TODAY’S PROPHETIC NUMBERS

DO YOU HAVE AN EAR

The purpose of the book Revelation —especially the seven letters for the seven churches—was to strengthen the faith of the members of the present-day churches by assuring them that deliverance from the evil powers arrayed against them was close at hand. In the book of Revelation, the Apostle John wrote about events that would lead to the end of this age. The link between John’s day and the time of Christ’s return is the prophetic period pictured by seven Church eras outlined in Revelation 2–3. The letters to the seven churches describe the actual conditions in each Church at the end of the first century AD. 

However, the letters are also prophecies of the future. Jesus Christ’s words in these key chapters—chapters 2 & 3 of Revelation—explain the seven eras, or the seven periods of the Church, and reveal the spiritual condition of God’s Church throughout history—where it has gone astray and what you and I need to do about it! The church conditions described in the letters prophetically describe the conditions that would prevail in each successive era. To the churches, the Lord named seven conditions.

1. Casual/Complacent Church – “Left its First Love.”

2. Conflicted Church – Faithful in Trials

3. The Compromising Church

4. The Corrupt Church

5. The Corporate Church – It looked alive because it was financially wealthy, but inside, it was dead. 

6. The Consistent Church – Persistent and Faithful

7. Calloused Church – Lukewarm

The message that Jesus gave these seven churches is not outdated. It is not time-stamped and has no expiration date. It is timeless and still valuable to churches and individuals today. It’s a command to clean house even in your own life because you are the temple of God. On the positive side, it’s a celebration because of the promise to receive a crown. The key for the Church in 2024 is that we can learn from these seven lessons Jesus gave the seven churches. Seven times in these two chapters Jesus said, “He that has an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says.”

Declaration: I will filter my purpose, passion, perspective, and priorities through the lessons I can learn from the letters to the seven churches. I will answer the call to consecrate myself unto the Lord.

From The Sermon: 7 Lessons for 7 Churches