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| Photo of gem mine by Jonny Lew from Pexels |
I felt like a miner uncovering precious jewels as I studied
Revelation chapters two and three this week. I could have easily spent a week
on each of the seven letters, but as the power of each letter simmers in my
heart and mind I want to share three thoughts from this symbolic book.
First, the love Jesus
has for His people, the church, is immense.
Jesus personally knows and loves His church. Each letter
starts out with, “I know.” Nothing escapes His attention about His people
because He walks among them. Jesus rebukes, encourages, and rewards those He
loves. Christians in this time period were facing a world embracing sin,
especially sexual immorality and idolatry. When Christians didn’t follow suit
with the culture, it was costly.
Many Christians during the time Revelation was written were
undergoing persecution for their faith from the Roman government. The Roman
Empire required everyone to worship the emperor, but Jews were the only group
excluded from this mandate. Christianity was considered a part of Judaism so
they weren’t forced to obey this decree—at first. By the time the book of
Revelation was penned, some Jews were telling the Roman officials that
Christians did not practice Judaism. As this news took root, persecution began
for Christians—from difficulty finding and keeping work to threats on their
lives. As we process suffering this book should be one we regularly contemplate
as it illustrates that God’s standard for obedience doesn’t change even in the
face of intense trials, but His love abounds for us. And in this setting of hardships,
Jesus describes Himself walking among His people, fully in control, and having
conquered sin and death. Jesus displayed the ultimate example of love in the
face of suffering.
In addition to the Roman pressure, some cities (like
Thyatira) had guilds for the various types of work (ex. blacksmith, tailor,
etc.). Each guild had a god and everyone who participated in that line of work
in the city would gather to worship this god. If you didn’t attend the meeting,
it negatively impacted their livelihood. So this added economic pressure.
At the end of every letter to the seven churches, Jesus
exhorts each church to overcome and shares what their reward will be. While
each reward is described differently, essentially it is the same—eternal life
with Jesus. The reward is to belong to
Jesus forever. The hope for not succumbing to the evil of this world is
found in holding tightly to our Beloved Savior, whom we will be with forever if
we remain faithful. What a beautiful
picture of His love for us and a reality check on what ultimately matters.
This call to be victorious is not what we might typically
picture in our minds—imprisoned, jobless, killed—but this was the path some of
these Christians were facing. In His letter to Smyrna He exhorts them to
faithful unto death. Yes, death. Jesus is worth dying for and sometimes that is
what He asks His followers to do, but if we reflect on who Christ is we
recognize His worthiness to ask us to do this. So if we can die in obediently
following Jesus, how can we be conquerors?
In Revelation 2:8-10 Jesus reminds the church who He is—the
one who conquered sin and death. He also knows what His enemy, Satan, is up to
because He permitted it. (The book of Job ringing in your mind right now?)
Somehow Jesus uses our suffering to purify our own faith and to glorify
Himself. We are conquerors by holding fast to Jesus because one day we will
reign with Him if, by His grace, we remain obedient even in suffering to the
point of death. That’s a hard reality to embrace, but knowing He understands
and loves us brings comfort and a sense of purpose during trials. Jesus sees and loves us in the midst of hardships.
Second, God’s
perspective is not ours.
As Jesus uniquely addresses each church, it is clear He is
helping them gain a different perspective on their life that they can’t see,
but He can.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)
Sometimes we are unable to see sin in our own lives.
Sometimes we fail to see what God is doing. Sometimes we are blind to our
desperate need for Christ. In Revelation two and three, we see Jesus
encouraging and rebuking His church out of love. Whether it was cold-hearted Ephesus who in
their zeal to follow God’s Word forgot to love God and others or small,
impotent Philadelphia whose faith others questioned, Jesus articulately expresses
the true reality that He sees. These letters weren’t only meant for these seven
churches, but the church as a whole—we all need to glean the warnings Christ
extends.
Each description of Jesus to the church highlights the truth
of who He is and one day everyone will finally see Him as He is. We need the
portrait of Christ painted in Revelation to help us hold firmly to Him, the
King of all kings.
Third, if we want to
belong to Christ forever, we must cling to Him daily.
I am He who searches
mind and heart and I will give to each of you as your works deserve. (Revelation 2:23)
While we may be capable of deceiving ourselves, we cannot
trick God regarding our own hearts. Sardis had a great reputation, but was
spiritual dead. Laodicea was so self-reliant their faith was useless but they
hadn’t noticed.
In a world clamoring for attention with lesser things we
must be intentional to grow and mature in our faith. Repentance must be a
regular rhythm in our life. And we must treasure Christ and His Word above
everything this world offers—even life itself.
These letters were sent out for all churches to read. The sins
of each church were exposed, but Christ extended repentance and promised He was
more than enough to sustain them on the path forward if they did.
As we evaluate our own spiritual walks, may we invite
biblical community into our lives so we have others to walk alongside us, speak
truth, and spur us on toward maturity so we can receive our great reward—Jesus.
He
Will Hold Me Fast
When I fear my
faith will fail,
Christ will hold me fast;
When the tempter would prevail,
He will hold me fast.
I could never keep my hold
Through life’s fearful path;
For my love is often cold;
He must hold me fast.
He will hold me fast,
He will hold me fast;
For
my Savior loves me so,
He will hold me fast.
Those He saves are
His delight,
Christ will hold me fast;
Precious in His holy sight,
He will hold me fast.
He’ll not let my soul be lost;
His promises shall last;
Bought by Him at such a cost,
He will hold me fast.
For my life He bled
and died,
Christ will hold me fast;
Justice has been satisfied,
He will hold me fast.
Raised with Him to endless life,
He will hold me fast
Till our faith is turned to
sight,
When he comes at last!
Words vv 1-2: Ada Habershon
(1861-19168);
Alt. Words vv.1-2, Words v. 3,
and Music: Matt Merker
© 2013 Getty Music
Publishing (BMI) / Matthew Merker Music (BMI).
Admin. by
Musicservices.org. All rights reserved. CCLI Song #7016161.
Study Resources: John Stott, Revelation: The Triumph of Christ; Lee Tankersley, cccnow.org
Study Resources: John Stott, Revelation: The Triumph of Christ; Lee Tankersley, cccnow.org