The 70 AD Letters addressed to seven local churches in Asia Minor also apply to the Church in our day.
The seven churches actually existed at the time the letters were written, and the message that Jesus directed to them applied to their actual situation. These letters may also be viewed as addressing all churches that will exist throughout history up to the return of Jesus Christ. Below are a number of reasons why this interpretation is valid and appropriate.

The very location of these letters in the Bible book of Revelation gives us clues that the letters should also be taken serious by all churches. The letters are found just before John is invited to write down a series of GLOBAL events NOT LOCAL events. Events that will unfold in the future and finally lead up to the end of planet earth and the return of Christ. Fact is also that the book of Revelation has become the closing book of the series of God-inspired books that we know as the Bible and it has become available to ALL CHURCHES. That alone is a reason to believe that the messages to these seven small churches in Asia Minor need really also to be taken serious by all churches of all times.

The placement of these letters within the book of Revelation and within the Bible as a whole indicates that the letters apply to all churches, not only those specifically mentioned. Note that in Revelation, the letters are placed just before John writes down a series of GLOBAL events -NOT LOCAL events- that will unfold in the future and lead to the end of planet Earth and the return of Christ. Furthermore, in the Bible as a whole, the book of Revelation has been placed as the final Word of the entire series of God-inspired books, and this placement has been canonized and accepted throughout ALL CHRISTENDOM. That alone is enough evidence that the messages to the seven small churches in Asia Minor also apply to all churches through all times.

In hindsight: - Church History in a nutshell -
From the modern perspective, looking back from our time to the time these letters were written, we discover that every letter describes a timeless set of characteristics and circumstances that are remarkably similar to those of all local churches -and the Christian Church as a whole- during specific periods in Church history. This allows us to use these sets of characteristic to identify types of churches in our own time and throughout history. Therefore, we can identify Philadelphia-type churches, Laodicea-type churches, and so on, by who they are and what they do, regardless of the names listed in telephone directories or history books.

This chart shows graphically how characteristics of the seven churches compare to characteristics of the
periods in the history of the Christian Church. These periods are not exact and people have given names
to the different periods of which I choose just a scheme of names that I think are fitting.
(others use slightly different name-schemes and periods may vary a little)

Use the arrows to go to the Bible text of the letters addressed to the churches.

Every letter contains these words from the Lord Jesus "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."
He who has an ear, ....... ALL who want to understand and want to listen to the Spirit.

what the Spirit says to the churches . . . not just to Ephesus but TO THE CHURCHES
what the Spirit says to the churches . . . not just to Smyrna but TO THE CHURCHES
what the Spirit says to the churches . . . not just to Pergamum but TO THE CHURCHES
what the Spirit says to the churches . . . not just to Thyatira but TO THE CHURCHES
what the Spirit says to the churches . . . not just to Sardes but TO THE CHURCHES
what the Spirit says to the churches . . . not just to Philadelphia but TO THE CHURCHES
what the Spirit says to the churches . . . not just to Laodicea but TO THE CHURCHES

Each letter ends with the words "He who overcomes . . . "; all Christians in all churches of all times need to take heed, or said the way God's Spirit does: "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."

1. Rev 2:7 'To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.'
2. Rev 2:11 'He who overcomes, will not be hurt by the second death.'
3. Rev. 2:17 'To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.'
4. Rev. 2:26-28 'He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces, as I also have received authority from My Father; and I will give him the morning star.'
5. Rev. 3:5 'He who overcomes, will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.'
6. Rev. 3:12 'He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; 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 out of heaven from My God, and My new name.'
7. Rev. 3:21 'He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

In order to understand these passages, we need to know exactly what 'overcome' means. Click here to go to the word study.

From the word study, we learned that the word "overcome" means that the enemy is overpowered and defeated in a victory that does not come easily, but rather through suffering or after a long, hard fight. The enemy is all that is evil. It cost Jesus His life. It will cost His followers tribulation.

Therefore, it is dangerous to presume that believers will be 'raptured' into the safety of heaven before the great tribulation begins.

The churches of every generation have experienced hardships. The churches that enter into the last tribulation have to go the same way. Jesus speaks about that time in Luke 21:28: "But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

Luke 21:34-36 "Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap; [35] for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth. [36] "But keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man."

Fear not, you better be PREPARED than surprised, make sure you will OVERCOME and ENDURE TO THE END.

If you do not know Jesus then invite Him into your life, to help you face everything that is ahead. The time to be able to choose may come to an end soon. E-mail us if you have any questions or if you need help to find the people able to help you with your most needed choice in life.
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