Seven Promises To Seven Churches
Introduction
God keeps all His promises according to His truthful, faithful character. Five of the seven churches in Revelation have received “rebukes” from the Lord Himself; however, He offers promises of encouragement to each one that will “hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Our help and our hope is all predicated on God’s character.
Lamentations 3:22-26
“Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not.
They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. "’The Lord is my portion,’" says my soul, "’Therefore I hope in Him!’"
The Lord is good to those who wait for Him,
To the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly For the salvation of the Lord.
I. Christ’s Promise To The Loveless Church (2:7)
If we abandon our love for Christ, the question is, what or who do we replace it with? Normally self. However, self will never satisfy the soul. The soul is designed to worship, but not to worship our self. The self is not glorious enough to captivate the soul. Our greatest joy will come in loving God and laying aside the weight of self-preoccupation, by denying ourselves, and looking to Jesus who is Life. We then will find ourselves desiring to serve others and give ourselves to others, as we begin to really live life abundantly.
PROMISE: V7 “I will give to eat of the tree of life” - symbolic of eternal life and continued blessings. Its leaves speak of enriching heavenly life, making it full and satisfying.
1 John 5:5 - “Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” Our dedication to Christ of our life, makes one an overcomer.
II. Christ’s Promise To The Persecuted Church (2:10-11)
Many members of this church were imprisoned and later put to death. Christ promised them “the crown of life” – this speaks of the reward as literally life. He gives them life.
“shall not be hurt by the second death”
First death is only physical
Second death is both spiritual and eternal.
Revelation 20:14 - “Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.”
III. Christ’s Promise To The Compromising Church (2:17)
“I will give some of the hidden manna to eat”
“I will give him a white stone” - on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it”
1.The believer may feast upon Christ in a hidden place.
Speaks of acquittal; stone of unity
A white stone was given to an athlete who won in the games and it served as admission pass to the winner’s celebration.
2. A personal message from Him to the ones He loves. So personal only the one who receives it will know what it says.
IV. Christ’s Promise To The Tolerating Church (2:26-28)
V26-27 – He speaks here of prominence and power in the millennial kingdom. He has already talked about that in Revelation 1:6
He has promised power and prominence but here in V28 He promises His presence.
Revelation 2:28 - “and I will give him the morning star.” Who is the “morning star?”
Revelation 22:16 - "’I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.’"
Jesus Himself is the believer’s reward.
One final promise from Jesus to the “Tolerating” church.
Revelation 2:24 - "’Now to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, who have not known the depths of Satan, as they say, I will put on you no other burden.’”
“I will put on you no other burden”
1 Corinthians 10:13 - “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”
The Lord promises perseverance.
V. Christ’s Promise To The Lifeless Church (3:5)
“clothed in white garments”
“I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life”
“I will confess his name before my Father and before His angels”
1. “white garments” - speaks of holiness and purity, garments refer to character.
Proverbs 6:27 – “Can a man take fire to his bosom, And his clothes not be burned?”
Isaiah 64:6 - “But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.”
Revelation 7:13-14 - “Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, "’Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?’" And I said to him, "’Sir, you know.’" So he said to me, "’These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.’”
2. “Book of Life” - in Biblical times, the names of individuals were recorded in the city register and after their death or departure from the city, they were marked out of the book of the living.
This is not a warning about the possibility of losing salvation, but rather it is an affirmation that those truly born again possess eternal life, and nothing can separate Christians from eternal life. Don’t turn a promise into a threat.
Luke 10:20 - “Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven."
Revelation 13:8 – “All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”
Revelation 20:12-15 - “And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”
There is the book of the living and the Book of Life of the Lord.
Psalms 69:28 - “Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, And not be written with the righteous.”
Revelation 21:27 - “But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. “
3. “confess his name before my Father…”
Matthew 10:32-33 - "’Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.’”
VI. Christ’s Promise To The Faithful Church 3:10-12
V10 “I also will keep you from the hour of trial which will come upon the whole world” - He will keep them “from” or “out of” the tribulation.
V11 “I am coming quickly” – a hopeful event; we are to live in a sense of the soon return of our Lord.
V12 “ I will make him a pillar” – speaks of unshakable, eternal, secure place in the presence of God.
“I will write on Him”, “the name of my God”, “the name of the city of my God”, “my new name”
Means the faithful belongs to God, hold citizenship in the New Jerusalem, and are in a special way related to Christ. He will imprint His character on us and identify us as belonging to Him.
Revelation 22:3-4- “And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. 4 They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads.”
VII. Christ’s Promise To The Lukewarm Church 19-21
V19 “as many as I love, I rebuke and chasten” - He convicts and disciplines His own.
Hebrews 12:6-8 - “For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives. If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.”
V20 “I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me” – Christ promises fellowship.
V21 “I will grant to sit with Me on My throne” - we are promised that one day we will rule and reign with Christ.
Luke 22:28-30 - “’But you are those who have continued with Me in My trials.” And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.’"
Note: Revelation 20:4 - “And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.”