Revelation 1:16-20 Greg L Bahnsen Double Edged Sword / Revelation Verse By Verse Part 7 of 63

Lord, we praise your name for the glory of the morning. We thank you for the sunshine, for the clean air. And we thank you, Lord, for every provision that you make for our material needs. We thank you for the health of our bodies. We thank you that we have this sanctuary in which to sit. We thank you that you've sent ministers and teachers into your church. But we thank you most of all, Lord, for the truth which is given to us in the Scriptures. How we pray that we would feast upon them this morning, that we would be nourished, that our souls would thrive, and that we would live before you in righteousness and boldness. We pray, Father, that you would give us the strength to live as the people of God, that you would give us the victory promised to us in the Scriptures. We pray these things, asking forgiveness for our sins in Jesus name. Amen. My wife informs me that at the end of the hour last week we were rushing so quickly through the seven stars and the seven candle stands, and so forth, that I have to go over that material again lest it not be either understood or remembered. And so I'm going to begin this morning by reading the last portion of Revelation chapter one. And then I'll read through, through into chapter two of Revelation, down to the seventh verse. So Revelation one. Let us begin reading at verse 16. And he had in his right hand seven stars, and out of his mouth receded a sharp two edged sword, and his countenance was as the sun, shining in his strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as one dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying, fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades. Therefore write the things which thou sawest, and the things which are, and the things which shall come to pass hereafter. The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven candlestands are the seven churches. To the angel of the church in Ephesus, write these things, saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, he that walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlestands. I know thy works, and thy toil and patience, and that thou canst not bear evil men. And didst try them that called themselves apostles, and they are not, and didst find them false, and thou hast patience, and didst bear for my name's sake, and hast not grown weary. But I have this against thee, that thou didst leave thy first love. Remember, therefore, whence thou art fallen, and repent and do the first works, or else I come to thee, and will move thy candlestand out of its place, lest thou repent. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. To him that overcometh to him will I give to eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God. In verse 19 of chapter 1, John gives us a thumbnail sketch of the outline of the Book of Revelation. Now, toward the end of our course of lectures on the Book of Revelation, I'll try to hand out to you an overall outline of the book so you can kind of put it all together. I think it's very important to see the overall scheme of what is being accomplished in John's writing. And so we'll get to that point. And I'm going to make an effort to let the outline of the Book of Revelation arise fairly naturally from the book itself. By that I mean I think there are certain hints in the Book of Revelation itself as to how the book should be broken down into sections and subsections. Now, John gives us that first major hint. In chapter one, verse 19, he is told, write the things which you have seen, the things which are now, and the things which shall take place hereafter. And as John record, if you will, the first section of the book, chapter one, that is the first vision that you've been given, the thing which has passed that vision, and now the things which presently are the case. Chapters two and three, the condition of the seven churches of Asia Minor, and then the things that shall take place hereafter. Let's turn to chapter four, verse one. In chapter four, John begins, after these things I saw, and behold a door opened in heaven in the first voice that I heard, a voice as of a trumpet speaking with me, one saying, come up hither, and I will show thee the things which must come to pass hereafter. So John makes it quite clear how the book is to be broken down. At the beginning of chapter four, we have that third major section of the book, the longest section of the book. And then within that longest section, I think that John gives fairly obvious hints as to how to break it down as well. For instance, if you'll read those chapters, and let me just remind you that although we don't have specific homework assignments. I hope you are doing some homework on this Sunday school class. I hope you take it as serious, if not more serious than any other class you have, even if you're a seminary student. I trust that this is important, that here on the Lord's day and among the Lord's people, we properly interpret God's word and live by it between the Sabbaths. But so be reading the book of Revelation, is what I'm saying. Now, if you've been doing that, then you'll remember that there are two major literary devices John uses. After the beginning of chapter four, he talks about a seven sealed scroll. First of all, and a good deal of the book up through chapter 12 deals with the unfolding of that Seale 7 sealed scroll and what it will reveal for the course of history. And just as he's used the literary device of a book within a book to give us this revelation, so in the. In the latter portion of the book of Revelation, he talks about the small book. And that small book is a book that he will be told to eat, to ingest. And so you have first of all the seven sealed scroll, and then the small book, the small biblion, and these two devices. Then divide up the book after that up until we get a vision of the new heavens and the new earth. And John then of course goes out speaking of the new heavens and the new earth. Well, anyway, this by way of preview, we'll try to put the book together in terms of its own internal structure. Eventually, the first key comes to us in chapter one, verse 19. But now let's get to verse 20 and speak for a few moments on its meaning. The mystery of the seven stars. Why is it called a mystery? Well, this is something that you wouldn't have figured out on your own. This is something which flesh and blood cannot know, but only the Father in heaven can reveal. And so God reveals the mystery, that which is beyond our own ability to discern. The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand and the seven golden candlesticks. The meaning of that imagery, the meaning of the figures, is going to be given now. And this is an encouragement, I trust, to you. Remember, the first lecture I gave in the Book of Revelation was to the effect that we shouldn't be scared off from it. In fact, God bids us to study the book. He pronounces a benediction upon those who will study the book. And he promises that you'll be able to understand and obey it. Okay, well, now it becomes Rather difficult. Here you see this splendid picture, this glorious picture of Jesus Christ, the risen Savior, the glorified Messiah. And he has seven stars in his right hand and he stands in the midst of seven candlesticks. What does that mean? In the first chapter, you might be inclined to become discouraged and say, well, all this very deep, dark, mysterious imagery.

What am I to make of it all?

Well, God right here says, I'll tell you the mystery. Here's the meaning. Right? In chapter 17 we find, although we won't turn to it right now, in chapter 17, you'll notice that John has an angel come to him and say, john, you see, is very bewildered by what he's seen. He's seen the harlot of Babylon, actually. And the angel says, I will tell thee the mystery as God sends his messenger, not only gives the revelation that not only gives the figure of speech, not only gives the symbolism, but God gives his interpretation of the symbolism, which only reinforces the ever present witness of the Reformed Church that Scripture is its own interpreter. We don't rely upon a cast of priests who can, because of their superior knowledge and insight and spiritual abilities, interpret for the people of God the meaning of Scripture. We do believe God gives teachers to the church and we ought to listen to such teachers. But we don't believe that. That the teachers can exercise an authority over the people, as though those people cannot interpret Scripture for themselves and even ask if their teachers are being true to the Scriptures. Paul bids the Bereans, of course, he commends the Bereans that they went to the Scriptures to find out if in fact what he said was true to the Word of God. So we trust that God gives his own interpretation of his own book in his book, and therefore all of God's people have the right and the privilege and the responsibility to interpret it for themselves, even in such a complicated area as the book of Revelation. So the interpretation of the seven stars. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches. Now, don't drop back. You say, now wait a minute, that's not much help. You're going to interpret it. But what do you mean the angels of the churches? Now this is where we ended last week. I was going so quick that my wife thinks that perhaps we should repeat here. Who or what are the seven angels of the churches? If we know who the angels are, then we'll know what the stars are, because the angels interpret the stars. Well, a few suggestions. C.I. scofield held quite vigorously that the seven angels were the messengers to the seven churches. Alright, now, John is writing these epistles, right? These seven short epistles. And what he does is he sends a messenger with the letter to the church. Now, the Greek word for angel, Angelos, means what those of you who study Greek messenger. Exactly. And so if these are the seven angels of the churches, then what we have here is the seven messengers to the churches. What's the problem with that? Well, the letters are being written to the angels of the churches. And the angels are simultaneously being interpreted by Scofield as the recipient of the letter as well as the bearer of the letter. And so there's a real problem there. If John's writing to the church, it's hard to understand why he would address the letter to the messenger who's carrying the letter. And you don't ordinarily address your letters to the postman.

You get the point.

You address your letter to the people who are supposed to receive the letter. All right, so what's another possibility? Well, there have been those who say, now this must be angels. That's what the Bible says, the angels of the churches. Every church has its angel. A real literal, heavenly, spiritual angel. But there's difficulties with that, too. Namely, if I were the postman carrying the letter, how is it that I'm going to deliver the letter to the angel of the church? I mean, it's hard to locate the angel. Even if you do believe that there are guardian angels for each church. I mean, if you thought there was a Guardian angel for St. Paul's Presbyterian Church and the postman came around here on Tuesday with a letter addressed to the angel of the church, he'd likely have to leave it in the church office. Anyway, it's pretty hard to deliver a letter like that to a real angel. And so there have been those who try to draw back and say, well, then the angels here must be, in a metaphorical sense, the spirit of the church. I've always had a real hard time with people who talk that way. I mean, not just here, but in other places, too. We talk about the spirit. Spirit of the church. Okay, now stop and think. Now, what's the spirit of the St. Paul's Presbyterian Church? Well, maybe we have a real close fellowship and communion. Let's say the spirit of this church is one of harmony and love. All right, Just hypothetically. Now, if that's the spirit of this church, the question is, how do you write a letter to that. To an aura, to a spirit, to a. To a general social feeling? It's hard to believe that even if it were possible that John would have been thinking of that in this particular situation. Okay, then there's somebody who says, as George Eldon Ladd does, that, well, the angel of the churches or the angel of the church in each particular case is a symbol for the church's heavenly character. John is writing to the angel of the church, by which he means to say he's writing to the church, but remember, this is a very heavenly church. That is the church has its place in heaven. Well, about this time, I hope you begin to feel some of the strained attempts to try to make sense out of the book of Revelation. Here again, how do you write a letter to the heavenly character of the church? And if the angel of the church and the church are one and the same, why is it that John says the angel of the church as though it were something part of the church or an aspect of the church? Now, of course, those of you who know some of the Greek devices say, well, the angel which is the church is the way we would interpret that. But that's, again, not very likely in this context. And so what I suggested at the end of last week's lesson is that what we have here is a reference to the minister of the church. John writes to the minister. The minister is the one who is to deliver the message to the congregation. And so he says, and to the angel of the church at Ephesus, just like if you were writing to St. Paul's Presbyterian, you might very well write to the pastor of the church at St. Paul's to the angel, the churches. And I think this is the only interpretation that will fit the context. That and the meaning of the words. These seven stars, these seven ministers are held in the Lord's right hand. And what I said toward the end of the hour was that tells first of all, liberal ministers, beware. You are a minister of the Lord Jesus Christ, if only in name. I mean, they may not even be converted in many cases. But Christ holds all ministers in his hand, and that means, of course, they are subject to his direction. They cannot preach their own doctrine. They must preach his doctrine. But more importantly, to those who are true ministers of Jesus Christ, there is a sense of protection and security there. Remember how in John's Gospel, Jesus says that all believers are held in his hand and no one can snatch them out of his hand? Well, now, that's true of all of us. But in a special sense, the ministers are stars. They are angels of the churches. And Christ holds his ministers and protects his ministers. And then the interpretation of the seven lampstands we're told quite straightforwardly in the seven candlestands are seven churches. The church is a candlestand. I stress that it's the candle stand. The light of the church is Jesus Christ himself, whose face shines with the brilliance of the sun, whose eyes are as flaming torches. Jesus is the light of the world. Jesus, you see, provides the light for the church. The church is the stand. The church magnifies the light. The church holds the light forth to the world. The church is a lamp stand. The church is not to sit about waiting for the Rapture. The church is not to renounce its obligations in the world, both in terms of the spiritual well being of individual people, but even more the social well being of the society in which it operates. The church is to be a light. The church is to be scattering darkness. The church has an active duty in the world. Let's look at Matthew, fifth chapter, verses 14 and 15. Jesus says, ye are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a lamp and put it under the bushel, but on the stand. And it shineth unto all that are in the house. The church is a lamp stand. It's like set on a hill. Its light is to shine forth and it's to scatter darkness. Jesus says, ye are the light of the world. But how? You ask the Lord. How are we the light of the world? In what way do we scatter the darkness of the world? How is it the church? How could anyone presume that the Church would have the ability to do that? By what direction would the Church scatter the darkness of the world? The darkness of the world being of course, the rebellion against God, lawlessness, failure to submit to the Savior. Well, notice what Jesus goes on to say. Verse 16. Even so, let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Men are to see the goodness of.

Our lives in the proper sense.

Not a goody two shoes type of goodness, but the goodness that is objectively real. The goodness that is true to the Scriptures. The goodness which means walking in paths of righteousness for the Lord's sake. And so Jesus says in verses 17 and 18, don't think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I came not to destroy, but to confirm. For verily I say unto you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one jot or one stroke shall by any means be nullified from the law till all things have been accomplished. Whosoever, therefore, on the basis of what I just taught you. Therefore, whosoever shall break one of these least commandments and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whosoever shall do and teach them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. How is the Church the light to the world? The church must be the light to the world because it brings the law and the prophets to the world. Jesus says, I didn't come to nullify this. I didn't come to abrogate this. I came that your good works might be seen before men, that they might not glorify you, but glorify the Father who is in heaven. Look at John's Gospel, chapter 1, 8 and 12. First of all, John 1:4, 5, Speaking of the Word which was before the beginning of the world with God, the word that eventually became flesh and lived among us. Verse 4 says, in him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in the darkness, and the darkness overcame it not. That's important to notice. The translation of the word there overcame it not. The darkness didn't snuff it out. The darkness did not apprehend it. Another way to take it, the light scatters the darkness. And the reason I stress that the darkness cannot overcome the light is because an im Each of the letters to the seven churches in the Book of Revelation, Jesus will say, and to him who overcomes you, seven churches, you're the lampstand. The light of the world is upon that lampstand. It's the scattered darkness. God promises a blessing to those who overcome. And you have the assurance that if Christ Jesus lives in your heart, if Christ Jesus is your Lord, he who has life in himself, that light is the light of the world. That light cannot be snuffed out. That light cannot be defeated. You must be victorious if you belong to the Lord. Chapter eight, verse 12 of John's gospel. Now, John 8:12, Jesus, we've just been told, is the light of men, the light of the world. Eight, twelve, we read again. Therefore Jesus spake unto them, saying, I am the light of the world. He that followeth me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life. They mean the light of life. Well, obviously that's a reference to John chapter one. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. That is the light of life. And those who follow Christ don't walk in the darkness. They aren't like the world. They're not conformed to the world. They're transformed by the renewing of their minds, and they may prove that good and acceptable will of God. Those who are living that kind of a life, those who are walking in the light, then will scatter the darkness about them. John 12:35, 36. Jesus therefore said unto them, yet a little while is the light among you. Walk while ye have the light, that darkness overtake you not. And he that walketh in the darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have the light, believe on the light that ye may become sons of light. And Jesus teaches us a number of important things here. There's a good number of sermons, I'm sure, that could come just out of these verses. But Jesus says that the darkness threatens to overcome unless what? Unless ye believe on the light and become sons of the light. Only as believers in Jesus Christ. Only as sons of God by faith. Only as those who walk in the direction that Jesus gives have the assurance that they'll not be overcome by the darkness. You begin to see how in John's literature there's a pervasive theme of the fight, if you will, if the antagonism of the clash and conflict between light and darkness. That's a major literary motif for the apostle throughout the Gospel. It appears, in fact, you find it in his epistles as well. First John 1, 5, 7, 1 John 1, beginning at verse 5. And this is the message which we have heard from him, and announce unto you that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, darkness we lie and do not the truth. But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another. And the blood of Jesus, his son, cleanses us from all sin. There's no darkness in God. God is light. Two major themes, if you will, in this epistle. God is love, God is light. And it always bothers me when people expound the phrase God is love for getting to see the holiness and the judgment of God, that he is light as well, and vice versa. But God is light. There is no sinfulness, there is no darkness. There is no evil in him. And so if you claim to belong to God and you walk in darkness, and John's words here, in fact, are so strong that they're offensive to many people, you're a liar. It's just not possible. You're not doing the truth. And if you don't do the truth, you don't walk in the light. The blood of Jesus isn't cleansing you from sin. So those who belong to Jesus must walk in the light. Now, my point is that John then has this pervasive theme between darkness and light and how they interact. And over and over again he talks about darkness and light, which can overcome the other. And it's very clear that anybody who has the light of life, anyone who's the son of light, scatters darkness. Just as Jesus, the light of the world, scatters the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome him. So those who are sons of light, those who reflect the light of the world, therefore becoming lights of the world, those who have this light themselves will overcome the darkness. It's important often, I think, to see on a broad scale the types of themes you find in such a writer, because in many places you'll come and I I've heard often expositions of these various passages which don't have that note of victory to them. That isn't to say that what is said is pessimistic and wrong. It's just that it's inadequate and doesn't say all that John is saying. John's saying over and over again that the sons of light are going to be victorious in the Savior. Ephesians 5 Now turning to Paul's use of this image, Ephesians 5, 8, 17. Paul will harmonize with this message. I'll begin reading at verse eight of chapter five. For you were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord. Walk as children of light, for the fruit of the light is in all good, goodness, and righteousness, and truth, proving what is well pleasing unto the Lord, and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them for the things which are done by them in secret. It is a shame even to speak of but all things, when they are reproved, are made manifest by the light. For everything that is made manifest is light. Wherefore he saith, awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall shine upon thee. Look therefore carefully how ye walk, not as unwise, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Notice how you must walk in the will of the Lord. Lord, you must walk in the paths of righteousness and truth and purity. And the reason we do that is, because those who have awakened from their sleep of death have the sun of God shining upon them awake. And it says here, christ shall shine upon thee. Christ, the light of life. Christ, the light of the world shines upon thee. Paul uses the same theme in second Corinthians, chapter four, three, beginning at verse seven. And I'll read through chapter four, verse six. But if the ministration of death, written and engraven on stones, came with glory, so that the children of Israel could not look steadfastly upon the face of Moses for the glory of his face which glory was passing away, how shall not rather the ministration of the Spirit be with glory? For if the ministration of condemnation hath glory, much rather does the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. For verily, that which hath been made glorious hath not been made glorious in this respect by reason of the glory that surpasseth. For if that which passes away was with glory, much more that which remaineth is in glory. Having therefore such a hope, we use great boldness of speech. And are not as Moses who put a veil upon his face, that the children of Israel should not look steadfastly unto the end of that which was passing away. But their minds were hardened. For until this very day, at the reading of the old covenant, the same veil remains, it not being revealed to them that it was done away in Christ. But unto this day, whensoever Moses is read, a veil lieth upon their heart. But whensoever it shall, whensoever they shall turn to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding, as in a mirror, the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image, from glory unto glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit. Therefore, seeing we have this ministry, even as we obtained mercy, we faint not. But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but the manifestation of the truth by the manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled in them that perish in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of the unbelieving. That the light of the gospel, of the glory of Christ, Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn upon them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants. For Jesus sake, seeing it is God that said light shall shine out of darkness, who shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. I am sure that that is one of the Most I don't know what the word is passages in Paul, one of those passages in Paul that is so jam packed with theology that Paul almost trips over the phrases to show you the connections and scriptural themes. Just notice in chapter four, verse four at the end there, that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, well, he wants to get you an awful of lot of connections. And then the last verse there to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. God is light. In him there is no darkness at all. Jesus is the very image of God, the exact replica of the Father. Jesus has the glory of God and Jesus gives us the gospel of God. And that gospel reflects the glory of the Son. And that gospel gives a knowledge of God, which knowledge is its glorious and light. And so God who is light, reflects the light in his Son, Jesus Christ, reflecting the light in the gospel, reflecting the light and the knowledge which comes from the Gospel, which means that the light and the glory is in our own faces, spiritually speaking, from glory unto glory. It's not like Moses, where the glory faded eventually and then he could take the veil off and the people could look at him, but rather we're transformed. And from glory into glory. You have to think, of course, of the experience of Jesus Christ on the mount of Transfiguration where he was transformed. He was transfigured before the three disciples. And Jesus face shone with the brilliance of the sun, we are told. Isn't that interesting? Exactly the image that John uses in chapter one of Revelation, that Jesus face shines as the sun, the transfigured, the glorified Savior shines upon you if you've.

Awoken from the dead.

And when the light of the world, when the light of life shines upon you, then you're transformed into such glory and light. Well, these are thrilling themes. I mean, if you aren't spurred on to righteous living and to purity of thought and life and word by such words, what can do it to you? Well, obviously the Spirit changes our hearts. He gives us receptive hearts. Then the glory of the Savior, the glory of the gospel, the glory of the knowledge of God shines through us. And when it does, what happens? The darkness can't comprehend it. The darkness can't hold it down, the darkness can't quench it. In fact, the darkness is scattered. We reprove the unfruitful works of darkness. And so that greater glory, a glory greater than the old covenant, that greater glory is in our Face this day if we belong to Jesus Christ. And because of that, Paul says we faint not well. Revelation 1, the last verse. And the angels of the seven churches. Excuse me. And the stars are the angels of the churches. And the seven candlestands are the seven churches. The calling of the church is rather clear if you understand Johannine theology, the pervasiveness of this theme in John's writings. And of course, there's the analogy to be found in the writings of the Apostle Paul. The church is the light of the world. The church stands so that the light of Jesus Christ might shine to the world. And the church is to overcome the darkness. Now, with that beginning, we read the first letter to the church of Ephesus. And again, remember, at the end of each letter, Jesus will say to him who overcomes. So chapter one, verse 20 is a preface, a necessary preface to each one of the individual letters. You are told you're the light of the world and therefore overcome. And Jesus will speak as the one who walks in the midst of the churches, the one who holds the pastors of the churches in his hand. And he'll then direct the church to overcome in his name. Well, we come to chapter two then. And beginning with chapter two, as I've already said, chapter two and three will contain the letters to the seven churches. And something should be said about this letters to the seven churches before we go on. Martin Kittle held that the letters to the seven churches was an artificial literary device. It was just one way John could write what he had to say to the church as a whole. So he just kind of made up this scheme, kind of like a way of putting it. JB Smith, as far as I know, was the first one to hold. Perhaps not, but he was at least one who popularized the idea that the letters to the seven churches represent periods of history. Kittle said this is an artificial literary device. Smith said, no, in fact, each letter represents an age of the church, a successive age of the church. So you have the. The age of Ephesus and the age of this and that and so forth, Laodicea and all the rest. So you have church history summarized in the seven letters. This is popular in a lot of dispensational literature as well. If you'll pick up Hal Lindsey's book, There's a New World Coming, he makes it quite clear that these seven churches represent seven major ages of the life of the church. R.H. charles, a fairly well known scholar of this apocalyptic literature, thought that these seven letters circulated as individual units. Really? And later were collected by some redactor or by some editor into one place. And so then he had to put the preface on there. Christ first gives the image, the vision of him walking amidst the candle stands. And then we take these letters that circulated individually and we lump them together, and that's the way this book came about. But against all three of these previous opinions, I will hold that these are specific letters to real historical churches in John's own day, Written precisely as John records it here in the Scriptures. Each message has relevance, you'll see, for the conditions we know to have existed in the city that is named. Many allusions will be found to local history, topography, and the conditions of the churches, indicating that John was personally acquainted with each one of these seven churches. Indeed, specific names are mentioned in each of the letters. Look at chapter two, verse 13. This is an example. I know where thou dwellest, even where Satan's thought throne is, and thou holdest fast my name, and didst not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas. My witness, my faithful one, who was killed among you. Quite clearly, John knows Antipas, and he knows of the, you know, the. The local history that led to the martyrdom of Antipas. So this is. These are churches in John's own days, right into those specific circumstances. However, the topics that are taken up in the. The churches, I remind you, have relevance for every church in every age. At the end of each one of the seven letters, he that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. Notice that the Spirit doesn't speak this just to the regenerate in that particular church. But now the message is to all in the churches. The Spirit speaks to every church through the example, the particularization of the Local 7 Churches of Asia Minor. And there's a general pattern to each one of the seven letters that, if you're taking notes, I would encourage you to get down so you'll understand, if you will, the rhythm and the way John deals with each church. The general pattern goes like this. Each one of the letters starts with a greeting to the angel of the church that is in. To the pastor of the church in Ephesus, to the pastor in the church of Laodicea, and so forth. Secondly, after that greeting, you will find a title of the risen Savior, a title of the risen Christ, usually taken, for the most part, taken from the description we find of Christ in chapter one. So let's take an example. Verse 18 of chapter two. These things saith the son of God, who hath his eyes Like a FL flame of fire, and his feet are like unto burnished brass. Exactly what John had said of Christ in chapter one. So chapter one is the introduction, is the vestibule to the seven letters. And now elements of chapter one will be introduced to point out the continuity between them all. The continuity, of course, is found in the Lord of the church, the one who directs the message to each individual local church. Okay, a greeting, a title applied to Christ. Then thirdly, every one of the letters has a section beginning I know, I know. Of course, that in itself is awesome. I think we could probably spend an hour just talking about the significance of how Jesus says to every church. I know Jesus is the all seeing One. He knows the situation in the church. He knows what the church needs. He knows where the church needs to be corrected. Usually, however, the the I know introduces praise for something good in the church's record. I know how you've run the race. Well, in this way or that way. The only exception is Laodicea, where the I know is I know that there's something dreadfully wrong in Laodicea. Then after the greeting, the title applied to the risen Christ, the section beginning I know or the praise section. Then fourthly, there follows a criticism of each of the churches. But this I have against thee. I know what is praiseworthy, but I also know, and this I have against thee, that. Now there are two exceptions. Just as Laodicea receives no praise, it turns out that Smyrna in Philadelphia received no criticism after the praise, after the general criticism. Then fifthly, each letter has a warning. Jesus says, but watch out. Here's this warning. Do something, lest this takes place. A warning. After Jesus has praised the church, after he has criticized the church, after he has warned the church, he exhorts the church. That's a good example for Christian pastors, by the way, those who counsel others. That's an example for all of us as believers in Jesus Christ, for teachers, that after we have. We've said what's good about the person to whom we're speaking, or the church or our class, and we've said, now look, you see, there's something dreadfully wrong too. And now here's the warning of God. We don't ever leave it at that. But there's the encouragement, there's the building up, there's the spurring on, there's the stirring up, you see, of the work of Jesus Christ in the Spirit, the exhortation, he that hath an ear, that's a challenge. Do you really hear what I'm saying, he that hath an ear. It should be rather obvious. The people are listening to the reading of this letter. They have ears. There's a special sense. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says. And then finally, a promise. If you'll respond to the criticism, if you'll be stirred up by the exhortation, then the promise is given. And that promise begins with something like, as I've already said, to him that overcometh, I will give, give to him who gains the victory, to him who shows the light of life and scatters the darkness of the world. All right, so every letter, then, a greeting, a title of the risen Christ, a section of praise beginning, I know, a criticism of the church, a warning to the church, an exhortation and a promise. And so let's get into it here as far as we can this morning. To the angel of the church in Ephesus, write these things, saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right.

Hand, he that walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks or candlestands. I'm sorry, to the angel, to the pastor, the church in Ephesus. Now, what do we know about Ephesus? I'm not going to do this this morning. Perhaps next Sabbath morning, I'll do a.

Little bit of it. But if I don't get around to.

It, I would encourage you to do a little bit of homework on Ephesus. Apart from the church in Jerusalem, you can write a more extensive church history of Ephesus than any other church mentioned in the Bible. That in itself is important in terms of interpreting the letter here. Now, I would maintain that this letter.

Is written after Paul wrote to the.

Ephesian Church, mainly because this letter was written shortly before the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70, and Paul wrote earlier than that to Ephesus before he was in prison. Of course, Paul was martyred about 66 A.D. and so this would follow the letter to Ephesus. But the letter to Ephesus, the Ephesian Epistle of Paul itself follows Paul's dealings in the in the city of Ephesus that we read of in Acts, the 19th chapter. And so if you wanted to, you could write a mini church history of the church in Ephesus, something you can't do with most of the other churches that are mentioned in the Scriptures. In Ephesus, we read of its founding and the work of the apostle historically in the Book of Acts, the needs of the church, the exhortations to the church.

Then you can read the Ephesian Epistle.

Of Paul and say, now what now is the. What's happening in the church? What can we see from this letter? How has it advanced? How has it fallen back? And then you can read John's Epistle, Christ's Epistle, through John to the Ephesian church in the Book of Revelation. That would be an interesting study in itself. But what do we know about the city of Ephesus in itself? Ephesus was often called in the ancient world the supreme metropolis of Asia. It was an extremely important city for commercial and trade purposes. But not only was it important economically that way. Not only was it a large city, a metropolis, but it was the seat of the proconsular government. Acts 1938 makes it very clear that this was one of the major divisions of Roman government in Asia Minor. Ephesus was the seat of that government.

Over a wide district.

It was a great commercial center. As I said, much eastern trade passed through its port, which was near the mouth of the Cayster river, and three major Asian roads. Three major roads all terminated in Ephesus. So you can see that a great deal of trade came into Ephesus. It had a port. It was the seat of government for the large area. It was the supreme metropolis of Asia. It was also a major religious center. We read in the book of Acts, and we know from secular history that Ephesus was the center for the worship of Diana. The temple of Diana was in Ephesus. The chief cult was that of Artemis, Acts 19, verses 24 and 5. And Diana was the Asiatic mother God who required fanatical worship of her followers.

Those who were to be priests to.

Diana had to be eunuchs. And the temple of Diana had the prized statue of Neokoros to be found there. Acts 19:35 seems to refer to this. In the temple itself, which was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, this great statue of Neokoros was to be found. Temple sweeper and magical arts were very popular in Ephesus. Acts 19:19. And so here you have a center of mysticism and magic, a center of idolatry and the worship of false gods. Gods by fanatical followers, priests who are eunuchs. The Artemis cult was part of it. And so it was a fantastic place for ungodly worship. It was a major center of commerce and trade. It was a center for Roman rule. It was also an asylum for criminals in the Roman world. If you wanted to be.

If you wanted to be protected against.

The just recompense against your evil deeds in society, you needed to flee to the temple of Diana. Diana was a place for refuge of all those you see who had committed offenses against the government and against their fellow man. How would you like to live in a city like that? Do you live in a city like that?

Paul spent more than two years there.

In Ephesus establishing the church, Ephesians 19 tells us, and he wrote an epistle.

To this church later on.

Timothy was a resident pastor in Ephesus for a while, as we read in First Timothy 1, verse 3. And tradition teaches us that John himself lived there in his old age, according to Eusebius. So there's quite a rich history to this church established by Paul had as its pastor Timothy, and the successive pastor was John the Apostle himself. It had three, as mentioned, at least three major places in the New Testament. It was the center of grand worship and commerce and government and all the rest. So quite an important place, this Ephesus.

To the angel of the church, to.

The pastor of the church that is there in Ephesus. Write these things.

Saith he that holds the seven stars.

In his right hand. The one who walks in the midst of the seven candle stands. The word for holding the seven stars.

Here is a different word than is.

Found in the first chapter. There we find that the seven stars are held in the hand in the right hand. But now this word indicates a very firm grip upon the seven stars. Jesus says to that pastor, I need to have firm grip upon you in this very crucial location. I'm holding you very tightly. And he walks among the lampstands. We're told now there's no mention of that walking in chapter one. Jesus is just in the midst of the candle stands. And here we are told that Jesus walks among the lampstands. Jesus walks among the churches, if you will.

I have warned you already that the.

Old Testament is the key to understanding the Book of Revelation.

And if you, I think most of.

You, understand the meaning of this image, Jesus walking among the churches.

But I don't think you'll have the.

Depth of comprehension if you don't turn to Leviticus 26, verse 12.

Let me begin reading at verse 11.

To make the meaning clear. And I will set my tabernacle among you, and my soul shall not abhor you.

And I will walk among you, and.

Will be your God, and ye shall be my people. I hope you all recognize that that general phrase, phrase is just, you know, chock full of meaning and importance for the people of God, because that's the most General way of indicating the covenantal relationship of God to His people. I will be your God and you will be my people. And how is that symbolized? God makes clear his covenant, his covenantal relationship to his people when he walks among them, when he sets his tabernacle among them.

When I am walking in your very.

Midst, then you will know that you belong to me and I to you. John 1. The gospel of John, chapter 1, verse 14. And the word became flesh and tabernacled among us, and we beheld his glory, glory as the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. Jesus in his incarnation, tabernacled among men. God making clear, you see his covenantal promises to his people that he would be with them, that he would be their God, and that they would be his people. Jesus, then as he comes to be with his people, he tabernacles among them. In Revelation, chapter two, we read that Jesus, the one who tabernacled with his people, even now walks in his church. And what is his church?

Paul says, don't you know?

Don't you understand by now that you're the temple of the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit lives within you? You're a temple of God. Jesus walks in the temple of God. Jesus is the temple of God. Jesus makes us temples by his own spirit. Jesus is with us.

And that is to confirm that we.

Have God's sovereign and covenantal blessing upon us. He is with us. He will protect us. Christ is in our midst. He has an intimate care and protection for his people. In our remaining minutes, perhaps we can just skip through verse two. Jesus says, I know thy works and thy toil and patience and that you cannot bear evil men, but did try those who called themselves apostles but were not, and you found them false. And you have patience and do bear for My name's sake, and you do not grow weary. Notice that on one hand they cannot bear something, but on the other hand they can bear something. And Jesus says, I know something about you. I respect this and I love this and I honor it and I bless it. I know that you first of all will not bear evil men. And when false teachers come to you, you try them and you pronounce them false. But that church isn't known simply because it has all this discipline, isn't known in praise just because it can discern good and bad doctrine. It will not tolerate evil men and false apostles. But then the church has also known that it does bear something else. It bears the reproaches of Christ's Name that in the midst of its society, the midst of the ridicule and persecution and hardship of being a Christian, that church bears up for the sake of the name of Jesus Christ. So Jesus praises the church. I wonder now this morning, just in closing, whether we deserve the same kind of praise. It would appear to just my limited perspective, my limited experience in various churches and what I know of churches, that churches find it very hard to achieve that kind of balance. You have churches that can bear in the positives sense, that is, they'll be willing to undergo the ridicule that Christ's name brings upon them and they're willing to do their good works and willing to take the abuse of the world. But that church which bears the reproach of Christ's name also bears in its very midst that which is so abominable to God. And that's the false teaching of many people.

Now on the other hand you have.

Churches which are very, very strong with it comes to their doctrine and discipline. Churches which are very much to be commended for the fact that they will not bear with evil men. They will not let false teachers get away with that false teaching in the church. But on the other hand, these churches.

Tend to be very weak when it.

Comes to bearing the reproaches of Christ's name before the world. They don't seem to have any witness there at all. So I asked you, and I asked the church here as a whole, where do we stand in terms of this country commendation? Do we have that two edged approach to our Christian living? Do we bear with false teachers? Or do we judge them? And do we bear with the persecution that comes before the world because of our Christian testimony? Or do we capitulate in the face of it? Jesus says, but I know your works. That is your toil, your patience, your steadfastness, that you don't bear evil men. You try them. You call those who call themselves a apostles but are not you find them false and that you have steadfastness, you have patience and you do bear for my name's sake. And do not grow weary. Let's close with a word of prayer. Father, we thank you for the encouragement of the scriptures of this day, even as we would repent and abhor our sinfulness before you. That we have so often grown weary that Lord, we've been indifferent to your kingdom, that we have not truly been lights to the world, that we haven't reflected the purity of the glory of Jesus Christ and the truth of his gospel. Lord, we confess that so often we've reflected only our own bad dispositions we've reflected only our bad way of living We've reflected only before men. Not that we are lights of God, lights in the world but we've only shown will, worship and self interest. Father, we pray that you would take that away from us that you would take that out of our lives that you'd replace it with a real love for Jesus Christ and a real desire to think your thoughts after you a desire to reflect your glory Lord even as you hate those who are false false teachers so Lord, teach us to hate all false doctrine this day Lord even as you have borne up and were steadfast in the midst of martyrdom and persecution that you might redeem your people so Lord, teach us to suffer for your name's sake and to be joyful in the midst of that Enable us to be steadfast to bear up for the sake of Jesus Christ Christ for we would own him as our Savior and our Lord this day even as we pray in his name.