The Confessing Seventh-day Adventist

The Essential Outline

The most wonderful thing about Christ's messages to the seven churches is how amazingly loving and appropriate the messages are. In this summary, you will behold the profound depth of these messages. Also, in the second half, the displays of God's omniscience will seriously challenge your capacity to believe. I will not be commenting on everything known about the seven churches. I will be focusing on the prophetic and very elegant literary structure of the messages.

Before we examine the nature and meaning of the seven messages, it will be helpful to reread Revelation chapter 1. (See below). Here are the essential details.

• John's epistle is addressed to seven churches in Asia.
• John was writing from the island of Patmos and the seven churches were situated on the mainland, near to the Island of Patmos.
• The seven churches are listed in geographical order. That's the order that a messenger would take in delivering John's letter to the seven churches, allowing it to be read at each church and faithfully copied.

In Revelation chapter 1, John sees and has a dramatic encounter with the glorified Christ. In the Seven Churches section (Revelation chapters 2 and 3), Christ reminds each church that He is the One speaking and, in each Self-introduction, Christ identifies Himself by referring to some part of His description in Revelation 1. The choice Christ makes to describe Himself to each church is pertinent to that church. Also, in each of the seven messages, Christ mentions a reward for those who overcome. Each reward is appropriate to the circumstances of that church.

You should see an abundance of parallels and contrasts in Christ's messages to the seven churches. I highlighted many of the phrases in bold text to make these parallels and contrasts easier to see.

Revelation 1

Prologue
1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.

Greetings and doxology

4 John,
To the seven churches in the province of Asia:

Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
7 Look, he is coming with the clouds,
and every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him;
and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen.

8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."

One like a Son of Man
9 I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 On the Lord's Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, 11 which said: "Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea."

12 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and among the lampstands was someone "like a son of man," dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.

17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

19 "Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. 20 The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

Revelation 2

To the church in Ephesus

1 "To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:
These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: 2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. 4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. 5 Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. 6 But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

Christ is in charge of the seven stars. That's an important fact to remember. Unsanctified human nature wants to control. This is a real danger and a potential threat in every legalistic church.

Christ commends the church in Ephesus for their hard work and perseverance. It's a godly undertaking to "contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 1:3).

What is missing? The church in Ephesus had forsaken their first love—Jesus Christ. Consider the implications.

Jesus said,

"If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

"All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:23-27.

What teaching of Jesus did the Ephesus church forsake? Jesus said, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." John 13:34.

Consider again that Christ is speaking to the church in Ephesus. What do they hear is the reward for those who overcome? They get to eat fruit from the tree of life. Is that the reward you look forward to?

Think of all the blessedness that being a member of heaven will bring. What are your greatest and noblest aspirations? They will be fulfilled. Why, then, is Christ referring to granting the right to eat from the tree of life? What was His purpose in mentioning the paradise of God?

Christ has given the church a subtle message. It is a subtle hint to what the Ephesians could have in the here and now.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." Galatians 5:22-23.

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30.

The mention, then, of the simple pleasure of eating from the tree of life in the paradise of God matches perfectly the hard work of the Ephesians.

To the Church in Smyrna

8 "To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:
These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. 9 I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. 11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.

He who is First and Last, who died and came to life again, speaks to those disheartened by afflictions and poverty. Christ encouraged them by pointing to their great riches. Those who are faithful to the end will receive a crown of life. Christ shows great empathy. Note the parallels. The church was distressed by the fierce persecution they were suffering. Christ died and came to life again and this would also be true of those who overcome.

To the Church in Pergamum

12 "To the angel of the church in Pergamum write:
These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. 13 I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives. 14 Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality. 15 Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. 17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.

Church members who hold to the teaching of Balaam or of the Nicolaitans should be disfellowshipped. The church in Pergamum didn't understand this necessity. Thus, the church was making an error in judgment. They didn't have the discernment that comes from studying God's word. "Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil." Hebrews 5:13,14.

In Revelation 1:16 John describes Christ, saying "out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword." God's word is like a sword. "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword" (Hebrews 4:12). The sword of the Spirit is the word of God (Ephesians 6:17).

Christ is called the Word of God (John 1:1). Christ compares His word with life-giving bread that must be eaten (John 6:33,35,48,50,51,57,58). "The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life" (John 6:63). The reward of those who overcome will be the secret treasure of God's word.

To the Church in Thyatira

18 "To the angel of the church in Thyatira write:
These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. 19 I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first. 20 Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. 21 I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. 22 So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. 23 I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds. 24 Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan's so-called deep secrets (I will not impose any other burden on you): 25 Only hold on to what you have until I come. 26 To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations—
27 'He will rule them with an iron scepter;
he will dash them to pieces like pottery'— just as I have received authority from my Father. 28 I will also give him the morning star. 29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

The church in Ephesus, Pergamum and Thyatira are a bit like the Tin Man, Scarecrow and Lion in The Wizard of Oz. The Tin Man didn't have a heart. The Scarecrow didn't have a brain (only straw). Thyatira, like the Lion, didn't have any courage. Christ is reminding the church in Thyatira that those who overcome will rule with an iron scepter. Christ judges now ("I am he who searches hearts and minds") and the church shouldn't cringe at judging immorality and ungodly doctrines. We are to rule now by not tolerating wickedness in the church.

Note that Christ presents Himself here as an imposing figure and a greater threat than Jezebel, who is intimidating.

Revelation 3

To the Church in Sardis

1 "To the angel of the church in Sardis write:
These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you. 4 Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. 5 He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels. 6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

He who holds the seven spirits of God knows who is alive spiritually. The Spirit gives life. This church is dead. Their deeds are feeble and lifeless. Their clothes are soiled. Those who overcome will be dressed in white. "And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints." Revelation 19:8.

Imagine only having a reputation of being alive but actually being dead. The reward of waking up from death is to have your name permanently written in the book of life. And instead of having a false reputation, your reputation will be legitimate. The Son of God will acknowledge you before His Father and His angels.

"Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord." Matthew 25:23.

To the Church in Philadelphia

7"To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:
These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. 8 I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 9 I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. 10 Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth. 11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. 12 Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name. 13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

The key of David means the same as the keys of death and Hades (1:18). He who is holy and true is opposed to the unholy and untrue—"those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars."

There is concern by many in the church in Philadelphia that they might fall away because of the persecution that they are suffering. Christ holds the key of David and He addresses the issue of security. "What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut." The open door represents the invitation to choose salvation. Christ closes this door for some and opens it for others.

This church has a great desire to share the gospel but has little strength to do so. Christ reveals that those who overcome will be essential pillars in a spiritual temple of God.

Footnote
James, Peter, and John were "reputed to be pillars" (Gal 2:9). The church is "the pillar and foundation of the truth" (1 Tim 3:15).

To the Church in Laodicea

14 "To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. 19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. 21 To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."

Christ is the true witness. Laodiceans are incredibly deceived, so their witness is false. They say, "I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing."

Of all the seven churches, the Laodiceans rank at the very bottom. Their deplorable state is nauseating to God. Christ says very literally, "I am about to vomit you out of my mouth." See the NKJV.

Christ is the ruler of God's creation. The Greek word translated ruler is interesting. The possible meanings are:

1. beginning, origin
2. the person or thing that commences, the first person or thing in a series, the leader
3. that by which anything begins to be, the origin, the active cause
4. the extremity of a thing
a. of the corners of a sail
5. the first place, principality, rule, magistracy
a. of angels and demons

So Revelation 3:14 says more than Christ being the ruler of God's creation. We may also interpret the text as saying that Christ is the beginning (origin) of it. According to meaning 3, Christ is the active cause that began the cosmos. This is true but no reference to this is made in the context. Consider the meaning of number 4. Christ is the outermost end or boundary of the universe. That gives a whole new sense to what it means for Christ to spew the last church out of His mouth. He is ready to eject the Laodiceans out of the universe.

To the church in Ephesus, Christ said, "Remember the height from which you have fallen!" Christ's message to the Laodicean church is, "Recognize your place at the very bottom and consider the height you must reach for and attain if you plan on going to heaven."

To the church that ranked the lowest, Christ uttered the greatest challenge. "To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne." There is no greater reward. "If we endure, we will also reign with Him" (2 Timothy 2:12).

Conclusion
Christ's message to the seven churches (Revelation 2-3) is a sermon designed to impress upon the heart and mind of believers in every age a glimpse of the perfect character that must be developed in order to realize the blessedness that is to be the reward of the pure in heart.

Chiastic Structure

The arrangement of the seven messages to the seven churches in Asia form a chiastic structure.

• Ephesus
• Smyrna
  
• Pergamum
• Thyatira
• Sardis
  
• Philadelphia
• Laodicea

The parallel between the church of Ephesus and Laodicea has already been noted:

To the church in Ephesus, Christ said, "Remember the height from which you have fallen!" Christ's message to the Laodicean church is, "Recognize your place at the very bottom and consider the height you must reach for and attain if you plan on going to heaven."

The parallel between the church of Smyrna and Philadelphia is that both of these churches only had a little power and Christ doesn't rebuke them. Christ rebuked all the others.

Smyrna was suffering tribulation and poverty. Christ acknowledged their suffering and encouraged them by saying, "you are rich." Likewise with Philadelphia: Christ affirmed they were weak but promised that those who endure to the end will be strong pillars. Another special sign of God's love for these churches is that Christ condemned their oppressors.

The center of a chiastic structure is always important. The three remaining churches, Pergamum, Thyatira, and Sardis, seem connected.

• Pergamum introduces the beginning of apostasy.
• Thyatira practices full-scale apostasy.
• Sardis is a church that suffers from spiritual death.

Note how this is a natural, descending sequence. Could it be that we're looking at snapshots of the history of the Christian church along a prophetic timeline?

End of chapter 1.

A Great Achievement in Providence Engineering

I always thought of providence as God managing the ultimate destiny of the universe because of a divine, holy purpose. Seventh-day Adventists don't believe that God engineers any of the minor, inconsequential details of history. I had no evidence to the contrary. Then I studied the names of the seven churches in Revelation. I am in awe of what I found.

My studies began by testing this amazing thesis statement by Ellen G. White:

The names of the seven churches are symbolic of the church in different periods of the Christian era. The number 7 indicates completeness, and is symbolic of the fact that the messages extend to the end of time, while the symbols used reveal the condition of the church at different periods in the history of the world. The Acts of the Apostles, p. 585.

I'm confident that this is essentially a very old idea that predates Seventh-day Adventists. What is really impressive however, is how Ellen White ignored all the nonsensical clutter and arbitrariness of the traditional historicist interpretation. She stated a very precise, understandable rule: Only the names of the seven churches have a prophetic meaning, together with whatever the symbols imply. There are very few symbols used in describing the condition of the seven churches. What we have here is clearly a lesser hidden meaning that was embedded by providence in the primary historical application. What I find so fascinating is that God appears to have maneuvered and masterfully orchestrated many insignificant events for an instructive purpose. I see hints of more than mere omniscience. God seems to have exercised control in how humans would name seven cities, and where John would later be to write to the believers there, so that the meaning of those names would characterize the history of Christianity as it progressed along a prophetic timeline.

It is important to discuss the method by which all the names of the seven churches may be consistently and systematically decoded. I'm not a Greek scholar but I believe that we need to invoke the same methodology that Daniel used to decipher the mysterious coded message that terrified king Belshazzar in Daniel 5.



Let's look at that first.

Now this is the inscription that was written out:
"MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN."

This is the interpretation of the message:
'MENE'--God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it.

"TEKEL"-- You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.

"PERES"--your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.
(Daniel 5:25-28).

• MENE: This word is from the verb "to number" and sounds like mina (50 shekels, a unit of money).
• TEKEL: A spelling of shekel from the verb "to weigh".
• UPARSIN: (that is, AND PARSIN)
• PERES: (the singular of Parsin) can mean divided or Persia or a half mina or a half shekel.

I assume that there is a straightforward etymological connection between the word mina and Medes.

Here are some pertinent quotes:

During the festivities, a hand was seen writing on the wall of the chamber a mysterious sentence, mene mene tekel upharsin, which defied all attempts at interpretation. Their natural denotations of weights and measures were superficially meaningless: "two minas, a shekel and two parts." When the Hebrew sage Daniel was called in, he read and interpreted the words. The last word (prs) he read as peres not parsin. His free choice of interpretation and decoding revealed the menacing subtext: "Thou art weighed in the balance and art found wanting." The divine menace against the dissolute Belshazzar, whose kingdom was to be divided between the Medes and Persians was swiftly realized: in the last verse we are told that Belshazzar was slain in that same night, and that his power passed to Darius the Mede. [1].

While the Book of Daniel gives the meaning of the words, their origins and original meaning are unclear. Some have contended that the words have no meaning in themselves. However, since the late nineteenth century, a number of scholars have held the theory that the words are weights of coinage. MENE a mena, TEKEL a spelling of shekel, PERES half a mena. (A mena would be about 30 shekels.) Hence, in English it might read - 'a half dollar, a half dollar, a penny, and two bits'. The meaning that Daniel decrypts from these words is based upon etymology, each turning on a pun using the word as a passive verb. [2].


Ephesus
According to Thayer's Greek Lexicon, the word Ephesus means permitted. I admit that this definition is not an encouraging endorsement. I see a marvelous historical fulfillment in the other six names so I have no reason to be deterred by just one discrepancy. Interpreting the name Ephesus to mean permitted fails as a relevant representation of the Apostolic Church but one miss out of seven merely suggests that we should restudy the word Ephesus. Many ancient words have a doubtful meaning, or multiple meanings, so it's fair to search for an alternative meaning that fits the proposed thesis. I will make one correction to the lexicon I cited.

The path I took to discover the right answer led me to learn some interesting facts:

Pausanias and Strabo, the ancient historians, believed that the Amazons founded Ephesus. According to Strabo, Ephesus and Smyrn (Izmir) are names of Amazons. But why would the Amazons, the well-known female warriors, leave their homeland on the Black Sea in northern Anatolia to settle themselves here? At various times in history, however, the Ephesians honored the Amazons. A frieze in the same temple on Kouretes Street also portrays the Amazons as the founders of Ephesus. When the Ephesians erected the world-famous Temple of Artemis in Ephesus in the fifth century BCE, they announced a contest for the most beautiful statue of an Amazon. Famous masters of sculpture participated in this contest, such as Polykleitos, Pheidias, Kresilas, and Phradmon. Historical sources tell us that the judges of the contest comprised the same masters, and that the statue of Polykleitos earned the prize. The statue was then set up in the Temple of Artemis. No one has yet been able to find this statue, but countless copies of it were produced in the Roman period. These have been found in many other cities that also worship Artemis. [3].

There is recent archeological evidence that the Amazons actually existed. [4].

Greek legend says that Amazons, the mythical female warriors, founded Ephesus. [5].

Wild women warriors may have founded the city, according to Strabo. The Greek geographer traced the name "Ephesus" to an Amazon. [6].

The ancient geographers Strabo and Pausanias, the poet Kallinos, and the historian Herodotus claim that Ephesus was founded by Amazons. [7].

Ephesus was legended to have been founded by the Amazons in the 12-13 centuries BC.

The ancient city of Ephesus in Turkey was founded by the Amazons, the name Ephesus being derived from an Amazonian Queen. [8].

Etymology
It is generally accepted that the name Ephesus ['ef-e-ses] was inherited from a mythological Amazon queen. [9].

Turkish scholars say that the Amazon who ultimately named the city was a warrior-priestess who bore the name Ephesus herself. [10].

My internet search finally took me to a page listing a large number of legendary Greek names and titles. This list contains the perfect answer, although, with a variant spelling of the name Ephesus. This is it:

"Ephesis - she of the desire, goal; she who strives for a thing" [11].

(Incidentally, the ancient Greek historians loved to mix real history with fabrications and legends to create interesting stories for entertainment purposes. I'm certain that their writings read like the National Inquirer. Fortunately, understanding the word Ephesis doesn't require belief in Amazons or imaginary goddesses).

In another reference, one Greek dictionary has: "ephesis" (endeavour) from the verb "ephiemi", which can also mean "to desire" or "to permit". In yet another reference, the "Lexikon der Alten Welt" (Carl Andresen, Hartmut Erbse and others, Düsseldorf 1965/2001) says: of pre-Greek origin (thus unknown). [12].

This is the obvious right answer. Note the exact meaning of the English word endeavor:

1. A conscientious or concerted effort toward an end; an earnest attempt.
2. Purposeful or industrious activity; enterprise.

1: a purposeful or industrious undertaking (especially one that requires effort or boldness);
2: earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something;
v : attempt by employing effort; [syn: endeavour, strive] [13].

I also found excellent supporting evidence that harmonizes with this meaning of Ephesis. Amazingly, ephesis is also a legal word. It is used in ancient Greek law and has a sense of striving for a favorable verdict. The word appears in Harvard University's Center for Hellenic Studies Glossary of Athenian law terms. The definition reads as follows:

ephesis Refusal to accept the decision of an official or a court of first instance, combined with a demand for the dispute to be resolved by a higher authority. For instance, Solon in the 590s is said to have introduced 'ephesis to the dikasterion' as a curb on the summary jurisdiction of public officials; and from their introduction in c. 400 B.C., the decisions of public arbitrators were similarly subject to ephesis. Ephesis is traditionally translated 'appeal', but this can have misleading connotations. An appeal in English law is brought on the initiative of a dissatisfied litigant (in criminal cases, a convicted defendant) after the court of first instance has decided against him/her; it is his/her duty to persuade the appellate court to reverse the decision, and s/he becomes in a sense the plaintiff in the process. In Athens, there were at least some situations in which ephesis could take place before the lower authority had reached a decision; it was the duty of the original plaintiff, not of the dissatisfied litigant, to persuade the court to act (that it, the court was retrying the case from scratch and not reviewing a decision already made); and it is possible that in the case of Solonian ephesis, this referral was automatic and did not depend on an initiative taken by one of the two litigants. [14].

Historical Application
Ephesus = "she of the desire, goal; she who strives for a thing."
The Apostolic church between 40 and 60 AD exerted a truly Herculean effort to proclaim the gospel throughout the known world. I assume that falling from a great height in Revelation 2:5 is symbolic. I don't want to say that the Apostolic Church eventually lost their first love but I will say that they became bureaucratic. See The Terrible Failure of the Jerusalem Church.

How did the majority in the Christian church view the Apostle Paul? How did they treat him? See 2 Timothy 4:16. Ellen White comments:

When Peter had been made a prisoner and condemned to death, the brethren had offered earnest prayer to God day and night for his deliverance. But no such interest was manifested in behalf of him who was looked upon as an apostate from Moses, a teacher of dangerous doctrines. —EGW, Sketches from the Life of Paul, p. 226.

Smyrna
According to Thayer's Greek Lexicon, the word Smyrna means myrrh.

The very reputable Coffman Commentary attempts to interpret the seven messages to the seven churches as having an exclusive first century application. That commentary, however, admits a likely figurative meaning to Revelation 2:10:

And ye shall have tribulation ten days ...
This passage sheds light upon some of the problems of interpretation; but, of course, there is no agreement upon exactly what is meant. The most reasonable supposition that this writer has encountered is that of Foy E. Wallace and Gaebelein:

This cannot mean a literal ten days, but rather the ten persecutions, the number of which is historically factual. F51

The number ten is of special interest, for history informs us that there were just ten persecutions of Christians by the Roman emperors. F52

The ten primitive persecutions were during the rule of:

1. Nero (64-68 CE)
2. Domitian (81-96)
3. Trajan (98-117)
4. Marcus Aurelius (161-180)
5. Septimus Severus (193-211)
6. Maximinus (235-238)
7. Decius (249-251)
8. Valerian (253-260)
9. Diocletian (284-305)
10. Galerius (305-311)

Prophetic Meaning
The church from the time of Nero in 64 A.D. to the Edict of Milan in 313 A.D. suffered ten periods of severe persecution by the state. Believing in Christ was illegal. Practicing Christianity was dangerous. It is obvious that the church at this time resembled myrrh. This plant is more fragrant by being crushed.

Pergamum
The name 'Pergamum' means 'citadel' (Gk: pergamos), or 'exalted', or 'lofty'; the city was so named from its commanding position on a huge hill overlooking the Caicus valley. [15]. Thayer's Greek Lexicon seems to concur. It says that Pergamos (or Pergamum) means "height or elevation."

Recall our thesis statement. The meaning of the name 'Pergamum' must apply to the church that follows immediately after the persecution of the Smyrna church. There's a puzzle here. How do we interpret the exaltation? Is the prophecy saying that right after a limited number of persecutions, the church was to become a mighty citadel, exalted and lofty, a true miracle of success in the Roman Empire? Or does the elevation and exaltation of the church in the Pergamum period depict the arrogance and the loftiness of pride of most Christians during that time? (Isaiah 14:13-14, Ezekiel 28:17).

Remember: we need to consider the symbols used to describe the church in each period. Then we will know if the prophecy is predicting good or evil for the church.

I see Satan's throne as the first symbol that impacts the church in the Pergamum period:

"I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives." Revelation 2:13.

There you have it. Living in close proximity to Satan's throne is definitely an omen, not of good but of evil. It indicates danger.

"Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality." Revelation 2:14.

It is doubtful that any Christian in Pergamum was literally holding on to or teaching the principles of seduction, as Balaam taught Balak. What we have here is an obvious symbol. "The teaching of Balaam" clearly represents the sophistry of dupes or agents of Satan that entices true believers to sin. Balaam represents the beginning of apostasy.

Prophetic Meaning
The Pergamos period in church history was a time of pride and exaltation. Worse than that, Christianity abandoned the high standard of truth and the great commission, to pursue a worldly strategy. The nominal conversion of the Roman Emperor Constantine to Christianity, the thought of state approval and Christianity becoming the official religion of the Roman Empire, worked like the doctrine of Balaam. The seduction was so enticing, it was an effective way to corrupt the true church. Christendom quickly crossed the line in a forbidden alliance with the state.

Supporting Evidence
Another meaning of Pergamos, in its prophetic context, is Per (beyond) gamos (marriage). The allusion here isn't suggesting something better than marriage. "Beyond marriage" is pointing to something beyond what is proper, a forbidden intimacy.

History is clear. A terrible sin of the church during the Pergamum period was in willingly falling for a seductive church-state alliance.

The great Altar of Zeus, built on a hillside overlooking the Caicus valley in Pergamum, looks like a throne. "I know where you live—where Satan has his throne." Revelation 2:13.



The remains of the Altar of Zeus are now located in the Pergamum Museum in Berlin.

Thyatira
Thyatira was built as a shrine to the Lydian sun-god Tyrimnus (also spelled Tyrimnos) and was named Pelopia. [16]. During the wars of the Diadochi following the death of Alexander the Great, the city was refounded by Lysimachos who renamed the city Thyatira, meaning the city of Thya, or the castle of Thya [17],—perhaps a reference to the sun god of the city, Tyrimnus. [18]. Tyrimnus, as the divine guardian of the city, was the most influential god of Thyatira and was identified with the Greek sun-god Apollo, the son of Zeus. [19].

The conflict between the worship of the false ‘son of god’ and the true Son of God was always present for this Christian community so the first word of Christ to this church (Rev 2:18) is the proclamation that He alone is the Son of God! It is interesting that this is the only place in the book of Revelation where this specific title of Christ is used. [20].

"Apollo the sun god, was the principal deity," probably leading to the reference to the Son of God and the morning star in this message, as a contrast. [21].

A Time of Unprecedented Corruption
No one believes that the false prophetess that corrupted the church in Thyatira was really named Jezebel. Everyone agrees that a symbol is being used. So all we have to do is study the history and character and purpose of the real Jezebel and then make comparisons with the history of the Christian church.

It's an immensely relevant fact that King Ahab married Jezebel, who was the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Zidonians (1 Kings 16:31). He ruled from the city of Tyre.

According to historians, Ethbaal was the high priest of Baal who had overthrown king Pheles of Tyre and replaced him as king-priest. Thus, he was more than a mere follower of Baal. As high priest of the religion, he represented Baal on earth. As king, he ruled with temporal power as well. Hence, his name was actually a title: Eth-baal, one who rules with Baal, or by his authority, or in place of Baal. The name Ethbaal means "with, near, or together with Baal." In Roman terminology, he would be the Vicar of Baal. The kingdom of Tyre in the days of Jezebel was a spiritual kingdom of Baal on earth, and its high priest ruled supreme as king. This sheds much light on Ezekiel 28, which compares the beautiful city of Tyre to the Garden of Eden and compares the prince of Tyre (Ethbaal) to the tempter in Eden.

In effect, in those days Tyre manifested the anti-kingdom of God, ruled by Ethbaal, an antichrist type. The prefix "anti-" means "in place of." For example, Matt. 2:22 tells us that Archelaus reigned in Judea anti, or in place of, his father Herod. In like manner, Ethbaal ruled Tyre in place of Baal himself. Likewise, because Ahab had married Jezebel, Ethbaal’s laws governed Israel in place of the laws of God. [22].

The proud and domineering Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal, king of Tyre, was the wife of Ahab, king of Israel; and she made Baalism the official religion of the northern kingdom, hastening its decline and fall by the idolatry which she introduced. She was responsible in large measure for the collapse of the nation because of the evils which she introduced. [23].

Edict of Intolerance

379 A.D. The Emperor Theodosius. When in Thessalonica (a city in northeastern Greece) at the end of the year 379, Theodosius became seriously ill. Believing he was about to die, he was baptized by the Nicene Bishop Ascholius. While he was recuperating from his illness, he was told that all the churches farther to the East, with the exception of Jerusalem, were in the hands of "Arians". Upon hearing this, "Theodosius enacted a law at Thessalonica [27 February 380], which he caused to be published at Constantinople, well knowing that it would speedily become public to all the other cities, if issued from that city, which is as a citadel of the whole empire." [Sozomen VII, ii & iv].

Thyatira Begins

The Edict of Theodosius (February 27, 380 A.D.):

"It is our desire that all the various nation which are subject to our clemency and moderation should continue to the profession of that religion which was delivered to the Romans by the divine Apostle Peter, as it has been preserved by faithful tradition and which is now professed by the Pontiff Damasus and by Peter, Bishop of Alexandria, a man of apostolic holiness. According to the apostolic teaching and the doctrine of the Gospel, let us believe in the one deity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in equal majesty and in a holy Trinity. We authorize the followers of this law to assume the title Catholic Christians; but as for the others, since in our judgment they are foolish madmen, we decree that they shall be branded with the ignominious name of heretics, and shall not presume to give their conventicles the name of churches. They will suffer in the first place the chastisement of divine condemnation, and second, the punishment that our authority, in accordance with the will of heaven, shall decide to inflict." [Theodosian Code XVI.1.2; and Sozomen, VII, iv].

I consider this Edict as so important historically that I like to quote this easy-to-understand translation of it:

"It is Our rule that all the peoples we rule shall practice that religion which divine Peter the Apostle transmitted to the Romans. We shall believe in the single deity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, under the concept of the Holy Trinity. We command that all persons that follow this rule shall embrace the name of Catholic Christians. The rest, however, whom We judge demented and insane, shall sustain the infamy of heretical dogmas, their meeting places shall not receive the name of churches, and they shall be smitten first by divine vengeance and secondly by the retribution of Our own initiative, which We shall assume in accordance with divine judgment." [24].

"By this edict, Theodosius reversed the policy of his predecessors, from tolerance to intolerance of religious diversity. The last sentence was a declaration of war that pre-justified religious persecution as the will of God. Here, then, is the original charter of the inquisitions, the crusades, and the burning of heretics all over Europe. The next time we see tolerance of religious diversity proclaimed as official state policy is 1300 years later, in Pennsylvania."

The Catholic Encyclopedia says: "Theodosius stands out as the destroyer of heresy and paganism, as the last sovereign of the undivided empire."

Theodosius institutionalized religious persecution by Christians. He initiated and waged a culture war to make his own sect the State Church of the Roman Empire. Any objective view of Western civilization before and after his reign clearly shows that it marks the end of antiquity and the beginning of the dark ages. And now I know that his Edict of 380 was the dividing line, the watershed, between what Christianity was and what it became. [25].

The ancient world was a relatively tolerant place in the world of religion. There were occasional bursts of persecution of this or that sect but as a rule many religions existed side by side.

During the years 390 to 395 all this changed when Christianity established itself as the only religion in the Roman Empire and launched an all out campaign of religious terror against all other sects.

What follows are quotes from the legal code of the Roman Empire set forth by the Emperor Theodosius at the request of Christian leaders to crush competing religions. It marked the beginning of a wave of religious terror that would last right to the time of the eighteenth century.

The End of an Era

Lynn Harry Nelson, Emeritus Professor of Medieval History at the University of Kansas, gives a wonderfully clear explanation of the political and economic blunders of Emperor Justinian and how they led, indirectly, to the rise of the medieval Church.

See The Reign of Justinian, 527- 565.

Sardis
Interestingly, the symbols describing the church in the Sardis period reveal two distinct groups of people. The excellent NKJV translation says:

You have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. (Rev 3:1).

You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. (Rev 3:4).

According to John MacArthur, Sardis is a plural word in the Greek text and means, "escaping ones," or "those who came out." [26]. According to Thayer's Greek Lexicon, the word Sardis means "red ones."

My interpretation of the two Greek meanings and the symbols is that the Sardis period is characterized by a Church that is predominately dead and a few red ones who are spiritual that are escaping from there or have already come out.

Why am I so certain that the red ones only refer to those who escape and not to those who are spiritually dead?

It is believed that the city of Sardis was named for the precious red sardine stones that were found there. That's what sardius is—a precious red stone.

One dictionary says:

Sardine Stone (Rev. 4:3, R.V., "sardius;" Heb. 'odhem; LXX., Gr. sardion, from a root meaning "red"), a gem of a blood-red colour. It was called "sardius" because obtained from Sardis in Lydia. It is enumerated among the precious stones in the high priest's breastplate (Ex. 28:17; 39:10). It is our red carnelian. [27].

What could precious stones with a blood-red appearance possibly signify?

As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:4-5.

Because of the very profound relevance of God's word and the genius of Omniscience, I believe that the meaning of the precious, blood-red, living stones is that they possess salvation through the blood of Christ and that they are all accounted as martyrs in persecution.

Sardis: The Era of Death

"The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months. … He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them." Revelation 13:5,7.

While the holy ones are being persecuted, the Spirit and the Word, speaking through the Old and New Testaments, prophesy and mourn for those who are spiritually dead.

"And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth." Revelation 11:3.

The two witnesses of Zechariah 4 and Revelation 11:3-6 are a personification of the Law and the Prophets.

Sardis: The City of Death

Professor William Ramsey wrote:Sardis was one of the great cities of primitive history: in the Greek view it was long the greatest of all cities. At the beginning of record it stands forth prominently as the capital of a powerful empire. Its situation marks it out as a ruling city, according to the methods of early warfare and early kings; it was however more like a robber's stronghold than an abode of civilised men; and in a peaceful and civilised age its position was found inconvenient. In the Roman period it was almost like a city of the past, a relic of the period of barbaric warfare, which lived rather on its ancient prestige than on its suitability to present conditions. [28].

Philadelphia
As is commonly known, Philadelphia means "brotherly love." But why would an ancient people want to name a new city in honor of brotherly love? And what was the purpose of the founders in building this city?

The story of Philadelphus
There were two brothers, Eumenes II, King of Pergamon (reigned 197-159 B.C.), and his younger brother Attalus II who ruled after him (159 to 138 B.C.).

In 172 B.C., King Eumenes went to Greece. A report then came home that he had been assassinated. The reported assassination of Eumenes led Attalus to accept the crown. However, the report turned out to be a lie and when his brother returned from Greece, the Roman influence upon Attalus was to overthrow his brother and become king. However, Attalus, in profound love for his returning brother, relinquished the crown, giving it back to his brother. [29].

In 168/167 B.C., the Romans again pressured Attalus to remove his brother and assume the kingship but he repeatedly refused. (Grant R. Osborne, Revelation, p. 184). Firmly and persistently, the Romans promised Attalus that they would back and support him with weapons and soldiers and that, with their aid, he would become King of all Asia. [30]. Attalus was undeterred.

You can now see why Attalus was called Philadelphus, literally meaning, "one who loves his brother." A new city was named after him, Philadelphia, meaning, "brotherly love."

The founding of Philadelphia
In the first half of the 2nd century B.C. Pergamon reached the zenith of its power and influence under Eumenes II and his brother Attalus II. —Zofia Archibald, Discovering the World of the Ancient Greeks, p. 170.
The grandeur of ancient Pergamum is suggested in the Great Altar of Zeus, erected by King Eumenes II (reigned 197-159 B.C.). —David Sacks, Encyclopedia of the Ancient Greek World, p. 173.
Eumenes II, great-grandnephew of Philetaerus, was a great builder, responsible for the altar to Zeus and the famous library of Pergamum. [31].
There is some confusion as to whether Eumenes II or his younger brother Attalus II Philadelphus founded the city. What is certain is that its name commemorates the loyalty and devotion of Attalus II to his brother (this is what earned him the title Philadelphus, "lover of his brother"). —Robert H. Mounce, The Book of Revelation, p. 98.

The purpose of Philadelphia

William Ramsey wrote:Philadelphia was founded more for consolidating and regulating and educating the central regions subject to the Pergamenian kings. The intention of its founder was to make it a centre of the Graeco-Asiatic civilisation and a means of spreading the Greek language and manners in the eastern parts of Lydia and in Phrygia. It was a missionary city from the beginning, founded to promote a certain unity of spirit, customs, and loyalty within the realm, the apostle of Hellenism in an Oriental land. It was a successful teacher. Before AD 19 the Lydian tongue had ceased to be spoken in Lydia, and Greek was the only language of the country.

... Philadelphia, also, was a centre for the diffusion of Greek language and letters in a peaceful land by peaceful means. [32].

"The spirit of Christ is a missionary spirit." —Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 70.

The Philadelphia Period (1798-1844)
Ever since Jesus commanded his disciples to preach his gospel throughout "all the world," the history of the Christian church has been, in great part, a history of missions. Early Christianity rapidly gained converts. The last notable missionary of the early centuries was Ulfilas (311–383). He converted many among the Visigoths and Ostrogoths to Arian Christianity, created the Gothic alphabet for them from modifications and adaptations of the Greek, Latin, and Runic alphabets and translated the Scriptures into the Gothic language.

After the Christianization of Europe there was little missionary effort until the 16th century. Throughout the whole Sardis period, established church leaders and missionaries were more like mercenaries. Eventually, the influence and deadness of Sardis Churchianity began to fade. Then a genuine, fervent, Christian missionary spirit was aroused. It first appeared with great energy in Great Britain at the end of the 18th century. The revival spread quickly. It went through Holland, Germany, Switzerland, France and then to the United States. Many Bible societies and missionary societies were organized. Many such Bible societies continued to spring up all through the early part of the 19th century. [33]. The explosive growth of Christian missions through these organizations is how the Philadelphia period of church history began. Symbolically, the opportunity to spread the gospel in this age and the willingness of people to hear is best characterized as that of an open door!

Summer, 1844
About this time a marked change was apparent in most of the churches throughout the United States. There had been for many years a gradual but steadily increasing conformity to worldly practices and customs, and a corresponding decline in real spiritual life; but in that year there were evidences of a sudden and marked declension in nearly all the churches of the land. While none seemed able to suggest the cause, the fact itself was widely noted and commented upon by both the press and the pulpit.

At a meeting of the presbytery of Philadelphia, Mr. Barnes, author of a commentary widely used and pastor of one of the leading churches in that city, "stated that he had been in the ministry for twenty years, and never, till the last Communion, had he administered the ordinance without receiving more or less into the church. But now there are no awakenings, no conversions, not much apparent growth in grace in professors, and none come to his study to converse about the salvation of their souls. With the increase of business, and the brightening prospects of commerce and manufacture, there is an increase of worldly-mindedness. Thus it is with all the denominations." —Congregational Journal, May 23, 1844.

In the month of February of the same year, Professor Finney of Oberlin College said: "We have had the fact before our minds, that, in general, the Protestant churches of our country, as such, were either apathetic or hostile to nearly all the moral reforms of the age. There are partial exceptions, yet not enough to render the fact otherwise than general. We have also another corroborated fact: the almost universal absence of revival influence in the churches. The spiritual apathy is almost all-pervading, and is fearfully deep; so the religious press of the whole land testifies. . . . Very extensively, church members are becoming devotees of fashion, —join hands with the ungodly in parties of pleasure, in dancing, in festivities, etc. . . . But we need not expand this painful subject. Suffice it that the evidence thickens and rolls heavily upon us, to show that the churches generally are becoming sadly degenerate. They have gone very far from the Lord, and He has withdrawn Himself from them."

And a writer in the Religious Telescope testified: "We have never witnessed such a general declension of religion as at the present. Truly, the church should awake, and search into the cause of this affliction; for as an affliction everyone that loves Zion must view it. When we call to mind how 'few and far between' cases of true conversion are, and the almost unparalleled impertinence and hardness of sinners, we almost involuntarily exclaim, 'Has God forgotten to be gracious? or, Is the door of mercy closed?'" —The Great Controversy, pp. 376-377.

The Shut Door
In the aftermath of the Millerite Movement in 1844 there arose "open door" Adventists and "shut door" Adventists. [34]. The shut door Adventists concluded that they had completed their mission to humanity, that Christ's Second Coming was very near and that their only duty was to stir up and instruct other Adventists who had believed in the Millerite movement. [35]. The shut door doctrine, based on the Parable of the Ten Virgins, asserted that those not saved at the judgment hour (October 22, 1844) were thereafter unable to attain salvation. Adventists teach that believing in a shut door was a very reasonable conclusion at the time. Ellen White explains:

After the passing of the time of expectation, in 1844, Adventists still believed the Saviour's coming to be very near; they held that they had reached an important crisis, and that the work of Christ as man's intercessor before God, had ceased. Having given the warning of the Judgment near, they felt that their work for the world was done, and they lost their burden of soul for the salvation of sinners, while the bold and blasphemous scoffing of the ungodly seemed to them another evidence that the Spirit of God had been withdrawn from the rejecters of his mercy. All this confirmed them in the belief that probation had ended, or, as they then expressed it, "the door of mercy was shut." The Spirit of Prophecy Volume Four, p. 268.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church is criticized for once believing that there was a shut door. The Adventist response is that there actually was a shut door. At least Ellen White thought the shut door was an important belief.

I am still a believer in the shut-door theory, but not in the sense in which we at first employed the term or in which it is employed by my opponents.

I was shown in vision, and I still believe, that there was a shut door in 1844. All who saw the light of the first and second angels' messages and rejected that light, were left in darkness. And those who accepted it and received the Holy Spirit which attended the proclamation of the message from heaven, and who afterward renounced their faith and pronounced their experience a delusion, thereby rejected the Spirit of God, and it no longer pleaded with them. Selected Messages Book 1, p. 63.

See The Great Controversy, pages 376-377 and 429-432 for a fuller presentation of the "shut door."

Today, Seventh-day Adventists consider the Millerite Movement, their prophesying the end of the world, believing that the end of all things had actually come, and eventual disappointment, to be a fulfillment of Revelation 10. [36].