THE CHURCH AGE

Many have written concerning the seven churches of Asia; some view them only as historic churches that existed at the time John penned the Book of Revelation; others see them as being symbolic of seven distinct periods of the 2000 year parenthetical Church Age which stands between Daniel's sixty-ninth and seventieth week (Dan. 9:24-27); and still others view them as both historical and symbolic churches.  I believe that they represent both.

 

Revelation Chapters Two and Three - Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia

[1] The church of Ephesus - The Age of the Apostles - A.D. 33-100
[8] The church in Smyrna - The Age of Persecution - A.D. 100-300
[12] The church in Pergamos - The Age of the Church as Empire - A.D. 300-500
[18] The church in Thyatira - The Age of Darkness - A.D. 500-1500
[1] The church in Sardis - The Age of Reformation - A.D. 1500-1800
[7] The church in Philadelphia - The Age of Missions - A.D. 1800-Today
[14] The church of the Laodiceans - The Age of Apostasy - A.D. 1900-Today

In Revelation 1:19-20, Jesus told John to "Write the things which thou hast seen (past tense), and the things which are (present tense), and the things which shall be hereafter (future tense); the mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches."  Notice that John had already seen the seven churches by the end of Chapter One.

In Chapters Two and Three, Jesus gives John a picture of what lies ahead for each of the seven churches as their experience on earth will differ; in other words, He tells John of their future destiny.  Just as Israel experienced a single helping of manna for each of the first six days of the week, and received a double portion on the sixth day, so too, does the Church experience six unique periods of history, with the sixth and seventh periods existing at the same time. 

The last two churches picture the Church as we find it today.  It consists of a minority of genuine born again believers, along with a majority of those merely professing to be Christians.  The Parables of the Church from Matthew 13, picture the organism that is Christ's Body, becoming a worldly organization infiltrated by tares (Mt. 13:25), fowls of the air (Mt. 13:32), false doctrine (Mt. 13:33), and bad fish (Mt. 13:48)!  The faithful Church known as "Philadelphia," has the promise of being removed from this world prior to the destruction that is to come (1 Th. 4:13-18; 5:9; Rev. 3:10).

Once the true believers are gone, all that will be left of what is known as the church today, "Laodicea," will carry on the appearance of being God's people, but even Christ Himself will have been excluded from within (Rev. 3:20)!  Notice also that it is the only church of the seven that is not addressed by its locale, a community of faith, but it is addressed as being led and controlled by its members:  "the Laodiceans!"  In fact, the Greek definition of "Laodicea" is "the people rule," and not Christ rules!

 

Does Christ rule your church, or is it run by those elected from within?