Jesus wrote seven Epistles to the churches!
The word revelation means “the unveiling”. Jesus is removing the veil to allow us understanding concerning the past, present, and future, as well as His expectations for us who belong to the true church. He also describes the ramifications of rejecting FATHER’S Love. We must keep this in mind anytime we study the culmination of The Bible. This final book is about the unveiling of Jesus Christ: past, present, and future. It is the consummation and climax of all things.
The Beloved Disciple wrote by The Holy Spirit in Revelation chapter 1:
1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him (Jesus Christ) , to shew unto His servants things which must shortly (suddenly) come to pass; and He sent and signified it by His angel unto his servant John
FATHER gave Jesus this revelation to share through His servant John to write unto us!
3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the Words of this Prophecy, and keep those things which are written in It; for the time is near.
This is the only book of The Bible that promises a special blessing to those who read AND hear it!
Jesus spoke in Revelation chapter 1:
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “Who is and Who was and Who is to come, the Almighty.”
And
11 saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”
Why these seven churches? There were over 100 churches 63 years after the Day of Pentecost. Jesus is signifying to John to give us representative signs. These churches fit a specific model.
The descriptions of each church in their written order give an effective profile of Church history in advance. Jesus speaks from His position of “Who is and Who was and Who is to come”. This allows Him to address the past, present, and future all in the same seven letters to the churches.
Ephesus is the early church that hated evil; Smyrna, the persecuted church; Pergamos, the married church; Thyatira, the medieval church; Sardis is the denominational church; Philadelphia is the missionary church; and Laodicea, the apostate church.
The first three are distinctive in their structure; the promises are given to those who overcome. Each of the remaining four also have promises to those who overcome, as well as specific, explicit references to Christ’s Second Coming. If Thyatira is the medieval Catholic Church, then Sardis must, by default, be the Protestant denominational churches, and it is one of two churches of the seven that has little good said about it.
Jesus provided us an outline the entire book when He spoke in chapter 1:
19 Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;
The Vision of Christ (hast seen, in chapter 1)
The Seven Churches (which are, in chapters 2,3)
Which follows after the Churches (which shall be hereafter beginning in chapter 4:1 through 22)
The seven lampstands are the seven churches in chapters 2 and 3.
Jesus spoke in Revelation chapter 2:
1 “To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, ‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His Right Hand, Who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands:
2 “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars;
3 and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My Name’s sake and have not become weary.
4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first Love.
5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place-unless you repent.
6 But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
7 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.”‘
Jesus had good news, bad news, and a surprise. Their works were the good news. The surprise is that they lost their first Love. The bad news is that if they don’t repent, their lampstand will be removed.
By the way, every church was to pay attention to what was being told to the other churches. That applies today as well.