Tag Archives: Seven churches

Being Turned

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Revelation 1:12: “Being turned I saw seven golden candlesticks.”

Praying Toward Jerusalem

John was in the isle of Patmos. The Jews in exile from the land of Judea were taught that they should pray toward Jerusalem according as Solomon had prayed at the dedication of the temple:

“Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee to day: 29 That thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, [even] toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make toward this place. 30 And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place: and when thou hearest, forgive.” (1 Kings 8:28)

We know that Daniel followed this tradition while Israel was captive in Babylon:

“Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.” (Daniel 6:10)

“Being Turned” Away From the Fallen Jerusalem

We can understand, then, that John was praying toward Jerusalem and the Temple. From the Isle of Patmos, he would have been facing in a southerly direction. Upon hearing the Voice, John turned. He would then have been facing north. It was as he was facing north that he saw the seven golden candlesticks, (KJV), or “lampstands,” (RSV). John’s “turning”, then, symbolized turning away from the old Judaism to the Church of Jesus Christ, visually represented by the north polar constellations, sometimes known in the Hebrew culture as the Menorah, or seven-branched candlestick of the Temple.

THE CHURCH HAS BECOME THE MENORAH

The “seven golden candlesticks” are the seven churches of Asia, Revelation 1:20: “The seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.”

These same seven are also the seven spirits of God, Revelation 4:5. These same seven spirits are also the seven eyes of the Lamb, Revelation 5:6.

(See also my Commentary at 1:4 “Asia”.)

In Revelation 1:20 the seven stars are the fire upon the top of the lampstands: “The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches.”

These angels are spirits, Psalm 104:4 and Hebrews 1:7, 14. Therefore, in this writing, these are all synonymous and interchangeable to some degree: Lampstands, Churches, Spirits, Eyes of the Lamb, Angels and Stars.

How the Natural is Analogous to the Spiritual

It is probably helpful to understand that there is a natural reality that corresponds to, or is analogous to, the spiritual reality. “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse,” Romans 1:20.

For example, the “Angels” of the seven churches of Asia are spiritual entities that inhabit the natural pastors or leaders of the earthly churches. However, the earthly churches are merely the counterpart of a heavenly reality, the Eyes of the Lamb and the Seven Spirits of God. As in all use of analogy, the analogy only holds for certain parts of the entities represented. The two figures are not identical in every respect.

This lesson is an edited excerpt from my book, Revelation in Context, available locally at the Living Word Bookstore in Shawnee, Oklahoma or www.Amazon.com, orwww.XulonPress.com.
Free downloads are also available at www.revelationincontext.sermon.net.

Blessings and Warnings To The Seven Churches

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This lesson will begin the series which includes the messages to the Seven Churches of Asia, Revelation 1.4 – 3.14.

Revelation 1:4: “John to the Seven Churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven spirits which are before his throne.”

Introduction

The purpose of the writing of the Book of Revelation is “to show unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass.” This is often construed as meaning to comfort them in the persecution they are about to face. It should rather be interpreted as meaning that they are to be warned of the consequences of their obedience or disobedience in light of the fall of Jerusalem, the nation Israel, and the death and dispersion of the people. If God did not spare Jerusalem, Israel, and their people when they broke the Covenant, and refused His grace, and chose death instead of life, then God will not spare the members of the Churches who fall into this same tragic condition.

However, in Christ, God will always have a faithful people who will be rewarded and blessed.

Romans 11:21: “For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest He also spare not thee.”

Like the message to the Churches in Revelation, Second Peter chapter two also warns the Church of false prophets, false teachers, and heretics. This chapter is also a catalog of those whom God did not spare: the angels, the old world of Noah, Sodom and Gomorrah. The kinds of people doomed for this destruction are listed as: “Them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise government.” They are presumptuous, selfwilled, disrespectful, as natural brute beasts, rioters, deceivers, adulterers, covetous, vainglorious, and hypocritical.

Even so, “The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished.”

The danger is real for Christians:

“For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened according to the true proverb, ‘The dog is turned to his own vomit again, and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.’” 2 Peter 2:20-22.

The Book of Revelation serves this same purpose of warning to the universal Church of the consequences of rebellion and disobedience while at the same time offering the blessings to those who walk in obedience in faith and good works. Understanding these messages to the seven churches is vital to the understanding of the rest of the Book of Revelation.

Next Lesson: The Number Seven in the Bible

This lesson is an edited excerpt from my book Revelation In Context, available at the Living Word Bookstore in Shawnee, OK. Also available online at www.Amazon.com or www.xulonpress.com

Free downloads are available at www.revelationincontext.sermon.net.