity regarding the complex of issues surrounding these warnings – issues related to the nature of faith, the importance of works, assurance of salvation, etc. In some cases this reluctance may be the fruit of an overly simplistic doctrine of perseverance of the saints or eternal security, while in others it may stem from a reluctance to preach anything akin to a work-based salvation.

While a complete study of the issues related to perseverance is not possible, a few truths need to be considered as important theological background to a proper presentation of these warnings. First, regarding faith, pastors need to acknowledge and teach a robust understanding of faith that is more than simple mental assent or belief. Schreiner and Caneday liken faith to a multifaceted gemstone and demonstrate how the many metaphors utilized in scripture for Christian faith are necessary to fully grasp what is required by the concept, metaphors that include athletic images (running a race, training, etc.), military images (fighting the good fight, armor, etc.), rational metaphors (knowing, understanding), sensory language (hearing, seeing), images of discipleship (following), bodily action (eating, drinking), and metaphors of endowment (receiving).

While some of these metaphors emphasize the passive aspects of faith, when taken as a whole it should not be missed that there are many active aspects to faith. Commenting on Hebrews 11, Schreiner and Caneday point out “In every case, faith sprang into faithful action. God commends each one [Abel, Noah, Abraham, Rahab, etc.], not merely for possessing faith, but for faith that obeys.”

This truth is also apparent, for example, in the letter to the church in Ephesus where Jesus calls them to “do the works you did at first.” Christ expected their faith to give rise to action. Schreiner and Caneday continue, emphasizing faith’s perseverance, “God is pleased with faith that perseveres; God does not commend a person for a singular act of faith that fails to endure. God does not reward faith that does not go the distance.”

This too is seen in several of the letters to the churches in Asia. To the church at Smyrna Jesus says, “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.” This does, of course, raise the issue of a believer’s eternal security and assurance. How does one fit the necessity of perseverance alongside Biblical promises that seem unconditional and emphasize the believers secure standing before God?

In navigating these doctrines, teachers must avoid blunting the warnings by superimposing the promises overtop of the admonitions to persevere (and vice versa). Schreiner and Caneday are right, "We believe that God’s promises of assured salvation have their proper function to ground our faith in God and to assure us that God faithfully keeps his promises to his children. We also believe that God’s admonitions and warning have their distinctive function to evoke faith that perseveres in holy devotion to God’s heavenly call on in Christ Jesus. Thus, God’s warnings do not conflict with God’s promises. His warnings serve his promises, for his warnings elicit belief and confidence in God’s promises."

Pastors who blunt the warnings of Scripture, refuse to preach Biblical warnings, or avoid the conditional nature of biblical promises deprive their churches of the full counsel of God. In so doing, they fail to recognize that God uses these warnings, admonitions and conditions to reinforce faith and beckon the believer to persistence. Too often pastors get caught up explaining [away] these warning texts, importing the theological truths that those who truly comprise God’s people and have genuine faith will persevere till the end (being preserved by God’s sovereign power through his Spirit) and this truth’s corollary, that those who fail to persevere prove their faith was not genuine saving faith. But, the point of these texts is different.

The conditional promises of Revelation, let alone the repeated warnings, are not included in Jesus’ letters to the church to explain that those who have fallen away were not sincere in their faith to begin with (though other texts make this point), but to call the churches to repentance and encourage them to persevere and overcome. Schreiner and Caneday call attention to this propensity for pastors to interpret the “the biblical warnings from the retrospective vantage point of apostasy completed rather than from the prospective threat lest someone fall away.”

While the retrospective vantage point is the focus of some passages (i.e. 1 John 2:19), turning every passage this way is unwarranted and counterproductive – God inspired both the backward looking explanations of apostasy and the forward looking warnings for the good of his church. Just as the author of Hebrews urges individual believers to “lay aside every weight” that hinders them from running well and “run with endurance the race set before us,” so in Revelation 2 & 3 Jesus urges every church and every member of the church to cast off that which would hinder them from their mission of bearing witness and remain faithful so that they will numbered in the company of who conquer and lay hold of their eternal reward. Pastors must bring these pleas to their churches.

Missional Application of the Seven Letters: Prepare for Suffering

Continuing to think through some missional applications of the seven letters to the churches of Asia Minor, we need to consider the theme of suffering. As we learn to live the narrative and “indwell God’s story”, our individual and corporate life's will increasingly be shaped by the story. As the church lives out her mission and becomes the “contrast community” she was called to be, persecution will inevitably follow.

Persecution is explicitly mentioned in two of the letters we have examined. Jesus knows of the tribulation of the believers in Smyrna and encourages them in the face of what they are about to suffer while calling them to be faithful even unto death. Also, Antipas was martyred in Pergamum, and despite this the other believers were holding fast.

Three other letters speak of the enduring church, though violent persecution is not necessarily the source of suffering. The Ephesian church was “enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake” under pressure from false apostles (from what we know about the circumstances in Ephesus it is likely that Christians were the object of intense vitriol and violence; see Acts 19). Thyatira is commended for their patient endurance and called to “hold fast” to what they had, not yielding to temptation, false teaching or persecution. Philadelphia is suffering from the false Jews who comprise the synagogue of Satan, but are patiently enduring.

Sardis and Laodicea do not appear to be suffering any degree of persecution at the time of writing (or be in significant danger of suffering except under the judgment of God). This lack of suffering is likely due to the degree to which they had sinfully assimilated themselves into the pagan culture. The conclusion that can be drawn from these letters is that faithful churches will likely suffer and need to endure tribulations that may include persecution, whether slander or violence.

Stott writes, “If the first mark of a true and living church is love, the second is suffering.” This has certainly proven true through large swaths of the church’s history and is true in many places across the globe today; yet, in the West the church has enjoyed a relative amount of ease and comfort. That is not to say there has been no pockets of persecution even here in the United States , but on the whole, this has not been the norm. This should lead us to ask two poignant questions.

First, why are we not facing more opposition? Is it because God has blessed us with a period of peace and allowed the church to flourish or is it because we have become so sinfully accommodating to our culture that we are no threat to the status quo. I believe there is some truth is both answers and both need to be thoughtfully explored, though likely the latter is more to credit/blame. Again, Stott writes, “We shrink from suffering. The ugly truth is that we tend to avoid suffering by compromise.”

Secondly, the we need to ask if we and our churches are prepared for suffering and persecution should the situation change. How would the church fare if she were to face the same kind of persecution and suffering that Pergamum did, or Ephesus? Faithful shepherds will, as we see Jesus doing throughout these letters, prepare the church for suffering. Keener states it bluntly, “If we have not prepared ourselves and our congregations to die for Christ’s name if necessary, we have not completed our responsibility of preparing disciples.”

I believe there are five important ways we need to be preparing ourselves and our churches for suffering. First, we need to remind ourselves that suffering is normal for the faithful Christian; it is their lot. Peter tells us as much, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12). Demonstrating this truth will be natural for the pastor committed to telling the grand story of Scripture: Abel was murdered by a jealous brother for his righteous offering. The people of God suffered in Egypt. The prophets suffered and were persecuted by unrighteous kings and queens. Peter and Paul are a part of this suffering story. The story includes people who, though righteous, suffered. This part of the story needs to be heard in our churches, for as much as we would hate to admit it, the “prosperity gospel” has found an all too eager audience in our evangelical churches. Suffering is seen as something to be avoided and even a sign of divine displeasure. People have been taught that being in God’s will is a safe place, free from danger or hardship. So we need to start by reminding ourselves and our churches that suffering is normal, and according to Jesus would inevitably come to his followers.

Second, suffering needs to be put in the context of God’s love and commitment to do his people’s good. Of course God disciplines his children, as every loving father does. But even beyond discipline which calls for repentance, God allows his people to suffer persecution to test and refine their faith (see James 1:3,12; 1 Peter 1:7). There is a mysterious element to God’s will as it relates to suffering: in some instances God rescues from violent persecution while at other times he allows his church to suffer greatly. Yet, in both circumstances, we must place the outcome within the context of God’s love and concern for their ultimate good. Keener comments, “Suffering has a way of reminding us which things in life really matter, forcing us to depend radically on God, and thus purifying our obedience to God’s will.”

Third, God's promise His grace is sufficient to see us through the suffering needs to be heralded over and over again. Jesus makes his intimate knowledge of and presence with the churches a point of emphasis in each of the seven letters – he is the one who walks among the seven golden lampstands and “knows” them. To some this would be disconcerting, for Jesus knew their failings. But, for the faithful church enduring persecution it was meant to be an encouragement. Jesus knew their struggle, was with them in the midst of it, and offers his strength to endure it.

Fourth, we need be pointed to Christ and his pattern of suffering. Jesus himself does this in the letters to Smyrna and Philadelphia. To the suffering church at Smyrna Jesus identifies himself as the one “who died and came to life”, reminding them that he too suffered but also that he prevailed. The church at Philadelphia had taken to heart “the word about my [Jesus’] endurance”, noting and emulating his pattern. Of course this theme is an oft repeated one throughout the New Testament. For example, Hebrews 12:3 encourages the believer, “Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.” Churches need to sound this note clearly – our suffering is something the author of our faith himself endured and it is, in some mysterious way, participation with him in suffering.

Finally, we need to think often about the hope we have if we will endure. Setting aside the conditionality of these promises for a moment (more on that soon), we need to have our eyes set on our future hope so that we grasp what it is that stands to be gained on the other side of patient suffering. The glory the believer will attain and the reward of eternity in God’s perfect shalom needs to be a theme we come to often in our teaching, preaching, praying, and conversing. This is the focus of each letter’s conclusion – the right to eat from the tree of life in God’s paradise, immunity from the second death, hidden manna, a place in Christ’s kingdom, white garments, the crown of life, God’s name, sitting with Jesus on his throne, etc. The sufferings the believer endures will only seem “light and momentary” if we know and long for the true “weight of glory” that will be granted to those who endure.

Keener sums this call to be ready for suffering up well, “Revelation prohibits us loving our lives more than his gospel; it summons us to follow the model of Antipas as faithful witnesses, no matter what the cost.” Being faithful to our mission will lead to suffering, but Christ, our suffering servant walk with us through it and rewards us richly after we have suffered "a little while."

Missional Application of the Seven Letters: the Story

In earlier posts (spanning a couple of months now) I have outlined the missional concerns of each of the seven letters and argued that all of the commands and promises, rebukes and commendation, need to be understood in light of the church’s mission.

But, to truly grasp the church’s mission one must see how it flows out of the entire storyline of Scripture. It is not enough for a church’s concept of mission to hang upon a few texts in the New Testament, not even the Great Commission in Matthew 28. If the mission is truly going to govern the life of the church and its members, as it should, then the concept of mission must be robust.

Goheen and Bartholomew contend (quoting Stroup), “At the center of Scripture is a set of narratives and these narratives are the frame around which the whole of Scripture is constructed. Apart from these narratives the Prophets would not be intelligible and without the frame of the Gospel narratives it would be difficult to understand the full meaning of the parables, epistles, creeds, and hymns of the New Testament.”[1] It is through this story that we understand God’s mission and the mission he has given his church.

Wright contends, “Mission is not just one of a list of things that the Bible happens to talk about, only a bit more urgently than some. Mission is, in the much-abused phrase, ‘what it’s all about.’”[2] Köstenberger and O’Brein add, “…the divine plan of extending salvation to the ends of the earth is the major thrust of the Scriptures from beginning to end.”[3]

In each of the seven letters, what Jesus says to the church hangs on their knowledge of God’s mission and their role in it as faithful witnesses. They knew the story and the story shaped their understanding of God and of themselves. The churches in Asia Minor knew where they had come from and where they were going. John readily drew upon various parts of the story, like the tree in Eden or Jezebel’s leading Israel into idolatry, Balaam, as well future judgment, the eternal kingdom, etc. The drama of Scripture dictated, or was supposed to, who they were and what they did. Without a knowledge of their missional calling that was shaped by the larger story of Scripture, neither the imperatives nor the promises of the letters would have much power. Inside the story of Scripture and the participation of the church in God’s ongoing redemptive mission, these commands and promises are potent.

So, how well do we know and how well can we articulate the larger plotline of Scripture? Of course, many in the church bemoan the loss of Biblical literacy in the church today (I have met some Christians who’ve grown up in church but don’t know who Moses was). But more disconcerting than people’s lack of knowledge of individual bible stories is a loss of the story. This is more troubling because, in the absence of the true story (as told in the pages of Scripture), we will/our children will/the people in our churches will, of necessity, adopt another meta-story as the true story for their lives. And, if we adopt a story other than the story of Scripture, we will learn to play the characters that story demands we play. The responsibility of making this story known is the church's, but it a responsibility shared by pastors, parents, children’s ministry staff, youth ministry personnel, small group leaders, etc.

The story needs to shape how we approach every passages of Scripture. We need to tell the grand story to ourselves over and over again. In addition, we must consider how each individual part fits into this grand story. Bryan Chapel, in his influential Christ Centered Preaching, correctly asserts, “We determine the meaning of a passage by seeing not only how words are used in the context of a book or its passages, but also how the passage functions in the entire scope of Scripture…Regard for context requires us to consider an immediate text in the light of its purpose in the redemptive message unfolding through all of Scripture.”[4] The exegetical task isn’t complete until we (the preacher, teacher, small group leader, devotion giver, etc.) have asked how that particular passage of study fits into the grand scheme of redemptive history. Moreover, I would argue that the homiletical task isn’t complete until that pastor determines how he will communicates this to the church.

Week in and week out, the church must be immersed in the big story of Scripture. It is through this story the church learns about and is compelled to take up its missional task. This does not mean, however, that the we should never teach or preach doctrine or touch on topics related to marriage, parenting, finances, or other such “felt needs”. (I am not a staunch advocate of the redemptive-historical approach to preaching, though there is much to commend the approach.) It does mean, however, that this type of teaching must, in some way, show the connection to the overall mission of God’s people and the story of Scripture. In fact, I would argue that teaching the story necessarily leads to doctrine and doctrinal preaching as well as real life application for God’s people.

Telling the story of Scripture reveals a God who is active, a God who shows who he is through his action in the world. One could argue that most of what we learn of God comes through “indirect characterization” – we are shown God’s character in action more than we are told about God’s character. We see God is patient through his longsuffering dealings with Israel. We see God is wrathful though the conquest of the land. We see God is love in a myriad of ways, all culminating in the coming and dying of Jesus, his Son. Greidanus writes, “…the canon intends to tell us about God – not God in the abstract, but God in relationship to his creation and his people, God’s actions in the world, God’s coming kingdom.”[5]

Fortunately, Scripture also provides us with inspired interpretations of these actions and true propositions regarding God’s character. We are told “God is love,” and God warns us “I am a jealous God.” There is story and there is doctrine too; doctrine is summary and interpretation of the Biblical story. These two things, the narrative and doctrine, should not be divorced. For the church, there can be no articulation of the meaning or purpose of a passage that is independent of theology, for Scripture’s purpose and meaning are profoundly theological.[6] Thus the our task is not only to tell the story, but to interpret it. This interpretation of the story is done under the authority of Scriptures interpretation of its own story, which is given to us. In other words, the church must also preach and teach biblical doctrine as it flows from the grand story.

The letters to the seven churches confirm the importance of doctrine, of correct teaching. Ephesus faced false teachers and had done an admirable job of exposing them. Pergamum had to contend with those who held to the teaching of Balaam and the Nicolaitans. And, Jezebel was deceiving the church at Thyatira with her false teaching. Unfortunately, false teaching is an ever present danger and one the church must contend with.

A new survey summarized in Christianity Today contends that “Most American evangelicals hold views condemned as heretical by some of the most important councils of the early church.”[7] While there are certainly false teachers roaming our churches looking for people to lead astray, the vast majority of those who hold heterodox views due so not because they have rejected Biblical doctrine but because they have not been taught true doctrine. The author of the article cites Beth Felker Jones, a professor of theology at Wheaton College, who agrees, “Participants who gave unorthodox answers are not heretics, but probably lacked quality resources.”[8] Those who have not been properly trained in orthodox doctrine do, however, become easy prey for those false teachers who lead people astray. Those with teaching responsibilities in the church (which includes just about everyone, for parents are to teach their children) must teach doctrine, telling people “this is what the story means”, and reinforce its importance for the believer and the church.

Doctrine must, however, always be connected with the story. Story gives doctrine life and specificity. Moreover, doctrine needs to be connected to the church’s mission. The mission gives doctrine purpose. Our mission requires we testify regarding the historical events of Jesus’ life, death, resurrection and tell people what it all means. If doctrine is lost or corrupted, the church’s mission is threatened and her very reason for being is imperiled.

In addition to asking “What does it mean,” teaching the story will also lead people to ask “What does this story require of me?” The story provides the grounding for the all of the biblical imperatives. We see that in Revelation 2&3. The story was being written and the church had their role to play in it – they were required to do and to be in ways that conformed to their God given task of bearing witness.

The church was to be a fellowship of love that would mark them as Christ’s followers, yet the Ephesians had abandoned their first love. The church was to be the faithful and holy bride of Christ, yet Jesus rebukes the Christians in Pergamum and Thyatira for their unfaithfulness including idolatry and immorality. The good works of the believer and their overall manner of life were to be integral to their mission, drawing people’s attention and leading them to praise their Father in Heaven; but, the works of the Christians in Sardis were not complete and many had soiled their garments, making the witness ineffective at best. Laodicea’s compromised rendered them useless – they completely blended with their culture, failing to be the contrast community of Christ.

The story was to shape the church’s and the Christians life, and these reshaped lives are a part of God’s mission plan. Wright is correct, “there can be no biblical mission without biblical ethics”[9]; the two are interconnected. Consequently, telling the story of the missionary God and his missional people provides the perfect bridge to application. Alasdair McIntyre points to the essential nature of story for ethics, “I can only answer the question ‘What am I to do?’ if I can answer the prior question ‘Of what story or stories do I find myself a part?’”[10] Emlet reminds us, “It is important to realize that the Bible not only tells a true story; it also demands a response. The authors of Scripture write with intention – their words are meant to provoke a response from the reader…all Scripture is written with a pastoral intent, not simply the imperative portions.”[11]

Understanding the grand story of Scripture and the task we have been appointed addresses the main concerns of people in unique and profound ways. Daniel Doriani delineates four large ethical questions people wrestle with that the church must address (particularly, but not exclusively, from the pulpit): the question of duty (“what should I do?”), the question of character (“who should I be?”), the question of goals (“to what should I devote my life?”), and the question of discernment (“how do I distinguish truth from error?”).[12] In addition to these ethical questions, people are wrestling with many metaphysical questions – who am I, why am I, where is all this heading, what’s wrong with the world, what’s wrong with me, is there a remedy to what ails us. All of these questions are addressed by Scripture and the overarching narrative it tells.

More than being simply being addressed by the grand story of Scripture, compelling answers to these questions requires the story and the mission it conveys. Ethics and mission are intertwined, for the whole life of the missional people of God is shaped by their mission – they were and are to be a distinct people set apart for God and his purposes. Johannes Blauw writes regarding OT Israel, but his words hold for the NT Israel, the church, as well: “When Israel forgets the distinction between herself and the nations, she commits treason not only against the covenant of God but also against those nations for whose sake she has been set apart.”[13]

Ethics requires the story; the story requires ethical application. Bartholomew and Goheen are correct, contending, “If we really want to recover the authority of Scripture in our lives then we urgently need to recover the Bible as a grand story that tells us of God’s ways with the world from creation to re-creation, from the Garden of Eden to the New Jerusalem. Only thus will we see out way clear to indwell God’s story and relate it to all of life today.”[14] The church that desires to bring the authority of Scripture to bear on its life needs to allow this grand story to shape it.

[1] Craig G. Bartholomew and Michal W. Goheen, “Story and Biblical Theology,” in Out of Egypt: Biblical Theology and Biblical Interpretation (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2004), 146.
[2] Christopher J.H. Wright, “Mission as a Matrix for Hermeneutics and Biblical Theology,” in Out of Egypt, 104.
[3] Andreas Köstenberger and Peter O’Brein. Salvation to the Ends of the Earth, 263.
[4] Bryan Chapel, Christ Centered Preaching (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1994), 79.
[5] Sidney Greidanus, The Modern Preacher and the Ancient Text: Interpreting and Preaching Biblical Literature (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing, 1988), 113.
[6] Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Craig G. Bartholomew and Daniel J. Treier, Theological Interpretation of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008), 21.
[7] Kevin P. Emmert, “New Poll Finds Evangelicals’ Favorite Heresies”, Christianity Today (posted Oct 28, 2014). Accessed Oct 30, 2014 at http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2014/octover-web-only/mew-poll-finds-evangelicals-facorite-heresies.html
[8] Ibid
[9] Wright, The Mission of God, 358.
[10] Alasdair McIntyre, After Virtue: a Study in Moral Theory, 3rd edition (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2007), 216. Daniel Taylor illustrates this wonderfully in his book The Skeptical Believer. He tells of how Miss Owens, his fifth grade teacher, asked him to choose Mary to dance with him when it came time for him to pick a dance partner in class. Mary had a bad leg and wasn’t one of the pretty or popular girls. She was always last to get picked. Ms. Owens encouraged young Daniel to make the choice because “It’s what a Christian should do.” Dr. Taylor points out that Ms. Owens wasn’t appealing to a command or a set of rules, but to the Christian story. She was asking Daniel to live as though that story was his story. He writes, “The story is much more likely to shape how I actually behave on a given day that propositions, rule, or analytical reason…I couldn’t have done anything else and still considered myself part of the story.”[10] Daniel Taylor, The Skeptical Believer: Telling Stories to Your Inner Atheist (St. Paul, MN: Bog Walk Press, 2013), 120ff.
[11] Michael R. Emlet, Crosstalk: Where Life and Scripture Meet (Greensboro, NC: New Growth Press, 2009), 51.
[12] Daniel M. Doriani, Putting the Truth to Work: The Theory and Practice of Biblical Application (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2001), 98. A secular study on teaching methodologies performed by Ken Bain shows that demonstrating how the content of your class connects with the questions students come into your class wrestling with greatly aids in “deep learning”. Bain noticed in his research that the best college educators grabbed their students’ interest at the outset and kept it “by helping students see the connection between the questions of the course and the questions that students might bring to that course.” Ken Bain. What the Best College Teachers Do (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2004), 31.
[13] Johannes Blauw, The Missionary Nature of the Church: A Survey of the Biblical Theology of Mission (London, UK: McGraw Hill Book Company, 1962), 82.
[14] Craig G. Bartholomew and Michael W. Goheen, “Story and Biblical Theology,” in Out of Egypt, 144.

God does it, but through means

This morning I was reading a section of 2 Corinthians. I love 2 Corinthians 5 and the section on 'the ministry of reconciliation'. And 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 got me thinking about the church and its relationship to Israel again.  But it was 2 Corinthians 7:6-7 that I saw in a fresh light.

Paul reminds us that God provides comfort to the downtrodden, downcast, and discouraged. That's a truth we hold dearly when we grieve, mourn, struggle with sadness. We pray often that God would comfort others in the midst of loss or sorrow.

But does God offer his comfort directly to the soul of the downcast? Certainly he can, but in 2 Corinthians 7 the comfort comes to Paul through another, namely Titus. Titus came to Paul, and this coming was comfort to Paul; in fact, he counted it as God's comfort. Moreover, the comfort Titus extended to Paul was, in part at least, the encouragement that he was loved by the church at Corinth.

The application is simple, but important. When we pray that God will comfort others, we should be ready to extend God's comfort to them. Speak of God's promises. Extend God's love and presence by our love and presence.

And this principles extends to so many areas. We pray that someone will come to faith in Christ, and while its possible that God will send an angel to proclaim the gospel directly to the person,  it is far more likely that God is calling us to be his mouthpiece to extend the outward gospel call to the person we pray for. Or, we pray that someone will see the error of their ways and come to make more wise decision; and it's likely God is calling us to speak truth in love. We pray that God will meet the financial needs of someone we are close to; and it's likely that God is calling us to be generous and be a part of God meeting that need.

That's what it means to be God's instruments, God's vessels, God's ministers...God's people.

A Missional Reading of the Letter to Laodicea

The last of the seven, the letter addressed to the church at Laodicea records the harshest words from Jesus to any of the churches in Asia Minor. The words or rebuke for the Laodicean church are not balanced by any words of commendation, making the church at Laodicea unique in its total lack of health – as a whole they are “wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked”. This assessment comes from the “the Amen, the faithful and true witness.”

His diagnosis would have seemed incongruous with the perceived situation of Laodicea, but his diagnosis is true. The city was wealthy; in fact, so wealthy it rebuilt itself, without Roman aide, after devastating earthquake in 60AD. Their ability to recover without aide was a source of great civic pride. The cities wealth came from various sources, including banking, trade, and textiles. Laodicea lay at the crossroads of major trade routes, serving as a gateway into Asia. In addition, Laodicea had a large textile industry and grew famous for the soft black wool they were able to produce.

Religiously, Laodicea was a diverse blend with a remarkably large pantheon of gods/goddesses. Many of the old Asian deities continued to be venerated even under Roman rule, though some were collapsed into the Greek/Roman system becoming associated with their gods. Worship of the traditional Phrygian god Men Karou and the temple of Men (also a healing center) were important to the city and it is likely that Men became associated with the Greek god Asklepios as both were healing gods. In addition, the god Zeus played a very prominent role in the religious life in Laodicea. The Laodicean version of Zeus was unique, however, being influenced by the traditional worship of Men and other Phrygian and possibly Syrian elements; thus, the chief god of the region was often referred to as Zeus Laodicenus.

The rise of the imperial cult was fairly natural and maybe even inevitable given the way the empire (and the emperor) was received by Asia. Augustus was received as the “Savior of the race of men”. In addition, Asian peoples worshipped Augustus as god incarnate and “hailed the birthday of Augustus as the beginning of a new year, and worshipped the incarnate god in public and in private.” In the early part of the first century, the city of Laodicea was in competition with other cities for a temple to Caesar. Toward the end of the 2nd century, Laodicea was so honored and given the title neokoros and the right to build a temple for the worship of Emperor Commodus.

When considering the religious life of Laodicea, we must not neglect to consider the Jews and the worship of YHWH. Under Antiochius III a good number of Diaspora Jews were relocated to the region, including the city of Laodicea, to provide stability to the region. These Jews were already more Hellenized than their Palestinian counterparts and received material benefits for relocation as well as ongoing religious freedoms. This population grew by to be quite large by the first century. Cicero records that a large sum of gold, 20 Roman pounds, was seized from Jews in Laodicea en route to the temple in Jerusalem in 62BC. Ramsay, citing Reinach, contends that this amount would be equivalent to 15,000 drachmas. Since the annual temple tax was two drachmas for every free adult, Ramsay concludes there was approximately 7500 Jewish freedman living in Laodicea.

No material witness to the existence of a large Jewish presence has yet been found in Laodicea. Based on this silence, some have concluded that the Jews of Laodicea must have been very Hellenized (making the identification of Jewish names on graves, etc., impossible). Ramsay, relying on material evidence from Hierapolis, notes many of the Jews in Laodicea must have been citizens and were quite possibly organized into trade guilds. Moreover, it is probable that the gospel was first carried to this group of Jews within Laodicea, as was Paul’s common practice.

The biblical witness seems to indicate that it was Epaphras who took the gospel to the people of Hierapolis and Laodicea instead of Paul directly (Colossians 4:12-13). The early converts to Christianity were, then, likely Hellenized Jews used to, in essence, blending in to the surrounding culture. This seems to have been a problem for the church whose mission demanded it stand out as a contrast society rather than blend in.

Jesus rebukes the church for being neither hot nor cold, but lukewarm. As such, Jesus threatens to spit them out of his mouth. Hemer in his Letters, argues that Jesus’ condemnation of the Laodicean lukewarmness should be understood in light of the tepid water supply on which the city depended. The city was supplied with water via an aqueduct system from springs six miles to the south. Though potable, the water was very hard being filled with mineral deposits. When the water reached the city it was not hot and so had no therapeutic value (as the hot springs in Hierapolis did). Neither was the water cold and refreshing (as the water supply in Colossae was). Thus, on this interpretation, the water was useless and by implications, the church is useless to Christ. The church was not fulfilling its missional purpose and had become a dead weight, a nonfunctioning member of the body.

This interpretation stands in contrast to the more traditional interpretation that has taken “lukewarmness to denote a compromise between the fervent ‘heat’ of a believer, and the indifferent ‘cold’ of an unbeliever.” Against the traditional understanding, Rudwick and Green have convincingly argued that both “cold” and “hot” are presented as “equally commendable alternatives”, which certainly would not have been the case if “cold”’ was intended to convey “indifferent.”

Koester offers a better alternative to Hemer and to the traditional interpretation. Koester agrees with Hemer that cold and hot both have positive connotations in the text. However, he points out that Laodicea was not the only city that had its water piped in via aqueduct. If this would make the water lukewarm and undrinkable then the water of other cities (including Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum and Sardis) would be equally objectionable. In fact, as Koester notes, the water of Laodicea seems to be of a better quality than the water Hierapolis.

A further problem with the approach taken by Hemer is the connection of the “hot” in v. 15-16 with the therapeutic hot springs of Hierapolis. There is no indication that the hot water of Hierapolis was desirable for drinking. Yet, the words of Jesus seem to imply that both the hot and cold waters (actually, nothing is said about water at all) are taken into the mouth. If the church was hot or cold they would avoid being spewed out, leading to the conclusion that both were desirable for drinking.

Koester suggests, quoting Plato, “[when] thirst is accompanied by heat, then the desire is for a cold drink; or, if the thirst is accompanied by cold, then the desire is for a hot drink. ” Koester builds a compelling case for this alternative, drawing upon ancient written sources which speak of the practice of warming wine to be drunk on cold days or cooling it on warm ones.

If one believes the imagery is a reference to drinking habits rather than the Laodicean water supply, then Jesus is condemning the Laodicean church for not being sufficiently distinguished from its surrounding. Hot water or wine is desirable when the weather is cold (and cold water or wine when it is hot) because it stands in stark contrast to the environment. Lukewarm is undesirable because it does not stand in bold relief and consequently has no ability to refresh. The churches lukewarmness means they have become no different from their surrounding culture, but have acclimated themselves to it to such a degree they are no longer the contrast community they have been called to be. Jesus’ response to this lukewarm church is graphic – he threatens to spit them out from his mouth.

It seems very possible that the believer’s material richness is what led them to compromise in ways that blunted their witness. Beale suggests that the Laodicean church may have even looked to their economic prosperity as sign of their spiritual health, even citing the connection between OT Israel’s prosperity and spiritual health as a precedent to support her case. But, if the church at Smyrna was poor because she had maintained her witness and been ostracized by her pagan city, then Laodicea is rich because she has accommodated her pagan culture and set aside her calling to be a witness in favor of comfort, ease and wealth.

Jesus counsels the church to look past the luster of her worldly wealth and buy true treasure from him – the same true treasure that made Smyrnan believers wealthy despite their material poverty. Also, Jesus offers the white garments of holiness (and triumph) to cover the churches nakedness. The shame of nakedness is a prophet symbol for judgment, but to receive fine new clothing was an honor. This reality was hidden from the eyes of the Laodicean church, showing that, despite being in a city famed for their medicinal eye salve, they were blinded and needed the healing balm of Jesus applied to their spiritual eyes so they could see their pitiful spiritual condition.

Remarkably, even in the midst of this most harsh letter, Jesus affirms his ongoing love for his church. The harsh words of rebuke are born out of his love and hope that the church will repent. Jesus invites them to open the door for him, so he can come in and eat with them. This is a wonderful invitation to a wayward church and her individual members to renew fellowship with their Lord, and fellowship in the most intimate manner.

This church was not a conquering church, but an assimilated one. However, to those who repent and press on in the calling of being witnesses, in being the salt and light Jesus demanded they be, Jesus offers the extraordinary promise of sharing his throne with them. While much regarding the exact timing and nature of the rule Christ offers his overcoming followers remains ambiguous, the honor is surely great. This honor, like all the rewards that have been promised in the preceding letters, presumes the accomplishment of God’s redemptive mission through Christ, the establishment of the eternal kingdom, and the church’s faithful participation in it (only then will she be granted this honor).

A Missional Reading of the Letter to Philadelphia

The city of Philadelphia sat just east of Sardis on a route that would take one on to Laodicea and then further east into Asia; hence the nickname “the gateway to the east.” Of the seven cities, Philadelphia was the most recently founded and had, from the outset, something of a missionary purpose. Ramsay writes, “The intention of its founding was to make it a centre of the Græco-Asiatic civilization and a means of spreading the Greek language and manners in the eastern parts of Lydia and in Phrygia. It was a missionary city from the beginning, founded to promote a certain unity of spirit, customs, and loyalty within the realm, the apostle of Hellenism in an Oriental land.”

Philadelphia was also a city that was plagued by frequent and sometimes violent earthquakes. The city was destroyed in AD17 by the earthquake that damaged many cities in the region. So devastating was this earthquake that the emperor remitted all taxes for five years and offered aid in rebuilding. And so frequent were the earthquakes that much of the population lived outside the city, away from structures that would become dangerous in the quakes.

The volcanic activity that made the region so unstable also made the ground highly suitable for vine growing, though less so for other crops such as grain. That the soil was unsuitable for other staple crops led to difficult times at the end of the first century. Hemer discusses the impact Domitian’s requirement (92AD) that farmers cut down half of their vines not to be replanted. The impetus behind this edict seems to have been twofold. First, it certainly would have helped the vine growers in Italy who faced competition from the Asian vine growers. Secondly, it aimed to reduce the impact of a famine that was afflicting Asia Minor hard during this time, forcing farmers to crow corn or grain instead of grapes.

Regardless the reason, the act was incredibly unpopular and was a source of tension in what was an otherwise very positive relationship between the city of Philadelphia and Rome. Domitian’s edict, when added to the stresses of constant earthquakes and the impact of the famine, made for a difficult economic situation in the city.

From the text of Revelation it is evident that there was an influential community of Jews present in the city. That there is no external evidence of Jewish community in Philadelphia during the first century leads one to surmise that the size of this community was likely smaller than in some of the other Asian cities. However, a letter from Ignatius of Antioch to the church at Philadelphia suggests that there was a Judaizing influence that was being felt in the church.

Jesus identifies himself as “the holy one, the true one”. In this letter the pattern of repeating an element of John’s vision from chapter one verbatim is set aside. This title, Beale asserts, is an expansion of the theme of Jesus being the “faithful witness”, here more strongly asserting Jesus’ deity. Again, where Jesus is said to hold the keys to Death and Hades in chapter one, here he holds the keys of David. John has combined elements of the vision from Revelation 1 with an allusion to Isaiah 22:22. Osborne explains, “In this context this describes Jesus as the Davidic Messiah who controls the entrance to God’s kingdom, the ‘New Jerusalem.’” Osborne suggests that the Christians had likely been excommunicated from the synagogue as was common (thus cutting them off from the support of this community in a time of dire economics), but Jesus reminds them he is the one who has the authority to open and shut, to admit them or cut them off from the kingdom. As in all the letters, Jesus affirms his direct and intimate knowledge of the church.

Two main options present themselves regarding the meaning of the “open door” Jesus sets before them. Many commentators take this as a reference to the missionary opportunity the church has, sitting as they do at the gateway to the east. Other commentators see this as a reference to the open door of the kingdom – Jesus is the one who has opened the kingdom to them, and though those who call themselves Jews have closed the door to the synagogue to the believer, they cannot bar entrance to Christ’s kingdom.

Here, as in the letter to the church at Smyrna, there is no rebuke. The church had remained faithful, though they have little power and face Satanic opposition. The church’s “little power” probably stems from her small numbers. Despite this, they have maintained their faithful witness, not denying the name of Jesus. They have understood and taken to heart their mission in the world. The parallel between the Smyrna church and the one in Philadelphia is close, and the description of the Jewish community in both furthers this connection. In both, those claiming to be Jews are actually said to be of the synagogue of Satan, an accusation proven by their rejection of Jesus the Messiah and their persecution of his body.

That the church will be vindicated in the sight of the Jewish community is clear; the nature of this vindication, however, is not. Some interpreters, including Beale, take Jesus promise to “make them come and bow down before your feet” as indicating the conversion of Jews. Because of the faithfulness of the church’s witness, the Jews will be converted. Beale argues, “Isaiah’s prophecies that the end-time salvation of Israel would spark off the salvation of the Gentiles has been fulfilled in an ironic manner.” While Osborne sees the attractiveness of this interpretation, he disagrees. Osborne contends, rightly, “The OT taught that the Gentiles would be forced to pay homage to the Jews at the eschaton, and now this promise is turned on its head: Jewish oppressors would be force to pay homage to Gentile believers…This is submission, not worship, and parallels 2:26-27, where the faithful saints are promised that they will participate in the judgment of their (and God’s) enemies.”

The faithfulness of the Philadelphian church will be rewarded with divine protection in the trials that are to befall the whole world. This trial is beyond what the local church is experiencing in the present, and points to a global trial preceding the parousia of Christ (as opposed to the local manifestation of persecution the church at Smyrna will face “for ten days”). The promise, rightly understood, is not to remove them from the trial but to protect them in the midst of it. It is not a promise that the church will be immune from persecution or martyrdom, but that they will not suffer the wrath of God that is soon coming upon the whole earth. Mounce summarizes, “The hour of trial is directed toward the entire non-Christian world, but the believer will be kept from it, not by some previous appearance of Christ to remove the church bodily from the world, but by the spiritual protection he provides against the forces of evil.” Christ does not promise physical protection from those who persecute the church, but divine exemption from wrath that will soon be poured out.

In the context of some of the other letters, Jesus’ words that he was “coming soon” would have been taken as a threat; here it is a wonderful consolation. In the meantime, the believers were to hold tightly to their faith so that no one might steal their crown. Alan Johnson writes, “Either Satan or men could rob them of their crown by diverting them from exclusive loyalty to Jesus.”

Thus far, the Philadelphian Christians had withstood the temptation to compromise with their ungodly culture and the pressure exerted upon them to reject Christ from the Jews. Their testimony was unstained; they were serving as faithful witnesses. Persevering as faithful witnesses would make them conquerors, and to the conqueror Jesus promises he will “make them a pillar in the temple of God.” These words would have been especially encouraging to the inhabitants of Philadelphia, for in a city that had so frequently been racked by earthquake pillars were a symbol of permanence and durability. When houses crumbled and walls cracked, the pillars stood. As Beale has pointed out, the whole of the new redeemed earth is a temple unto God. Hence, the promise is to give the overcomer a place of permanence in the new earth. In this new-earth-city-temple, they will never have to go out, fleeing from falling buildings or fires caused by quakes.

On this pillar Jesus will inscribe three names: the name of “my God,” the name of “the city of my God” (identified as the New Jerusalem), and “my own new name.” The inscribing of God’s name on his people speaks of possession and would also connote security: they bear his name, are his, and hence under his protection (see also Rev 7:3, 14:1 & 22:4). Bearing the name of city speaks of their citizenship in it. Finally, bearing Christ’s name conveys the same idea as the name of “my God”.

What Christ’s new name is here is unexplained, but has parallel in the later chapters of the Apocalypse (Rev 19:12. Additionally, bearing Christ’s name (or God’s name) is a way of speaking of his presence. In Deuteronomy 12:11 the Israelites are told that they will worship where God will “make his name dwell” in the land, referring to the future temple. Certainly this means more than just God’s name being on the doorposts to the temple, but is a synecdoche for God’s presence. Jesus promises to mark them as his people, under his protection, citizens in his kingdom and bless them with his abiding presence.

A Missional Reading of the Letter to Sardis

Sardis was a city with a long history, dating back at least to the eighth century BC, and serving as the capital of the Lydian empire till it fell to Cyrus in 546BC. Later, after passing into Roman hands, it became the capital of the Lydian region.

Situated in the Hermus River Valley, Sardis at one time drew and refined large amounts of gold from the nearby stream beds, growing very wealthy as a result. Sardis, as all Roman cities, honored Caesar; however, the imperial cult does not seem to have been as influential in this Asian city as in others. The largest and most important temple was the temple of Artemis, though there is attestation to other existing temples as well.

Regarding the letter to Sardis, Keener observes, “That no mention of persecution against Christians is mentioned in such a city is significant; it probably reflects the secure position that the Jewish community, which rejected pagan worship, had attained, and suggests that the Christians shared this benefit of toleration.” Evidence points to a large and influential Jewish community at Sardis. More than eighty Jewish inscriptions have been unearthed in Sardis and Josephus mentions two documents detailing the privileges the Jews were given in the city. Supporting this is the discovery in Sardis of largest synagogue to ever be uncovered.

Jesus identifies himself in words similar to those used in the letter to the Ephesian church (Rev. 2:1). Jesus is the one “who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.” If the seven stars are identified with the church’s representative angel, as 1:20 indicates, then Beale’s suggestion makes sense: the seven stars correspond to angels and represent the provision of heavenly aid that is at the churches disposal. The seven spirits are a representation of the Spirit of God (see Zech. 4:2,10) which burns on the lampstands (churches) empowering them in their light bearing, witnessing mission.

As with all the church, Jesus knows this church and her works. Sardis had a good reputation and may have even been respected, but was not well. She was spiritually dead. Beale contends that the issue in the Sardis was a lack of fervent witness in the midst of their pagan culture, just as it was in Ephesus. Several details support this conclusion. First, as noted above, the “works” that Jesus regards as incomplete are more than good works, but denote the overall manner of the church’s life. Unarguably, the life of the church – its care for its members, its purity of conduct and doctrine, its worship, etc. – is inextricably linked to her witness in the world. As this life has been found lacking by her Lord, her witness has certainly suffered.

In addition, the implied accusation that most of the church had “soiled their garments” (only a few had not) points to the church’s compromise with the unbelieving culture through participation in idol worship, eating meat sacrificed to idols, and/or immorality. Osborne, citing Moffat, notes similar references in ancient inscriptions detailing how “soiled clothes disqualified the worshipper and dishonored the god.” The church at Sardis, through compromise and sinful accommodation had dishonored Christ and tainted her witness. Only those who continue to continue in faithfulness will be found worthy of walking with Christ, clothed in white.

It is almost certain that faithfulness would prove costly to the remnant that refused to dull their witness and blend in to the surrounding culture, and there may be indications in this letter that some of the faithful would be martyred. In Revelation 7 the ones who are dressed in white are those “coming out of the great tribulation,” certainly suffering on account of their faith. Moreover, in Revelation 5 the Lamb is deemed worthy (ά̔ξιος, the same word used in 3:4) to open the scroll “for you were slain”. If the “walking in white” is meant to speak of a victory march or triumphal procession, it is again an ironic victory – being conquered by the world and put to death is the path to victory!

“Wake up” then is a call to take their missional calling to heart and recommit to the witnessing task of the church. This waking up would include a recommitment to holiness over against immorality and fidelity over against idolatrous compromise. This call to be alert would undoubtedly have hit home in Sardis, a city sacked twice because watchmen failed to watch diligently, allowing assailants to scale the “unclimbable” cliffs and gain easy access to a city caught unaware.

Those who conquer, likewise, receive white garments. That both those “who have not soiled their garments” and “the one who conquers” are clothed in white garments shows that the conquerors are those who remain unstained. In addition to their white garments, symbolic of holiness, they are enrolled eternally and irrevocably in the kingdoms roster of citizens. Jesus promises, “I will never blot his name out of the book of life.”

Lastly, Jesus promises “I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.” This confirms that the issue in the church was a lack of faithful, fervent witness. Those who compromised with the culture showed they were ashamed of Christ, and hence Christ would be ashamed of them in the coming judgment (see Mark 8:38, Luke 9:26).

Positively, those who remained unspoiled/uncompromised had acknowledged Christ before the world, even at great cost; consequently, Christ would acknowledge them before his Father and the angels in heaven (see Matt. 10:32, Luke 12:8).

A Missional Reading of the Letter to Thyatira

The fourth letter is addressed to the church at Thyatira, a city of no great importance. Thyatira was not a political or religious center, nor was it of particular commercial importance. There were, of course, religious temples and Thyatira did participate in commerce, but neither marked Thyatira as in any way unique or of special importance in the region. And yet, to the “least known, least important, and least remarkable of cities” we have the longest letter. In this unremarkable city on element of social life does stand out as remarkable. Hemer comments, “The city’s most obvious peculiarity was then its unusually large number of influential trade-guilds. Associations of this kind were an ancient feature of community life…Their prominence at Thyatira, however, is quite exceptional.” Yamauchi mentions guilds for clothiers, bakers, tanners, potters, linen-workers, wool-merchants, slave-traders, copper-smiths and dyers. Virtually every craftsman or trader would have belonged to the appropriate guild in which participation would have required attendance at meetings. These meeting would include a meal dedicated to a patron god “and frequently ended in sheer debauchery and licentiousness.”

To the church in this city Jesus identifies himself as the one “who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze.” The exact meaning of the word χαλκολιβάνω, sometimes translated “fine brass” or “burnished bronze”, remains elusive. However, the imagery is fairly clear, drawn from Daniel 10 (as well as from the first chapter of Revelation). Daniel 10:6 records a vision of “one like a son of man” (10:16) who has “eyes like flaming torches” and “arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze.” The “eyes like a flame of fire” speaks to Jesus “penetrating insight and judgment” ; nothing will escape his sight. The “burnished bronze” was likely used for military purposes in Thyatira (copper-smithing/bronze finishing was one of the prominent guilds in Thyatira); hence, this could speak of Jesus’ warrior like stance – he stands ready to wage war against false gods (like Apollo), false teaching, and false Christians. Beale draws one more connection with the book of Daniel. In this letter John refers to Jesus as “the Son of God” – the only time he will do so in his Apocalypse. This, in such close proximity with the mention of fire and bronze may be intended to draw the church’s mind to Daniel 3 and the story of Daniel’s three faithful friends who were thrown into the super-heated furnace. In Daniel 3 King Nebuchadnezzar sees four figures in the furnace – Daniel’s three friends and “one like a son of the gods” (Daniel 3:25). Beale concludes, “Just as that ‘son of God’ protected them, even in the midst of persecution, so will Christ do the same spiritually for those who are faithful in Thyatira.”

Jesus knows the church’s works, as he did the works of the church in Ephesus. Here though, unlike in Ephesus, the church has not grown lax in doing the works they were initially engaged in; instead, their present works exceed their first. In addition, they are commended for their love, something lacking in Ephesus, and their faith and patient endurance. These characteristics emphasize the church’s commitment to maintaining their “persevering witness to the outside world.” In this they are ahead of the church at Ephesus. Yet, they have not been as diligent as the Ephesian church in rooting out false teaching.

This situation in Thyatira is similar to that in Pergamum. John likens the group of false teachers to the OT Jezebel. Contrary to Beale, who understands Jezebel to be representative of the heretical group as a whole, it seems likely here that the leader of the false group, a woman, is singled out. Aune raises the possibility “that ‘Jezebel’ was a patron or hostess of one of the house churches that made up the Christian community at Thyatira who found herself in conflict with other Christian patrons, probably over an attempt to accommodate Christian practices to the surrounding culture by justifying the eating of meat offered to idols.”

As in Pergamum, the question regarding the literalness of the sexual immorality the false teachers were encouraging is open. The Jezebel of the OT did lead Ahab into worshipping Baal. However, sexual immorality was not one of the charged levied against her (her “harlotry” was likely reference to spiritual idolatry). On the other hand, Osborne points out that the religion of Baal was often quite licentious. The parallel then between the woman Jezebel/the-cult-of-Baal and the guilds is very close. In essence, this is the same heresy as the Nicolaitans. The significant difference here seems to be the emphasis on prophecy. Jezebel, the leader of the this false faction, dubbed herself a prophetess and so disguised her false teaching as a direct word from the God.

Beale rightly connects the false prophetess in this letter with the larger theme of satanic deception throughout the book and its exposition of the false ministry of the beast and the false prophet. In fact, he points out that the John uses the same word (πλανάω) to describe the deceptive work of Jezebel, the false prophet (13:14, 19:20) and of Babylon (18:23). John intimates that the Jezebel party is aligned with Babylon and satanic forces representing a sort of “fifth column movement within the church.” This subversive movement posed an obvious threat to the mission of the church and could not be allowed to continue its existence – instead of being aligned with God and his mission of redemption, Jezebel and her children had allied themselves with anti-Christ forces and were seeking to derail the church, encouraging compromise and unfaithfulness.

Jesus, though he had given her warning and time to repent, would act decisively and soon. Jesus will come and exercise discipline, throwing Jezebel and those who commit immorality with her into a sickbed, striking her children dead. The irony is that those who were following Jezebel into compromise were likely doing so to escape the troubles of not being associated with the trade guilds. But their compromise brought the far great risk of being thrown into tribulation by Jesus himself, tribulation that would including death. Beasley-Murray explains further, “It is doubtful that we are intended to distinguish the persons mentioned, as though the ‘adulterers’ were somehow less culpable than the ‘children’. John employs typical prophetic language to denote that the entire group of Jezebel followers will be brought to an end, both those who participate in sins (commit adultery with her) and those who embrace her teaching (her children).”

The result of Jesus’ discipline would be that “all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.” These words are an echo of Jeremiah 17:10 where the prophet reminds Judah of the deceitfulness of the human heart and the Lord’s power to search heart and mind and repay “according to the fruit of his deeds.” Christ’s judgment upon Jezebel and her disciples would provide a warning for all the churches – do not allow yourself be deceived by false teachers, or you too will be thrown under the judgment of God. To the rest of Thyatira, the shepherd of the church adds no other burden, only to hold fast.

To those who conquer, “who keep my work until the end”, Jesus promises authority over the nations. Again, this promise reminds the readers that there is an appointed end – the mission of God and of the church will be accomplished. The church that has remained militant will become the church victorious and will share in Messiah’s rule over the nations, a rule that was anticipated in Psalm 2:7-9,“I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel’” (see also Rev. 11:18; 12:5; 19:15).

Commentators are evenly divided on the sense of the words ἑξουσίαν and ποιμανεῖ. While some argue that ἑξουσίαν should be taken to mean “authority to rule” and ποιμανεῖ to mean “rule”, the rest of the context indicates a stronger reading of these key words. It is preferable to read ἑξουσίαν as connoting “power” (even “power to destroy”) and adopt the secondary meaning of ποιμανεῖ, namely “destroy.” Osborne comments, “Those who interpret this as ‘rule’ are wrong. The violence connoted in the ‘rod of iron’ and the ‘shattering’ of the pottery is simply too strong for ‘rule’…the nations who oppose the saints will be destroyed by them…The imagery is that of total destruction. This depicts the absolute devastation of the hostile nations by the Messiah and his people.”

Meredith Kline gives keen insight into the soteriological elements of this judgment on the nations. He writes, “The final judgment is redemptive; it secures various soteric benefits for God’s people…Besides sealing their salvation from the wrath of God, the final judgment delivers them from the hostility of evil men.” God’s mission includes the total redemption of his fallen world, including a removal of all rival kingdoms, all threats to God’s people, all things that fall short of his glory. Those who overcome will take part in this climactic victory and in the glorious eschatological kingdom.

In addition, the overcomers are promised the morning star. Again, there is significant ambiguity in understanding the exact meaning of this reference. Some have taken it as a reference to Venus, the brightest luminary in the sky after the sun and moon and oft used symbol of victory and sovereignty, especially used by Roman generals. This would certainly fit the context and serve to reinforce the truth that believers who remain faithful will participate in Christ’s victory and rule. But, Jesus will identify himself as “the bright morning star” in Revelation 22:16. It is possible, then, that this is a way of Jesus promising to give himself, his presence, to those who overcome. If this is the case, the sequence is reminiscent of Exodus 33. In Exodus 33 YHWH indicates that he will give Israel victory over the nations that occupy the Promised Land; but, due to Israel’s “stiff-neckedness”, God says he will not go with the people. Moses intercedes on behalf of Israel, reminding God that his presence is what makes the nation of Israel unique and shows that the people have found favor with God. God listens to Moses’ plea and promises to give them victory and continue to bless Israel with his presence. If the “morning star” is a reference to Jesus, then Jesus is saying the overcomers will be granted victory over the nations and blessed with his abiding presence.

A Missional Reading of the Letter to the Church at Pergamum

In the letter to the church at Pergamum, several missionally related themes are repeated. As in the letter to the Smyrnan church, the theme of spiritual warfare is present – the church will be harassed by satanic forces as it strives to be faithful to its mission. Also, the importance of protecting the deposit of sound doctrine is stressed here as it was in the letter to the Ephesian church. If the church is to maintain its witness it must maintain its doctrinal purity, for doctrine is essential to its witness – Christianity is not a content-less faith.

However, a new principle emerges related to the missional nature of the church. In addition to waging a spiritual warfare and guarding her doctrine closely, the church must watch its manner of living too. The church must not allow itself to succumb to the immorality of its surrounding culture or yield to the licentiousness being promoted by certain false teachers.

Pergamum lies approximately seventy miles north of Smyrna atop a hill rising 900 feet above the plain below, giving the city an “imposing and dominating aspect.” Ramsay describes the city, “Other cities of the land have splendid hills which made them into powerful fortresses in ancient time; but in them the hill is as a rule the acropolis, and the city lies beneath and around or before it. But here the hill was the city proper…” The city of Pergamum was home to a famous library, a gymnasia, a theater capable of seating ten thousand, and numerous important temples.

Among the most important temples were those belonging to the imperial cult. Pergamum had long been allied with Rome and was honored with the first temple in Asia dedicated to Augustus. Later (after the time of John’s writing), Hadrian would build a temple to Trajan, and still later, a third imperial temple to Hadrian would be added, making Pergamum δὶς νεωκόρος, or “thrice temple-wardens”. The city also included important temples to Demeter, Athena, and Asklepios which became a leading healing center. Also of significance, Pergamum was home to the famed Altar of Zeus. Yamauchi gives detail, “The structure is a monumental colonnaded court in the form of a horseshoe, 120 feet by 112 feet. The podium of the altar was nearly 18 feet high. The great frieze, which ran at the base of the structure for 446 feet, depicted a gigantomachy, that is, a battle of the gods and the giants. It was one of the greatest works of Hellenistic art.”

Jesus’ self-identification to the church at Pergamum, “him who has the sharp two-edged sword,” is meant to remind this church that the ultimate power of judgment is in the hands, or mouth, of Christ. It is his verdict that truly counts, not that of the Roman proconsul who merely wields only the power of the state, not the ultimate power of eternal life and death.

Jesus assures the church that he knows their situation full well; he knows they live “where Satan’s throne is.” “Satan’s throne” has been taken by some as a reference to the Altar of Zeus or to Temple of Asklepios, by others as a reference to the city as a the center of Roman power in region, and by still others as an allusion to the general appearance of the city. Osborne considers all of those options as possible, but contends that the best option is the imperial cult, for “It was emperor worship that most directly occasioned the persecutions under Domitian and Trajan, and Pergamum was the center of the imperial cult for all of the province of Asia.”

As in Smyrna, Jesus reminds the church that it is a spiritual war they are in. The great distress the church is suffering for Christ’s name is not simply at the hands of human political or religious authorities, but it is Satan working through these human institutions who is persecuting the faithful. In fact, Satan does more than hold court in Pergamum; verse thirteen describes the city as the place “where Satan dwells.” Beale comments, “The concluding phrase of v. 13 (“where Satan dwells”) is a contrast with the first clause of the verse (“I know where you dwell”) in order to accentuate the idea that light and darkness cannot dwell in peaceful coexistence. Therefore, the witnessing church will be a persecuted church.”

Jesus commends the church for maintaining their faithful witness in the face of this satanic onslaught. The believers had not denied the faith, even when Antipas, whom Jesus affirms as “my faithful witness,” was killed. Again, some of the church are or will be martyrs in the sense that they were put to death, but this is because they are martyrs in the sense that they bore witness to Christ, which is the primary sense of the word in the New Testament.

Despite their holding up under persecution, Jesus does have a complaint against the Pergamum church, and a multifaceted complaint at that. First, Jesus points out that there are some in the congregation who “hold to the teaching of Balaam.” Also, Jesus reprimands the church because “they have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.” Some commentators have argued that the church was facing threats internally from two distinct groups – the Balaamites and the Nicolaitans. However, the grammar of the sentence, awkward as it is, points in the direction of identifying those who follow Balaam with the Nicolaitans. Verse fifteen could read, “and (καὶ) after this manner (οὕτως) you have some who likewise (ὁμοίως) hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.” The piling up of words, including καὶ, οὕτως, and ὁμοίως tend to emphasis the similarity of the groups to the point of identification one with the other. Osborne is correct, “The best solution is to take this not as a comparison between two similar movements but as a comparison between a single movement (the Nicolaitans) and the Jewish tradition about Balaam.”

John will make a similar rhetorical move in his letter to Thyatira, comparing the Nicolaitans to the woman Jezebel in Israel’s past. Here, in connecting the contemporary false teachers with Balaam, he illuminates for the church the nature of the threat. John understands the Nicolaitans are a modern embodiment of the spirit of Balaam, who brought Israel into sin through seduction and compromise. Balaam first appears in the canonical record in Number 22 where he is hired by Balak to come and curse the Israelites. Balaam was, however, prevented from doing so by the angel of the Lord (and a particularly astute donkey). Yet, Moses blames Balaam for Israel’s treachery towards God, when “the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab” and worship Baal at Peor (see Numbers 25:1-9 & 31:16).

Apparently, the Nicolaitans were tempting the church at Pergamum with similar compromises, compromises that certainly promised to make life in the pagan city easier. The charge indicates that the Christians in Pergamum were being led into eating meat sacrificed to idols and sexual immorality. Several interpretive issues need to be addressed regarding the nature of the Pergamum sin.

Regarding the meat sacrificed to idols, one must determine whether it was meat sacrificed to idols and sold in the marketplace or if it was meat served at pagan festivals and in an idol’s temple. Of the meat sold in the marketplace, that offered to idols and that which had not been were indistinguishable; thus, Paul instructs the church at Corinth that eating meat from the market poses no spiritual problem (1 Cor. 10:25). It seems unlikely that this is the issue at hand. The meat that the Pergamum Christians are improperly partaking in is, more than likely, meat at pagan festivals, meat served in an idol’s temples or meat served at a guild banquet. This then is a much more serious issue, involving participation in idolatrous worship.

The second interpretive issue relates to the meaning of the word πορνεῦσαι, “immorality”. Osborne rightly points out that in the Apocalypse “immorality” can be taken literally, as in sexual promiscuity, or metaphorically for idolatry. Beale and Keener are representative of commentators who take the immorality as a metaphor for idolatry. Mounce and Osborne, on the other hand, take the immorality in a more literal sense. Osborne argues convincingly, “That there is no need for such redundancy as a statement on idolatry followed by an OT metaphor for the same things.”

Thus, the Nicolaitans were leading the church into idolatry and immorality, both of which were common aspects of pagan festivals and guild associations. It is not hard to understand why a group like the Nicolaitans, teaching that participation in these feasts and guild banquets was permissible for a Christian, would be so dangerous to the church, as the temptation to compromise would have been incredibly strong as idol worship was central to the whole of public life in Asia. Of the Nicolaitan heresy, Stott writes, “They were insinuating their vile doctrines into the church. They were daring to suggest that the liberty with which Christ has made us free was a liberty to sin…This travesty of the truth was to ‘change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.’”

Not only was such participation in idolatry and immorality a travesty against the truth of the gospel of Christ, it is also a deep betrayal of the church mission. As Israel in the OT, so the church in the NT was to be a contrast people. Christopher Wright articulates this truth well, “The people of God in both testaments are called to be a light to the nations. But there can be not light to the nations that is not shining already in transformed lives of holy people.” By compromising core bastions of the faith (i.e. the uniqueness of Christ, God as the only true god, gospel as liberty unto holiness, etc.), the Pergamum Christians would be better able to fit into their surrounding culture. But, that was not their call! Central to their missional task was being a different unassimilated people. This aspect of their calling was being threatened by the Nicolaitans; therefore, Jesus calls for repentance and threatens judgment if they will not.

Jesus warns that he will come to the church and war against the heretics “with the sword of my mouth.” Beale draws attention to the connection between the threat issued to the Pergamum church here and the threat to Balaam in the book of Numbers. In Numbers Balaam was threatened with being “killed with the sword” in the hands of “the angel of the Lord”. This coming in judgment is imminent (ταχὺ, “soon”) if they do not purge themselves of this group who hold to false teaching. While “coming” in Revelation often refers to the Paurousia, here it “must be interpreted as ‘coming’ in judgment preceding the final and decisive coming of Jesus.”

To the Pergamum overcomers Jesus promises to give “some of the hidden manna” and a “white stone, with a new name written on that stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.” There are several interpretive options for the phrase “hidden manna”, but the best seems to connect this phrase with the jar of manna that was placed in the ark of the covenant. If this is the proper connection, then this promise draws the church’s attention to the eschaton where the ark would reappear in the new eschatological temple, a temple which encompasses the whole of the new creation (see Rev. 11:19). The eternal blessing of eating of this heavenly food is not for those who have eaten of the earthly meat polluted by its association with idol worship.

In addition, the overcomers receive a white stone with a new name. The best possible options for understanding this reference include white stones of acquittal (versus black stones of conviction) used by jurors, stones as admission tickets to guilds and feasts, pagan magic amulets with secret names, and stones given to gladiators to mark their freedom.

Osborne concludes, “the manna and white stone are both eschatological symbols related to the messianic feast at the eschaton but also teaching the spiritual food and new name that God gives to the believer in the present as well.”

In this, the promise is once again connected to God’s mission and the participation of the church in it. If the church and her members will participate in God’s mission by faithfully living as the contrast society she was called to be, then, when God’s redemptive mission is complete, she will be blessed. Faithfulness meant avoiding compromise with the surrounding culture, avoiding its idolatry and immorality, and suffering for maintaining her witness.

A Missional Reading of the Letter to Smyrna

The second church addressed in Revelation is the church at Smyrna, a city a short distance north of Ephesus. Smyrna was a wealthy city, an important intellectual city, and a city well known for its beauty. It was a city, also, brimming with civic pride which stemmed not only from its wealth and beauty but also its history.

Smyrna boasted itself as the birth place of Homer and had a long history, believed by its citizens to have begun in the third millennium BC. In addition, Hemer notes the “liberal policy of Smyrna in granting its citizenship,” citing a treaty in 242BC which granted all free Hellenes residents citizenship in Smyrna. Certainly this added to the civic pride and it can be reasonably deduced that the Christian community included citizens who shared in the cities pride.

Smyrna also maintained a close relationship with Rome, siding with it on more than one occasion, being one of four cities to host the provincial assembly, and the first city in Asia to build a temple to the goddess Roma (195 BC). Smyrna also enjoyed the title of νεωκόρος for the imperial cult, a privilege given to it by Emperor Tiberius. Adding to, and likely instigating the pressures the church faced, was a large Jewish population.

 Hemer also makes an interesting connection between the cities name and the suffering of the Christians in the city. The cities name was believed to have been tied etymologically to the Greek word for ‘myrrh’, whether truly or only coincidentally. Myrrh was associated with mourning, death rites, weeping, etc. Hemer writes, “The name Smyrna was fitting and expressive to the ancient mind for a city which seemed to exemplify characteristics which myrrh symbolized.”

In a city whose name was metaphorically connected to suffering, the church knew suffering most intimately. As in all the letters, Jesus begins by identifying himself in a way that would be especially meaningful to the church in their specific situation (always drawing on aspects of the vision recorded in chapter one of the Apocalypse). Jesus affirms himself as “the first and the last”, emphasizing his sovereignty over history past, present and future. He adds, “who died and came to life”, a reminder that is incredibly significant to a church suffering and forewarned in this letter that some will suffer unto death. Beasly-Murray writes, “To a congregation, faced with the prospect of renewed persecution and death of some of its members, the reminder that Jesus is the lord of Easter serves as a welcome consolation.”

 The letter to the Smyrnan church reminds the reader that things are not always as they appear. The Smyrnan believers appear poor, but are rich. The Jews appear to be the people of God, but are of the synagogue of Satan. And death is not as final as it seems.

The call to the church in Smyrna is simple – be faithful in your testimony to Jesus through suffering, imprisonment and even death. In this letter there is no accusation and no warning about impending judgment. Jesus has found this church faithful to their calling to bear witness, and it is due to this faithfulness that they are suffering.

One aspect of this congregations suffering is her poverty. Hemer points out that several factors contributed to this material poverty. He summarizes, "It has often been observed that the poverty of the Christians may have been due to the despoliation of their property by mobs, whether Jewish or pagan. There may have been other contributory causes, the fact that converts were oftener made among the poorer classes, and the devoted Christians on occasion reduced themselves to penury by the liberality of their own giving, or that it was difficult for an uncompromising Christian to make a living in a pagan city."

Whatever the specific reason, their poverty was tied to their faithfulness to their missional calling. If it was because of hatred of the Jews towards them, stirred up by their uncompromising proclamation of Jesus the Messiah, or hatred of pagan mobs incensed by their lack of participation in the city’s cultic life, their poverty was directly connected to their unwillingness to compromise their message and mission. If their poverty was due, in part, to their incredibly generosity, it was for love’s sake they were poor and the cure for their poverty would have been a stinginess or greed that betrayed her mission.

Jesus warns that the suffering the church had known would be intensified in days to come. Having been ostracized from the Jewish community and slandered by them, they are about to be put into prison for a duration of ten days – symbolic of an intense period of persecution, yet a period that has a definite end. It is likely that the end of the persecution would not be release from imprisonment, but release through death (prison was typically a holding place for those to be executed, not a punishment in and of itself).

This persecution, though it comes at the hands of Jews and of Rome, is truly from the devil called Satan. The ten day period is a testing of their faith, and hence the call is to remain faithful in the midst of the testing, even unto death. Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna who suffered martyrdom in the early second century, would prove the truth of this warning and serve as a beautiful example of a faithful witness to Christ for the rest of the church.

This letter to the congregation at Smyrna reminds the reader that to be the church in this age will mean being the church militant and the church suffering. Being faithful to the call to bear witness brings the church into direct conflict with the powers of this age, animated by Satan and his spiritual armies. The church that remains faithful to her missional calling will be hated and persecuted. While on the surface this suffering may seem to come at the hands of the populace, the state, or false religions/philosophies, the reality of the spiritual dimension cannot be forgotten. The war she wages is spiritual.

Jesus’ words of promise to this beleaguered congregation point ahead to the church victorious. Conquering is equated with faithfulness, and though victory for the church may mean physical death, it also ensures that they will not be hurt by the second death. Instead, the God who will assuredly bring his mission to completion will reward those faithful followers with a crown of life.

A Missional Reading of the Letter to Ephesus

Throughout the book of Revelation, John reminds the church that her central task is holding firmly to and bearing faithfully the testimony of Jesus. They are to be the light to world, and through their Spirit empowered endeavors, God would bring the nations into his blessing. Add this to the missional impact of the books canonical placement and the reader can see how crucial the theme of God’s mission and the church’s participation in it is to the book. With this background the reader is in a better place to fully understand the missional nature of Jesus’ words to the seven churches.

Each of these short letters, which serve as short introductions to the book as a whole, contributes uniquely to the missional theme of the Apocalypse, and it is these contributions that will be the focus of the next few (seven) posts.

Ephesus is the first of the churches to be addressed. Yamauchi contends that Ephesus was the fourth most important city in the world at the time of John’s writing, only behind Rome, Alexandria, and Antioch in significance, boasting a population of about 250,000 people, and making it the most significant city in Asia Minor, as the title ‘Supreme Metropolis’ indicates. Ephesus’ was at the juncture of three major trade routes, served as the de facto capital city for Asia, and was an important center for trade and banking. Once an important harbor city, the shore now lies more than six miles from the edge of the city – a product of the silting at the mouth of the Cayster River that was a constant problem for the city of Ephesus.

While the city certainly included a Jewish community that enjoyed special privileges, as they did throughout the Asia Minor, the city’s pride in their pagan religion dovetailed with its civic pride in ways that would have made life as a religious non-conformist very trying – for the Jews and the Christians. The city was religiously zealous (see Acts 19) and was home to several important temples, including temples to two emperors, Augustus and Domitian. In fact, Ephesus had the privileged status of being νεωκόρος, “temple warden”, to the imperial cult of Domitian. Most notably though was the Artemision, or temple to the goddess Artemis (Roman Diana). The temple to Artemis was a massive structure, making it one of wonders of the ancient word, and employed thousands of priests and priestesses, many in the role of cult-prostitutes.

The church in Ephesus was likely established by Aquila and Priscila with the aid of Apollos (Acts 18) and later shepherded by Timothy. Ephesus had served as a strategic base of ministry for Paul and his traveling band of evangelists/church-planters for two years, and the city’s importance as a crossroads of travel, commerce, and politics positioned the church there to continue her role as mission outpost for Asia into the future.

Yet, the church was not without issues. From the biblical record, one could safely infer that the church struggled to find unity as Paul lays such a heavy emphasis on unity and oneness in Christ in his epistle. Also, false teaching had become a significant issue threatening the church by the time Paul wrote his letters to Timothy.

These internal concerns and external pressures continued to plague the Ephesian church at the time of John’s exile on Patmos and threatened to undermine the church’s effectiveness in her missional calling. Jesus’ words to this church reflect a deep concern that this church takes her task of being a witness seriously and bring the fullness of her life into alignment with that purpose.

The letter begins, as every subsequent letter will, with the command to write to “angel of the church” followed by the city name. In this letter to the Ephesians, Jesus identifies himself as the one “who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.” This self-identification offers comfort and warning to the church. It is a comfort in that Jesus knows them intimately, is ever present in their midst, and holds them in his hand. Ladd points out that the word used in 2:1 for “hold”, κρατέω, is stronger than the word in 1:16, ἔχων, “indicating a firm grasp, indicating that Christ holds his churches firmly in his hand, that they should not be snatched away.”

Yet this is also a warning, for Jesus is in their midst watching them, observing how they live, aware of their successes and their failures. This awareness is made evident in the next verse when Jesus declares that he knows their works (or deeds). This is certainly more than just a passing knowledge of individual acts, good or bad, but denotes the “overall manner of life.” This overall manner of life includes their relentless hard work and endurance in the face of exhaustion, abiding hostility of the surrounding culture, and specifically the ongoing struggle against false teachers.

Jesus commends the church for recognizing the true nature of these false teachers as evil, not simply mistaken or ill-informed, and for not bearing with them. The church held up the teaching of these would-be apostles to the light of truth and proved them and their teaching to be false. This task of identifying and purging false teaching must be seen against the backdrop of the church’s mission, for true doctrine is closely linked with the church’s calling to bear witness. If the church’s message is corrupted or diluted they have failed to bear witness faithfully. Thus, contrary to the oft-expressed sentiment that concern for doctrine is petty and only gets in the way of doing the work of the church, the church that takes mission seriously must take doctrinal purity just as seriously. The church with a compromised message is a church with diminished power, for the gospel is the power of God unto salvation (Rom 1:16). The church, from its inception, has always “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching” (Acts 2:42), understanding that the story and its interpretation as passed on by the apostles was vital for the ongoing existence and missional success of the church.

By Jesus’ account, the Ephesians have been diligent in guarding this deposit of truth and have not indulged the false apostles or their wayward teaching. The church is commended for enduring patiently not having grown weary in standing up for the sake of Christ’s name. Yet, Jesus has a stern admonition for the Ephesian church. They have done the hard work of keeping their doctrine pure, and have patiently endured many things; yet, they have “abandoned they love they had at first”.

What was the nature of the churches defect? The text could be read to mean that they have abandoned the love that had for one another and allowed strife to poison the relationships within the church, maybe degenerating as far as open hostility to one another or possibly settling for mere coexistence. Alternatively, it could mean that they have abandoned the initial love they had for Christ and allowed their devotion to devolve into cold, dispassionate dogmatism. Commentators can be lined up on both sides of this, and Beale offers a third option, namely “that losing their ‘first love’ was tantamount to becoming unzealous witnesses.”

To some extent it is possible to hold all three positions. Love for one’s brothers and sisters in Christ is a key indication of the genuineness of one’s love for Christ (for example, see 1 John 4:7-8). Conversely, one’s love for Christ will naturally flow out into a love for one’s siblings in Christ. In other words, love in one dimension cannot fade without also betraying or leading to a lack of love in another dimension. Moreover, the love that Christians have for one another, which is a product of their love for Christ, will be a powerful witness to the world. Jesus instructs his followers, saying, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35). The love Christians share for one another has an unquestionable missional component to it. Even when the church turns its attention and affection inwardly, she does so in such a way that she bears witness to the world that they are Christ’s, whose love is sacrificial and open to all. Jesus’ assessment of their condition is followed by a call to repentance and action – “do the works you did at first”. If not, Jesus warns the church that their very existence as a church is in jeopardy.

Again, utilizing the imagery of the lampstand, Jesus threatens to come and remove theirs from its place. Their lovelessness compromises their mission to be his witnesses, which is the very reason for their existence. When the church ceases to serve its purpose, Christ will remove it from the rolls of his churches. Beale states it well, “They will cease to exist as a church when the very function that defines the essence of their existence is no longer performed.”

After again complimenting the church on its lack of tolerance for false teachers, specifically the Nicolaitans (detailed explanation of the false teaching will come in following posts), Jesus offers words of promise to the one who conquers (νικάω).

Overcoming or conquering certainly entails persevering in belief, but the context demands more. Overcoming includes persistence in the faith – denying Christ or abandoning belief would surely disqualify someone from being a conqueror and lead to a forfeiture of what is promised. But conquering also includes, for the Ephesian church, conquering the sin that threatens their ability to be a faithful witness, namely being lackluster in love. In other churches what must be overcome is different – sometimes it is immorality or idolatry, in several it is false teaching, in some churches it is sinful accommodation to the pagan culture, and in others it is the temptation to give in under persecution.

In all, overcoming is linked to being a faithful witness, even unto death, and is thus connected to their faithfulness to their God given mission. Here in Ephesus, the overcomers are granted “to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” This is a wonderful promise which reminds the church of God’s ultimate mission to redeem and restore all things and the assured success of God’s mission. Paradise will be restored and those who have been Christ’s faithful witnesses will be granted life in it. The church’s missional faithfulness is motivated, in part, by her confidence in the ultimate success of God’s mission and his promise to bless those who have partnered with him in it.