Revelation and Church History

Mary Fairchild

The following is the phonetic reading of the expository teaching of Pastor Jim Mooberry.
John 1:14-18; “And the Word Became Flesh,” The Gospel of John.

• The Church Age
• Receiving Jesus

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. Revelation 1:3.

“The persecuted church of Smyrna had anxiously looked for Christ’s return, but Constantine elevated the church leaders to such high positions in government that this world’s system looked good to believers, and they largely forgot about Christ’s return. Church leaders took on civic functions, as well as spiritual responsibilities, joining the church and government. This put the church under control of the ruling powers and for the next 1,500 years the church remained under the control of political parties until the United States of America delared by lay that the political state could not have jurisdiction over church matters.”  Revelation and Church History

1. Church Age
2. Old Testament Study
3. Vision of the Glorified Son: Revelation 1:9-20.  Pastor Jim Mooberry
4. You Left Your First Love: Revelation 2:1-7.  Pastor Jim Mooberry
5. Rich Church Poor Church:  Revelation 2:8-11.  Pastor Jim Mooberry
6. When the Church Looks Like the World:  Revelation 2:12-17.  Pastor Jim Mooberry
7. The Anti-Christ:  Revelation 13:1-10.  Pastor Jim Mooberry
8. The False Prophet of the Latter Days:  Revelation 13: 11-18. Pastor Jim Mooberry
9. The Victorious and the Vanquished:  Revelation 14:1-13.  Pastor Jim Mooberry
10. Reaping the Earth: Revelation 14:14-20.  Pastor Jim Mooberry
11. The Beginning of the End:  Revelation 15:1-8.  Pastor Jim Mooberry
12. The Seven Bowls of God’s Wrath:  Revelation 16:1-11.  Pastor Jim Mooberry
13. Mystery Babylon the Great Harlot:  Revelation 17:1-6. Pastor Jim Mooberry
14. Mystery of the Woman and the Beast:  Revelation 17:17, 18.  Pastor Jim Mooberry
15. The Judgement of Babylon the Great:  Revelation 18:1-24.  Pastor Jim Mooberry
16. The Marriage of the Lamb:  Revelation 19:1-10.  Pastor Jim Mooberry
17. The Return of Jesus Christ:  Revelation 19:11-21.  Pastor Jim Mooberry
18. The Millennial Kingdom:  Revelation 20:1-10.  Pastor Jim Mooberry
19. The Millennial Kingdom:  Various Scripture.  Pastor Jim Mooberry
20. The Rapture:  Various Scripture.  Pastor Jim Mooberry

We need to study prophecy so we can to learn of the sovereignty of God. He is on His throne. He has never left it. He has everything under control. As you look in prophecy you will see that that must be true because He has already told us what is going to happen ahead of time. He will guarantee that it happens because “He is sovereign.” If you understand the sovereignty of God, the Christian life is going to be a lot better. No matter what happens you are going to remember that God is sovereign, it’s part of his plan with me. This gives us a proper worldview to orientate us to the world and how we should serve. We know the end and how this book called history is going to end. The third thing is 1 John 3:3 says that those who have their hopes fixed on Christ purify themselves as He is pure. The fourth reason is to motivate witness. These days we are talking about are very near. It could be any day now that the Lord could come for His church. If that is true then the people you talk to every day, the great majority of those people are going to stay here and go the period of time we are talking about. We should be motivated to warn them of the coming storm and point them to Him. That He is the safe haven.  Pastor Jim Mooberry

The millennial kingdom will be like the garden was with the curse removed. The seventh millennium, the kingdom age is on the horizon. It is probable in our lifetime if you live to be a normal age you will be raptured. Which family are you in? Are you a member of the royal family of Christ? The only way you become a member of that family is not by anything that you have. You are born again through faith in His finished work. When Jesus hung on that cross He took our sin and God judged Him in our place. Receive the pardon that God the Father that He has extended to you. Just in the quietness of your heart.

The key to the interpretation of this whole book is in verse 19 of chapter 1:

“Write the things which though hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter” (Revelation 1:19). PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE….

John is told “write in a book what you see.” Present tense… Then he sees this vision of the resurrected glorified Christ in the next verses. Then in chapter 19 he is told to write the things for which he has seen. The implication in the shift in tense is that the vision of the glorified Jesus Christ in verses 11-17 is the first division of the book—the things which you have seen. Then if you turn to chapter 4:1 there it says “after these things….”

Revelation and Church History

Christians in the first three centuries were fiercely persecuted for their faith. History has proven that persecution makes Christians stronger in their love for the lord and in their faith. The apostle John wrote Revelation, the Gospel of John, and I, II, and III John.  He had followed Jesus since he and his brother James had their fishing business in Galilee. John was very close to the Lord and was often called “the beloved apostle.” His brother, James, was earlier beheaded by Herod Agrippa I. But john felt no bitterness against his persecutors. Written about AD 95, it is believed that the seven churches of Asia to whom John writes were experiencing the persecution that took place under Emperor Domitian. John was exiled to the island of Patmos just off of Asia.

Revelation is written in “apocalyptic” form (a type of Jewish literature that uses symbolic imagery to communicate hope in the midst of persecution). The events are ordered according to literary, rather than strictly chronological, patterns. The word revelation means disclosure or unveiling. As the last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation unveils Jesus Christ and future events. It is a prophetic book. It discloses the future and reveals the events that are yet to occur.

1. Chapters 2 and 3 give us the history of our Church Age written before the history took place.
2. Chapters 4-22 describe future events that will occur after the Church Age:  the rapture of the saints, the seven year tribulation period, the second coming of Jesus Christ to the earth, his millennial reign on earth, the great white throne, and eternity.

Like all Scripture, God is the real author.  The authority of the triune God is carried out as God the Father gave John the book, through his son Jesus Christ, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

John informs us that Jesus loved us, washed us from our sins in his own blood, and made us kings and priests unto God.  He announced that Jesus was coming to judge the world and exalted Jesus as the alpha and omega, the eternal and almighty Lord.

As a prisoner on the isle of Patmos, John observed the Lord’s day. He was “in the spirit on the Lord’s day” when he heard from God. He was commanded to record what he saw and send it to the seven churches in Asia Minor. John saw Jesus standing in the midst of seven golden candlesticks, representing the “seven churches” of Asia. Jesus was always in their midst and he promised never to leave or forsake them. He held seven stars in his right hand, representing, “The angels of the seven churches.” The candles represented a source of spiritual light to our dark world of sin. Jesus stands among his churches to give his people light to shine. Since the word for “angels” means messengers, the seven stars probably represent the pastors or spiritual leaders of each of the seven churches.

Jesus wore a robe in John’s vision. It reached his feet, and he had a golden girdle (sash) around his chest. This was typical clothing for judges and kings signifying that Jesus is both judge and king of the universe. His hair was pure white, symbolizing that he is the Ancient of Days. His vision was penetrating. His feet resembled fine brass, the symbol of judgment. And he spoke with authority as Lord. John saw a sharp two-edged sword proceed from his mouth (the word of god), and observed that Jesus’ countenance was as bright as the sun, revealing him as the Lord of glory, proclaiming salvation to those who believe, but judgment to those who reject him. John fell to his feet as if dead before Christ’s glorious vision. Jesus announced that he had conquered death and was alive forevermore. Jesus holds the keys of hell and death and determines the destinies of nations and individuals.

We can understand the seven churches if we put the events of church history alongside the seven church letters and observe how they parallel a prophetic history of the church.  All seven churches have existed throughout church history, yet the church in each time period manifests particular characteristics that parallel each other. The church’s name reveals the character or conduct which provides identification for the sequential period of church history. Even the sequence in which each church is addressed reveals divine inspiration. Characteristics become stronger and more identifiable near the end of each period.

In the Old Testament, Israel was to be the spiritual light pointing men to the true God.  When Christ came to earth, he declared himself to be the light of the world.  Then he told his followers, “ye are the light of the world.” The spiritual light of the world today comes from the Holy Spirit of God living within believers.  Today the church is the light of the world.  Jesus said, “let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” The church has often succumbed to Satan’s wiles and has often failed to be the spiritual light to a lost world. The light has flickered and almost gone out many times through the course of the history of the church.

The Seven Churches

1. EPHESUS: “desirable”; apostolic church.
2. SMYRNA: “crushed”; persecuted church
3. PERGAMOS: “married”; worldly, imperial church
4. THYATIRA: “continual sacrifice”; pagan, papal church
5. SARDIS: “remnant”; reformation church
6. PHILEDELPHIA: “brotherly love”; revival, missionary church
7. LAODICEA: “rights or rule of the people”; lukewarm, tolerant, ecumenical church

CHURCH HISTORY: AD 30-100

During the first century the apostles were still alive in the church and actively spreading the Gospel. This church loved the Lord and one another, and it showed. The early church separated themselves from the evils of the world system. This is God’s ideal for the church; every effort to unite the church and the world system is opposed to God’s mind and must end in confusion. THE CHURCH WILL NEVER CONVERERT TO THE WORLD’S SYSTEM.

The church at Ephesus was commended for its works, labor, patience, and faithfulness to sound doctrine. It was not deceived by false doctrine, false teachers, nor did it quit when there was opposition. Church discipline was practiced and the believers could not bear those that were evil. They also knew that Jesus Christ was the true head of the church and would not tolerate leaders becoming spiritual lords.

To the true overcomers, a remnant of believers who faithfully loved the Lord, the Lord promised to reward them. BUT SOME BELIEVERS BEGAN TO PRIZE WORLDLY PRESTIGE MORE HIGHLY THAN THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LORD. Paul warned that the church would be threatened by the self-centered within its midst. These teachers would try to gain a following for themselves.

“I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock.” Acts 20:29

The church was “desirable” when the lord held the stars in his hands and controlled its ministry. But as the hearts of believers moved away from God, Christ called for the church to “return to its first love.”

The Lord rebuked the church for its waning love. Their motives became duty rather than faith, hope, and love. Genuine love for God shows itself in how we act. WE NEED TO HAVE A DAILY VIBRANT RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM. WE NEED TO CONFESS OUR SIN AND ASK HIS HELP IN OUR DAILY LIVES. We need to confess our sin and ask for his help in our daily lives. Christ said that if the church at Ephesus would not repent and return to its first love, the Lord would remove its “candlestick.” When they did not repent they ceased to be a testimony for Christ. To the overcomers, the Lord promised the privilege of eating of the tree of life in god’s eternal home.

CHURCH HISTORY: AD 100-300

During these two centuries much of the church was hated, outlawed, and persecuted.  Often believers met in caves and other hidden places. From about A.D. 100 with Emperor Nero until A.D. 312, the church experienced ten periods of intense persecution at the hands of Roman emperors. Diocletian was the last.

Christians were hunted down, arrested, tortured, burned alive and fed to hungry lions. Roman citizens gathered as spectators at a sporting event to see the lions turned loose on Christian families. By the middle of the second century, Christians in Rome began secretly meeting together in catacombs for fellowship and worship. SOME OF THE JEWISH BELIEVERS WERE ACTUALLY REPRESENTATIVES OF SATAN. They belonged to Satan’s assembly (synagogue). THE JUDAISING MOVEMENT THAT CAME INTO THE EARLY CHURCH, THE MIXING OF THE LAW WITH GRACE, WAS THE LEAVEN OF GALATIANISM THAT SUBSTITUTED WORKS (keeping the law) FOR GRACE. Likely, these deceivers were false teachers who insisted that gentiles had to be circumcised and keep the law of Moses to be saved and have fellowship with God. Satan would use human authorities to bombard the believers. They would be jailed, severely abused, and martyred for ten periods of intense persecution. Jesus promised a crown of life to every believer who remained loyal to him and was martyred for his sake.

Smyrna has the same linguistic root as “myrrh,” and embalming plant. The myrrh plant had to be crushed in order to emit its sweet fragrance. The church at Smyrna was a persecuted church; under the crush of persecution, it emitted a sweet fragrance to the Lord. Often the Christians lost their employment and the church was poor. Smyrna was a spiritually rich, poor church, whereas the last of the seven churches, Laodicea, was a poor, rich church.

CHURCH HISTORY: AD 300-500

Satan was considered at the seat of the emperor’s throne in Rome.  Christians had experienced many satanic attacks through roman rulers. During the Smyrna period, Satan tried to stamp out the church by persecution; NOW SATAN CHANGED HIS TACTICS FROM PERSECUTION TO INFILTRATION IN THE CHURCH. Constantine has a vision and believes he now should fight for Christianity and issues the Edict of Toleration which granted freedom to all religions in the empire. CONSTANTINE’S PATRONAGE DID WHAT DIOCLETIAN’S PERSECUTION COULT NOT DO—IT CORRUPTED THE CHURCH FROM WITHIN. Giving her hand in marriage to the world that had crucified Christ, she never really repented. A faithful minority of believers in the fourth and fifth centuries helped formulate the church creeds during this period. Christian thinkers eloquently defended the great doctrines of the bible that were challenged during this period.

ARIUS, A LEADER IN THE CHURCH IN ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT, BEGAN TO TEACH THAT JESUS WAS NEITHER GOD NOR MAN. He believed Jesus was a demi-god, a being halfway between god and man. According to Arius, Jesus Christ was a created being who was a different essence than the Father. JEHOVAH WITNESSES TEACH THIS VIEW TODAY—that Jesus is not the eternal Son of God but merely a being created by God. Fortunately, an African hermit presented the deity of Christ so forcefully that crowds proclaimed Jesus was God. The Council of Nicea, held in AD 325, is known for this great declaration of faith. The doctrine of Arianism did not die; it gained popularity. When Constantine’s son became emperor he favored the Arians so much that they grew strong enough to persecute those who believed in the deity of Christ. They closed the orthodox churches in Alexandria, Egypt, exiled the leaders, and hired soldiers to beat and kill faithful worshipers.

UWITTINGLY AND UNKNOWINGLY, THE CHURCH SURRENDERED ITS DOCTRINAL AND SPIRITUAL INDEPENDENCE TO THE OVERSIGHT OF THE STATE AS EMPEROR CONSTANTINE PRESIDED OVER THE COUNCIL AND PAID THE TAXES. It became popular to profess to be a “Christian.” Many joined for political and personal economic gain. Filled with the unsaved, worship services opened up to images (idols) in their heathen temples. Statues of the apostles, Mary, and other biblical characters were brought into the Christian places of worship. Ornate pagan rituals and superstition mixed with Christianity and dominated the THYATIRA CHURCH (Catholic church of the Middle Ages).

“NICOLAITAN” means rulers over the people. Those who held the doctrine of the Nicolaitans believed and taught that the clergy should be elevated above the lay people. They built religious hierarchy to rule over the people of the church. As the fifth century closed, instead of bowing to the authority of Scripture to determine biblical doctrine, bishops were deciding what doctrine the people should believe, and the church was worldly and imperial with church leaders ruling over the people. EMPERORS AND POLITICAL LEADERS MEDDLED IN CHURCH MATTERS AND THE RISING SYSTEM OF HIERARCHY OF CHURCH FATHERS PREPARED THE CHURCH FOR RELIGIOUS, PAGAN SACRAMENTS AND SUPERSTITION.

Constantine ended persecution in the church but he brought in changes that ended the purity of the church. THE PERGAMOS CHURCH church no longer condemned marriages with heathen, not sexual immorality, nor corrupt relationships with those who sacrificed to idols. The church members tolerated those members who followed the doctrine of Balaam (rev. 2:14).

Balaam was the Old Testament false prophet who led Israel into morally corrupt alliances with the heathen Moabites (Numbers 22-25). Balaamism is worldliness—Christians mixing in unholy fellowship with this age.

1. The problem of THE CHURCH OF EPHESUS had been lovelessness—they left their first love
2. The problem with THE CHURCH OF PERGAMOS was laxity—they were broadminded and tolerant toward the Balaamites when they needed to use discipline and separate themselves from them.
3. The persecuted CHURCH OF SMYRNA had anxiously looked for Christ’s return, but Constantine elevated the church leaders to such high positions in government that this world’s system looked good to believers, and they largely forgot about Christ’s return. Church leaders took on civic functions, as well as spiritual responsibilities, joining the church and government. THIS PUT THE CHURCH UNDER CONTROL OF THE RULING POWERS, AND FOR HTE NEXT 1,500 YEARS THE CHURCH REMAINED UNDER THE CONTROL OF POLITICAL PARTIES, UNTIL THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA DECLARED BY LAW THAT THE POLITICAL STATE COULD NOT HAVE JURSIDICTION OVER CHURCH MATTERS.

WORKS CITED

1. Pastor Jim Mooberry, “The Faithful Word,” expository teaching tapes, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ: Rev. 1:1-8; # JMREV1; Church Age
2. Beka Horton, “Book of Revelation Church History and Things to Come,” A Beka Book, Pensacola Christian College, 1993, www.abeka.com; Abeka Christian Curriculum