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7-Churches or not?

I have been raised to believe that the 7-churches in Revelation aren't literal churches, but either church-ages or types of churches. I can totally understand why churches would teach this as none of the churches still exists:

Ephesus - Near Selçuk, Turkey - Destroyed: #ephesus was partially destroyed by the Goths in 262 AD, but its decline continued until it was abandoned in the Byzantine era with the final decline in the 14th century.

Smyrna - İzmir, Turkey - Destroyed: #smyrna was destroyed and rebuilt several times. In 1922, during the Greco-Turkish War, it was burned, leading to the destruction of much of the city.

Pergamum (Pergamos) - Near Bergama, Turkey - Destroyed: #pergamum slowly declined after the Byzantine period, but there was no single destructive event.

Thyatira - Akhisar, Turkey - Destroyed by the Byzantine Empire around 1922 #thyatira was part of the Byzantine Empire and suffered significant decline over time.

Sardis - Near Sart, Turkey - Destroyed: #sardis was heavily damaged by a 17 AD earthquake, rebuilt by 66AD and later attacked by various invading forces, including the Arabs.

Philadelphia - Alaşehir, Turkey - Destroyed: Like Sardis, #philadelphia was destroyed by the 17 AD earthquake and rebuilt by 66AD. In 1379, it was destroyed by Turkish forces.

Laodicea - Near Denizli, Turkey - Destroyed: #laodicea was largely destroyed by an earthquake in 60 AD. It was rebuilt but eventually abandoned by the 13th century due to other factors.

What I don't understand is why is the writing indicating that Yeshua is talking to the physical churches and not to a group of churches?

1. Church of Ephesus - Revelation 2:5 (AMP):
"So remember the heights from which you have fallen, and repent and do the works you did at first; or else I will visit you and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent."

- Here, Yeshua warns that He will "visit" or "come" to them, which could be interpreted as a reference to His judgment or presence coming soon to discipline the church if they do not repent.

2. Church of Smyrna - Revelation 2:10 (AMP):
"Fear nothing that you are about to suffer. Be aware that the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life."

- While this verse doesn't directly mention Yeshua’s return, it speaks of enduring tribulation and receiving the "crown of life," a reward associated with His return.

3. Church of Pergamum - Revelation 2:16 (AMP):
"Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war and fight against them with the sword of My mouth."

- Yeshua warns the church of Pergamum that He will come "quickly" if they do not repent. This could suggest a near or imminent intervention.

4. Church of Thyatira - Revelation 2:25 (AMP):
"but hold tightly to what you have until I come."

- This verse refers directly to Yeshua’s coming and urges the church to "hold tightly" until He returns, which implies that His return could happen soon.

5. Church of Sardis - Revelation 3:3 (AMP):
"So remember and take to heart the lessons you have received and heard; keep and obey them, and repent. So then, if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you."

- Yeshua speaks of coming "like a thief," which is a common biblical reference to His sudden return (similar to 1 Thessalonians 5:2). This indicates an unexpected and imminent arrival.

6. Church of Philadelphia - Revelation 3:11 (AMP):
"I am coming quickly; hold tight what you have, so that no one will take your crown."

- Here, Yeshua states explicitly, "I am coming quickly," which is a direct reference to His soon return and an encouragement for the believers to remain steadfast.

7. Church of Laodicea - Revelation 3:20 (AMP):
"Behold, I stand at the door and continually knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with Me."

- In this passage, Yeshua is portrayed as being right at the "door," suggesting that His coming is very near and that He is ready to "enter" the lives of those who respond to Him.

#7churches #sevenchurches #endtimes #revelation

Comment

What I notice is they are all in modern Turkey. This area is rocked by earthquakes rather frequently, if I remember right. Perhaps the messages are warnings of the destructions to come, since none remain.

· Reply · 1727553186

6 Replies

i work from the opinion that the Book is giving us both a spiritual and physical depiction of events, and as Father is Spirit, and want us to worship Him in spirit and in truth, the spiritual aspect is the more important one.
an aside, the order of things is important when looking spiritually, by that i mean it's an unfolding taking place, a progression, now that is widely understood, already.
if we then take the seven-fold Spirit of the Lord spoken of in isaiah 11:2, and we follow that order, but in reverse, ie - knowledge - ephesus, fear of the Lord - smyrna, counsel - pergamum, might - thyatira, wisdom - sardis, understanding - philadelphia and lastly the Spirit of the Lord itself - laodicea, and then look at the messages, things become clearer as to what is being talked about.
now the seven-fold spirit is described in couplets, if i can say it like that, and so ephesus's first love is knowledge of the Lord, and a true follower tests to find the truth of that matter, and coupled to that is smyrna's told not to fear what's coming (but only the Lord...), then moving onto the next 'couplet', pergamum and thytira are warned strongly not to follow bad teachings (wrong counsel), and to smyrna is promised authority over the nations, a nice 'might' to receive, next the third 'couplet', with sardis there's a real danger of the wisdom that one should be acquiring from knowing God and following His counsel dying off, a real wake-up call, thankfully, with philadelphia if we gain understanding then we are encouraged by the open door, phew.
and lastly the big one, the way i see it, we've worked our way so hard to get to this stage, we've ticked the boxes, as it were, worked on increasing our knowledge of God, through a healthy fear of Him, knuckled down to following His counsel (the Law), receiving might from that process to continue, acquired wisdom through this to judge rightly (and is mercy not the best judgement?), and through this understanding are in unity with each other, but then we get brought to an abrupt halt by the message to laodicea.
what i see, if i can state bluntly, is those first 6 churches we've worked through have been through our effort, as it were, and we're being told that's just not good enough, and we must now truly commit ourselves to really dying to the world and for the Lord, and this is why here, and here only, if we can get this right He is the one knocking on the door. wow!

i work from the opinion that the Book is giving us both a spiritual and physical depiction of events, and as Father is Spirit, and want us to worship Him in spirit and in truth, the spiritual aspect is the more important one. 
an aside, the order of things is important when looking spiritually, by that i mean it's an unfolding taking place, a progression, now that is widely understood, already. 
if we then take the seven-fold Spirit of the Lord spoken of in isaiah 11:2, and we follow that order, but in reverse, ie - knowledge - ephesus, fear of the Lord - smyrna, counsel - pergamum, might - thyatira, wisdom - sardis, understanding - philadelphia and lastly the Spirit of the Lord itself - laodicea, and then look at the messages, things become clearer as to what is being talked about.  
now the seven-fold spirit is described in couplets, if i can say it like that, and so ephesus's first love is knowledge of the Lord, and a true follower tests to find the truth of that matter, and coupled to that is smyrna's told not to fear what's coming (but only the Lord...), then moving onto the next 'couplet', pergamum and thytira are warned strongly not to follow bad teachings (wrong counsel), and to smyrna is promised authority over the nations, a nice 'might' to receive, next  the third 'couplet', with sardis there's a real danger of the wisdom  that one should be acquiring from knowing God and following His counsel dying off, a real wake-up call, thankfully, with philadelphia if we gain understanding then we are encouraged by the open door, phew. 
and lastly the big one, the way i see it, we've worked our way so hard to get to this stage, we've ticked the boxes, as it were, worked on increasing our knowledge of God, through a healthy fear of Him, knuckled down to following His counsel (the Law), receiving might from that process to continue, acquired wisdom through this to judge rightly (and is mercy not the best judgement?), and through this understanding are in unity with each other, but then we get brought to an abrupt halt by the message to laodicea. 
what i see, if i can state bluntly, is those first 6 churches we've worked through have been through our effort, as it were, and we're being told that's just not good enough, and we must now truly commit ourselves to really dying to the world and for the Lord, and this is why here, and here only, if we can get this right He is the one knocking on the door. wow!

· Reply · 1727697110

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