Jesus looks different in the first chapter of Revelation. John is in the spirit when he encounters the scene, and there is nothing He can write to give us a humanly-clear idea of what the scene looks like. We read, beginning in verse 12:
“Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And after turning I saw seven golden lampstands; and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and wrapped around the chest with a golden sash. His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze when it has been heated to a glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength.”
Verse 17: “When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades. Therefore write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things. As for the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.”
In 2:1, “To the angel of the church in Ephesus,” He is described as “The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands.”
In 2:9, “to the angel of the church in Smyrna,” He is described as “The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life.”
In 2:12, “to the angel of the church in Pergamum,” He is “The One who has the sharp two-edged sword.”
In 2:18, “to the angel of the church in Thyatira,” He is “The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and feet like burnished bronze.”
In 3:1, “To the angel of the church in Sardis,” He is “He who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.”
In 3:7, “to the angel of the church in Philadelphia,” He is described as “He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens.”
And in 3:14, “To the angel of the church in Laodicea,” He is “The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Origin of the creation of God.”
I Know
There are patterns to the writing to these seven churches. To each, the Son of Man says, “I know…”
To the church in Ephesus, He says, “I know your deeds and your labor and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil people, and you have put those who call themselves apostles to the test, and they are not, and you found them to be false; 3 and you have perseverance and have endured on account of My name, and have not become weary.”
To the church in Smyrna, Jesus says, “I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the slander by those who say they are Jews, and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.”
To the church in Pergamum, “I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is; and you hold firmly to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.”
To the church in Thyatira, “I know your deeds, and your love and faith, and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first.”
To the church in Sardis, He tells them, “I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, and yet you are dead.”
To the church in Philadelphia, Jesus says, “I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have followed My word, and have not denied My name.”
To the church in Laodicea, He says, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot.”
He might just as well say something to the church in our community. I won’t pretend to know what He would say, but what do you think? He would begin with “I know…” The point is that the Son of Man knows where we stand. He knows our strengths and our faults. And the same is true for every congregation on the planet.
To the church in Kansas City: “I know…”
To the church in Boston: “I know…”
To the church in Seattle: “I know…”
London, India, Nigeria…
Warnings
Once that realization settles in, here come the warnings:
To Ephesus, “But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.”
Smyrna: “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days.”
Pergamum: “But I have a few things against you, because you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality. So you too, have some who in the same way hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
He has a lot to say to Thyatira: “But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her sexual immorality. Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds. And I will kill her children with plague, and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds. But I say to you, the rest who are in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan, as they call them—I place no other burden on you.”
Sardis: “Be constantly alert, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God.”
Philadelphia: “Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie - I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and make them know that I have loved you. Because you have kept My word of perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of the testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who live on the earth.”
Laodicea: “Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have no need of anything,” and you do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked, I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to apply to your eyes so that you may see.”
What tone does He take with the church in in our fair city? Do we hold to the teachings of Christ and His apostles? Have we properly handled the Word of God? Does our behavior match our speech? Do our actions line up with our posts on social media?
Zombies
Some of the seven churches represented in the first chapters of the Revelation of John are all but dead. For some, their vine has withered, and they are just waiting for someone to chop them down and throw them into outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.
It is as if they are zombies. Modern zombies are also known as the living dead. They are human bodies, minus morals, speech, and intelligence. They are driven about by their lust for human flesh. They wear tattered clothing to match their personal appearance. All they seem to want is to survive.
Modified just a bit, hear what the goddess Ishtar says in the ancient tale of the Epic of Gilgamesh: If you do not open the gate for me to come in,
I shall smash the door and shatter the bolt,
I shall smash the doorpost and overturn the doors,
I shall raise up the dead and they shall eat the living:
And the dead shall outnumber the living!
They reproduce by blood contact - usually by biting their victims.
They have a particular yearning for the brains of the living.
But that’s just silly talk for the most part. The seven churches that Jesus has warned have also looked for their own ways of doing things. They have introduced leniency, worldly behaviors and entertainment. They have slacked off in their adherence to the Words of Christ. They have relaxed their standards. They have left off entire parts of the New Testament in favor of their own desires.
In short, they stagger about, groaning, in search of new flesh to satisfy their lusts and their cravings. Does any of this sound familiar in our modern religious atmosphere? Surely, such could not happen in the USA, in our conservative state, in our hometown. Surely, such would not occur in the Lord’s church. I should hope not.
Hope
But as much as everything seems dark and bloody, just when it looks like Ishtar is correct - that the walking dead shall outnumber the living, Jesus gives instructions to each of the churches, offering each of them hope. Hope for what? We’ll get to that. For now, look at what he tells them.
To the church in Ephesus, He says to “remember from where you have fallen, and repent, and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and I will remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.”
To the church in Smyrna: “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
Pergamum: “Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will wage war against them with the sword of My mouth.”
Thyatira: “Nevertheless what you have, hold firmly until I come.”
Sardis: “So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Then if you are not alert, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you. But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.”
Philadelphia: “I am coming quickly; hold firmly to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”
Laodicea: “Those whom I love, I rebuke and discipline; 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 will dine with him, and he with Me.”
How do you kill a zombie? Destroy the brain. How do you kill a church? The answer is pretty similar. But there is hope.
Repent, be faithful, repent, hold firmly, repent, hold firmly, and repent
To the One Who Overcomes
For what? Is it worth all the effort that Jesus expended? Is it worth the martyrdom of His followers? Is it worth the persecution that the church endures around the world? Is it worth our being raked over the coals as ignorant, Bible thumping, followers of a fictional God?
Let not your heart be troubled. For the one who overcomes all of these things and more… It. Is. Worth it! Listen to His message to the seven churches.
Ephesus: “To the one who overcomes, I will grant to eat from the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.”
Smyrna: “The one who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.”
Pergamum: “To the one who overcomes, 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 except the one who receives it.”
Thyatira: “The one who overcomes, and the one who keeps My deeds until the end, I will give him authority over the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are shattered, as I also have received authority from My Father; and I will give him the morning star.”
Sardis: “The one who overcomes will be clothed the same way, 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. The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Philadelphia: “The one 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. The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
And to Laodicea: “The one who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat with My Father on His throne. The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
To the local church: “Be the one who overcomes!”
Conclusion
In the spring of 2011, the United States' Centers for Disease Control didn’t have anything better to do, so they published a graphic novel entitled “Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse”. The comic book format provided tips to survive a zombie invasion as a "fun new way of teaching the importance of emergency preparedness".
We have a superior text. Just recall the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25, where the five who are prepared are invited in to join the groom, and the five who are unprepared are told, “Truly I say to you, I do not know you.”