Chapter 2

Checking the flowchart again, notice that the Ch2 box is directly over the Ch3 box, meaning that whatever is described in both boxes are occurring at the same time. The next chapter will cover the last three churches of Asia. Here we will look at the first four.

It seems natural for the seven churches to be split up into chapters two and three the way they are, since the first four go together and the last three go together. What I mean is that there is a common basis upon which the first four churches are compared, which has nothing to do with the last three, and conversely there is a common basis upon which the last three are compared, which has nothing to do with the first four.

The common basis upon which the first four are compared is what we can call a doctrinal basis, and their order in the chapter seems to indicate a pattern from one extreme to the other.

One of these first four churches has no fault found with it, so that one can become the standard by which we measure the other three. So the first thing we should do is look for that one.

Smyrna is the one with no faults. Jesus says they are rich in spite of their poverty, and He gives them encouragement. The only criticism in this letter is directed towards "those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan," v9. This certainly does not sound as if the Jews who do not accept Jesus as the Messiah will be saved anyway, as many think. Jesus, in John 14:6, and Peter, in Acts 4:12, are pretty clear on this point. Jesus is the only way to Heaven.

Smyrna's rightness can to some extent be measured by the errors of the other three churches, so let's move on to the next one.

Pergamum has some criticisms lodged against her. What the specific charges are don't seem to be as important as how those charges came to be. What I mean is, the main problem with Pergamum is that they are disregarding some of the scriptures. Many pagans, upon entering the church, had difficulties letting go of some of their past practices, and it appears as if they had rationalized away some of the scriptures in order to justify them. Balaam disregarded what God said, bringing judgment on himself. Here the practice of the Nicolaitans, which among other things was said to deny that God created the world and condoned a high degree of immorality, was permitted, and the only way that could be done would be to ignore what God said about that. So in this sense, one could say that the main problem with Pergamum was that they were too liberal.

The next church, Thyatira, had a more serious problem, and Jesus was quite severe in His letter to that church. But notice that some of the specific charges are similar to the ones made against Pergamum. What is the difference? The difference is in why those faults came about. Notice v20, that a woman is there who calls herself a prophetess. They didn't just disregard some scripture, like Pergamum, to get into trouble. They added to them, allowing a 'Jezebel' to be considered God's mouthpiece, with whatever she said considered as the very words of God.

They could be considered to be even more liberal than Pergamum, because in the case of that church there is a limit as to how many scriptures they can ignore. They can only ignore what is there. But one can add anything, and therefore that danger is open-ended, with an unlimited potential for error.

So what's most important here is not the error so much as the reason for it. Though disregarding some of the scriptures is serious, adding to it is more so.

So now we have three of the four churches discussed, with Smyrna found faultless, Pergamum too liberal, and Thyatira even more liberal. Seeing that those churches listed after Smyrna erred in the same direction, and noticing that Ephesus is listed in the opposite direction from these in respect to Smyrna, that indicates that perhaps the error found there is also in the opposite direction, which would be that of being too conservative. Let's see what we find.

The Ephesians are said to have lost their first love, v4. They are commended for what they did, v2. What was the first love that they lost? it seems to me that they had developed more love for the Law than the Lawgiver, perhaps to the point of becoming Pharisaical, which would be detrimental to the brotherhood. 1 Peter 2:17 says to love the brotherhood, and 1 John 4:20 says that if you don't you can't love God, making the two inseparable. Going back to Acts 20:28-31, is it possible that the Ephesian elders, who after all were only human, could have gone beyond Paul's intentions? Could they have become too harsh with anyone who disagreed with them, supposing they were defending God while really causing harm to His body?

Any church today can look at these first four and see where they are. If they are honest they will know whether or not they are ignoring part of the scriptures, or are following rules not found there.

But the problem with Ephesus is that their error is not easy to spot for those involved. If you're overly stringent you probably think you are contending for the faith against apostasy, without realizing that you are going overboard. Many cannot tell the difference between what they think the bible means and what it actually says. However, a lack of love, especially among those who disagree with each other, is easier to spot, and can be a warning flag that something is wrong. We must always remember that all those that are in Christ are brothers and sisters not because they agree with each other over every doctrinal position. Just as flesh-and-blood brothers and sisters squabble from time to time so do Christian brothers and sisters, yet they are still brothers and sisters, and for one very good reason. They all have the same father, that is, God, with Jesus as their older brother. We may disagree, but only in the case of immorality, Christ denial, or divisiveness should anyone ever be disfellowshipped. Having an opinion is one thing. Browbeating others into accepting it under threat of censure is something else entirely.

If your church doesn't have the errors found at Pergamum or Thyatira, and love is everywhere evident, as it apparently wasn't at Ephesus, then it can be safely inferred that your church is similar to Smyrna.

One last thing to notice is what Jesus didn't say to the faithful members of the churches that were criticized. He did not tell any of them to leave their church and start a new 'true' one. Their job would appear to be to help the church correct itself, which won't be done if they leave. Jesus even encourages those faithful ones in Thyatira in v24 and 25 to in effect "hang in there." To just leave cannot do the church any good.