First Letter
God is love. The nature of His love is absolute. As such, it is not in the nature of God to have anyone or people punished or judged without prior notice or warning against impending danger or evil.
The primary reason God sent the messages in the book of Revelation to the church is to counsel His children of the impending danger. God is calling for the attention of the church to inform her about the coming judgment. The letters to the seven churches put all the churches of all times in perspective. In all, we can relate to the messages as alert, alarm or signal for impending judgment.
‘He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says unto the churches; To him that overcomes will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God’ (Revelation 2:7).
The warnings contained in the book of Revelation are intended to not only raise alarm but also encourage people to make amend with their lives. Unfortunately, many Christians have not heeded the warnings. As it was written, only those that have ears would hear. You may have physical ears to hear, but if you do not obey to do what is expected of you, the timely warnings will not profit you. Some other people may decide not to hear at all. How sad!
Background of the Seven Churches
Before we delve into our study of the letters to the seven churches, we need some understanding of the background of the churches.
The servant of God, Apostle John, wrote the book of revelation about A.D. 95. The letters revealed what God expects of the body of Christ on earth. That is why it is of utmost importance to do an in-depth study of this book in order to understand divine expectations of your church.
‘Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks’ (Revelation 2:1).
The first letter was addressed to the church in Ephesus. Jesus made a powerful reference of Himself as ‘He that holds the seven stars in his right hand; He that walks in the midst of seven golden candlesticks.’ Jesus Christ is the ultimate source of the entire book of Revelation. When John, the receiver of the messages, turned, he saw seven candlesticks. In the midst of the candlesticks, he saw the Son of man, the Lord Jesus Christ, clothed with a garment down to the foot and girt about the paps with golden girdle. In His right hand, He had seven stars and out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword. His countenance was as the sun shining in its full strength. He also saw seven angels representing each of the seven churches (see Revelation 1:12-16).
The Role of Church Leaders and Members
Writing to these seven churches indicates that Jesus is completely aware and is very much interested in everything that goes on in church. He laid the foundation of the church because He is the founder and the builder of His church.
Jesus Christ purchased the church with His blood and must be allowed to rule and reign in every congregation, ministry and gathering of the saints. Church founders, general overseers, pastors and leaders are not the real owners of the church or the congregation. Jesus Christ is and must be allowed to plan and execute His ultimate purpose to bring His reign of justice to the universe. And every minister, bishop, reverend, pastor, worker, etc., must co-operate with His leadership.
Church founders, general overseers, bishops, etc., are only but overseers ordained by God. The bible put it this way:
‘Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost has made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood’ (Acts 20:28).
Ministers must take heed not to see, convert or run the church as personal or family business. It is unscriptural and ungodly to run the church of Christ as a tribal or racial enterprise. The flocks of all congregations belong to God, not personal properties of church founders or overseers. Instead, church overseers must feed the flocks without condition or consideration for personal benefits. Jesus Christ paid in full the price of purchasing every member, so every flock belongs to Him by creation, redemption and adoption.
God gave all powers to Christ (see Matthew 28:18), even the power over His church and He has the final say of what happens to the church. Any minister or church leader who does not manage the church as directed by Christ is in error. Though Christ gave authority to church leaders to oversee His church, they must exercise such authority with the fear of God as directed by Christ without carnal influences or partiality. The calling of God is true, as Christ has ordained and commissioned us through His Word to look after His church:
‘And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead’ (Acts 10:42).
‘Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead’ (Acts 17:31).
Preachers must preach Christ and that is why they are ordained. God has set a day has been aside to bring everything we do as ministers, workers and members to judgment. God keeps records of all that happen under the sun since the world began. Ministers and church members who behave as if God will not hold them accountable of all their actions on earth are deceiving themselves. The way you treat church members, spend every dime and minister to members are all recorded in the book. Beloved, be careful how you live your life.
The Coming Judgment and Righteousness
Jesus will judge all men righteously because He is a righteous judge. That is why He came, lived, preached, taught, performed miracles, healed, suffered, died and was raised on the third day. For this reason, God elevated Him so highly and gave Him a name that is above all names (see Philippians 2:9).
One thing is certain: ‘…All men ‘shall stand before the judgment seat of Christ’ (Romans 14:10).
For this purpose, God ‘…has put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church’ (Ephesians 1:22).
The reason ministers are trained and ordained is to bring justice to the church. But they must judge themselves first. If you condemn others, judge them and yet commit the same offense, you will face greater judgment from the righteous judge. He is the head of the church and every minister and member must bear this in mind as you relate with others within and outside the church building.
Paul the Apostle believed that every Christian by ‘…speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ’ (Ephesians 4:15). Therefore, it is the duty of every believer including church leaders to do the right thing always and to speak the truth without fear or prejudice but in love. Jesus Christ expects the members of His body to emulate His life not only within the church buildings but also from their homes.