Revelation: The Seven Periods of the Church

 

 Revelation: Justification by Faith

The Seven Periods of the Church

[By M.L]

Revelation mentions seven churches to which letters are addressed. These were real churches in literal cities that existed at the time, each with its own issues and virtues. A hasty reader might quickly skim through this section to get to the more exciting symbols of the seals, trumpets, and beasts. However, the more patient reader may wonder why these seven churches are included at all. Why are these seemingly ordinary churches featured in a book full of language about the end times and major events? Why were these specific seven churches chosen to be addressed? They seem entirely out of place in Revelation.

In addition to the seven churches, Revelation also presents seven seals and seven trumpets, each representing successive events. From the very beginning, our focus is directed toward the end, and Revelation 1, the introduction to the seven churches, is filled with reminders that Jesus will always be with His church:

Revelation 1:4 (ESV):
"John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne."

Revelation 1:8 (ESV):
"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, says the Lord, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."

Revelation 1:17 (ESV):
"When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying, 'Fear not, I am the First and the Last.'"

The fact that Jesus walks among the lampstands, representing the churches, reminds us of His promise in Matthew:

Matthew 28:20 (ESV):
"And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. Amen."

The number seven itself symbolizes completeness. For example, consider creation, where God completed His work on the seventh day.
So here we have seven churches representing the completeness of something, and the language of Revelation evokes the completeness of time.
Thus, Revelation seems to present seven consecutive periods of the church. The situations of the literal churches in the cities of that time and their names perfectly illustrate church history. And the phrase after each message, "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches," tells us that when Jesus gave these messages, He certainly did not have only the literal churches in mind.

These messages are timeless and applicable to every age. However, each message is especially relevant to the specific period for which it was intended.
These seven periods extend to the end of time when Jesus will finally return to be physically with His church. In the upcoming blogs, we will not yet delve into the history itself. We will save this for when we better understand the symbols and ideas described in Revelation.

But when we do, we will realize that Jesus truly cared for His church in every period. When we see that the prophecy of Revelation has been fulfilled, we will understand that the love and care of Jesus are not just words but also actions.
Jesus, through the book of Revelation, written for the 1st century, shows His involvement with His church, with a love akin to that of a husband.
Then the calls to repentance, the encouragement in opposition, and the symbols of Revelation 1 that we have seen in previous studies become a living reality. We see that Revelation had already foretold history, but this also reveals the truth about how Jesus is described.
We then realize that Jesus means what He says, and the warnings and encouragements become much more personal.
We should not distance ourselves from church history but study it from the perspective of the Bible. We must begin to see this from God's viewpoint.
The remedy for a sick church is still Jesus. Justification by faith is still the truth. Jesus is the First and the Last and will always be there for us, even though the church often rejects Him or does not always realize how He is there for us.
Studying history from the perspective of Revelation will be one of our focus points, which we will address later. But it will only be with this viewpoint. Our core concern is not the virtues and crimes of the church but the character of the First and the Last, as we see not only in the Bible but also in living history.

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