I've been reading through my Bible and came to the Book of Revelation. I thought about skipping it and going to another book in the New Testament. I've read some books that go in depth about Revelation and explain it but, even after reading those, I still struggle when reading Revelation to make any sense out of it or get any new revelation from it.
I decided I would go ahead and read it and asked God to help me learn new things this time around. In the second chapter, John talks about writing letters to the seven churches in Asia. Each of the churches is described as being in a certain condition. That got me to thinking those same conditions could be applied to individual Christians. Individual Christians could experience one or more of these conditions throughout their walk with God.
The first one is the Loveless Church or Christian. I thought of Christians who get so busy serving in their church and being busy with life that they neglect their first love. Their relationship with God is the first love. They need to make sure they take time to get alone with God and stay focused on the most important thing which is their relationship with Him. Serving in their church and helping is great and needed but you have to maintain a balance and not get out of touch with God.
The second one is the Persecuted Church or Christian. This made me think of Christians who it seems are always suffering one crises after another. Who seem to always be having something go wrong and they start to feel discouraged and like God has abandoned them. They stay committed but feel like they're on their own.
The third one is the Compromising Church or Christian. They do a lot of good things and hold to the faith but they permit some things in their life that are sinful. They rationalize some minor things and then they turn into major things. They start to tolerate things that God says are wrong.
The fourth one is the Corrupt Church or Christian. This is when they don't even feel bad about the sin they're committing. They don't even think it's sin. They've let their conscience be dulled. God confronts them with their sin but they don't repent.
The fifth one is the Dead Church or Christian. They look good on the outside but inside they are full of dead men's bones. They put on a good show but that's about it. You get around them and listen to them talk about God and the faith but there doesn't seem to be a spark about them or any life in their words.
The sixth one is the Faithful Church or Christian. They stay true to God in everything and He has nothing against them and He opens doors for them that no one can shut and closes doors that no one can open.
The seventh one is the Lukewarm Church or Christian. I think about someone who is just going through the motions. Their heart isn't in it but they don't want to completely distance themselves from God. They just live from one Sunday to the next or just show up on Easter and Christmas.
I also noticed how the Son of Man is described differently for each church. For the Loveless Church, He's described as He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lamp stands. At the end of chapter one it says the seven stars are the seven angels for each church and the seven lamp stands are the churches. I think that means He walks among His children and He's speaking to us and guiding us. He's showing us how to get back to our first love.
For the Persecuted Church, He's described as the First and the Last, who was dead, and came back to life. I think He's letting the persecuted know He has everything under control. Everything begins and ends with Him. He knows what you're going through and He's with you every step of the way.
For the Compromising Church, He's described as He who has the sharp two-edged sword, I think He's letting the compromisers know that they need to cut some things out of their life. They need to have some things exposed and dealt with and the sword of His word will do that.
For the Corrupt Church, He's described as the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass. I think He's letting the corrupt know that He sees their corruption and they will eventually be exposed and repent or be consumed.
For the Dead Church, He's described as He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars. I think He's letting them know they need His Spirit back in their lives. They're completely dead and only His Spirit can bring them back to life.
For the Faithful Church, He's described as He who is holy, He who is true, He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens. I think He's letting the faithful know that He puts them where He wants them and takes care of their needs.
For the Lukewarm Church, He's described as the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God. I think He's saying to the lukewarm that they can put all their trust in Him and stop being apathetic. He's letting them know they can fully commit to Him because He's fully committed to them.
I think there are times in your walk with God that you may find yourself in one of these conditions. Know that God is relentless in His pursuit of you and He won't leave you in a bad condition.
