This study, taught by pastor Barry Forder at our Sunday morning service on Sunday 31st January 2016 is the 5th in our verse-by-verse study through the book of Revelation.
In chapters 2 & 3 of Revelation we find seven letters that Jesus Himself writes to seven churches that existed in Asia Minor in the first century. As we noted last week, these letters were intended to have at least four levels of meaning and application.
- They were letters to seven churches that existed at that time, and Jesus was addressing specific concerns in those churches.
- They are also letters for each and every church, for the issues addressed in each church are experienced by all churches, and the instruction Jesus gives all do well to take heed of.
- Thirdly, the letters are written to you personally! If you have ears that is! This is worth thinking about for a moment… it means that here are seven letters written by Jesus to you – and to all believers. This means there is a very personal application to the instructions Jesus gives here.
- Finally, each successive letter lays out the prophetic history of the Church from the first century to the time of the Rapture, and culminating in the final church age that will give way to a one world church – the subject of Revelation 17 & 18.
In this study we look at the letters Jesus sent to the churches at Pergamos and Thyatira. As well as having local applications, personal encouragement and admonition, these letters take us prophetically from around 300 A.D. up to the end of the ‘dark ages’. We note the tragic shift in the church when it went from a persecuted church to a political powerful church – just as in the Matthew 13 parable of the Mustard Seed, that became something it was never meant to have been.
As well as the audio, PDF PowerPoint slides used in the study are available for download. However, if you would like to review this in more detail, we have included a verse-by-verse text commentary in the Pastor’s blog section of this website.
May you be blessed by this study as you continue to grow in knowledge and grace
Pastor Barry.
