Church After God’s Heart:
Why We Must Understand the Seven Churches
I. REVIEW: MESSAGE OF THE BOOK OF REVELATION
A. Revelation is called the “revelation of Jesus” because it reveals His heart, power and leadership.
1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him (Jesus) to show His servants. (Rev. 1:1)
B. The theme of Revelation is Jesus returning to take leadership of the earth in partnership with His people to reap a
harvest of souls (Rev. 7:9) and replace all governments (Rev. 11:15; 19:15-16).
7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him… (Rev. 1:7)
C. Rev. 2-3: Jesus gives us the clearest picture of what He wants in the Church in His seven letters where He exhorts
believers to be overcomers.
D. Rev. 2-3 is key to forming the end-time prayer and prophetic movement. Jesus will come ONLY in context to a
prepared Bride in unity with the Spirit and anointed in prayer to release God’s glory on earth and to release the
Tribulation to confront darkness.
7 For the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. (Rev. 19:7)
17 The Spirit and the Bride say, "Come!" (Rev. 22:17)
4 The prayers of the saints, ascended before God…5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and
threw it to the earth… (Rev. 8:4-5)
E. The Jn. 14:12 prayer anointing involves the miracles of Exodus and Acts being combined and multiplied on a global
level to loose revival and the Tribulation and to bind the Antichrist.
Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he
will do, because I go to My Father. (Jn. 14:12)
On this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the
kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be
loosed in heaven. (Mt. 16:18-19)
II. OUTLINE OF REVELATION
Rev. 1: Jesus gives the clearest picture of who He is in giving us 18 descriptions of His majesty.
Rev. 2-3: Jesus gives us the clearest picture of what He wants in the Church in His seven letters.
Rev. 4-5: Jesus gives us the clearest picture of His heavenly commission and resources.
Rev. 6-19: Jesus gives us the clearest picture of how He will prepare the nations for His glory.
Rev. 20-22: Jesus gives us the clearest picture of our eternal inheritance on earth with Him.
III. LETTERS TO 7 CHURCHES: PREPARING TO OVERCOME AND OPERATE IN POWER
A. The Book of Revelation is an “Eschatological Book of Acts” revealing the acts of the Spirit through the end-time
apostles and prophets and the praying Church under Jesus’ authority.
B. Jesus will have partnership with the end-time apostles and prophets in binding and loosing the events in the Book
of Revelation as He did with the apostles in the Book of Acts.
C. He defines the spiritual maturity necessary for the Church to release the Great Tribulation by prophetic prayer
under His leadership in the way that Moses released the 10 plagues on Egypt and in the way that the apostles established
the Church in Acts.
D. These 7 prophetic messages instruct us on how to prepare to partner with Jesus in His worldwide action plan
related to His Second Coming. Jesus knows best how to prepare His own Bride. These letters show us the kind of Church
that Jesus is building and what His agenda is. In them, He defines love and how He relates to His people. This defines
what relevance is.
E. These letters define the truths and focus necessary to equip the Church to walk in love for Jesus. Our love is
expressed as we obey His commands, heed His warnings and believe His promises (especially His 22 eternal rewards).
There will be great challenges but even greater rewards.
F. There is a dynamic continuum between what we do in the years immediately preceding Jesus’ return. It is essential
that we walk in full obedience and are loyal to the truth about Jesus as the necessary preparation to establish these
truths beyond our life, to reach others and society.
The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and
every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of
Christ, 6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled (complete: NIV, NAS RSV).
(2 Cor. 10:4-6)
IV. HOW TO APPLY THE 7 LETTERS
A. Historically: the letters were first written to 7 churches in John’s generation to address their specific spiritual
condition. Some see parallels in these 7 churches to the spiritual conditions of successive periods in church history.
I am not sure this can be substantiated but it is possible.
B. Universally: the letters were written to all churches in the first century and throughout 2,000 years of Church
history, just as the letter to the Romans was for the church at Rome as well as all churches past, present, and future
C. Individually: the letters were written to inspire response from individuals.
D. Eschatologically: to prepare the end-time Church for the events seen in Rev. 6-19. This is when there will be the
most believers in history alive during the most difficult time on the earth.
V. STUDYING THE 7 LETTERS: THE COMMON ELEMENTS IN THE LETTERS
A. Historical context: it is important to gain information about the situation that each church was challenged with
politically, economically and spiritually. Jesus strategically selected these 7 churches knowing they would give prophetic
insight into preparing the end-time Church.
B. Affirmation for faithfulness: what they were doing that Jesus valued. Two churches received no affirmation (Sardis
and Laodicea).
C. Rebuke for compromise: what they must not do. Jesus’ correction is not rejection. He had things against 3
churches: Ephesus (2:4), Pergamos (2:14) and Thyatira (2:20). Two churches did not receive a correction (Smyrna
and Philadelphia). Jesus gave the sternest rebukes for the following compromises; passivity, immorality and idolatry
(covetousness and/or sorcery; Col 3:5; Eph 5:5; 1 Cor. 10:20-22). These were enabled by false teachings on grace
that did not require repentance.
D. Exhortation to respond: what they must do. Jesus gave examples of actions that He required. Sometimes the
exhortation had an element of warning. The warnings that Jesus gave most were against passivity (distraction from the
First Commandment because of increased blessing that led to busyness) and fear (persecution/rejection).
E. Promise for overcomers: as incentive for diligent faithfulness to Jesus. He promised 22 specific eternal rewards
(Rev. 2:7, 10, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21). Most have a partial fulfillment now with the fullness in the Millennium. Insight into
rewards is essential to equip us to stand in pressure.
F. Revelation of Jesus: in each message, Jesus called attention to specific aspects of His majesty as seen in Rev. 1
that were most needed in the specific situation of each Church. Sixteen different aspects of Jesus’ majesty are highlighted
in Rev. 2-3. See www.IHOP.org for more on this.
VI. SIXTEEN DESCRIPTIONS OF JESUS: APPLIED TO SPECIFIC TEMPTATIONS
1 To…Ephesus write, “These things says He who holds the seven stars…who walks in the midst of the seven golden
lampstands…” 8 To…Smyrna write, “These things says the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life…” 12 To…
Pergamos write, “These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword”…18 To… Thyatira write, “These things says
the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass”…3:1 To…Sardis write, “These things says
He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars”… 7 To…Philadelphia write, “These things says He who is holy,
He who is true, "He who has the key of David"…14 To…the Laodiceans write, “These things says the Amen, the Faithful
and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God”… (Rev. 2:1-3:14)
Jesus gives us insight into His heart in this passage more than any other passage in Scripture. This will prepare us for
the glory and crisis in the End Times. We must grow in revelation of these facets of Jesus’ heart and ministry. We do this
by studying and praying over these truths as we confess them to God in faith to resist Satan’s attack. In this session, we
will look at 16 different facets of Jesus’ heart which reveal His personality and ministry to the Church (holding the seven
stars is mentioned twice).
VII. HE WHO HAS AN EAR, LET HIM HEAR: 5 IMPLICATIONS
A. The exhortation that Jesus repeated the most in His earthly ministry was the call to have ears to hear what the
Spirit is saying. This is written 16 times (8x in the Gospels and 8x in Revelation (Mt. 11:15; 13:9, 43; Mk. 4:9, 23; 7:16;
Lk. 8:8; 14:35; Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22; 13:9).
7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. (Rev. 2:7)
B. First, it signaled that the truth being proclaimed was extremely important to Jesus.
C. Second, Jesus is saying that there is more than what is obvious. He is calling us to pursue the deeper truth being set
before us and not to be content to understand only what is on the surface.
D. Third, it takes the supernatural help of the Holy Spirit to grasp it. The unaided mind of even a devoted believer will
not be able to automatically comprehend the truth being set forth. Jesus is making it clear that it is beyond our natural
ability. Jesus wants us to ask the Spirit for help.
E. Fourth, each time Jesus spoke this exhortation in Revelation it was about their eternal rewards and destiny. He
warned them and us to have ears to hear because it takes supernatural insight to grasp them. When reading each
reward, pray; “Lord, show me more”.
F. Fifth, it takes a focused determination to lay hold of the truths being referred to. We do not automatically respond
to them in a deep and sustained way to them. It will take a tenacious commitment to maintain these truths in our lives
long-term because of our propensity to lose touch with them.
G. Jesus started by speaking to individuals (“he” who has an ear) then changed to addressing a group (the
“churches”). There is an individual and a corporate response that the Spirit desires.
H. Jesus was the only one in the NT to give this exhortation. He echoed Moses who called Israel to “hear” meaning
to “have ears to hear” (Deut. 6:4-5) and the Father (Ps. 45:10).
4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all
your soul, and with all your strength. (Deut. 6:4-5)
VIII. THE ANGEL TO THE CHURCH: APOSTOLIC LEADERSHIP
A. The angel to the church refers to the apostolic leader over each congregation. The word angel is angelos in the Greek.
In the NT, the word refers to an angelic or human messenger (Lk. 7:24, 27; 9:52). It was translated messenger when
referring to John the Baptist (Mt. 11:10. Mk. 1:2).
B. The messenger was responsible to guard the message by proclaiming it publicly, consistently, boldly and tenderly
and by not losing it through compromise or fear or neglect. Leaders must not draw back when others become angry at
Jesus’ message in Rev. 2-3. People follow whatever message is publicly and consistently proclaimed with boldness.
IX. JESUS’ EMPHASIZES ON ETERNAL REWARDS
A. Jesus gave His most in-depth teaching on eternal rewards in Rev. 2-3 and Mt. 5-7. He knew what we would need
to be sufficiently motivated during the release of the glory and crisis in His end-time plan.
B. Jesus promised 22 eternal rewards in Rev. 2-3: To eat from the tree of life in the midst of Paradise (2:7); to receive
the crown of life (2:10); to not be hurt by the second death (2:11); to eat hidden manna (2:17); to receive a white stone
(2:17); to receive a new name written on the stone (2:17); to have power over the nations (2:26); to receive the morning
star (2:28); to receive white garments (3:5); to receive a name that is not blotted from the Book of Life (3:5); for Jesus to
confess one’s name before the Father and angels (3:5); for one’s persecutors to worship before their feet (3:9); for one’s
persecutors to know that Jesus loves them (3:9); to be made a pillar in God’s temple (3:12); to have God’s name, the
New Jerusalem and Jesus’ new name written on them (3:12); to receive gold to make one rich (3:18); to receive white
garments (3:18); to have anointed eyes to see more (3:18); to eat with Jesus (3:20) and sit on His Throne (3:21).
C. Jesus was speaking to believers who had already received the free gift of salvation. He was calling believers to live in
such a way as to receive heavenly rewards. Salvation or justification is a free gift given to us. It is based on Jesus’
worthiness (Eph. 2:8-9). Heavenly rewards are given to us according to our works, or according to our response of
gratitude to Jesus for giving us so great a salvation.
D. Rewards are given in addition to the free gift of eternal life. Jesus is speaking to churches. The issue of salvation
is settled. The issue in focus is the particular areas of unfaithfulness that Jesus emphasized in their lives. Not all
Christians overcome the unfaithfulness Jesus highlights.
E. Most of these 22 rewards will be received by all believers in an introductory way. Most of the rewards consist of
receiving a greater measure of the basic blessing of eternal life that all receive. There will be a vast difference in the
measure of glory of each one’s reward (1 Cor. 15:41). The issue in Rev. 2-3 pertains to what measure of the reward a
believer receives.
F. Since only overcomers receive the fullest measure of these rewards, it is important that we rightly interpret what
Jesus intends when calling us to be overcomers in Rev. 2-3.
G. These rewards are not secondary or irrelevant but rather they are a very important part of our destiny. Therefore,
all believers should be very familiar with these rewards. They equip us to persevere by being anchored in eternity with
confidence that our choices will be rewarded in eternity. When suffering is seen in God’s light, it loses its power to
intimidate.
H. Our obedience is deeply connected to our rewards. Some falsely teach that these rewards are given to all
believers in fullness, regardless of how they live. This view takes these rewards out of their context which requires
repentance from certain things and faithfulness to the end.
I. In Rev. 2-3, Jesus was not exhorting them to be born again. He was offering born-again believers rewards as incentives
to greater diligence in the face of specific temptations and pressures.
1. To the church of Ephesus overcoming meant to return to their first love for Jesus until the end of their life. To the
church in Smyrna it meant being faithful in persecution, even to death. To the church in Pergamos and Thyatira
overcoming meant to resist immorality and idolatry for the remainder of their life.
2. To the church in Sardis, it meant to be watchful or to develop a prayer life and to hold fast the things that God
entrusted to them from their earlier years. To the church in Philadelphia, overcoming meant to persevere in mature
obedience for the remaining years of their life. To the church of the Laodiceans, overcoming meant to resist
lukewarmness.
X. UNDERSTANDING THE CALL TO OVERCOME
A. An overcomer is one who matures in the specific areas that Jesus emphasizes in their life. Overcoming does
not mean attaining perfection in our character but rather constantly reaching for victory with all our strength. The Lord
evaluates us with great tenderness and kindness.
B. Our greatest faithfulness is “flawed” yet it is rewarded if we will continually seek to obey. David and Abraham were
both counted faithful in context to their “flawed obedience”. Paul wrote that David fulfilled all of God’s will (Acts 13:22),
and Abraham’s faith did not waver (Rom. 4:20)
XI. WHO ARE OVERCOMERS? TWO DIFFERENT CONTEXTS
A. First, overcoming worldly unbelief: all believers overcome in this general way by believing in Jesus and refusing heresies
as outlined in John’s epistles (1 Jn. 4:1-5; 5:4-5).
B. Second, overcoming unfaithfulness: a believer overcomes specifically as defined in Rev. 2-3. To overcome means
to walk in spiritual maturity or to be consistently reaching for obedience.
C. Summary: as unbelievers we overcome unbelief on the day we are born again. As believers, we overcome
unfaithfulness only after we continue in obedience until the end of our life.
D. The eternal reward view: rightly teaches that the rewards in Rev. 2-3 are given in different degrees according to
one’s faithfulness in loving and obeying Jesus. Rewards are given in addition to the free gift of eternal life. The issue is
faithfulness to area that Jesus emphasized in their lives. Not all Christians overcome with faithfulness in the areas
highlighted by the Spirit.