Post by Sheila on Mar 24, 2024 9:37:50 GMT -5
Over time, various theologians and pastors have had different views about the letters to the churches found in Revelation 2:1 through 3:22. Here are some of those views:
1. The letters were written to the members of actual churches then in existence in the seven cities.
2. They are representative of the one true church with each church representing Christ's true church at seven different periods throughout it's history.
3. Each church represents seven denominations within the one true church.
Viewpoint 3 can be quickly dismissed. There is no evidence that any differences within the early church were strong enough to produce what appears today as denominations. To use the letters to prove one denomination is superior to any other or that one denomination is the only one perfectly following the teachings of Christ makes the denomination doing so no better than the Pharisees who, by their words and deeds, thought they were the only people who were truly righteous.
Viewpoint 1 is entirely correct. The praises and warnings were to be delivered to churches then in existence.
With some further explanations, viewpoint 2 may be seen as partially correct. The theologians and pastors will say that Philadelphia represents the church today and Laodicea represents the church closer to the Tribulation. Simply by watching the news or reading news articles, anyone can see that even in the present there are a lot of individual churches teaching false doctrine and otherwise leading people astray so they can't be represented by the descriptions of the church at Philadelphia. Reading history books - both Christian and secular - will lead to understanding there have been false teachers within the true church during all of recorded history, which is yet more proof Philadelphia doesn't represent the current true church. Within the true church, there has never been an individual congregation or denomination that has been perfect. The description of the church at Laodicea would be a closer to representing some of the individual churches and denominations today. However, the description is also a good representation of many congregations and denominations of the past.
The churches to which the letters were addressed were composed of many individuals. The true church of Christ is made up of not one part, but many (1 Corinthians 12:14). These are individual Christians and, throughout the New Testament, we read that none of them are perfect. Every Christian falls prey to temptation and sin. If most of the churches in Revelation receive some praise and some warnings, it seems that each of those apply to the individuals within each church. Some people deserved praise, while others needed to be warned. If the same can be said of all Christians throughout the history of the true church, then the theory that each church addressed by the letters found in Revelation represent a period of church history is found to be faulty.
1. The letters were written to the members of actual churches then in existence in the seven cities.
2. They are representative of the one true church with each church representing Christ's true church at seven different periods throughout it's history.
3. Each church represents seven denominations within the one true church.
Viewpoint 3 can be quickly dismissed. There is no evidence that any differences within the early church were strong enough to produce what appears today as denominations. To use the letters to prove one denomination is superior to any other or that one denomination is the only one perfectly following the teachings of Christ makes the denomination doing so no better than the Pharisees who, by their words and deeds, thought they were the only people who were truly righteous.
Viewpoint 1 is entirely correct. The praises and warnings were to be delivered to churches then in existence.
With some further explanations, viewpoint 2 may be seen as partially correct. The theologians and pastors will say that Philadelphia represents the church today and Laodicea represents the church closer to the Tribulation. Simply by watching the news or reading news articles, anyone can see that even in the present there are a lot of individual churches teaching false doctrine and otherwise leading people astray so they can't be represented by the descriptions of the church at Philadelphia. Reading history books - both Christian and secular - will lead to understanding there have been false teachers within the true church during all of recorded history, which is yet more proof Philadelphia doesn't represent the current true church. Within the true church, there has never been an individual congregation or denomination that has been perfect. The description of the church at Laodicea would be a closer to representing some of the individual churches and denominations today. However, the description is also a good representation of many congregations and denominations of the past.
The churches to which the letters were addressed were composed of many individuals. The true church of Christ is made up of not one part, but many (1 Corinthians 12:14). These are individual Christians and, throughout the New Testament, we read that none of them are perfect. Every Christian falls prey to temptation and sin. If most of the churches in Revelation receive some praise and some warnings, it seems that each of those apply to the individuals within each church. Some people deserved praise, while others needed to be warned. If the same can be said of all Christians throughout the history of the true church, then the theory that each church addressed by the letters found in Revelation represent a period of church history is found to be faulty.
The praises and warnings shouldn't be ignored by present day Christians or people who become Christians in the future. All of the praises teach Christians how to relate to and live for Christ. The warnings serve as reminders of what a Christian should avoid. To believe the letters represent different periods of the history of the true church and that the current church matches up to the description of the church at Philadelphia is extremely dangerous to individual Christians. If they believe their denomination, congregation, or they as an individual deserve only praise, they won't question what is being taught and will be easily led astray by false teachers. Although the letters were written to real churches and do not fit into separate periods of history, they still provide lessons that apply to every Christian today and in the future. Accept the praise from God when you do good. Heed the warnings so you're not led astray. And, finally, if you realize one of things you're being warned against is present in your life, repent and return to the ways of God.
Copyright © 2024 by Sheila Rae Myers