January 4 - Revelation. Seven Churches

January 4 – Seven Churches

Revelation 2-3

Before we dive into the problems and celebrations of the individual churches, I want to spend today looking at the format of these letters. Jesus didn’t use the standard format for a letter, which in the New Testament was: the author and reader are named, a formal greeting, a prayer, the message, a conclusion. He didn’t take the time for all of that formality.

Each letter in the Revelation begins with the characteristic of the sender (Jesus). There are then compliments to the recipient, a criticism of the recipient, a command and then a commitment to all who overcome.

The churches each had something to face and are representative of the church today. I see bits and pieces of these in every church in which I’ve ever been active. Though they were written to each church, this letter made its rounds to all seven. In fact, since each church would have been a postal center, they would have gone out to the smaller congregations in the communities surrounding these centers. Everyone saw the commands from Jesus.

The letters each begin by saying, “To the angel of the church in …” Some scholars believe he is writing to the church leader and calling that person an angel. Others believe this is proof that an angel from God protects the church. It doesn’t really matter what you believe. The Greek word used here is “aggelos” (pronounced ang’-el-os with a hard g). The definition is: a messenger, an envoy, one who is sent, an angel, a messenger from God. These words are to be delivered and transmitted to the people of God.

The other common phrase to each letter is found first in Revelation 2:7, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Jesus used these words before. In Matthew 13:9, he reminds the people that it is their responsibility to hear and understand the message He just taught in a parable. The same phrase is used again in Matthew 13:43, Mark 4:9, 23 and in Luke 8:8 and Luke 14:35. It is the responsibility of the church to hear and understand what is being said to them.

The word that is used here is “akaouo.” It means more than just hearing. It means to hear as a lesson is being taught, to understand and perceive what is being said. It means much more than just, “Listen to me.” It means, “Comprehend what I am telling you. This is a lesson you need to learn.”

As we explore the letters to each church, God intends that these lessons be learned. This is the last chance He will take to get these messages into His canon of the Bible. It is time to pay attention.