Seven Churches in Revelation

The Pergamosian church:

Rev 2:12 ¶ And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;


Rev 2:13 I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, [even] where Satan's seat [is]: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas [was] my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.


Rev 2:14 But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.


Rev 2:15 So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.


Rev 2:16 Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.


Rev 2:17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth [it].


This church is commended for the following:

1. Works. This church, too, was active in propagating the gospel.

2. They were in a bad location where satan had power as if it were the very throne room of hell, yet they still promoted the gospel, held fast to the name of the Lord, and had not denied the faith of Jesus. They did not cave in to the pressures of their environment and deny the true faith, even when persecution came against them for their stand for the true gospel.

But they had some problems.

1. The doctrine of Balaam was believed in by some of the members, and apparently being promoted. Balaam's great sin was to teach Balak to set out the Moabite and Midianite women to entice Israel to join in ecumenical idol worship and fornication, resulting in God's wrath slaying many of Israel's finest. So here there is in the church those whose believe in ecumenical compromise and enticing of the sheep to partake in the benefits of idolatry...

2. The hated doctrine of the Nicolaitanes was maintained by some mebers as well. We do not know for sure what that doctrine was, but Christ hated it and some members of His church embraced it. This church thus had members who had accepted some doctrines and practices which Christ hated.

The church is warned that unless it repents - that is, unless the Balaamites and Nicolaitanites repented, and the church as a whole purged those evils from their midst, the Lord would bring judgement upon them and condemn them by His Word. And the ones who overcome the ecumenical spirit of compromise, and purge themselves from all teaching that is offensive to the Lord, will enjoy the true benefits of being a new creature.

The Thyatiran church:

Rev 2:18 ¶ And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet [are] like fine brass;


Rev 2:19 I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last [to be] more than the first.


Rev 2:20 Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.


Rev 2:21 And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.


Rev 2:22 Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.


Rev 2:23 And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.


Rev 2:24 But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden.


Rev 2:25 But that which ye have [already] hold fast till I come.


Rev 2:26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:


Rev 2:27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.


Rev 2:28 And I will give him the morning star.


Rev 2:29 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.


This church was commended for the following:

1. Works. Again, this is no slouch church, they are labouring for God.

2. Charity. They have love for one another.

3. Service. Voluntary bond-slaves of the Lord, ministering to one another and to others.

4. Faith. The church is known for its great faith.

5. Patience. They endure hardship, and are willing to wait for the blessing of God.

6. Works, again. These latter works said to be greater than the former works. They had grown in their effectiveness.

But they had a problem:

Jezebel. They had someone in a position to influence the leadership in a bad way. This influence was in the same direction as Balaam, teaching ecumenical compromise and sinfulness to the members. There was an influence which was unduly influencing leadership to lead people astray into compromise....

This influencing power was given time and opportunity to repent, but chose not to. As a reuslt, the Lord promises to set this compromising influence up, in a sort of sting operation. The Jezebel faction and all who are seduced by it will be vexed by the Lord, and persecuted by the Lord, unless and until they repent of their spiritual fornication and compromise with "idolatry" (false religion).

Those converts who are produced as a result of the Jezebel influence of compromise and spiritual whoredom will DIE and not live. As a result of this judgement, the churches will know that the Lord does indeed judge His House, and will not overlook sin but will render to everyone their just deserts.

The rest, who have not descended to such depths of satanic compromise, are told to "hold fast" what they have until the Lord comes. They are warned here not to compromise, but to HOLD FAST until the end.

And the ones who do this will rule the nations with Christ and be given authority in the Kingdom of God.

The Sardisian church:

Rev 3:1 ¶ And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.


Rev 3:2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.


Rev 3:3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.


Rev 3:4 Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.


Rev 3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.


Rev 3:6 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.


This church has works. They are "doing things for Jesus." They have the reputation of being "alive" (in revival?) but in reality they are dead.

It's a sham, a show, a semblance of life but lacking the power of it.

They are known for being a church that is alive, but spiritually they are truly dead.

Their works are not perfect (complete) before God, and they are warned they must strengthen the things that remain, that are about to slip off into spiritual death and religious paralysis...

They are told to remember HOW they had received and heard... HOW did they originally get their reputaiton for being alive? What have they abandoned since then? What must they recover?

There are things that remain from the old days... those things must be strengthened.... They must be held fast, and not forsaken...

The church must repent, and get back to its original foundations...

Otherwise, the church will be ignorant and blind to the time of the Lord's visitation in judgement upon them.

There is a remnant still in this old dead church which has a NAME that suggests it still has LIFE.... that remnant have not been defiled by religious DEATH yet, and they shall walk with the Lord in the true power of gospel religion...

Those who overcome the spirit of spiritual sloth and petrification and traditionalism will enjoy resurrection, and will not be blotted out of the book of Life, and our Lord will confess them as His own before the Court of Heaven... but those who give in to that evil, defiling spirit, will find themselves excluded.

The Philadelphian church:

Rev 3:7 ¶ And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;


Rev 3:8 I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.


Rev 3:9 Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.


Rev 3:10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.


Rev 3:11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.


Rev 3:12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, [which is] new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and [I will write upon him] my new name.


Rev 3:13 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.


The church is commended for these:

1. Works. Again, they are active, and their labours are known to the Lord.

2. They have a little strength, and are faithful and obedient in the midst of apostasy.

3. Therefore, the Lord has given them a green light, an open door, and nobody can stop them from entering into the blessing of the Lord.

The false religionists, who claim to be of God but who are lying blasphemers and who are of the religious establishment of satan will be made to acknowledge that THESE are the true people of God, the TRUE beloved and faithful holy ones ("saints") of the Lord Jesus.

Because they have kept the word of His patience, and have endured tribulation and persecution as He also did, without complaint, but faithfully, they will be kept from the Great Temptation coming on the entire world.

They are told to hold fast what they have and not compromise it so they do not lose their crown, their victory. Those who overcome the spirit of compromise, the spirit of intimidation from false religionists, the temptation to quit in the heat of battle, will be assured of a place in God's temple, assured of their membership in God's family and in His city, and of their place in Christ.

The Laodicean church:

Rev 3:14 ¶ And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;


Rev 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.


Rev 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.


Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:


Rev 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and [that] the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.


Rev 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.


Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.


Rev 3:21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.


Rev 3:22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.


This church has works known to the Lord, but those works are apathetic. They are neither hot nor cold, but indeterminate and uncertain.

Because of their wishy-washiness they will be rejected by the Lord. The church will be reprobated and removed from among God's churches because they are unwilling to make a stand and give a clear note and a certain sound.

They pride themselves on their wealth. They think they have it all, great spiritual depth and insight and truth, but in reality they are doctrinally amorphous, spiritually poor, naked, wretched, miserable, blind...

They have opportunity, however... to get some medicine from the Lord so they may SEE, to get some clothing so they may not be NAKED and their SHAME be exposed, to get some spiritual wealth so they may not be spiritually bankrupt....

They are rebuked for their spinelessness because they are still yet loved by the Lord, therefore he rebukes and corrects them.

He stands outside their door. He is not present IN their midst, His presence is not truly manifest because they have sought their spiritual wealth from sources other than the Lord alone... but He knocks, seeking entrance...

If any will hear that knock, and open to Him, they will find themselves dining with Jesus Christ, feasting on the manna from above instead of that paltry, spiritually useless junk they were used to...

Those who overcome the spirit of deception, whereby spiritual weakness is made to appear as strength, and lukewarmness is made to appear as "moderation", "balance", and "an even keel" (when it is really spiritual spinelessness), those who overcome will be granted power with God in Christ and will be used by God in His administration of the kingdom.