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Welcome to the conclusion of this section! Let’s pray together:
Father,
The study of the letters to the seven churches reveals the wonderful riches of the prophetic book of Revelation.
Please grant us Your Holy Spirit, so that the global picture may help us to fully understand the seven letters.
We ask You, above all, to help us to put into practice the invaluable counsels Jesus gives us in these letters. In His name we pray.
Amen.
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Revelation 1:11
What you see, write in a book, and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia; to Ephesus, and to Smyrna, and to Pergamos, and to Thyatira, and to Sardis, and to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.
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In this lesson, we will draw the main parallels between the letters to the seven churches.
These parallels will help us to discover some important messages which can go unnoticed when each letter is studied separately.
Though the letters present a local application, we will linger over their prophetic application.
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Revelation 1:19
Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter.
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Daniel 2:39,40
After you shall arise another kingdom inferior to you, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron.
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Following the pattern of Daniel’s prophecies describing the succession of earthly kingdoms, the letters describe the succession of the seven stages of Church history, between the first and the second coming of Jesus.
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Revelation 1:1
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to Him, to show to His servants things which must shortly come to pass.
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Keeping in mind each one of the stages of Church history, let’s start by quickly reviewing the content of each section of the seven letters.
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Revelation 22:10
And [the angel] said to me,
«Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.»
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In our lesson «The Book of Revelation», we have seen that this book presents a mirrorlike organization, in which its historical part (first part of the book) correlates with the eschatological part (second part of the book).
In this mirrorlike organization, the letters to the seven churches (chapters 1 to 3) perfectly correlate to the section describing the reward granted to the churches (chapters 21 and 22).
Let’s look at this together.
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Revelation 1:1,3
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to Him, to show to His servants things which must shortly come to pass; and He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John. (...)
Blessed is he that reads, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein.
For the time is at hand.
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By looking more closely at the seven letters, we continue to find many more amazing messages about the «things which must shortly come to pass», thus filling with zeal and hope the hearts of those who study Revelation.
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Revelation 2:7
He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit said to the churches.
«To him that overcomes will I give to eat of the tree of life.»
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In addition to describing the condition of the seven local churches and the seven stages of Church history between the first and second coming of Jesus, the seven letters are also addressed to each one of us: «He that has an ear, let him hear.»
They reveal seven spiritual states a Christian can experience during his life.
Then, they give the best advice and encouragement for each one of those spiritual states.
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Revelation 1:1
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to Him, to show to His servants things which must shortly come to pass.
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Each one of the letters to the seven churches gives us a valuable message which strengthens our confidence by its prophetic application, but also guides us in our Christian progress by its personal application.
But the book of Revelation still holds in store a lot of surprises for us, as we will see in the next section about the seven seals.
Don’t miss it!
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Let’s pray:
Lord,
We sincerely thank You for giving us the book of Revelation, and for these seven letters You sent to Your Church.
By their prophetic application, they strengthen our confidence in Your inspired Word.
By their personal application, they are a source of vital counsels and encouragements, whatever our present spiritual condition may be.
May Your Holy Spirit continue to guide us, as we now tackle the study of the seven seals of Revelation. In Jesus Christ we pray.
Amen.
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