Bible Study with Dr. Hal Lindsey
The Seven Churches
Revelation 2-3
Revelation 2-3
7 = completion, perfection
Church = everyone who is in the body of Christ (not the building!)
Church = everyone who is in the body of Christ (not the building!)
Why these 7 churches?
- They represent 7 literal churches and 7 symbolic churches
- Each church has certain characteristics applicable to understand the 7 church ages; Jesus spoke of warnings and solutions, especially for pastors/leaders of the church
- They represent 7 literal churches and 7 symbolic churches
- Each church has certain characteristics applicable to understand the 7 church ages; Jesus spoke of warnings and solutions, especially for pastors/leaders of the church
- Things Jesus mentioned about each church can also be applied to certain individuals, so we should be able to glean from the lessons
- These 7 churches also allude to the 7 stages of church history in chronological order
1 John 5:45
The overcomer is who that believes that Jesus is the Son of God
1st church: Ephesus 33-100 AD
- Flaw: Knowledge without love and the filling of the spirit
- They had knowledge but they lost their first love (i.e., God) and did not count on the Holy Spirit to guide, teach, and lead them.
2nd church: Smyrna 100-312 AD
- Flaw: Persecuted poor but rich--These people built glamorous churches and so they are outwardly rich. However, how close a person or a group of people is to God is not related at all by how glamorous the buildings are. Remember, the church is the people in Christ, not the building. To be close to God is to be close to God at HEART. And so, the church of Smyrna was rich on the outside but poor on the inside.
- Constantine made the church a part of the government... and then it's all down hill from there.
3rd church: Pergamum 312-590 AD
- Flaw: Compromised with the world system
- The Roman Catholic church developed during this era, establishing a hierarchy that came between God and the believer. Christians, we need to read and know our Bible. Because if we do, it will be clear to us that no one comes between any individual and God. God wants each one of us to have a direct and personal relationship with Him. To have to communicate with God through a hierarchy of priests and bishops, that is wrong!
4th church: Thyatira 590-1517 AD
- Flaw: The church becomes a counterfeit, a whore church
- Spiritual idolatry rose with the establishment of the roman catholic church:
1. False teachings and doctrines--people could no longer look up scriptures for themselves, leading to false doctrines
2 Timothy 4:1
God instructed us to preach the Word and the Word only. Not on rituals or theories or customs. God warns that when the Word of God is not preached, people will be led astray.
2. Priest-craft: more and more power was given to the priest; the priest thus became the stumbling block between God and His people. He became the dispenser of God's salvation, that if people don't go to them, they will not receive salvation. NO! Jesus gives us salvation! Not man!
3. Idols
Deuteronomy 4:16
Warning against astrology and against worship of images, no graven images
John 4:23
We are to worship God in spirit and in truth through the guidance of the holy spirit. We are never to come to God through images--be it of Mary or some saints. That is idolatry!
4. False mediators
1 Timothy 2:5
There is one God and one mediator, Jesus.
5th church: Sardis 1517-1750 AD
- Flaw: Orthodoxy without the filling of the Spirit
- Theologically correct but spiritually dead. Dead orthodoxy
6th church: Philadelphia 1750-1900 AD
- No flaw!
- This was a period of time that saw the revival of evangelism and missions. Great men of God developed during this period. Furthermore, eschatology (study of prophecy) became an important study.
- This period therefore recovered the literal understanding of the Bible, including the Book of Revelation.
7th church: Laodicea 1900 AD-Rapture
- Flaw: Characterized by compromise and apostasy
1 John 5:45
The overcomer is who that believes that Jesus is the Son of God
1st church: Ephesus 33-100 AD
- Flaw: Knowledge without love and the filling of the spirit
- They had knowledge but they lost their first love (i.e., God) and did not count on the Holy Spirit to guide, teach, and lead them.
2nd church: Smyrna 100-312 AD
- Flaw: Persecuted poor but rich--These people built glamorous churches and so they are outwardly rich. However, how close a person or a group of people is to God is not related at all by how glamorous the buildings are. Remember, the church is the people in Christ, not the building. To be close to God is to be close to God at HEART. And so, the church of Smyrna was rich on the outside but poor on the inside.
- Constantine made the church a part of the government... and then it's all down hill from there.
3rd church: Pergamum 312-590 AD
- Flaw: Compromised with the world system
- The Roman Catholic church developed during this era, establishing a hierarchy that came between God and the believer. Christians, we need to read and know our Bible. Because if we do, it will be clear to us that no one comes between any individual and God. God wants each one of us to have a direct and personal relationship with Him. To have to communicate with God through a hierarchy of priests and bishops, that is wrong!
4th church: Thyatira 590-1517 AD
- Flaw: The church becomes a counterfeit, a whore church
- Spiritual idolatry rose with the establishment of the roman catholic church:
1. False teachings and doctrines--people could no longer look up scriptures for themselves, leading to false doctrines
2 Timothy 4:1
God instructed us to preach the Word and the Word only. Not on rituals or theories or customs. God warns that when the Word of God is not preached, people will be led astray.
2. Priest-craft: more and more power was given to the priest; the priest thus became the stumbling block between God and His people. He became the dispenser of God's salvation, that if people don't go to them, they will not receive salvation. NO! Jesus gives us salvation! Not man!
3. Idols
Deuteronomy 4:16
Warning against astrology and against worship of images, no graven images
John 4:23
We are to worship God in spirit and in truth through the guidance of the holy spirit. We are never to come to God through images--be it of Mary or some saints. That is idolatry!
4. False mediators
1 Timothy 2:5
There is one God and one mediator, Jesus.
5th church: Sardis 1517-1750 AD
- Flaw: Orthodoxy without the filling of the Spirit
- Theologically correct but spiritually dead. Dead orthodoxy
6th church: Philadelphia 1750-1900 AD
- No flaw!
- This was a period of time that saw the revival of evangelism and missions. Great men of God developed during this period. Furthermore, eschatology (study of prophecy) became an important study.
- This period therefore recovered the literal understanding of the Bible, including the Book of Revelation.
7th church: Laodicea 1900 AD-Rapture
- Flaw: Characterized by compromise and apostasy
- This period of time doubts the verbal inspiration of the Bible
- This church was defined by its external wealth: It had a wealthy banking center and was well-known for its medical school.
- These people think they are wealthy and well-off, but Jesus told them they were very poor, spiritually poor. Jesus gave it no accolades, because this church had no fervor for God.
- This church felt that they have no need for any help, that they are perfectly fine on their own. They think, "I'm rich. I'm wealthy. I'm in need of nothing."
- We are in this era. Many churches today are just going through the motions, not daring to stand up for Christ. These churches measure their own success by how "pretty" and magnificent its building is. But, wealth is not a measure of faith! And this gave rise to the Prosperity Gospel: if you believe in God, you'd be rich! All this is the curse of Laodicea, which all began when people started questioning the verbal inspiration of the Bible. The ENTIRE Bible is inspired by God. If people start picking things here and there to be only the verbal inspiration of God, then who gets to decide which passages are and which aren't? Read the Bible. All authors state very clearly that everything they write, it is the product of God's inspiration.
- This church was defined by its external wealth: It had a wealthy banking center and was well-known for its medical school.
- These people think they are wealthy and well-off, but Jesus told them they were very poor, spiritually poor. Jesus gave it no accolades, because this church had no fervor for God.
- This church felt that they have no need for any help, that they are perfectly fine on their own. They think, "I'm rich. I'm wealthy. I'm in need of nothing."
- We are in this era. Many churches today are just going through the motions, not daring to stand up for Christ. These churches measure their own success by how "pretty" and magnificent its building is. But, wealth is not a measure of faith! And this gave rise to the Prosperity Gospel: if you believe in God, you'd be rich! All this is the curse of Laodicea, which all began when people started questioning the verbal inspiration of the Bible. The ENTIRE Bible is inspired by God. If people start picking things here and there to be only the verbal inspiration of God, then who gets to decide which passages are and which aren't? Read the Bible. All authors state very clearly that everything they write, it is the product of God's inspiration.
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