Message One—Seven Stages of the Church
Rev. 1:4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is coming, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne.
3:8 I know your works; behold, I have put before you an opened door which no one can shut, because you have a little power and have kept My word and have not denied My name.
The Situation in the Seven Churches of Asia
Signifying the Progress of the Church in Seven Stages
The seven epistles in chapters two and three of Revelation are the record of the actual situation existing in the seven churches of Asia (1:4) at the time these epistles were written. However, since this book is a book of signs with a prophetic nature, the situations of the seven churches are also signs, signifying prophetically the progress of the church in seven stages. The first epistle, to the church in Ephesus, affords a picture of the church at the end of the first stage, during the last part of the first century. The second epistle, to the church in Smyrna, prefigures the suffering church under the persecution of the Roman Empire, from the last part of the first century to the early part of the fourth century, when Constantine the Great brought the church into imperial favor. The third epistle, to the church in Pergamos, pre-symbolizes the worldly church, the church married to the world, from the time Constantine accepted Christianity to the time the papal system was established in the latter part of the sixth century. The epistle to the church in Thyatira depicts prophetically the apostate church, from the ordination of the papal system in the latter part of the sixth century to the end of this age, when Christ comes back. The fifth epistle, to the church in Sardis, prefigures the Protestant church, from the Reformation in the early part of the sixteenth century to Christ’s coming back. The sixth epistle, to the church in Philadelphia, predicts the church of brotherly love, the recovery of the proper church life, from the early part of the nineteenth century, when the brothers were raised up in England to practice the church life outside all denominational and divisive systems, to the second appearing of the Lord. The seventh epistle, to the church in Laodicea, foreshadows the degraded church life of the brothers in the nineteenth century, from the latter part of the nineteenth century until the Lord’s return. (Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 235)
The Church in Thyatira Pre-symbolizing the Apostate Church
The church in Thyatira is the church in apostasy. “Thyatira” in Greek means “sacrifice of perfume” or “unceasing sacrifice.” As a sign, the church in Thyatira prefigures the Roman Catholic Church, which was fully formed as the apostate church by the establishment of the universal papal system in the latter part of the sixth century. This apostate church is full of sacrifices, as demonstrated in her unceasing mass. This apostate church will remain until the Lord’s coming back.
The church in Thyatira is a continuation of the worldly church, pre-symbolized by the church in Pergamos. The church in Pergamos had the teaching of the Gentile prophet Balaam and the teaching of the Nicolaitans, that is, the teaching of a clerical system. The Catholic Church continues these teachings, the teaching of Balaam to bring people into idol worship and fornication and the teaching of the Nicolaitans to build up the hierarchy. In the Catholic Church today there is a strong teaching concerning the building up of a religious organization with its hierarchy.
The Church in Sardis Prefiguring the Protestant Church
“Sardis” in Greek means “the remains,” “the remainder,” or “the restoration.” As a sign, the church in Sardis prefigures the Protestant Church from the time of the Reformation to the second coming of Christ. The Reformation was God’s reaction to the apostate Roman Catholic Church, signified by the degraded church in Thyatira. The Reformation was accomplished by a minority of the believers, the remainder. Hence, it was the restoration by the remainder.
To the messenger of the church in Sardis the Lord says, “I know your works, that you have a name that you are living, and you are dead” (Rev. 3:1). The reformed Protestant Church has been considered by many to be living, but the Lord says that she is dead. Hence, in her dead condition, she needs the seven living Spirits and the shining stars. In name the Protestant denominations are living and are better than the Catholic Church. Actually, the Protestant denominations are dead. (Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 237)
The Church in Philadelphia Prefiguring the Recovered Church
In Greek, “Philadelphia” means brotherly love. As a sign, the church in Philadelphia prefigures the proper church life recovered by the brothers who were raised up by the Lord in England in the early part of the nineteenth century. Just as the reformed church, prefigured by the church in Sardis, was a reaction to the apostate Catholic Church, prefigured by the church in Thyatira, so the church of brotherly love is a reaction to the dead reformed church. This reaction will continue as an anti-testimony to both apostate Catholicism and degraded Protestantism until the Lord comes back.
In 3:8b the Lord Jesus says, “You have a little power and have kept My word.” One outstanding feature of the church in Philadelphia is that she kept the Lord’s word. According to history, no other Christians have kept the Lord’s word as strictly as those in the church in Philadelphia. The church in Philadelphia, the recovered church, does not care for tradition; she cares for the word of God.
In 3:8 the Lord also says that the church in Philadelphia has not denied His name. …The deviation from the Word to heresies and the exaltation of so many names other than that of Christ are the most striking signs of degraded Christianity. The return to the pure Word from all heresies and traditions and the exaltation of the Lord’s name by abandoning every other name are the most inspiring testimony in the recovered church.
The Church in Laodicea Prefiguring the Degraded Recovered Church
In Greek “Laodicea” means the opinion, the judgment, of the people or of the laymen. The church in Laodicea as a sign prefigures the degraded recovered church. Less than a century after the Lord recovered the proper church in the early part of the nineteenth century, some of the recovered churches (“assemblies”) became degraded. This degraded recovered church differs from the reformed church signified by the church in Sardis; it also differs from the proper recovered church signified by the church in Philadelphia. The degraded recovered church, signified by Laodicea, will exist until the Lord comes back.
These four kinds of churches—the Roman Catholic Church, the reformed church, the recovered church, and the degraded recovered church—will remain until the Lord comes back. Undoubtedly, only the recovered church can fulfill God’s eternal purpose, and only she is what the Lord is after. (Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 238)
