Updated: Seven Prophecies, Seven Churches
In chapter one of the Book of Revelation, the apostle John was directed, "Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches in Asia, to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea." [Rev. 1:11].1 In the first century, these churches were located in the cities in the region called Asia (Minor). It's the westernmost region of Turkiye today, separated from Greece by the Aegean Sea. They were churches established by the apostle Peter. [See 1 Pet. 1:1]. The term strangers used by Peter, [Greek, parepidēmos] in his epistle refers to the fact that those of the nations of the House of Israel living there were not native to those lands, i.e., living on a land not of their inheritance. And Peter, as with all apostles, was sent to the House of Israel, not the gentiles. [See Mat. 10:5, 6; Acts 15:7].
In our Sneakers article, The Context Of Prophecy, we discuss how prophecy is recurrent, that is it has more than one occurrence in kind. The same holds forth for the seven churches in the Book of Revelation. The description of the seven churches begins in chapter two of Revelation. [See the Feature articles, Moving Forward; and Paul Was An Apostle To The House Of Israel, Not The Gentiles].
John witnessed the seven candlesticks, or lampstands, mentioned in chapter one's verses 12 and 13. These are the seven churches. The seven churches all existed in the first century. But their descriptions also were a reference to the future, "things which shall be hereafter," the prophetic seven eras of the church from the first century time of Christ’s first coming until his second coming at the end of the last days. The future prophetic reference to these church eras is not geographical in nature, but spiritual. [See the Feature article, The Relevance Of The Holy Days In The Plan Of God In The Last Days].
As we read in the first chapter of Revelation,"Write these things which you have seen and the things which are and the things which shall be hereafter." [Rev. 1:19]. Thus, we have three periods of time referenced here from John's first century perspective concerning these churches, the past, present and future. First, what John had witnessed up to that point. Then those things that are, from this point forward, meaning they were in existence in John’s lifetime in the first century. Included would be the establishing of the seven first century churches by Peter in Asia Minor according to the word of Christ. [Mat. 16:18]. Peter did not establish any church in Rome. Peter went north and east from Jerusalem as far away as Babylon. [1 Pet. 5:13]. The establishing of the church at Rome was done by the apostle Paul according to the word of God. [Acts 23:11; see the Sneakers article, Nope To Pope].
And the third time is a prophetic reference of the future during the last days, from the first century to the 21st century. This is the time of the seven eras of the church, in sequence continuing until the return of Christ. Thus, the early church established by Peter and the apostles in the first century has had an unbroken existence to our current day. Over the millennia, the church, the ekklesia, are comprised of those individuals who have had a holy calling, and have received the Spirit of God. As the apostle Paul pointed out, "For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another." [Rom. 12:4, 5].
The descriptions in Revelation two and three apply to the character and behavior of the individuals of the churches, the ekklesia, in the first century, but also are prophetic regarding the seven successive eras of the church over the past two millennia or so. They are those called and chosen, ordained to eternal life from before the beginning of time to live in these last days. " ... for the good news according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the good news ...." [2 Tim. 1:8-10]. The calling of God is to individuals, not to organizations.
In other words, our personal salvation and holy calling in our time here on Earth was determined for each of us individually before time and our universe came into existence. This is to say "a divine ordination to eternal life is the cause, not the effect, of any man’s believing." We were ordained, chosen to be Christ's executive team in the kingdom of God, to couch it in our modern day terminology, before we took our first breath. [1 Cor. 6:3]. This truth is so much more incredible than the common, and disinformation doctrine that we get to flit off to heaven for eternity after we die. [See Rev. 1:5, 6, and commentary on Acts 13, verse 48 in the Feature article The Good News Colour Revolution for details; also see the Feature article, Heaven Can Wait].
These church eras do not stop and start abruptly, but they transition, or overlap from one into the next. We have this situation today. The last two eras of the church prior to Christ’s return are Philadelphia, the sixth and Laodicea, the seventh. Both the ekklesia, the brethren, of Philadelphia and Laodicea are in the world today. They are two very distinct groups of individuals with two very different approaches to the word of God. Those of the Philadelphian church are active passionate participants, the doers, while those of Laodicea are lukewarm spectators, the hearers, when it comes to the word of God and the love of the truth. The latter is somewhat of a prodigal son, at least for those who overcome. One church will be kept from “ … the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world …” while the other will require passing through the fire of tribulation. “I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire .…” Those who are victorious will sit on the throne of Christ. Which group we fall into depends on how we live our lives before God. Are we passionate and unwavering daily in putting the kingdom of God and the love of the truth first in our life before all else? Or are we blasé, lukewarm in our day-to-day life when it comes to matters of faith, our conviction of the truth? Here are the descriptions of the two churches in Revelation.
The Letter to Philadelphia:
"And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, 'These things says 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: [a reference to Christ] "I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.
"Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie —indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you." [A reference to Zionist Edom; see the Feature articles, Isaiah 63: Big Brother, The 21st Century Antichrist, Revelation 17: Big Brother, The Beast Of Babylon and the updated Little Horn: First Century Antichrist as well as chapter six in The Blind Man's Elephant].
"Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth." [Rev. 3:7-10]. "And the woman [the chosen ekklesia, i.e., those of the promise to the Philadelphian church] fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days ... And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent." [Rev 12:6, 14; also see the Feature article, Obadiah And The Prophetic Parable Of The Tares]. The amount of these days, 1260 and three and a half times are 42 months, or the same amount of time Babylon the Great has reign over the Earth.
"Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. He who overcomes [Greek nikao, to conquer, to come off victorious], I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. 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 out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.” [Rev. 3:11-13].
The Letter to Laodicea
"And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, 'These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spit you out of My mouth." We see evidence of this in Revelation 12. When the Phildelphian ekklesia are taken to place prepared of God, the Laodoceans shall remain behind to be tried in the fire. "And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." [Rev. 12:17].
"Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing'—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.
"Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'" [Rev. 3:14-22].
For those called and chosen, ordained to eternal life, let us know, "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to attest these things to you [the apostle John] for the churches. [Chapter 1, verse 1]. I am the Root and descendant of David, the bright morning star. Both the Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" Let anyone who hears, say, "Come! " Let the one [the individual] who is thirsty come. Let the one who desires take the water of life freely." [Rev. 22:16, 17].
Be sure to check our Newslink section regularly for relevant secular articles.
In our Sneakers article, The Context Of Prophecy, we discuss how prophecy is recurrent, that is it has more than one occurrence in kind. The same holds forth for the seven churches in the Book of Revelation. The description of the seven churches begins in chapter two of Revelation. [See the Feature articles, Moving Forward; and Paul Was An Apostle To The House Of Israel, Not The Gentiles].
John witnessed the seven candlesticks, or lampstands, mentioned in chapter one's verses 12 and 13. These are the seven churches. The seven churches all existed in the first century. But their descriptions also were a reference to the future, "things which shall be hereafter," the prophetic seven eras of the church from the first century time of Christ’s first coming until his second coming at the end of the last days. The future prophetic reference to these church eras is not geographical in nature, but spiritual. [See the Feature article, The Relevance Of The Holy Days In The Plan Of God In The Last Days].
As we read in the first chapter of Revelation,"Write these things which you have seen and the things which are and the things which shall be hereafter." [Rev. 1:19]. Thus, we have three periods of time referenced here from John's first century perspective concerning these churches, the past, present and future. First, what John had witnessed up to that point. Then those things that are, from this point forward, meaning they were in existence in John’s lifetime in the first century. Included would be the establishing of the seven first century churches by Peter in Asia Minor according to the word of Christ. [Mat. 16:18]. Peter did not establish any church in Rome. Peter went north and east from Jerusalem as far away as Babylon. [1 Pet. 5:13]. The establishing of the church at Rome was done by the apostle Paul according to the word of God. [Acts 23:11; see the Sneakers article, Nope To Pope].
And the third time is a prophetic reference of the future during the last days, from the first century to the 21st century. This is the time of the seven eras of the church, in sequence continuing until the return of Christ. Thus, the early church established by Peter and the apostles in the first century has had an unbroken existence to our current day. Over the millennia, the church, the ekklesia, are comprised of those individuals who have had a holy calling, and have received the Spirit of God. As the apostle Paul pointed out, "For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another." [Rom. 12:4, 5].
The descriptions in Revelation two and three apply to the character and behavior of the individuals of the churches, the ekklesia, in the first century, but also are prophetic regarding the seven successive eras of the church over the past two millennia or so. They are those called and chosen, ordained to eternal life from before the beginning of time to live in these last days. " ... for the good news according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the good news ...." [2 Tim. 1:8-10]. The calling of God is to individuals, not to organizations.
In other words, our personal salvation and holy calling in our time here on Earth was determined for each of us individually before time and our universe came into existence. This is to say "a divine ordination to eternal life is the cause, not the effect, of any man’s believing." We were ordained, chosen to be Christ's executive team in the kingdom of God, to couch it in our modern day terminology, before we took our first breath. [1 Cor. 6:3]. This truth is so much more incredible than the common, and disinformation doctrine that we get to flit off to heaven for eternity after we die. [See Rev. 1:5, 6, and commentary on Acts 13, verse 48 in the Feature article The Good News Colour Revolution for details; also see the Feature article, Heaven Can Wait].
These church eras do not stop and start abruptly, but they transition, or overlap from one into the next. We have this situation today. The last two eras of the church prior to Christ’s return are Philadelphia, the sixth and Laodicea, the seventh. Both the ekklesia, the brethren, of Philadelphia and Laodicea are in the world today. They are two very distinct groups of individuals with two very different approaches to the word of God. Those of the Philadelphian church are active passionate participants, the doers, while those of Laodicea are lukewarm spectators, the hearers, when it comes to the word of God and the love of the truth. The latter is somewhat of a prodigal son, at least for those who overcome. One church will be kept from “ … the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world …” while the other will require passing through the fire of tribulation. “I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire .…” Those who are victorious will sit on the throne of Christ. Which group we fall into depends on how we live our lives before God. Are we passionate and unwavering daily in putting the kingdom of God and the love of the truth first in our life before all else? Or are we blasé, lukewarm in our day-to-day life when it comes to matters of faith, our conviction of the truth? Here are the descriptions of the two churches in Revelation.
The Letter to Philadelphia:
"And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, 'These things says 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: [a reference to Christ] "I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.
"Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie —indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you." [A reference to Zionist Edom; see the Feature articles, Isaiah 63: Big Brother, The 21st Century Antichrist, Revelation 17: Big Brother, The Beast Of Babylon and the updated Little Horn: First Century Antichrist as well as chapter six in The Blind Man's Elephant].
"Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth." [Rev. 3:7-10]. "And the woman [the chosen ekklesia, i.e., those of the promise to the Philadelphian church] fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days ... And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent." [Rev 12:6, 14; also see the Feature article, Obadiah And The Prophetic Parable Of The Tares]. The amount of these days, 1260 and three and a half times are 42 months, or the same amount of time Babylon the Great has reign over the Earth.
"Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. He who overcomes [Greek nikao, to conquer, to come off victorious], I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. 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 out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.” [Rev. 3:11-13].
The Letter to Laodicea
"And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, 'These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spit you out of My mouth." We see evidence of this in Revelation 12. When the Phildelphian ekklesia are taken to place prepared of God, the Laodoceans shall remain behind to be tried in the fire. "And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." [Rev. 12:17].
"Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing'—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.
"Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'" [Rev. 3:14-22].
For those called and chosen, ordained to eternal life, let us know, "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to attest these things to you [the apostle John] for the churches. [Chapter 1, verse 1]. I am the Root and descendant of David, the bright morning star. Both the Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" Let anyone who hears, say, "Come! " Let the one [the individual] who is thirsty come. Let the one who desires take the water of life freely." [Rev. 22:16, 17].
1 The phrase “I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last,” while listed in the King James Version’s Revelation 1, verse 11, is omitted from other English translations, as the oldest manuscripts do not include it. [CSB, v. 11]. However, verse 8 is included in the KJV and other translations.
Be sure to check our Newslink section regularly for relevant secular articles.
© copyrighted material 2007-2025. www.redshoe.com All rights reserved.
Notice to readers. All redshoe generated articles may be hyperlinked or copied to PDF format for use as long as no editing or alteration of content is made. See Menu banner for other terms of use.