IntroductionA. Chapter one introduces the book, the writer and Jesus as the one in the midst of his churches.

B. In v. 20. The lampstand were the seven churches and the stars refer to the spiritual life of these churches (compare 2:1with 2:7).

C. The seven churches named are real churches, but only seven are mentioned because of the symbolism involved. However, the entire church of the 1st century was described within these specifics, and the needs of every congregation were met.

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All dictated by the Lord.

All addressed to the “angel”.

All have titles drawn from visions of chapter 1.

All have basically the same outline: a) salutationb) description of himself, usually from chapter 1c) commendationd) condemnatione) appeal and warning f) exhortationg) promise.

Common features of the seven epistles

Asia Minor 1st Century

The Church at Ephesus: “Faithful but Unloving”The City of Ephesus:- A 25,000 seat theatre

- Streets flanked by gymnasiums & other sports facilities.

- Custodian of the temple & stature of the fertility mother-goddess, Artemis

- One of the 7th wonders of the ancient world – the largest building in the Greek world and first of such structure to be built entirely of marble. 36 of its 127 pillars were sculptured & overlaid with gold.

- Selling of religious objects such as silver statues was big business (Acts 19:23-41)

- With a population of 250,000, it was the 4th largest city in the world.

SEE NOTE SESSION

Rev 2:1-7"To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:

These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: 2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. 4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. 5 Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. 6 But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

I. The Letter To Ephesus (2:1-7)A. The CityCenter of worship of Artemis (Acts 19:23-35)Church established there by Paul (Acts 19)

B. Outline Of The Letter.- Salutation - Description of himself (v.1)- Commendation:1. Their labor and patience 2. Their doctrinal strictness and orthodoxy (see Acts 20:20; 1 john 4:1-2; 2 john 9-11)3. In trying false teachers 4. In hating the works of the Nicolatians (similar in Greek to Hebrew for Balaam in v. 14-15).- Condemnation: They had left their “first love” (v. 4). - Appeal: Remember, repeat, do (v.5)- Warning: That he would remove their candlestick (v. 5) - Promise- Conditional - Partaking of the tree of life in paradise (v. 7) (see also; gen 3:22-24, Luke 23:43).

SEE NOTE SESSION

The Church at Smyrna: “Persecuted but Faithful”

The City of Smyrna:- A city of secure harbor

- A population of more than 100,000

- City with secure harbour.

- Gladiatorial city of the “Ten days Game” and home to Polycarp

- Known as the Phoenix city because of her “resurrection”

- Emperor worship. Christians opposed by Jews

- No rebuke for the church here!

Rev 2:8-11

8 "To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:

These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. 9 I know your afflictions and your poverty — yet you are rich! I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. 11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.

11. Letter to Smyrna (2:8-11)A. The City – “fairest city of Ionia”1. Center of paganism2. Large Jewish population (hostile toward Christianity)

B. Outline of the letter3. Salutation (v.8a)4. Description of Himself (v.8b)5. Commendation – for enduring persecution and poverty (v.9)6. Condemnation – none!7. Appeal – not to fear the imminent persecution and to be faithful unto

death (v.10)8. Promise – crown of life and would not be hurt by the second death (vv.

9,11).SEE NOTE SESSION

- The city was built on cone-shape hill 1,000 above surrounding valleys & had a 200,000 volume of library.

- 120,000 inhabitants

- The political capital of the province of Asia

- Center of emperor worship

- Very liberal

- Antipas, the Lord’s ‘faithful servant’…roasted in bronze kettle. Huge temptation to compromise the faith.

The Church at Pergamum: “Loyal yet Compromised”

- Not all were that loyal, some held to Balaam’s & Nicolaitans’ teachings (v14-15)

- In Numbers 23-24….Balaam’s story is found there…

- Balaam could not curse Israel, so he enticed her with idol worship & sexual immorality.

- ….what matters is achieving the desired destruction of these people of God.

- Different means will be devised and used to bring you down before God.

- You and I may not worship idol…but may worship materialism.

- We may not be committing sexual immorality…but is pornography going on?

- To destroy one’s soul can still be achieved by any of these & OTHERS!- The agents of Satan abounds…so be watchful!

SEE NOTE SESSION

Rev 2:12-17

12 "To the angel of the church in Pergamum write:

These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. 13 I know where you live — where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city — where Satan lives. 14 Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality. 15 Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. 17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.

III. Letter To Pergamum (2:12-17)A. The City- Capital – southern part of Myria- Famous library- Home of parchment - Center of paganism and emperor worship

B. Outline Of The Letter- Salutation (v. 12a)- The lord’s knowledge of their circumstances (v. 13a)- Commendation (v. 13b)- For remaining true to his name- For not denying the faith in persecution- Condemnation (v. 14-15)- For holding to the teaching of Balaam (numbers 31)- Also, the teaching of the Nicolatians - Warning (v. 16)- Exhortation (v. 17a) :”He that has ears…”- Promises (v. 17b) SEE NOTE SESSION

The Church at Thyatira: “Split by False Teaching”- Important trade rout

- Products includes: dyed purple cloth

- Lydia, Paul's first convert in Europe, was a dealer in purple fabric who had gone to Philippi from Thyatira (Acts 16:11-15)

- Emperor worship

- Very liberal

- Strong trade guilds of tailors, bakers, tanners, potters, linen-workers, wool-merchants, dyers, slave-traders & coppersmiths

Rev 2:18-29

18 "To the angel of the church in Thyatira write:

These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. 19 I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first. 20 Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. 21 I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. 22 So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. 23 I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds. 24 Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan's so-called deep secrets (I will not impose any other burden on you): 25 Only hold on to what you have until I come. 26 To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations—

27 'He will rule them with an iron scepter;he will dash them to pieces like pottery'-just as I have received authority from my Father. 28 I will also give him the morning star. 29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

1V. Letter To Thyatira (2:18-29)A. The City1. Noted for its red or purple dyes (Lydia in Acts 16)2. More trade guilds here than in any other city- meetings were in idol temples

(tremendous pressure for Christians to compromise).

B. Outline Of The Letter3. Striking description of himself. (v.18)4. Commendation (v.19)5. Condemnation for tolerating the women jezebel (v.20) note: she was likely

advocating compromise over trade union situations.6. Warning (v22-24. Note in v. 24, the deep secrets of Satan were thought by those

involved to be secrets of God .7. Exhortation (v.25, 29)8. Promise (v. 26-28)9. Authority and rule over the nations (see psalm 2:9)10. The morning star (see Rev. 22:16)

SEE NOTE SESSION

The Church at Sardis: “Harmless & Ineffective”- Home to 6th century ruler & world’s most richest

man: Croesus

- Croesus lost his kingdom (546BC) to Cyrus the Persian. The city fell without resistance cos they were overconfident.

- By the time of the roman conquest, only the city's old reputation was left. It was a sleeping city!

- Center of emperor worship

- Very liberal

- Antipas, the Lord’s ‘faithful servant’…roasted in bronze kettle. Huge temptation for Christians to compromise the faith.

Rev 3:1-6"To the angel of the church in Sardis write:

These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you. 4 Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. 5 He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels. 6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

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V. Letter To Sardis (3:1-6)A. The City1. Wealthy, degenerate, proud2. The city had a location that nearly defiled assault. Yet they had fallen

twice due to being careless. Hence, “wake up” in v. 2-3 had historical significance.

B. Outline Of The Letter.3. The usual salutation and self-description (v.1)4. Practically no condemnation.5. Condemnation – “dead” “about to die” (v. 2) deeds not complete before

God (v. 2).6. Exhortation – remember to repent (v. 3)7. Warning – Christ would come on them as a thief (v. 3).8. Promise – to a few worthy individuals (v. 4-5).

SEE NOTE SESSION

The Church at Philadelphia: “Ready for Mission”- Philadelphia – “brotherly love”

- A city of commercial importance

- Conveniently located as a gateway to the west

- Constantly threatened by earthquake, its inhabitants are very small in population, compared to other cities of similar importance.

- Many residents live in the open country for fear of the frequent earthquakes.

- Emperor rule and oppression was strong

V1. Letter to Philadelphia (3:7-13)

A. The City1. Founded by Attalus the second (called “Philadelphos” for his good deeds) in 140 B.C.2. Built as the gateway to the East to spread the Greek culture.

B. Outline Of The Letter.1. In self-description, new figures appear (v.7)2. Commendation (v. 8)3. No severe criticism4. Divine assurance (vv. 10-11)5. Promises (v. 12)

SEE NOTE SESSION

Rev 3:7-13

7 "To the angel of the Church in Philadelphia write:

These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. 8 I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 9 I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars — I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. 10 Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth. 11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. 12 Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name. 13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

SEE NOTE SESSION

The Church at Laodicea: “Having Everything, & Nothing”

SEE NOTE SESSION

- The city of Laodicea was Known for its banks, medical school, and textile industry

- A city of commercial importance

- Wealthiest city in Phrygia during roman times

- Had a major water supply problem. Had to rely on poor “imported water” channeled through an aqueduct from hot mineral springs near Denizli, 5 miles away. This water was poor in quality and can even make one sick

- In contrast, her two neighbors, Hierapolis & Colossae had good hot springs & clean cold, pure spring water respectively.

VII. Letter to Laodicea (3:14-22)A. The City1. A center of Banking, wool manufacture, and medicine.2. Among the wealthiest – now in ruins.

B. Outline of Letter3. Self-description (v.14)4. Condemnation (note no condemnation)- Lukewarm and nauseating to the Lord (v.16)- Self-deceived and enjoying false security (v.17)- Poor, blind naked (note contrast with the city’s wealth, fame for medicine and clothing center)3. Exhortations (v. 18-19)4. Promise (v 20-22)- Note that Christ is already on the outside of the heart trying to get back in.- One painter pictured a human heart with a door knob only on the side. (God cannot come in unless we let him in). SEE NOTE SESSION

Rev 3:14-22

14 "To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm — neither hot nor cold — I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. 19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. 21 To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."