In 1955, Assistant US Postmaster General Joseph Cooper introduced the concept of certified mail or letters. A certified letter is guaranteed by the postal service to be delivered to the recipient. A form is filled out at the post office that contains the name of the sender and the person and address where the letter is sent. Each piece of Certified Mail is assigned a unique label number which serves as an official record of the mailing of the item by the Postal Service and the sender receives a receipt and can request they be notified when delivery is made. When delivery is made a person must sign for accepting the mail. The cost is more than ordinary postage, but it gives the sender proof of having sent the material. The letters to the seven churches in the book of Revelation is much like modern day certified letters. Each letter was sent to a specific group of believers and they were responsible to act upon the information the letter contained. There were no excuses of not having received the letter, the Lord made sure that there was proof of delivery. Before we dive in to the seven letters we need to understand some important background about John’s situation and the book of Revelation as a whole. The way we approach the book as a whole determines how we handle the information that we read. Our goal today is to get better acquainted with John and the situation in the Roman world at this time.
I. Background information makes it easier to understand Revelation as a whole.
A. The historical setting for the book of Revelation.
1. The persecution of Christians that began under Nero’s reign is continuing to escalate under the reign of Domitian who reigned from 81-96.
2. The Romans would ascribe divinity to emperors after their death. However Domitian claimed to be the Savior and Lord of the earth and expected to be worshipped as a god.
3. Domitian demanded the people address him as “master” and “god” which would come into direct conflict with Christian beliefs.
4. Domitian hated Christians with a passion because they worshipped Jesus in the way He desired to be worshipped.
5. Domitian's reign came to an end in 96 when he was assassinated by court officials. The same day he was succeeded by his advisor Nerva. After his death, Domitian's memory was condemned to oblivion by the Roman Senate, while senatorial authors such as Tacitus, Pliny the Younger and Suetonius published histories propagating the view of Domitian as a cruel and paranoid tyrant.
B. John’s circumstances as he receives the revelation from the Lord and writes it down.
1. John is living in exile because of his faith on a small Roman penal island known as Patmos.
2. Patmos lies about thirty-seven miles west-southwest of Miletus, in the Icarian Sea. Consisting mainly of volcanic hills and rocky ground, Patmos is about ten miles long and six miles wide at the north end.
3. Roman historian Eusebius mentions that John was banished to the island by the emperor Domitian in 95 and released eighteen months later by Nerva
4. John held to the fact that God was using his situation to allow him to be able to receive this great revelation.
5. John introduces himself to his fellow Christians as someone that is going through the same persecution and suffering as they are.
C. The situation surrounding the other believers throughout Asia Minor.
1. As John patiently endures his exile on Patmos, he fears that his fellow believers throughout Asia are going through even more. During this time persecution was severe and happened socially, economically and politically.
2. The churches in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea were established directly or indirectly through Paul’s ministry.
3. The seven churches are all located on the great Roman road that begins in the port city of Ephesus.
4. In view of the symbolic importance of the number seven throughout the book of Revelation, it is likely that these seven were intended to represent all of the Asian congregations, and perhaps all Christian congregations everywhere.
5. John is to take a papyrus scroll and write down everything that he has sees in this vision and send it to these seven Churches.
6. John is also given a special message to record for each individual congregation.
II. Important things that John wants understood about his experience on Patmos.
A. John is not ashamed of his faith or situation.
1. John is very careful to let his readers know that he is not superior to them and he facing the same things that they are.
2. The term “in Jesus” is very significant as it presents both John and his readers as remaining faithful and obedient to Christ.
3. Being in Christ allows John and his readers to be able to patiently make it through the severe suffering that they are facing.
4. John views his situation as the labor pains marked by extreme suffering that precedes the Second Coming of Christ.
B. John experiences a very unique prophetic experience.
1. John doesn’t decide on his own to write the book of Revelation. He is invited to see this great vision and is commanded by the Lord to write everything down.
2. This experience begins as John is worshipping the Lord on the first day of the week. Early Christians would refer to Sunday as being the Lord’s Day. As early as the 50’s it became common for Christians to gather for worship on the first day of the week.
3. John states that he was “in the Spirit” which is a term used four times in the book of Revelation. The term means that he had a vision that was inspired by the Holy Spirit.
4. Prophetic visions in the New Testament focus on the risen Christ unlike their Old Testament counterparts which focused solely on God.
C. The purpose of John receiving this vision is to provide hope to the persecuted church.
1. The vision assures every believer that is living under these extreme circumstances that the Lord is aware of their plight and is doing something about it.
2. It is important to note that the vision of the risen and victorious Christ is placed at the beginning of the book in order to provide the people with strength and hope.
3. The vision also provided John and his readers the opportunity to see things as they really are. Their persecution would come to an end and their faithfulness would be rewarded.
4. John refers to Jesus as the “Son of Man” which reveals that He maintains His humanity in His glorified and exalted state.
5. John skillfully applies the Old Testament attributes of God to the risen Christ which would have given his readers great hope.
6. Commentator Chris Davis describes what John saw in this way. “John describes what he sees in the language of Scripture. He bombards us with Scripture, leading the person who is familiar with God’s word to think of passage after passage, promise after promise, and prophecy after prophecy.”
III. Understanding why this letter is relevant for modern day Christians.
A. What John sees is relevant for us although our situation is quite different from the Christians of the first century.
1. It is hard for us to connect with these persecuted first century believers because the modern American church is not being forced to endure such persecution.
2. We need to realize that 2/3 of the Christians in the world are facing similar persecution to what these first century believers endured.
a. On average 160,000 Christians die because of their faith each year.
b. A Christian dies for their faith every five minutes.
3. The Lord calls for His people to wait patiently regardless of what they face. Our patience often wears thin but the plight of these early believers helps us keep everything in perspective.
4. The bottom line is that regardless of what we face Christ is with us, protecting us and in control of the situation.
B. Churches cannot allow themselves to become consumed by internal strife and conflict.
1. Internal conflict and strife prevents the church from doing what the Lord has called them to do.
2. Jesus is the head of the church not us. He is concerned with the condition of each and every congregation.
3. Jesus’ main concern is for His church to remain pure and free from sin. Every problem in the church is at the root a spiritual problem.
4. John’s vision reminds us that through His Spirit, Jesus is still among the churches today.
C. There should never be any fear in our hearts in regard to sharing our faith.
1. Consider all the persecution that the early Christians faced, despite all of this they remained faithful and continued to share their faith.
2. We face very little persecution and enjoy a great amount of freedom yet we often are quite fearful when it comes to sharing our faith.
3. Others around the world are like these early Christians. They are imprisoned or put to death for sharing their faith but yet they continue to do it.
4. The early believers shared the news of the Kingdom of God because they realized that through Christ they were already citizens of the Kingdom.
5. If we can’t share our faith during the easy times, how will we do it if things become difficult?
Closing:
At a reception honoring musician Sir Robert Mayer on his 100th birthday, elderly British socialite Lady Diana Cooper fell into conversation with a friendly woman who seemed to know her well. Lady Diana’s failing eyesight prevented her from recognizing her fellow guest until she peered more closely at the magnificent diamonds and realized she was talking to Queen Elizabeth! Overcome with embarrassment, Lady Diana curtsied and stammered, “Ma’am, oh, ma’am, I’m sorry, ma’am. I didn’t recognize you without your crown!”
Jesus bore no glowing physical attributes that seemed to suggest His eternal majesty… that is because He walked the earth without His crown.
Isaiah shows that when Jesus walked this earth, “He had no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.” But here, we have a vision of Jesus in all of His glorious majesty and power. This is a Savior who is Holy, Righteous, Glorious, and with Authority.
