Letters to the Church: Revelations 2:12-17

The Church at Pergamum


In this letter, Jesus described Himself as the One "with the sharp two-edged
sword." The sword is a symbol of authority. Christ has authority over all
things. He said;"All authority in heaven and earth has been given
to me>"(Matt. 28:18) His words are like a sword, both sharp and
effective. He speaks words that comfort, encourage, teach, and rebuke.

According to this letter, Satan was very active in this city. He had influence
in winning Christians away from the faith. Satan is busy even today. He is
still trying to pull Christians away from the faith, and to destroy their
hope in Christ. If we want proof that Satan is still busy, all that we need
to do is to look around us today. His influence is clearly seen in our world,
and in the unbelief that is all around us. Sadly, there are many believers
who fallen away from the faith and have rejected Christ. It is important to
remember that Satan likes to work in the shadows, and he will use all of his
tricks to choke faith in Christ. Satan will only have influence over us if we
let our spiritual guard down. If Christian's do not remain firmly in both
the Word and Sacraments, if they do not listen to the voice of Christ, then
that gives Satan an advantage.

Satan has a special target in his sights. This would be our youth. He does
not want our young people to have a saving faith in Jesus. Satan does all that
he can to entice young people away from Jesus, and to harden their hearts
towards the gospel. Satan's influence can be seen in every aspect of society,
this how he is able to lead people away from Jesus. Satan's influence can be
seen in entertainment and in the media. Satan convinces people that there is
no need for the gospel. The world considers the preaching of the cross to be
pure foolishness, and the flesh follows it's own desires. Through the world
and the flesh, Satan works his influence. Sadly, many do not resist the
influence of Satan, and have fallen away. How then, can Satan's influence
be resisted? The way to resist Satan's influence is to be grounded in the
Word. Believers can stand strong against Satan by standing firmly on the
Savior's promises. Since Satan targets young people, they should be taught
at any early age to be grounded in Christ. This first begins in the home.
Here, families are encouraged to have time for prayer and devotions. In
the home, the father is the "priest" of his family, he sees to it that the
family is brought up in the Christian faith. If our young people are to
be taught to resist the influences of Satan, then it first begins in the home
with parents who see that their children attend worship and hear God's Word.

Satan can also use religion to work his influence. He can and does use false
religions to mislead many, and to pull people away from the Gospel. This quite
common in this age of religious pluralism. People's attraction to religions
that do not preach Christ show that they have no interest or knowledge in the
truth of the Gospel. This has only confirmed the words of St. Paul. He wrote;
"For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine but,
following their own desires and insatiable curiosity, will accumulate teachers
and will stop listening to the truth and be diverted to myths."(2 Tim.4:3-4)
This is happening today. Satan uses religions that appeal to the ego to draw
people away from the truth. Believers are encouraged to be grounded in the
Word, so that they will neither be misled nor influenced by Satan.

Jesus commended this congregation for it's faithfulness. They held on to His
name in the face of hardships. The Name of Jesus carries great meaning. His
name tells us who He is, and what He came to accomplish. There is no other
way to salvation, expect through faith in Jesus. Scripture declares: "There
is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven
given to man by which we are to be saved."(Acts 4:12)This congregation
believed this and held on to their confession. However, there few some who
were not faithful in their confession. These people saw nothing wrong in
taking part in pagan worship. The Lord did not tolerate this, and commanded
that the congregation disciple those who taught and acted falsely within
the congregation. If they refused, then He Himself, would deal with them.

The Church of today should always remain faithful and keep it's doctrines
pure. There will be times when the Church will be tested in it's faithfulness.
There will be times when the Church will be confronted with false teachings
within it's midst. When this does occur, the Church should lovingly correct
those in error. The Church should never turn a blind eye towards those who
teach false doctrines with it's midst. False doctrine is a cancer; once it
spreads, it can kill the whole body.

Jesus encourages all who remain faithful to Him to hold to true doctrine.
Believers who remain faithful are the ones who overcome. They stand strong
in faith and place their hope in Christ. They walk by faith and receive
the blessed promises of the Gospel.

Letters to the Church: The Church at Smyra-Rev. 2:8-11

In this letter, Jesus referred to Himself as; "The First and Last, who was dead
and came to life again." He is the eternal Lord, who rules over all creation.
through Him, all things were made, both in heaven and on earth. He is the very
Word of God made flesh.(John 1:1) He is the One who humbled Himself, and
took upon Himself human flesh and suffered for the sins of the world.He was
put to death for our sins, and was raised for our justification. Those who
believe on His name have the blessed promises of forgiveness, peace, and
eternal life. This is the wonderful message that the Church proclaims to
the world. It is the message of Him who has come, and will come again.

Jesus informed this congregation that He was aware of their struggles. He
knew all that they had undergone for the sake of His Gospel. Jesus knew
that they needed both His presence and His encouragement. As with this
Church, the Church today stills needs both the presence and the
encouragement of Christ. The Church on earth has to endure much as it carries
out ministry. There are times when churches do struggle and become weary.
It is easy for the saints to become weary and discouraged. They might think
that their efforts have failed. Christ has words of encouragement and strength
for His struggling saints. He encourages the saints to hold on to Him, and
to remain always faithful.

The Church at Smyrna was a poor struggling Church. They may have been poor
in material goods, but these were people who were rich in faith. These were
people who came from the poorer class, so they did not have much. They had
lost much due to persecutions and hardships, but they still held on. They
held on to their faith despite all that they had endured. In truth, they
were really rich. They had held on to the true and lasting treasure, faith
in Jesus Christ. This was a treasure that could not be taken away from
them.

The Church of today still faces many struggles. There are places in the
world where Christians still suffer for the faith. There are many Churches
that are struggling to maintain ministry through difficult hardships. In
the eyes of the world, these Churches might seem weak and poor.This is
not the case at all. The Church that remains faithful to Christ and to
His Gospel is really rich beyond compare. The Church might be poor in
material goods; it is rich in the Savior's grace and blessing.

The Church at Smyrna was a courageous Church. It did not allow the struggles
and the persecutions to stop it's service to Christ. These saints remained
faithful and strong in Christ. They took hold of the faithful promises
of the Savior. Jesus urged them to remain faithful to the point of death,
and they would receive the crown of life.

This is an example for the Church today. The Church on earth will never
have a life of ease. The faithful Church will always know both struggle
and hardship. Yet the Church can still press on in the mission. The
Church can press on because it lays hold of the Savior. The world
might see the Church as poor and broken, it is not. The Church's
wealth and victory come from faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Letters to the Church-Part One.

The Church at Ephesus 2:1-7


The Lord Jesus expressed both His care and concern for the saints in this congregation. This is a reminder that Jesus always cares for His Church. He is aware of the struggles that His Church has to endure in this world. The fact that some churches struggle might convince some that the Lord does not care about His people. The truth is that Jesus does care about His saints. He has never promised that the Church would ever have it easy. He has promised that He will always abide with His Church.(Matthew 28:20) He holds the Church in the palm of His hand and has given His Holy to both guide and strengthen the Church. He holds the promise of salvation and has open the Kingdom of heaven to all believers. It is a comfort to know that Jesus holds in the palm of His hand. There is nothing that is able to pull
His people away from Him. (Romans 8:38-39)

Jesus saw the condition of the Church at Ephesus, and He was aware of the hard work of these saints. He knew of all of the hardships that they had endured. The work of the Church is never easy; it takes hard work and faithfulness. It means enduring the attacks that come from the devil, the world, and the flesh. But it also means standing firm upon Christ and His Gospel. It means being both guided and strengthen by the Holy Spirit. No matter how difficult it might become, the Church is to remain faithful and carry out it's ministry of Word and Sacrament.

Jesus commended this congregation because it did not tolerate false teachers. The congregation had remained faithful and had rejected error. The Church of today must not tolerate nor ignore false teaching. Sadly, there those within the Church that do teach false doctrines. There are some denominations that claim to be Christian, but their doctrines often depart from the truth of the Scriptures. Those who teach and preach doctrine insult the Gospel, and harm the faith of many.False doctrine is like a cancer; once it spreads, it can destroy the whole body. Those who teach and promote false doctrine should lovingly, but firmly confronted. They should be shown their error and called to repentance. Because there are many false teacher believers should be grounded in the Word. They will not only grow in grace and knowledge,(2 Peter 3:18)they will want to flee from those who do teach falsely.(Romans 16:17) There is something else; they are better able to hold pastors and teachers accountable as they teach the Word.

Jesus not had words of praise for this congregation, He also had words of stern
correction. Jesus speaks both the Law and the Gospel to His Church. He not
only praises His Church, but He also speaks words of correction when needed.
When Jesus speaks a word of rebuke, He does so out of love. He corrects
those whom He loves.(Hebrews 12:5-11)

This Church had lost it's first love. They had lost their zeal for the Lord's
house. They had also taken the Gospel for granted. Has this happened to the
Church of today? Where is the zeal for the Lord's house? Have some believers
taken the Gospel for granted and have become "too comfortable with themselves?"
Some of these people are lax in attendance and in service.

A Church can lose it's first love when it no longer has the Gospel as the center
of it's preaching and teaching. When other things overshadow it's main task,
then it has lost it's first love. When a Church becomes more like a "social
club," then a place where the saints are equipped for mission, then it has
lost it's first love. The Church love should always be the Lord Jesus, and
His Gospel.

The Church should never lose sight of it's love. It's love for Christ should
be demonstrated by both it's words and actions. Through it's proclamation
and it's ministries of Human care, the Church shares it's love for Christ
with the world.

The Savior's stern words were followed by a call for repentance. Even the
Church needs to be confronted when it strays from the Lord. The Church
also needs hear words of correction and the call to repentance. The
Church must always be reminded of it's first love and it's mission.

Jesus called upon this Church to change it's ways. It had become too
comfortable with itself, and it had grown cold. It needed to "put first
things, first." It needed to renew it's zeal for Christ, and not allow
itself to lose sight of it's mission. They needed to keep the message focused
on the Gospel. The Church of today needs to keep "first things, first."
It should never lose it's zeal for Christ, but always be zealous for Him,
and for His Gospel. It should not allow the world to direct it's doctrine,
but always be guided by the Holy Spirit. It should never grow "cold" in
it's love, nor be afraid to proclaim the truth of the Gospel. A Church
that has Christ as it's first love will be zealous to share His love with
others in all that it does.

Jesus says; "He who has ears, let him hear what the
Spirit is saying to the Churches!"Let the Church listen to the voice
of the Holy Spirit. There are some Churches that are more concerned with
what the world has to say. They don't intently listen to the voice of Christ.
When Christ speaks, the Church should always listen. It is He, and not the
world that guides the Church. Christ still has much to say. The task of the
Church is to faithfully proclaim His saving message to the world.

Next blog: The Church at Smyrna