Thursday Bible Life Today Revelation 2-3 5-16-2024

Chapters 2 & 3 of Revelation deal with the current Church Age and consists of 7 letters to 7 Churches that were in Asia Minor, a portion of modern day Turkey. Each of the letters follows the same pattern of a greeting to the messenger of the church, a description of the Resurrected, Glorified Christ, words of commendation, words of condemnation, instructions or warnings, a promise to the overcomer, and a statement, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches".
There are several views of interpretation for the letters and the seven churches:
- They were seven literal churches in operation at that time
- They represent types of churches throughout the Church Age
- There are people in many churches who have these characteristics
- The order of the churches given and their situations and experiences picture a timeline through the New Testament Church Age from Pentecost till the Lord returns to set up His Kingdom
The letters can be seen as report cards or progress reports for each of the churches. Since we are living in the Church Age today, these letters may be the most important section of the book of Revelation to us today. They instruct us in things to do or not to do and encourage us to have a close fellowship with the Lord.