Now we come to the churches that Jesus comforts the churches that he doesn’t correct but only encourages and comforts.

Smyrna: The Church Under Persecution - Revelation 2:8–11 8 And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; 9 I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. 10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. 11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

To the church in Smyrna, Jesus is portrayed as “the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive.” Once again the description taken from chapter one. To a church like Smyrna which was under severe persecution this description give them hope. Hope in their Savior who even overcame death.

He describes the church by looking at their tribulation, and poverty as the world see them, but he tells them that in His eyes they are rich, the exact opposite of  and I know, the exact opposite of Laodicea which saw themselves rich but in Jesus eyes were spiritually destitute. Jesus also says he is aware of the lies, the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, who are persecuting them and are not Jews at but are actually members of Satan’s synagogue.

This church which seems to have so little, Jesus sees as having so much and He has nothing negative to correct

He comforts and encourages them by telling them to not be afraid. Yes they will be tried, but the trail will be limited and those who are faithful will receive a crown of life. They will overcome, because they are believers and the second death will not touch them

This is a church that is undergoing a life-threatening trial or persecution but they will overcome because they are believers. Believers, the true children of God will remain faithful no matter the trial, pain or suffering they might have to go through. They are faithful because they are the children of God.

A church like Smyrna must remember that Jesus has not forgotten them, he knows what they are going through and He is honored by their faithfulness much more than their productivity.

Philadelphia: The Church Of The Open Door - Revelation 3:7–13 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; 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. 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. 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. 11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. 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. 13 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Now to the church in Philadelphia, Jesus shows himself as, “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:” This is Jesus as the one who has the authority and power both over Israel, the church and the world.

He used keys once before to show authority, this time the authority he was giving to the church, Matthew 16:19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” This was the power of the Gospel, given to the church to open the doors to the kingdom of heaven.

When he describes the church it once again from his perspective and not ours, He says they have been given an open door, opened by Himself and no man can shut it. This speaks of God given opportunity for the church to take the Gospel and change the city of Philadelphia and the authority to go wherever the door is opened, no matter what man, governments or nations might try and shut. Missionaries were illegally crossing borders long before it became a national news headline.

Jesus opens this door, for a reason we often miss, “for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.” He does this because they were weak in their own strength but mighty in His Word and faithful to His name. Like Smyrna the Lord has nothing negative to correct in the church of Philadelphia.

He promised to reward them by proven they were justified and to make those who persecuted them, once again those in the synagogue of Satan, to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.

He also promises that they will not go through the great worldwide tribulation that was to come upon the earth. He tells them he is coming quickly and to hold fast what they have and not to let anyone take their heavenly crown.

The reward to the overcomers is to be 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 o 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.  Three times in this passage the reward involves things associated with God, Jesus and heaven. The reward, as all the others, are about being with God and Jesus in heaven.

Wouldn’t it be great to be a Philadelphian church? A church where real revival is happening. Where people are excited about coming to church and people are getting saved and baptized so fast you can’t keep up. It has happened before, I pray it will happen again and I pray it will happen here. But I can’t make it happen and neither can you. Jesus must open the door, but we must keep our selves always ready to walk through once it open. A church that is not like Philadelphia or Smyrna, one that is weak in their own strength, poor in their own eyes but strong in the Lord and holding fast to the testimony of Jesus, only those churches will be used by Jesus when He opens the doors.

The Typical Church

There was a reason, that Jesus chose these churches other than where they were located and that John had a relationship with them. He chose them first of all because they were His and there were problems, that needed to be dealt with, Jesus related the problem, the remedy and the reward for each church. He also chose these churches because they would be a type of all the churches throughout history, until He returns and claims His Bride.

Some believe that in the order they are given, they also represent the eras of time, that the church, as a whole, has worked upon the earth. Eras of times in which the whole church was under persecution, or times when the church had great open doors and began sending missionaries around the world. As well as the time of lukewarmness, which is usually seen as the modern church. There is a serious problem with that interpretation, in that it simply can’t be applied in such broad strokes across all the churches of any age. If I accept the idea that the modern “Church” with a capital C” is lukewarm, I would have to ignore 10s of thousands of churches in place like Africa, China and south America that are on fire for the Lord. Thousands in attendance and hundreds accepting the Lord every week. Hasn’t it always been that way, as the churches in England became lukewarm, the church in the USA were just starting to burn. As our churches in our country have turned from God, churches in places like Mexico and South America are sending out missionaries, some back to our own country.

Instead the churches are Typical, they are Types of every church that has every existed and over the life of the church, we can sometimes see all the churches of Revelation.

We have all been members of churches that lost their first love, or had grown lukewarm, or even caught up in terrible heresy and ungodly immorality of the world.

The purpose of Revelation 2-3 is to be a measure of where our church is today. To judge ourselves, to see the need and then to do as the Lord commands, repent and return to our first love, refuse the corruption, rebuke the false doctrine and come back to Jesus our Lord, our founder, our Rock, our first love.

Should we not repent, then Jesus tells us what will be the outcome. “else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place” Jesus will remove the church, remove it first from His care and protection, second from His truth and authority and finally from existence. It will die. Just as a lamp cannot light without oil, neither can a church live without Jesus Christ.”