Today, we will be looking at the last three components to Jesus’ messages to the seven churches. We already looked at Jesus’ custom-tailored use of introducing Himself, His emphasis on knowing the “works” of His churches intimately, and His commendations and warnings. Today, we will be looking at Jesus’ prophecies, promises of reward, and His sevenfold emphasis on having ears to hear His messages to the churches.
Jesus had three prophecies, all of which were encouragements and promises of preservation:
THE EXALTED CHRIST’S PROPHECIES
No Prophecy for Ephesus.
(Smyrna) 10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation (2:10a).
No prophecy for Pergamum.
No prophecy for Thyatira.
(Sardis) 4 Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy (3:4).
(Philadelphia) 9 Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you. 10 Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. 11 I am coming soon (3:9-11).
No prophecy for Laodicea.
For Smyrna, to suffer is an honour, since they are suffering on Christ’s behalf. Christ is letting them know what to expect in their persecution. Despite Sardis’ terrible disobedience, Christ still confirmed that there are yet some faithful there that He will preserve for Himself. And for the small church in Philadelphia, despite their smallness, will be given power over their enemies and be preserved from the hour of trial—an act of mercy. These are personalized prophecies for these three churches, two of which were faithful, and one almost dead.
Every church was then given a promise of reward for overcoming the wickedness of their hearts in Christ:
CHRIST’S PROMISE OF A REWARD TO THOSE WHO PERSEVERE
(Ephesus) To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God’ (2:7b).
(Smyrna) Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. . . . The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.’ (2:10b, 11b).
(Pergamum) To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it’ (2:17b).
(Thyatira) 26 The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, 27 and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. 28 And I will give him the morning star (2:26-28).
(Sardis) 5 The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels (3:5).
(Philadelphia) 12 The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name (3:12).
(Laodicea) 21 The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne (3:21).
The truth of the matter is that each of these promises are for all the church. I find it encouraging to see them all together. Together, they help to offer a picture of what heaven will be like, and, more importantly, what our relationship will be to God. So much is encapsulated in each of these statements. In short, when we finish our earthly race of endurance, we will be given full privileges to have things like the tree of life and the hidden manna (eternal life and perhaps vast true knowledge). We will conquer the second death. We will rule with Christ. And we will have the same level of intimacy with God that Christ has with His Father. Can you imagine a greater paradise? In a way, just as God Himself is maximally great and perfect, so our life on the new earth will be the perfect utopia. People truly long for a utopia in our present life, but such an ideal is impossible because of human evil, suffering, and corruption. However, on the new earth, all of these things will be done away with, leaving only perfection: a world run directly by the perfections of God that is in perfect harmony with His nature and character. That is the only true utopia, and we have this in Christ. So, we ought to heed Christ’s warnings and do all that we can to persevere in holiness, regardless of what the world may think or want to throw at us. Let us be regarded as radicals in their eyes; radicals who obey Christ regardless of the cost, by His abundant grace. All is rubbish when compared to the infinite value of knowing Christ.
THE SEVENFOLD REFRAIN
Jesus included a refrain in each of His seven messages to the churches: He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches (2:7a, 11, 17, 29, 3:6, 13, 22). Why would He repeat this message seven times? As we should know, seven is the number of perfection and God, while six is the number of man. Christ’s sevenfold refrain highlights not only the importance of hearing (and therefore obeying) His messages to the churches, but also that it is the Holy Spirit Himself who is conveying this message to them. Only those who are truly saved can hear and heed Christ’s message, while all others cannot do so. Deuteronomy 29:4 says, “But to this day the Lord has not given you a heart to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear.” “Ears to hear” is one of the gifts of the New Covenant given by God to believers when they are saved. So, the refrain is a clarion call to all who call on Christ’s name to remain faithful to Him unto death. As we saw in each message to the seven churches, the enemies, temptations, and problems that the church will face in this world are many and multifaceted. Therefore, we must strive to always be soberminded, regardless of what evil we face. We must keep each other alert, and support one another to maintain sobriety until Christ returns. We who are saved are given ears to hear what the Spirit says to the churches, and so we will endeavour to heed His messages for us.
So, as we end this devotional series, we ought to remember just how exalted Christ is now, and yet, even with His exaltation, He is bringing us up to be exalted with Him, so that we too may have a perfect relationship with God. The exalted Christ is not One who is far off, nor will He be brought near (as if He will have to lose His exalted status to come down to our base state), but we will be brought near to Him. There can be no greater honour that a human being can experience than what we have in Christ. Thanks be to God for His inexpressible gift! May we therefore endeavour to persevere, being wakeful to our obedience to Him until the times of our death and His impending return. Amen.