A Message to the Church(es)
A Message to the Churches by Rev. L. John Gable
November 14, 2021
Our lesson this morning makes it on to the list of the 50 greatest passages because it is the prologue to the messages written to the seven churches of Asia Minor recorded by the Apostle John in the book of Revelation in chapters 2 and 3. I am going to give you a little homework today. I want you to read those chapters when you get home. I am going to reference them this morning, but I encourage you to read them for yourselves, slowly, reflectively, devotionally, as a message written to the churches, not just in the first century, but to you and me, to our church and all churches, still today.
Patmos is a small, rocky, barren, isolated crescent shaped island located in the midst of the azure blue Aegean Sea, 40 miles off the coast of Asia Minor, modern day Turkey. It was there that the Apostle John was exiled, banished by the Emperor Domitian near the end of the first century, because of, as he puts it, “the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus.” John writes as a brother, a fellow partner in the Gospel, who, like his readers, is suffering the consequences of naming the name of Jesus as well as holding on to the promises which that name offers.
He writes, “I was in the spirit on the Lord’s Day.” In that remote and isolated place John had an encounter with the Spirit of God, an experience of revelation, of insight and ecstasy, and of note it happened to be on the Lord’s Day, a Sunday. Friends, whether you are worshiping in the company of others or alone in your own home, the Lord knows where you are and is able to come to you as you present yourselves to Him in worship. John tells us that he heard a voice instructing him to “write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamum, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.” When he turned to see who it was speaking to him he saw “one like the Son of Man”, the risen Christ, and not unlike the Gospel writers who tried to find language adequate to describe the transfigured Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, a nearly impossible task given that we are limited by human language to describe the Divine, so John attempts to describe the Presence who appeared to him that day: long robe, golden sash, white hair, eyes like a flame of fire, feet like burnished bronze, a voice like many waters, His tongue like a two edged sword and His face shining like the sun shining with full force. Finding himself in the presence of this awesome Being, John did the most appropriate thing: he fell at His feet in worship and the Lord then touched him on the shoulder saying, “Do not be afraid”, then gave him this task to write this vision to the seven churches of Asia Minor.
As we look at these messages, and as you reflect on them later, I’ll ask you to consider: to whom are these letters written? To the seven churches of Asia Minor alone, certainly there are specific references to each of them here, or are they written to all churches in all times and places, or are they intended for each of us, individually, since we are the church?
There is a certain pattern or format to each of the seven letters beginning with to whom the letter is addressed, the church at Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum and so on, and from Whom the letter comes, that being not from John, he is only the scribe recording the messages being spoken by the risen Christ, and of note, this risen Christ “walks among the churches”. Recall, this is after the resurrection, after Pentecost and the outpouring of the Spirit. The risen Lord is alive and active in the churches and in the lives of believers then, even as He is now.
A message is then given to each of the respective churches most often commending them for their faith and faithfulness, particularly given their circumstances of suffering and persecution. They are commended for their works, their toil, and their patient endurance (Ephesus), for their holding fast to the name of Jesus and not denying their faith despite the pressures put upon them (Pergamum), for their love, their faith, their service and patient endurance (Thyatira), the church there being also commended that their last works were even greater than their first. Assuming this letter is being written not just to those seven churches but to us here at Tab as well, we too, I believe, would be commended by the Lord in many of the same ways as we consider not only our ministries today but also review our 170 year history.
But we need also to be aware that these letters were written not only to offer commendation but also correction and when need be condemnation. The Spirit speaks harsh words of judgment to each of the churches, words which we would do well to take to heart and listen to as they also apply to us today. After commending the church in Ephesus for their faithfulness and endurance He condemns them for having “abandoned their first love”, for their having lost their passion for the Gospel. After acknowledging that the church in Pergamum was located in a difficult place to do ministry (where Satan’s throne is), the Spirit then chastises them for compromising and becoming complacent in their practice of the faith, for becoming too much like the world from which God has called them away. The church at Sardis surely thought they were going only to be commended because they thought things were going great there, but the Spirit called them out, saying, “you have a name of being alive, but you are dead”, living on a legacy is a difficult thing to maintain. And the Spirit criticized the church at Laodicea harshly for their spiritual smugness and complacency, “For you say, ‘I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing’, (but) you do not realize you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked.”
So are these letters intended to be roses or rocks, commendations or condemnations? Yes, both/and. Admittedly, no church is perfect, and if you happen to find one that you think is perfect please don’t join it, because once you do it will be perfect no longer. Look around you. Look within you. The church is filled with the likes of you and me, an odd mixture of saint and sinner, at the same time both holy and hypocritical, faithful and faithless. So as we read these messages to the churches, then and now, we must do so with unblinking candor and honesty. We must listen to the words of encouragement they give as well as the words of correction, both their commendation and their condemnation, because both are given in order to help shape and form us in to being the people God has called us to be as followers of Jesus Christ and demonstrators of His Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.
I do not have the gift of prophecy as it was given to John or even of vision as it was given to our former pastor Frank Kik who in 1994, from this pulpit, cast a vision for Tab’s involvement and engagement in this community which greatly influenced the direction and focus of our mission and ministry, much of which has come to pass. But I do believe that together we have been given a vision for the future of Tab’s ministry which, as we seek to follow it given both our successes and our failures at doing so, will find us faithful to God’s calling and will bear fruit for God’s Kingdom purposes. That vision being: our desire for Greater Faith, our development of Deeper Relationships, and our commitment to a Stronger Community. God is still in the revealing, vision-casting business.
In each of the letters, even those most harshly written, the Spirit gives a way out, a way of correction and reform. To the church at Ephesus, recall they are the ones who had “abandoned their first love”, he writes, “Remember then from what you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first”. Remember, repent and do. No matter who we are (sinner or saint), where we are (near or far), what we’ve done (harmful or helpful), God has not given up on us or on His church, He never has and He never will.
The most familiar of the calls to remember, repent and do is spoken to the church at Laodicea. They are the ones who boasted of being rich, prosperous and in need of nothing, who were also called out as being wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked. To them, the Lord gives a vision which was later captured in the beautiful painting by Holman Hunt titled “Light of the World”. “Listen”, says the Lord, “I am standing at the door knocking; if you hear My voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you and you with Me. To the one who conquers I will give a place with Me on My throne, just as I Myself conquered and sat down with My Father on His throne.” The invitation of Christ is always available: all we need to do is remember, repent, come back home. Ours is the God of second chances. He knows us, every part of us (the good, the bad, the indifferent), and He loves us still.
Friends, in this is the Good News of the Gospel. To those who confess and repent, to those who turn back and return home, to those who hear and respond to the invitation of Christ, to those who open the door of their hearts to Him are promised the riches of the Kingdom of God: a new name, the crown of life, a place at the table at the banquet feast in the Kingdom of Heaven, eternal life in the presence of God. I believe the central message of the book of Revelation, as mysterious, misunderstood and misinterpreted as it too often is, is this: despite the suffering, the hardship, the persecution or shame, the fits and starts and failures we may endure as we name the name of Jesus and seek to follow Him, hold fast to the faith, to the promises we have been given, to the good works we are doing, because in the end God claims victory over all the forces of evil which oppose Him and His purposes. God is faithful still.
So, to whom are these letters written, to the churches of the first century in Asia Minor? Yes, of course to them, their names are mentioned. But not to them alone, but to us still today. To us Tab, and the churches down the street and across the globe. But not to us only or to them, but to you and me as well, to each of us as individual followers of Christ. This is the timeless and eternal true Word of God intended for us to hear and heed, and how do I know that? Because at the end of each of the seven messages we hear these words: “Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.” Which means, this is not one of those messages in which we can say, “I sure hope so and so is listening to this.” As you read and reflect on this message of Scripture, perhaps instead of naming Ephesus and Smyrna, Sardis and Pergamum, Thyatira, Philadelphia and Laodicea, much less the one sitting next to you, we should instead insert our own names, my name, to see what the Spirit is saying to us, to you, to me.
May this be our prayer, “Lord, give us ears to hear whatever it is You have to say to us, to me, today and give us the courage and faith to remember, to repent and to do that which You instruct.” Amen.
Rev. L. John Gable
Tabernacle Presbyterian Church
Indianapolis, IN