Letters to Seven Churches

A messenger sets out on a long road that loops through seven cities. In his bag is a scroll. And in each city, a church will gather to hear what Jesus has to say, to them.

On the island of Patmos, John had seen the risen Jesus, shining in glory, standing among seven golden lampstands. Those lampstands, Jesus explained, were seven churches. Now Jesus gives John a message for each. The seven cities were real places in the Roman province of Asia, in what is now western Turkey, linked by a road in a great loop: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. Each message begins with Jesus saying, I know your works. He knows each church better than it knows itself.

To Ephesus, Jesus says: I know how hard you work, how patient you are, and that you will not put up with false teachers. But I have this against you. You have left your first love. Remember how you used to love, and turn back. To Smyrna, a poor and suffering church, Jesus has no warning at all, only comfort. I know your trouble and your poverty, but you are rich. Do not be afraid. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. To Pergamum, where a faithful man named Antipas had died for his faith, Jesus says: you have held on to my name. But some of you have been following false teaching. Turn back. To Thyatira: I know your love, your faith, your service, and that you are doing more now than at first. But you have let a false prophetess lead people astray. Hold fast to what you have until I come.

To Sardis, Jesus says something sobering. You have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what is left. Yet even in Sardis there are a few who have kept their clothes clean, and they will walk with me in white. To Philadelphia, a small church with little strength, Jesus has only praise. You have kept my word, and not denied my name. I have set before you an open door, which no one can shut. Hold on to what you have, so that no one takes your crown. I will make you a pillar in the temple of my God.

And last of all, Laodicea, a wealthy city. Jesus says: I know your works. You are neither cold nor hot. You are lukewarm, and that is no good to anyone. You say, I am rich, I have everything, I need nothing. But you do not see that you are poor, and blind, and naked. So come to me for real gold, refined in the fire, for white clothes to wear, and for salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. And then Jesus speaks some of the most tender words in the whole book. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. 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. Even to the church with the most to fix, Jesus is knocking, wanting to come in and share a meal. Every one of the seven messages ends the same way: whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. And each one gives a promise to the one who overcomes: the tree of life, a crown, a new name, a place with Jesus.

Laodicea had no strong spring of its own, and its water was brought in by an aqueduct. Not far away, the city of Hierapolis was famous for its hot springs, which the Greek geographer Strabo describes, and nearby Colossae was known for cool, fresh water. Many scholars think the people of Laodicea would have instantly understood Jesus' picture of water that was neither refreshing and cold, nor healing and hot.

Letters to seven churches. You'll find them in Revelation chapters two and three. Jesus knew each church, praised what was good, warned about what was wrong, and promised a reward to those who kept going. So here is a question to carry with you. If Jesus wrote a letter to you, what do you think he would praise, and what would he ask you to change?