Christ’s Message to Ephesus

Background A thriving commercial city, the largest city in Asia Minor Its religious life centered around the worship of the Greek goddess Artemis (cf. Acts 19:23ff); her temple was considered one of the seven wonders of the world. After the church was established, the gospel flourished here under the ministries of both the Apostle Paul and the Apostle John, as well as Apollos and then later, Timothy. (see Acts 19-20; book of Ephesians)

A description of Jesus Christ, taken from John’s vision of the glorified Christ in chapter 1 A claim of complete knowledge of the people addressed (“I know …”) A description of the state of the church, whether by commendation, concern and/ or command A universal counsel to hear what has been spoken A word of comfort to the overcomer, which looks forward to Christ’s future reign

Christ’s Message to Smyrna

Background Smyrna means, “Bitter”. A thriving commercial city, 2nd largest city in Asia Known for its beauty, it was called the Crown of Asia. Smyrna was a center for science & medicine. Its religious life centered around emperor-worship which resulted in a strong loyalty to Rome. Additionally, there were several temples to Greek gods & goddesses. Smyrna had a large Jewish community that engaged in the persecution of Christians, making this a very dangerous place for believers to live.

A description of Jesus Christ, taken from John’s vision of the glorified Christ in chapter 1 A claim of complete knowledge of the people addressed (“I know …”) A description of the state of the church, whether by commendation, concern and/ or command A universal counsel to hear what has been spoken A word of comfort to the overcomer, which looks forward to Christ’s future reign

Christ’s Message to Pergamum

Background Pergamum means, “height,” or “elevation”. The political centre of Asia Minor Known for incredible library of over 200,000 volumes! Its religious life centered around emperor-worship, and several temples to Greek gods, including Asklepios & an enormous altar Zeus! Pergamum was a very dangerous place for believers to live.

A call to write to a church A description of Jesus Christ, taken from John’s vision of the glorified Christ in chapter 1 A claim of complete knowledge of the people addressed (“I know …”) A description of the state of the church, whether by commendation, concern and/ or command A universal counsel to hear what has been spoken A word of comfort to the overcomer, which looks forward to Christ’s future reign

Christ’s Message to Thyatira

Background Smallest of the 7 cities... but received the longest message! Positioned in a fertile valley, it was rich agriculturally, but lacked the geographical features to protect itself from invasion. Thyatira served primarily as a protection for the capital city of Pergamum by being in the pathway of invaders. Thus it was overrun numerous times. Thyatira was a centre of commerce, which in turn produced a multitude of workers’ guilds (like labour unions); examples include linen workers, wool workers, dyers, leather workers, people who made outer garments, potters, bakers, and bronze smiths. Membership in a guild was compulsory if one wanted job security. Emperor worship was not so much a factor here. However, guild members were expected to attend the guild festivals, to eat the food that had been offered to one of the gods, and participate in grossly immoral activities that would follow these feasts. The primary god of worship was Apollos, also known by the title, “son of god”!

What Biblical person was from the ancient city of Thyatira?

A call to write to a church A description of Jesus Christ, taken from John’s vision of the glorified Christ in chapter 1 A claim of complete knowledge of the people addressed (“I know …”) A description of the state of the church, whether by commendation, concern and/ or command A universal counsel to hear what has been spoken A word of comfort to the overcomer, which looks forward to Christ’s future reign (Note: Change in order of counsel & comfort)

Christ’s Message to Sardis

Message to the Prophet: John’s Past Vision (1:1 – 20) Message to the Churches: Their Present Condition (2:1 – 3:22) Message to Ephesus (2:1-7) – The Loveless Church Message to Smyrna (2:8-11) – The Suffering Church Message to Pergamum (2:12-17) – The Compromising Church Message to Thyatira (2:18-29) – The Sin Tolerating Church Message to Sardis (3:1-6) – The Dead Church

Background on the City Sardis served as the capital of Lydia and was a wealthy city. Originally it was situated on one of a series of hills that formed the transition from the lower elevation of the Hermus plain to the higher elevation of Mount Tmolus. Ready access to the city was available only from a small neck of land in the south. Unlike Thyatira, these geographic features made Sardis an almost impregnable fortress. However, the city was overrun twice in its history. In both cases, the people felt so secure in their stronghold that they failed to guard the steep sides of the plateaus. The invaders scaled these steep walls. It is said that even a child could defend the city from this kind of attack, but the inhabitants of Sardis failed to post a man to watch out for it. The patron goddess of Sardis was Cybele. She was pictured as a pregnant goddess often riding in a chariot pulled by lions. Among other things, if was claimed that she could raise the dead.

A call to write to a church A description of Jesus Christ, taken from John’s vision of the glorified Christ in chapter 1 A claim of complete knowledge of the people addressed (“I know …”) A description of the state of the church, whether by commendation, concern and/ or command A universal counsel to hear what has been spoken A word of comfort to the overcomer, which looks forward to Christ’s future reign (Note: Change in order of counsel & comfort)

Christ’s Message to Philadelphia

Background on the City Philadelphia was a prosperous, commercial center located about 45km SE of Sardis. The city was situated on a series of hills about 250 meters above the valley, at the base of Mount Tmolus. It was an important stop on a major trade route called the Imperial Post Road (mail route). The city’s elevation and fortifications provided ample safety. However, the city was severely damaged by a massive earthquake in 17 AD. After this, people feared the instability of the area. Like many other cities in the Roman Empire, the people of Philadelphia worshiped many Greek gods. The main deity was Dionysius, the god of wine. The area was marked by rich, fertile land which produced some of the best wine in the empire. In the 90’s A.D. the Emperor, Domitian, ordered all the vineyards be torn out in order to end the reputation that the vineyards near Philadelphia were superior to those in Rome. For some time the people of Philadelphia considered themselves rejected by the empire.

A call to write to a church A description of Jesus Christ, taken from John’s vision of the glorified Christ in chapter 1 A claim of complete knowledge of the people addressed (“I know …”) A description of the state of the church, whether by commendation, concern and/ or command A word of comfort to the overcomer, which looks forward to Christ’s future reign A universal counsel to hear what has been spoken

3 1/2 Years Beginning of Birth Pangs Great Tribulation Abomination of Desolation Rapture of the Church Return of Christ to the Earth The Hour of Testing

Christ’s Message to Laodicea

Background on the City Laodicea was an extremely wealthy commercial center located about 160km East of Ephesus and 65km SE of Philadelphia. The city was situated on a plateau between the two sister cities of Hierapolis and Colossae. It was an important stop on a major trade route called the Imperial Post Road (mail route). Laodicea was famous for three things: a highly valued, soft, black wool, a strategic banking center, and as an important center for medicine. Of great significance was their lack of a natural water supply. Therefore, water had to be piped through long aqueducts from the sister cities (hot water from Hierapolis/ cold from Colossae) Like many other cities in the Roman Empire, the people of Laodicea worshiped many Greek gods. The main deity was Men Karou whose temple had an important medical school associated with it. This school was famous for producing an eye salve which was exported throughout the Roman world. There was a large Jewish community in Laodicea (est. 20,000+)

Message to the Prophet: John’s Past Vision (1:1 – 20) Message to the Churches: Their Present Condition (2:1 – 3:22) Message to Ephesus (2:1-7) – The Loveless Church Message to Smyrna (2:8-11) – The Suffering Church Message to Pergamum (2:12-17) – The Compromising Church Message to Thyatira (2:18-29) – The Sin Tolerating Church Message to Sardis (3:1-6) – The Dead Church Message to Philadelphia (3:7-13) – The Faithful Church Message to Laodicea (3:14-22) – The Lukewarm Church

Hold on to your first love for God and others. Don’t tolerate false teaching. Be faithful…even if it costs your life. Don’t compromise with the world. Live in light of Christ’s return. Hold on to the Word of God and remain faithful. Repent of all hypocrisy and truly believe.

A call to write to a church A description of Jesus Christ, taken from John’s vision of the glorified Christ in chapter 1 A claim of complete knowledge of the people addressed (“I know …”) A description of the state of the church, whether by commendation, concern and/ or command A word of comfort to the overcomer, which looks forward to Christ’s future reign A universal counsel to hear what has been spoken by the Holy Spirit