The Seven Churches of Revelation

A healthy, thriving church is a church that is living God’s Truth and extending God’s Light out into the world. One way to know if the church you attend is a healthy church is by comparing it to the seven churches mentioned in the book of Revelation in the bible. God gave each of these churches an appraisal of what they were doing right and wrong. Can you see your church in any of the descriptions of these seven churches?

The church of Ephesus – The Loveless Church (Revelation 2:1-7)

Good: Good deeds; hard working; perseverance; did not tolerate wicked men; tested everything; endured hardships in Jesus name and did not grow weary.

Bad: Lost their first love (passion for Jesus and gratitude for what He did for them and as a result stopped showing love to others by putting their needs first)

The Church of Smyrna – The Persecuted Church (Revelation 2:8-11)

Good: Poor yet Rich (persecuted and martyred in Jesus name but encouraged to endure to the end because through salvation they would not die a second death)

The Church of Pergamum- The Compromising Church (Revelation 2:12-16)

Good: remained true to Jesus; did not denounce their faith in Jesus;

Bad: Sinful practices was allowed to go on in the church through the endorsement of or tolerance by the church leaders (sin was allowed to go unchecked in the people)

The church of Thyatira – The Corrupt Church (Revelation 2:18-29)

Good: good deeds; love and faith; service and perseverance; progression and growth

Bad: tolerate of Jezebel (false prophet who promoted worldly ideology and seduced the people into sin or idol worship)

The Church of Sardis- The Dead Church (Revelation 3:1-6)

Bad: reputation of being alive, but are dead (looked like a church on the outside but it was spiritually dead inside, more like a business or country club motive than a spiritual motive)

The Church of Philadelphia – The Faithful Church (Revelations 3:7-13)

Good: mission minded; relying on God for strength; obedient; did not deny Jesus

The Church of Laodicea – The Lukewarm Church (Revelation 3:14-22)

Bad: Compromised important doctrine or Truth (a comfortable, pleasant, complacent church led by the people to suit their needs instead of teaching God’s law, His judgment, and gift of grace).

If you held your church up through the microscope lens of the seven churches of Revelation, would you find a good or poor assessment of the health of your church?

"As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.” Rev. 3:19