The Seven Churches or The Seven Church Ages
Verse 1 — The salutation.
- Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;
Verses 2, 3 — The commendation.
- I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
- And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.
This church was a good church that labored in the scriptures and obeyed the admonition to “prove all things.” One of the things that God hates is a liar because there’s no truth in a lie of which the devil is the father. Exposing false doctrine and false teachers with scriptures is what every true Bible-believing church and Christian should be doing to please God.
- Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
- Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
From the very beginning there were men who sought power and authority in the church and they did that by falsely claiming to be apostles by either claiming to be ordained by the apostles themselves or claiming apostolic succession. These men professed to be the “one true apostolic line” by receiving their “apostolic succession” from the Apostle Simon Peter who was crucified by Rome.
- And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money,
- Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.
- But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.
- Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.
Easier Now Than Ever
These false Christians have deceived the world and even real Christians by claiming that they are succeeded from the original apostles by tradition and therefore are to be esteemed as “holy men” deserving of honor and obedience. In truth, these men are not apostles but are religious thieves and liars destined for hellfire. Here in their own words they explain why their false doctrine of “apostolic succession” is so vital to convincing the world of their false authenticity and readily admit that scripture — God’s word — is insufficient for doctrine.
The first Christians had no doubts about how to determine which was the true Church and which doctrines the true teachings of Christ. The test was simple: Just trace the apostolic succession of the claimants.
Apostolic succession is the line of bishops stretching back to the apostles. All over the world, all Catholic bishops are part of a lineage that goes back to the time of the apostles, something that is impossible in Protestant denominations (most of which do not even claim to have bishops).
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The Church Fathers, who were links in that chain of succession, regularly appealed to apostolic succession as a test for whether Catholics or heretics had correct doctrine. This was necessary because heretics simply put their own interpretations, even bizarre ones, on Scripture. Clearly, something other than Scripture had to be used as an ultimate test of doctrine in these cases.
There’s a reason the Catholic Church rejects the word of God in order to establish their false doctrine of Apostolic Succession. An apostle is required to be a personal witness of Jesus’ ministry “beginning with the baptism of John” up through “that same day that he was taken from us” — the resurrection of Jesus. There is no man alive this day that can fulfill this requirement. Even Judas failed to witness the resurrection of Jesus because he died before it happened. When the last apostle died, there was no continuation of apostles because of this scriptural requirement. The Catholic Church’s doctrine of Apostolic Succession is a demonic hoax.
- And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,)
- Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus.
- For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry.
- Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.
- And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood.
- For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another take.
- Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,
- Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.
- And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.
- And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen,
- That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.
- And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.
Saul, called Paul, is the only exception to the “witness” rule because the Lord Himself chose Saul to be an apostle to the Gentiles.
- And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord.
- And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth,
- And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.
- Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem:
- And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name.
- But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
- For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.
- Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:
Verse 4 — The complaint.
- Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
The Lord is unhappy with His church because it has left its “first love.” What would be its “first love?” It wouldn’t be the “Great Commission,” building programs, or even soul winning. It would be the Lord Jesus Christ Himself Who created the church and bought it with His blood, the Sovereign of the church, its Protector and Provider.
How would a church do such a thing as to leave the protection and provision of its Sovereign? By going to “Caesar,” the State, surrendering the Sovereignty of Christ to the sovereignty of the State and incorporating itself into the body of the State as its corporation. The church no longer is the body of Christ under the control of Christ but is a part of the body of the State which now controls all aspects of the corporation, a creature of the State. If the corporation still attempts to function as a “church” it does so as a State church under State control. It is a “church” in name only.
- Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
- For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
- Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
It would be a similar situation to where another man controls the wife and her husband's household. The husband's power and authority in the home had been usurped by an outsider that the wife had contracted with for some crumbs of benefits. What can a husband do in such a situation? He cannot force the wife against her will. All he can do is abandon the wife to the consequences of her acts. Even the church as an ensample unto the wife, cannot help him because it has done the same thing.
The act of incorporating into the State, a creature itself, is a voluntary act done either out of fear that Jesus won’t protect or provide for His church or out of ignorance that Jesus the Creator is subservient to the creature (the State) or greedily decided to feed at the public’s socialist (Nicolaitan ) pig trough for whatever benefits are in it. In any case, the State has become the protector and provider of the church at the price of controlling every aspect of it. No wonder Jesus complains! The bride that He purchased with His life betrays Him by joining herself to an inferior master! Consequently the church under the State’s authority has lost its ability to declare the absolute truth under Christ because it must first please the secular State and preach by license (permission). The State is the new “head” of the church and it has no spiritual power to change lives and save souls.
- Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
While this isn’t mentioned, it’s also thought to be fornication in the “legal” sense as the body of Christ is being joined to the body of the State as a corporation. “Corporation” is a word derived from the Latin word “corpus” which means “body” as is the word “corpse.” Fornication is so terrible because it is a sin against God Himself by joining His body, the church, to the body of another god as the State often projects itself. There’s no joining of the flesh as in the case of a harlot who represents another god but there is a joining of bodies nonetheless.
- Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.
- What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.
In the landmark case of Hale vs. Henkel, the U.S. Supreme Court stated the following regarding corporations:
“Upon the other hand, the corporation is a creature of the State. It is presumed to be incorporated for the benefit of the public. It receives certain special privileges and franchises, and holds them subject to the laws of the State and the limitations of its charter. Its powers are limited by law. It can make no contract not authorized by its charter. Its rights to act as a corporation are only preserved to it so long as it obeys the laws of its creation.”
Hale v. Henkel, 201 U.S. 43 at 74 (1906)
From this case we learn that:
- A corporation is “a creature of the State.”
- The State is "sovereign" over the corporation.
- The corporation is “incorporated for the benefit of the public.”
- A corporation is a State “franchise.”
- Incorporation is a State “privilege.”
- A corporation is “subject to the laws of the State.”
- “Its powers are limited by law.”
- It must “obey the laws of its creation.”
- A corporation has no constitutionally-protected rights.
These are not new or novel legal principles that the Supreme Court just discovered in 1906. Rather, these are legal principles that date back many centuries. The corporation is a product of ancient Rome. The corporation, as the legal entity we are familiar with today, dates back to at least 250 B.C.
By 6 A.D. and the codification of Corpus Juris Civilis (the first great codification of Roman civil law) all “spontaneous collectivities of persons” were required to incorporate. The early church was persecuted over their refusal to incorporate. Had they incorporated they could have avoided much of the persecution they otherwise suffered at the hands of the Romans.
Rome persecuted the Christians not for Who they worshipped. Rome had hundreds of deities, and they could care less who or what you worshipped, as long as you were “licit” (licensed). The church was persecuted not because they worshipped Jesus Christ, but because of the manner in which they functioned — an ecclesia. The church was declared to be “illicit,” and held in a state of “civil disobedience,” because of their refusal to incorporate. Why did the church refuse incorporation? Largely because they knew that it would destroy their testimony that Jesus Christ is “Lord” and “Sovereign.”
Under Roman civil law, “Caesar is sovereign over the corporation,” and “the corporation is a creature of the State.” The early church willingly suffered for its refusal to accept “State privileges and benefits.”
- Because that for his name’s sake they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles.
Verse 5 — The warning.
- Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
Without a candlestick, the light is going to go out. As it turns out, that's what happened when the church, its city and the people were destroyed and fell into ruin to this day.
Verse 6 — The praise.
- But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
Jesus says, “thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.” Who are the Nicolaitans and what is so terrible about their deeds that Jesus would hate them?
Nicolaitan is a compound word derived from “Niko” meaning to conquer, to overthrow, and “Laos” meaning the people or laity; the sum meaning to conquer or to overthrow the laity; a coup of sorts. The object of the Nicolaitan religion was to establish a “Holy Order of Men” and put them in authority over the laity, which was foreign to the New Testament plan, and call them not pastors, but—Clergy, Bishops, Archbishops, Cardinals, Popes, and Fathers. The false doctrine of “Apostolic Succession” and the separation of the Clergy from the Laity had its origin here and came to be called the “Catholic Church.” The church at Ephesus was not deceived, however, and recognized them as false apostles and liars, thus earning the true Christians the hatred of the Nicolaitans masquerading as Christians who would later persecute them when they came to power.
The history of the Nicolaitans had its beginning with Nimrod, the father and founder. According to the writings of Josephus, Nimrod first united people under a religious system of unity, whose main purpose was to desolate the laws and decrees of the Most High by teaching people not to depend on God, but to depend on the government (of Nimrod) for all their needs — the first socialist government which gave free benefits to the people and then eventually forced people to labor for their benefits. This model of Nicolaitan, i.e. Socialism, is the model all Communists use to overthrow today’s lawful governments. Once the Nicolaitans have total control, their socialist model transforms people into slaves, so that the Nicolaitans, who ran the system, live off the labor of their slaves — a tyranny.
Nimrod’s dominion, as with all Nicolaitans, extended over all the earth. The end goal of all Nicolaitans is a one-world authoritarian religious/political government — a socialist superstate — as it is revealed in Revelation 13 — the number 13 being the number of rebellion.
The Nicolaitans have ruled over men since the time of Nimrod and are still here among us, always attempting to usurp the authority of God over man by force and threat of death. God created man as sovereign over all the earth and made him subject only to Himself, not to other men.
- And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
- And when Gallio was the deputy of Achaia, the Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul, and brought him to the judgment seat,
- Saying, This fellow persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law.
- Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
- Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
Verse 7 — The promise.
- He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
These verses that we are studying are two-fold doctrinally: they represent seven church ages while at the same time they are referring to seven churches in the Tribulations. There is no Doctrine of Grace that applies to Tribulation saints — they all are saved by works. In the Age of Grace, saints have already “overcome” the “spirit of antichrist” and “the world.” During the Tribulation, overcoming the Antichrist will be only with great suffering and cost, and the reward will be access to the “Tree of Life” which provides the eternal life through works, not grace.
- And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
- Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
- For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
- Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
The character of the church at Ephesus fairly represents the church period from 33 AD to 200 AD.
A city of the Roman province of Asia, near the mouth of the Cayster river, 3 miles from the western coast of Asia Minor, and opposite the island of Samos. With an artificial harbor accessible to the largest ships, and rivaling the harbor at Miletus, standing at the entrance of the valley which reaches far into the interior of Asia Minor, and connected by highways with the chief cities of the province, Ephesus was the most easily accessible city in Asia, both by land and sea. Its location, therefore, favored its religious, political and commercial development, and presented a most advantageous field for the missionary labors of Paul. The city stood upon the sloping sides and at the base of two hills, Prion and Coressus, commanding a beautiful view; its climate was exceptionally fine, and the soil of the valley was unusually fertile.
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Ephesus and Pergamos, the capital of Asia, were the two great rival cities of the province. Though Pergamos was the center of the Roman religion and of the government, Ephesus was the more accessible, the commercial center and the home of the native goddess Diana; and because of its wealth and situation it gradually became the chief city of the province. It is to the temple of Diana, however, that its great wealth and prominence are largely due. Like the city, it dates from the time of the Amazons, yet what the early temple was like we now have no means of knowing, and of its history we know little except that it was seven times destroyed by fire and rebuilt, each time on a scale larger and grander than before. The wealthy king Croesus supplied it with many of its stone columns, and the pilgrims from all the oriental world brought it of their wealth. In time the temple possessed valuable lands; it controlled the fisheries; its priests were the bankers of its enormous revenues. Because of its strength the people stored there their money for safe-keeping; and it became to the ancient world practically all that the Bank of England is to the modern world.
… Not only was the temple of Diana a place of worship, and a treasure-house, but it was also a museum in which the best statuary and most beautiful paintings were preserved. Among the paintings was one by the famous Apelles, a native of Ephesus, representing Alexander the Great hurling a thunderbolt. It was also a sanctuary for the criminal, a kind of city of refuge, for none might be arrested for any crime whatever when within a bowshot of its walls. There sprang up, therefore, about the temple a village in which the thieves and murderers and other criminals made their homes. Not only did the temple bring vast numbers of pilgrims to the city, as does the Kaaba at Mecca at the present time, but it employed hosts of people apart from the priests and priestesses; among them were the large number of artisans who manufactured images of the goddess Diana, or shrines to sell to the visiting strangers.
Such was Ephesus when Paul on his 2nd missionary journey in Ac (18:19-21) first visited the city, and when, on his 3rd journey (19:8-10; 20:31), he remained there for two years preaching in the synagogue (19:8,10), in the school of Tyrannus (19:9) and in private houses (20:20). Though Paul was probably not the first to bring Christianity to Ephesus, for Jews had long lived there (2:9; 6:9), he was the first to make progress against the worship of Diana. As the fame of his teachings was carried by the pilgrims to their distant homes, his influence extended to every part of Asia Minor. In time the pilgrims, with decreasing faith in Diana, came in fewer numbers; the sales of the shrines of the goddess fell off; Diana of the Ephesians was no longer great; a Christian church was founded there and flourished, and one of its first leaders was the apostle John. Finally in 262 AD, when the temple of Diana was again burned, its influence had so far departed that it was never again rebuilt. Diana was dead. Ephesus became a Christian city, and in 341 AD a council of the Christian church was held there. [***Then the judgment of God takes place as prophesied.***] The city itself soon lost its importance and decreased in population. The sculptured stones of its great buildings, which were no longer in use and were falling to ruins, were carried away to Italy, and especially to Constantinople for the great church of Saint Sophia. In 1308 the Turks took possession of the little that remained of the city, and deported or murdered its inhabitants. The Cayster river, overflowing its banks, gradually covered with its muddy deposit the spot where the temple of Diana had once stood, and at last its very site was forgotten.
Ruins of a small theater along the main street of ancient Ephesus
The library among the ruins of ancient Ephesus
The largest theater in the world, seating 50,000 people, among the ruins of ancient Ephesus
The main street among the ruins of ancient Ephesus