Prophetic Indicators about Rev. 2-3

A few months ago, I had the chance to go through a series here in the church that deals with church history, and we did it through maps. And some have asked me about what indicators are there in the Book of Revelation, chapters 2 and 3, that describe the seven churches, about the indicators which show that the message that Christ gave these churches was not just locally for these small seven churches, but that it also had to do with prophecy and the future of the church. Now, as far as I know, these indicators have not been explained. We've talked about this many times. We've got literature, but I would like to share with you 14 indicators in the Bible in Revelation from chapters 1 through 4 that indicate this series of history throughout time and why we believe that has merit. This is a legacy I'm leaving you, so you might be able to jot it down in your Bibles someplace. 14 indicators to help us see that this is far more than just a local message or a personal message that you can apply, but it also has to do with the history of the church until Jesus Christ returns.

I'd like to begin with the booklet. We have it here as well. The Book of Revelation Unveiled, where it mentions in page 19, says many Bible expositors believe that in addition to the obvious implication of these messages in Revelation, the seven churches represent the chronological development of church history viewed spiritually. So Christ is giving us a message to encourage us, also to admonish us, and to help us see where we are throughout this period of church history. As you know, there's a lot happening in the world, and this understanding helps us to know our role. When these things begin to happen, we can say, yes, I remember I heard that.

And we'll see how close we are to the actual events themselves, because when you're dealing with prophecy, you can see the outline, but you can't see every detail. So this is the best understanding we have at the present time. I want to share with you, this booklet continues. It says, they note that Ephesus seems to be characteristic of the Apostolic Period in general, and that the progression of evil climaxing in Laodicea era seems to indicate the final state of the apostasy of the church.

It's going to be a falling away. The order of the messages to the churches seems to be divinely selected to give prophetically the main movement of church history. The booklet continues. The overall message is, of course, that Christ reveals the dominant strengths and weaknesses of the church, both in John's day and through the ages. He reveals what appears to be a sweeping picture of the future of his church. And you won't hear that in many churches.

They sweep these truths under the carpet. So this is a two-part series because there's so much in it. So out of those 14 indicators, my purpose is to give you the first seven as we go through that church history that Christ describes. And then, God willing, next week I give you the last seven, which will finish during the time of our age and what is going to happen as best as we understand it.

So let's start with the first indicator. Notice in Revelation chapter 1, verse 19 and 20, here's the first clue that we have that this has to do with more than just the local churches. A message to the local churches then. In Revelation 1, verse 19 and 20, Christ tells John, write the things which you have seen, and the things which are in his present age, and the things which will take place after this.

So here, John is about to write about these churches, and it not only has to do with things that are there present, but also the things which will happen later. And then he goes on to explain that these churches were selected by Christ to represent the overall state of the church.

He says, the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the Bible interprets itself. It says, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches. So there is an angel assigned to oversee each one of these stages, just like there are angels that oversee each congregation. And the seven lampstands, which you saw, are the seven churches. So he said, write, because it's not only going to be what you have seen, and the things that are, but the things that will happen later.

So that's the first indication. Remember, the book of Revelation is above all a book about prophecy. And so it not only has to do in Paul's or John's day, but also through time. Prophecy covers what's going to happen in the future. Let's go to the second indicator. Again, reading here in verse 20, the mystery, which means the revelation, crisis revealing about these seven stars and about the seven lampstands.

They were to be chosen as representatives of the overall church. Now, at that time, we're talking about very close to the end of the first century. And there were dozens and dozens of churches that Paul founded and others. Was Christ concerned about the other churches or just these seven churches that were in that, what they call in the Asian area of Turkey? Of Turkey.

There were also not only seven churches in that vicinity of Asia Minor, but there were two other churches, one of which was very important because the Apostle Paul had written. What about Colossae? That was also part of that mail route, as well as Hierapolis, which Paul also mentions, that there are congregations. So there's something special about the number seven, which in the Bible symbolizes completion. And so this has to do with the overall message that Christ is sending to them. So the message goes beyond the local circumstances to a prophetic description until the return of Christ. Let's go to the third indicator. Let's go to Ephesians. Here, the book, not the book, but in Revelation 2, 1, to the church at Ephesus. And it says, to the angel of the church of Ephesus write, these things as he who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lambs stands. So we'd already covered this. Christ is in the midst of his church. He says, I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not and have found them liars. So it's interesting that of all the messages that Christ gives of these seven churches, the only one where apostles are mentioned is the first church. None of the other churches deals with apostles. And that's a good indicator that it had to do with that first period when the apostles were living. They were the ones guiding the church, and they were the ones who were protecting the church. It's interesting that in church history, in those first couple of centuries, no one dared to call themselves an apostle. It was just that first age. Notice what it tells us here in verse 2, where he says at verse 3. Well, verse 2 at the end, it says, And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not and have found them liars. So this is the first stage where there are imposters. They are trying to work their way up to that top position. In the Bible, there are two qualifications for being an apostle. Notice in Luke chapter 6 verse 12, keep your finger here in Revelation because we're going to be coming back time after time. In Luke chapter 6 verses 12 and 13, it says, Now it came to pass in those days that he went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. That's a long prayer because he needed to choose the right men and he needed God's guidance, God the Father's guidance. And when it was day, when it dawned, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose twelve whom he also named apostles.

So it's something that Christ names, and he chose 12 of them to be these original apostles. Notice also that they had to be witnesses to his resurrection. In Acts chapter 1, in Acts chapter 1 verse 21, Peter speaking after Judah's death, says, Therefore of these men who have accompanied us all, the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out amongst us. So he couldn't be a newbie. He couldn't be somebody just showed up at the end. He had to be there from the start of the ministry of Christ. Beginning from the baptism of John, to that day when he was taken up from us. John the Baptist baptized Christ. He says, to that day when he was taken up from us, resurrected, one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection. That's another qualification of these apostles. Now we have later people like James and Paul, and Christ appeared also the resurrected. Christ appeared later to Paul. So they had these qualifications. In fact, nobody dared to name himself as an apostle until the year 253 A.D. from what we know about history. It was in the year 253 A.D. when there was one man that claimed the title of an apostle, and that was a Catholic pope. Pope Stephen I. Notice what Encyclopædia Britannica says about this.

It says it was Pope Stephen I in A.D. 253 that claimed to be an apostle through Peter. So they had the audacity, and all these popes, when they're named, they assumed the title of apostle. Were they witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus Christ? No. Were they chosen especially for Jesus Christ? No. So we know who wanted to become apostles with that title. But that is the third indicator that tells us that it was in the apostolic period when the term apostle and you were tested whether you were a true apostle or not. Let's go to the fourth indicator. It also has to do with the first church at Ephesus. Notice in verse 3 of chapter 2. It says, And you have persevered, and have patience, which has the translation endurance is better, and have labor for my namesake, and have not become weary. Of all the descriptions of the churches, this is a church which is characterized by the biggest amount of zeal. They went to that entire world. These apostles went and teaching the gospel. According to church history, they went to places as far as India and China to leave God's word planted. They did not become weary, although they certainly felt exhausted. The apostle Paul was another example of someone just working constantly. That was a characterization of that first stage of the church. Tremendous zeal. These people had seen Jesus Christ resurrected. It was a church that wasn't in theory thinking about that. Sometimes people say, well, I'm not sure about my faith. Did Jesus Christ really become resurrected or not? See, our church is in the position where Christ said, blessed are they who believe not having seen. But the apostles, and at one time 500 people, saw the resurrected Christ. Now, is that going to fill you with zeal? You bet it will. It will. And so that church was characterized by this zeal.

But eventually those first apostles died. Many terrible events happened, like the destruction of Judea by the Romans and also of Jerusalem. The church had to flee to a place called Pella, which was a rocky area with caves. And here they had been part of Jerusalem. They had a quarter or a section. That was basically Jewish Christians. That's where the apostles had directed the church. That's where the apostle Paul had gone. All of that was gone. Many of the ministers and apostles had been killed. And so, as that second generation is raised up, they don't have the same zeal. And they thought for sure Christ was going to come during their lifetimes. And so there was a letdown, which Christ talks about in verse 4. He says, nevertheless, I have this against you, that you have left your first love. You didn't have the same enthusiasm. And that's very characteristic of that first church, because they were flush with zeal. And this Holy Spirit of God was working powerfully. But what happened? Christ didn't come. Jerusalem was destroyed. The church had to flee to this area, which was a backwater place. They didn't have good communications. They had to live in caves. And if anybody's ever gone to Israel, visited that area of Pella, you'll see there. You can still see the caves and how people had to meet inside those caves. Well, that did not lend itself to being a powerful home office of the church at that time. And so again, the indication, he doesn't say this exactly to any other of the churches, but this church, he said, you left your first love. And the indication is they had that first love at the beginning. So let's go to the fifth indicator.

Yet later, in verse four, I mentioned this is the fifth one about leaving that first love. The Apostle John goes to Ephesus, has to begin a work in that area, which the seven churches were part of his domain to take care of. But the church was a shadow of what it was in the past. So this is the fifth indicator about leaving that first love. Then we go to the next church, which is the church at Smyrna.

Since the Apostles died, you don't see here anybody talking about Apostles. And something characteristic has happened to the church, which probably is the second century, when they have had to flee. Ephesus is a place where the Apostle John had left the headquarters area. He says in verse eight, and to the angel of the church in Smyrna write, these things says the first and the last, who was dead and came to life, says, I know your works. Every church had its works. Tribulation. And here's the new thing. And poverty. But you are rich. So they lost basically the churches that they had, the communications that they had, the organization. And now it's a poor church. He says, I know your poverty, although you are rich. And I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. So these false apostles in the previous era, now they have this churches throughout that are competing with the true church. It's interesting that it is in this period of time when the church is called by church historians, one of the names and that they call themselves is Ebonites. Ebonites. Ebonites means the poor, because they were a shadow of what they had been in the past.

The church was scattered and divided. They lacked funds to evangelize. And Rome grows richer and richer at the expense of God's church, which is now poor. The Encyclopædia Britannica says about the term Ebonite, E-B-I-O-N-I-T-E, member of an early ascetic sect of Jewish Christians, that Ebonites were one of several such sects that originated in and around Palestine, in other words, from Israel, in the first centuries AD, and included the Nazarenes. So from this generic, general term, the poor, you have the Nazarenes, which we trace our history from them. And they certainly came into poverty. The second century church could not continue the great work of the apostles, and now we had a false church that was politically connected, was changing doctrines to please more of the leadership of the governments, and also making it easier, changing Sabbath to Sunday, and from Passover to Easter. All of that happened in that second century.

The Encyclopædia Britannica continues, the name of the sect is from the Hebrew Ebonim, or Ebonim, which means the poor. No other church in Revelation is characterized in this way, but it certainly fits the period between the second and the fourth century.

Let's go to the seventh indicator. This is another characteristic of this second church, the church at Smyrna. It says in verse 10, Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. And so it's during this period of time, and as we know, prophecy often uses one day to symbolize a year's time. Because if it's ten days, that's a ten-day period. I mean, they went through years of tribulation, so it's not talking about week and a half. But symbolically, it just uses the term days, whereas like in Ezekiel 4 and 6, in other places it says that the prophecy is a day for a year. So there would be a period during this time. Now we're talking about the fourth century, where the church had what is called the great persecution under the emperor Diocletian.

This was the worst Roman persecution. It took place from AD 303 to AD 312. And I mean, they tried to destroy every Bible inside the Roman Empire. They had the agents. Remember, this was like living under the Gestapo. This was not some democracy. This was a police state. Now all the powers of the empire was to squash completely Christianity. They destroyed the churches. They killed thousands and thousands of people. And they burned Bibles.

So it is called in history the great persecution. It ended in 313 AD. It's called the Edict of Milan. Again, the Encyclopaedia Britannica says, the Edict of Milan was a proclamation that permanently established religious toleration for Christianity within the Roman Empire. It was so terrible that even the Roman populace was enraged with the leadership, the way they had treated the Christians. And what does what did Christ say? He said here, do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil. So notice who's behind all this? Satan. Using the worldly powers of the world of the Roman Empire is about to throw some of you into prison that you may be tested and you will have tribulation 10 days. Be faithful unto death and I will give you the crown of life. So Christ knew that this would happen. Now, this isn't something in a local church like the Church of Smyrna, where there was going to be this big period of persecution, because that would have basically spread to all the churches. No, this is a specific period of time from all the indications of it.

And so we see the perseverance of the saints through this period of time. And just like we do today, our day is different in the sense that we have a lot more plentiful supplies. It's a period of wealth, but Satan is still after the church. He wants to discourage. He wants to destroy as much as possible. And we are those people that God has called to be faithful, as he says, until death. And I will give you the crown of life. So let's go over quickly the seven indicators, just in case there's some confusion about it. The first is that in Revelation 1, 19, and 20, it deals with present and future events. He says, write what happens, the things that are and the things that are going to be in the future. And immediately after that, Christ begins describing the church, the things that are and the things that are going to be in the future. So in a sense, Christ is giving us an indication that this goes beyond the period of time in John's day.

The second indication is that it wasn't just seven local churches that he was dealing with. They were chosen to be representative of the overall church. Christ is in their midst. He wasn't just in the midst of seven, but they're representative. He's going to be there through time, helping them get across and getting over all of these obstacles that will be in the future. Remember Colossae and Hierapolis were nearby cities as well that are not included, because then you'd have nine and you'd break that whole theme of the sevens found in the book of Revelation.

The third indicator is that this first church at Ephesus is the only one that mentions there are impostors claiming to be apostles. So there had to be real apostles, and people were pretending and trying to become part of that group.

The fourth indicator, also about the church at Ephesus, is the tremendous zeal that they had at first. Like no other time, the apostles and their assistants went all over the known world and spread the gospel until they were martyred, killed for the faith. Now the church is ascribed with such zeal as that first one. Number five. Yet later, after the apostles are martyred, the church flees to Pella, and Jerusalem and all of Judea is destroyed. Only John remains at Ephesus. Christ had not returned. Vicious persecutions persist, and the zeal has slowed down. This is described in verse four. So again, you see what Christ says in verse four. Nevertheless, I have this against you, that you have left your first love. You didn't continue with that zeal of that first generation, which changed the world. Unfortunately, Satan also sowed tares among the wheat and false teachings, which we have today, unfortunately. The sixth indicator, now with the second church at Smyrna, there is a new characteristic described in Revelation 2.9. It says, I know your works, tribulation, and poverty, but you are rich. Yes, inside your spiritual state is pure, it's strong, it's rich, but outside you're a poor church. And that is characteristic of the second century and third and fourth century church. Once the apostle Paul dies, the church is scattered and divided. And this is why a term like ebonite appears at this time. And by the way, it wasn't just Jewish Christians, because the church always has accepted Gentile Christians as well, but they were headed by Jewish Christians. Just like Christ set up the church that was guided by Jewish Christians. When Gentile Christians began to rule places like in Rome and other places, they brought in this Greek philosophy and all of this abstract, and they polluted the truth. Those that were rooted and grounded in the Old Testament, they maintained God's laws. The foundation was solid, whereas the others were made of sand.

And so, lastly, the seventh indicator, another characteristic of this second church of Insemerna, it was going to suffer a special period of time with great persecution. Ten days in prophetic terms would be 10 years, and the worst of the Roman persecutions took place precisely 10 years from AD 303 to AD 312. It was so terrible that eventually they said, we can't continue with this. And they they admitted that decree, the edict of Milan, the proclamation, that permanently established religious toleration for Christianity within the Roman Empire. So am I reading history, or am I reading what Christ is saying, and then seeing how it is described. We've just gotten through the first couple of centuries, and we have seven indicators that fit the historical narrative. It all makes sense. And so stay tuned for the next week, God willing, and we'll cover the seven indicators which have to do with our period of time. What are the indicators of our period of time that are so precise, that are characteristic of what God describes? I think it's fascinating. I don't know about you, but the first time I studied this, I thought it was incredible that this little church would be singled out by Christ, and he would describe the major characteristics through time. So we'll see what God expects of us. He's talking to us in one of those churches, and we'll see what are the characteristics, what are the strengths, and what are the weaknesses, so that we prepare to carry out our role in God's Church.