“Let those who have ears, hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Rev. 2:29, NIV).
These words are spoken by the exalted Jesus from heaven to the seven churches of Asia. They tell us that those who truly belong to Christ will hearken to His words. But what are they to hear? What are the important lessons the Spirit of God would teach these churches? We find it very difficult to understand this book, for it is symbolic, and must be interpreted according to its literary form. However, when we look at the life and words of our Master as He walked this planet, we can see that all of His teachings were based on the truths that He had learned from the Father, and that He imparted them to the seven churches so that they could be passed on to those who would come after them.
Many Christians are willing to leave the hard work of interpretation to others. But there is no more important task in the Christian life than that of studying and applying the Scriptures. As a young believer I read a tract which told me: “Give your mind up for the Holy Ghost to use.” This advice meant well, but was misleading. I read every book I could find on the subject of end-time, yet was never able to find an explanation of the different ideas that satisfied me as being the only valid interpretation. Now, years later, after much study, I realize that it is only the Spirit of God Himself Who can lead us in the study of truth.
The Most Important Principle
In 1 Corinthians 2:14 we read: “The natural man does not accept the things which pertain to the Spirit of God, for he cannot understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” Human reason can solve many problems, but it is often slow and clumsy when it tries to solve the problem of understanding the Bible. We must recognize that only the Spirit of God Himself can reveal to us the deep truths hidden within the pages of Scripture. Therefore, we must cry out to the Lord for grace and revelation every time we open our Bibles.
There are many lessons on interpretation that we can learn from Scripture, but one of the most important is found in Acts 8, where we see Philip in Samaria preaching Christ to a mixed group of Jewish and Gentile converts. At that time the church in Jerusalem was still opposed to the Gentiles, and so Philip was sent to preach Christ in the cities near the Mediterranean coast.
As he began his ministry of the word in this region, he first went to Samaria and preached there for some time. The evangelist was accompanied by great signs and wonders, as people were filled with the Holy Spirit when he laid hands on them. The result was that many heard his message of salvation and repented, even some of the sorcerers who opposed him. But all of this changed when Simon Magus came upon the scene.
How Was It Wrong?
Simon Magus was a member of the cult of the Egyptian goddess Isis and Serapis and was highly respected. He was “a person of power who had come to believe through John’s preaching and Peter’s spiritual influence.”(Keller, p. 141). Simon sold water at a lower price than others did; he gave money to the poor; he fed strangers. These were things that drew people in large numbers. If that was the only thing that mattered to us, we would probably find ourselves just like him.
Simon’s attention was immediately arrested by the miraculous power of God working in and through Philip (Lenski, p. 260). However, this was only the beginning of Simon’s trouble with the true Gospel. When Simon saw that the people gave their attention to Philip’s message of repentance and the cross, and received the baptism of the Spirit, he wanted to join them.
Then Simon, who was now called a believer and was favorably impressed with the ability of the miracle worker Philip, sought to purchase the supernatural power from him by offering him money. Philip told him, however, “‘No, look! We’re dealing here only with the one who is already in charge, not with you, and you’ve got nothing.’” (Acts 8:18, MSG). In other words, he said, “You can’t buy the power of God with money.” But Simon refused to understand the full meaning of what Philip had told him. In fact, he mistakenly believed he had been given divine power by the apostles. The real problem was that Simon refused to have faith in Christ’s work of redemption as the basis for salvation.
Genuine Truth vs. False Doctrine
Simon Magus was a man who was moved by nothing except what satisfied his own personal ambition. Therefore, when Philip quoted Scripture to him in order to show him his faulty understanding, he could not discern the truth. The Scriptures were right, but Simon preferred to be wrong. “But you don’t understand God’s way. Your heart can’t get past your purse. For me, prayer comes naturally” (Acts 8:21 MSG). He was unwilling to accept the true Gospel. So, he said, “How can you expect that I should repent of anything like that? I mean, I have already been baptized” (Acts 8:21, REB). Simon had missed the point. We cannot be right with God until we confess our sins and accept the truths taught by the Cross. True baptism is a spiritual baptism. Simon saw the outward ceremony, but failed to grasp the meaning of it. And so, it cannot be surprising if such a man should also fail to grasp the vital significance of the rest of the Gospel message.
“Those who profess to know God and yet do not obey his Son are liars” (1 John 2:4, NIV). Genuine truth cannot ever be mixed with false doctrine. We must ask the Lord to fill us with His Spirit, and not just add a bit of truth to our existing false philosophy. Moreover, we must shun any teaching that fails to emphasize the Cross as the atoning work of God.
Why God Sends His Message
God wants to show us “what the future holds, so that the holy people of God may live in the fear of God and give him credit for what He has done” (Revelation 1:19, MSG). The Holy One is revealing the future to His people in order to keep us away from Satan, who has secret designs for the Christians. Also, God is revealing Himself in order to keep us from worshiping Satan as the Almighty. And He is revealing His love and graciousness as God to keep us from worshiping Him in ways that deny the Cross.
God is revealing His future plans because He wants us to be holy people. We must live in the fear of God and give Him credit for what He has done. We must not believe the lying messages of the false prophets of our day. We must believe that He is able to carry out His Word. And we must take care to avoid the snares of the evil one who seeks to deceive us.
The Seven Messages
“Write, therefore, the things which you have seen, the things which are taking place now, and the things which are going to take place in the future” (Revelation 1:19, Berean Study Bible). The seven letters that follow this introduction to Revelation were originally written to local churches in the Roman Empire. And yet, since then they have been understood by many to be addressed to seven churches that represent the characteristics of modern Christianity. To us, they are general instructions, given in order to teach us how to be wise in our outlook on the last days, and thus to prepare ourselves to meet the King of Kings when he makes His appearance on earth.
Each of the seven letters contains a warning to those who are called “churches,” and a blessing to those who “overcome” (Rev. 3:5) the conditions pointed out by the warnings. The opening words of each message are, “the one who holds the seven stars …” (2:1), and “the one who holds the seven Spirits of God …” (3:1). The word, “Spirit,” refers to “power” or “influence,” as in the phrase, “the spirits of the prophets were under control,” (19:10, NIV), or the place where the Spirit of God dwells (“The temple of God is among men, and He will dwell among them” (21:3, NIV). Therefore, these letters describe the seven different messages to Christians today.
The Message to Thyatira
“To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flaming fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. (2:18, NIV)
If any church has not heard this message, then it surely should do so