Letters to the Churches: Conquering and Failing
Summarizing Revelation 2 and 3's promises made to the seven churches to get a global view of what will happen when people conquer challenges or fail to bear patient witness to Jesus.
I’m taking a brief break in writing about Revelation to look back and summarize what was said to the seven churches. Studying them over several weeks, one loses track of all the promises — I do, anyway! And if we believe that these promises apply to us as well, it’s useful to get a handle on them all and see them all together.
Ephesus
Fail: Lampstand removed. Happened because no church exists there anymore.
Conquer: Given the right to eat from the tree of life in God’s paradise. According to the Blueletter Bible concordance, paradise can be interpreted as the “abode of the souls of pious until the resurrection…or heavenly paradise” or where the “first parents dwelt before the fall…neither on the earth or in the heavens, but above and beyond the world.”
Smyrna
Fail: Nothing
Conquer: Saved from the second death.
Pergamum
Fail: Jesus will fight them with the two-edged sword of his mouth.
Conquer: Given secret manna and a white stone with a new name written on it that none will know except the one who receives it.
Thyatira
Fail: Minds and hearts searched; suffer great distress; her children slaughtered; each will receive what their deeds deserve.
Conquer: Given authority over the nations, to rule and smash them. Given the morning star. In chapter 22, Jesus is called the morning star, so this promise implies ruling alongside and intimately with Jesus.
Sardis
Fail: Jesus will come like a thief to them.
Conquer: Clothed in white robes; their name won’t be blotted out in the book of life but acknowledged in the presence of God and the angels; will walk with Jesus in the way they deserve.
Philadelphia
Fail: Nothing.
Conquer: Made pillars in God’s temple, and they will never leave the temple. On them will be written the names of God, the city of God, and Jesus’s own new name.
Laodicea
Failure: Vomit them out of Jesus’s mouth.
Conquer: Jesus will eat with them and they with Jesus. Have them sit beside Jesus on his throne.
Summarizing Possibilities
If you fail to follow Jesus and abide by his teachings:
The church itself will be erased.
Individually, Jesus will search minds and hearts and come like a thief. In other words, Jesus will arrive unannounced and unexpectedly. Jesus will fight you with the power of his words and/or vomit you out of his mouth, and you will suffer great distress in accordance with your deeds. Your children will be slaughtered.
The suffering can be confusing because Jesus also acknowledges and praises those who suffer patiently (or die) as witnesses to his teachings and himself. The Book of Job shows that suffering can be inexplicable and not because of anything you did. And Jesus turned this idea of suffering-because-you-were-bad on its head when he healed the sick.
So does this warning mean that in the future time or the time before the resurrection but after first (physical) death only those who didn’t follow Jesus and didn’t conquer, will suffer while the rest of us will finally be freed from suffering?
By implication, the names of the ones who failed will be blotted out in the book of life. They will suffer the second death, I suppose.
Notice that Jesus uses the sword of his mouth — not any other weapon nor his feet. John’s Gospel introduced Jesus as the word made flesh. In all the Gospels, we didn’t read of Jesus fighting his enemies with war weapons never mind the first-century equivalent of the gun. And Jesus continues in that vein with his warnings to the churches and their members if they fail.
If you conquer by following Jesus and abiding by his teachings:
Individually, you will be able to:
Eat from the tree of life in the time before the resurrection.
Avoid the second death, meaning your soul will not be erased.
Given secret manna and a new name known only to Jesus.
Given authority to rule over the nations, meaning you can discipline them and, if unruly, smash them.
Have a close, intimate relationship with Jesus (get your mind out of the gutter!).
Clothed in white robes — which brings to mind the elders as they’re descibed in chapter 5.
Have your name acknowledged to God and the angels.
Walk with Jesus according to what you deserve.
Be pillars in God’s temple and will never be forced out of it.
Carry the name of God, God’s new city, and Jesus’s new name.
Eat and drink with Jesus.
Sit with Jesus on his throne.
To sum up:
If you conquer, you will have eternal life; be eternally fed; receive a new name as well as carry God’s name, the new city’s name, and Jesus’s name — which will mark you as a citizen of God’s new Creation and a new version of the original Creation — be able to rule the nations and hold up God’s new Creation; never be separated from God or Jesus; have wisdom and praise like the elders; walk and feast with Jesus; and be Jesus’s close friend. In diversity, all will be one with Jesus and belong to God and God’s resurrected Creation.
If you think I’ve missed something or misinterpreted, please click the button below and leave a comment!
Note: I’m following N.T. Wright’s Revelation: 22 Studies for Individuals and Groups and his newest book 20th Anniversary Edition with Study Guide, Revelation for Everyone. See my post Prepare for Revelation for suggested materials.