THE SEVEN CHURCHES IN TIME AGES OF PROPHECY FULFILLMENT: CHURCH CANDLE 1 – THE AGE OF EPHESUS

In the opening chapter of Revelation (chapter 1), the Apostle John saw saw a golden lamp-stand – the Jewish Menorah. He saw the savior, Jesus Christ, walking in the midst of the lamps holding seven stars in his right hand …

“And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.  His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.  And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength” (Revelation 1:12-16).

We are told that the seven lamps are symbolic of seven New Testament churches to which John was instructed to write letters. The stars represent the angels – perhaps speaking of the pastors of those seven churches. 

The lamp-stand was first built under the direction of Moses and placed in the Tabernacle.  One would normally associate the Menorah with the Mosaic Law.  But why was this Old Testament implement used as a New Testament symbol of seven Christian churches?  For the answer to this seeming contradiction, let us briefly examine the symbolism of the lamp-stand.  First of all, Jewish historian Flavius Josephus reported that the Menorah was designed after the seven wanderers that moved through the heavens – the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.  This explanation lifts it’s significance beyond just the Mosaic Covenant and takes us all the way back to the creation itself.

Secondly, the Menorah reminds us of the lamp God used to establish the Abrahamic Covenant.  Abraham prepared a series of sacrifices and laid them out as God instructed …

“And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.  In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram … ” (Genesis 15:17-18).

The lamp of God became a symbol of Abraham’s Covenant of Grace and continued that theme throughout the Bible.  When the seven lamps were installed in the Holy Place of the Tabernacle, they reminded the people that the Abrahamic Covenant, not the Mosaic Law, would produce eternal life.  The Menorah became a prophecy fulfilled in Jesus Christ – “the light of the world” …

“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12).

Thirdly, we learn in the book of Revelation that the Menorah became a symbol of the witness of the Gospel message of Christ through the institution of New Testament Christianity.  The seven churches of Asia recorded in Revelation 2 & 3 became the prototypes of seven church ages that spanned the course of what now has become approximately two thousand years (give or take) since Christ walked the Earth and was crucified. This period of time that we are still in is what is commonly called the “church age.”

IN THE TABERNACLE

The Menorah was situated in the Holy Place of the Tabernacle of Moses, not in the chamber designated as the Holy of Holies.  While this innermost chamber housed the Holy Ark of the Covenant, a symbol of the Mosaic Covenant, the Holy Place was a symbol of the Abrahamic Covenant.  The Holy of Holies was forbidden territory, but all the priesthood could serve in the Holy Place.  Therefore, the Holy Place was intended to represent the Dispensation of Grace in which we now live.

The Table of Shewbread

There are three spiritual exercises available to the born again believer in Christ in this dispensation.  The Table of Shewbread was symbolic of spiritual food.  We are taught to feed upon the teachings of the Bible.  As new Christians we can take “the sincere milk of the word” (1 Peter 2:2).  But we must not stop there.  We should continue to develop our skills and show ourselves “approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).

The Altar of Incense

The golden Altar of Incense was symbolic of prayer – the method by which we may fellowship with God who lives beyond the veil of our existence.  As we study the Bible, God talks to us and as we pray, we talk to God. We can take our petitions and needs before him.  We can worship and praise him.  Prayer is the very essence of spirituality.

The Menorah

The Menorah was symbolic of our witnessing for Christ.  We are told to take the light of the Gospel to every person in the world.  It is evident, therefore, that the Menorah was not exclusively meant for the Jewish people alone, but for all nations.  It’s center lamp was called shamesh, a Hebrew word also used for the sun.

Obviously, the sun shines upon all the earth, including all Gentile nations, not just for the tiny nation of Israel.  Salvation was not intended to be just for the Jews, though it seems that they have perceived it in that manner.  Until this day, the Jews offer no method by which Gentiles may obtain forgiveness of sins.  Nor are they evangelistic of their religion.  There are no Jewish missionaries traveling the globe in search of converts.  What few Gentile proselytes there were in Temple days, they were kept at arms length.  They could not approach the Temple any closer than the court of the Gentiles.  Never were they allowed in the inner courts.  Even the women were allowed closer than Gentiles.  Yet, the Apostle Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus and explained that salvation was as readily available to the Gentiles as it was to the Jews – and that this constituted the “mystery of his will.”  Paul wrote …

“Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him …” (Ephesians 1:9-10).

In the next chapter, Paul continues his explanation that the Gentiles in Ephesus were as welcome as the Jews to partake of eternal life …

“For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.  For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.  Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone …” (Ephesians 2:14-20).

Just a side note here:  Paul’s reference to the “foundation of the apostles” is repeated in John’s concluding chapters of Revelation.  In his description of the Holy City New Jerusalem, we are told that the names of the twelve apostles are engraved upon it’s foundations.  The Abrahamic Covenant is an important covenant.  It is a covenant that is available for all nations – just as God said to Abraham …

“And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 22:18).

This is the lesson that is taught by the three objects that adorned the Holy Place.  Note also that this room was accessed through an entrance adorned with a series of five columns, whereas the Holy of Holies was sealed from views by a forbidding veil, hung upon four columns.

Five Columns At The Entrance

The five columns stood for grace as offered in this dispensation and the four columns stood for the Messianic Kingdom.

The veil taught that no man could enter into the presence of God without Abraham’s covenant of Grace.  The Holy of Holies was not accessible by law keeping.  Only the High Priest was allowed beyond the veil … and then only once a year on the Day of Atonement.  The chief priest was a type or typology of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.  His singular journey beyond the veil taught that Christ would offer his atoning blood only once for the sins of mankind.  Unlike the annual atonement in the Tabernacle, we require no further sacrifice for our salvation.  God’s covenant with Abraham ushered in the Dispensation of Promise.  It did not become effective until the “death of the testator” (Hebrews 9:16).  Our New Testament is, in reality, the institution of the promised Abrahamic Covenant.  That is why the Apostle Paul was so insistent that salvation was by Grace – apart from the works and ordinances of the Mosaic Law.

A Prophetic Prototype

After reviewing the history of the seven lamps and their prophetic significance, we can understand why Christ said that they were symbolic of the seven churches that are mentioned in Revelation 2 & 3 …

“The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches” (Revelation 1:20).

They were not just local congregations to which John ministered.  They were also a prophetic prototype of the entire church dispensation, a time frame that has existed from the time of Christ and his crucifixion to the present time.  They represented seven “church ages” that make up what we now know has been approximately two-thousand years of what is factually referred to as the “Dispensation of Grace.”  This dispensation of grace is currently ongoing, but as we will see in the following articles in this series, it will end in the stunning event of the rapture of the church in the age of Philadelphia that seems to overlap into the age of Laodicea, the age that we are currently in.

The Prophetic Order Of The Churches

Scholars have laid out the order of the churches as implied prophecies of this current dispensation …

1. Ephesus – the apostolic age, first-century church development (33 A.D. – 170 A.D.).
2. Smyrna – the age of persecution under the Roman government (170 – A.D. 316).
3. Pergamos – the church under imperial favor (A.D. 316 – 606 A.D.).
4. Thyatira – the Dark Ages: A.D. 500 – 1500.
5. Sardis – the age of the Reformation (A.D. 1500 -1750).
6. Philadelphia – the age of missionary activity beginning in the 1700s.
7. Laodicea – the final stage of modernism and liberalism.

The letters to these seven churches also fit this scenario.  Think of the profound implications we have here.  New Testament Christianity has been written into the prophecies of the book of Revelation!  We know that approximately 2,000 years ago, at the onset of the Dispensation of Grace, Jesus knew all about us and revealed our historical heritage before each church era even came to pass.  Now that we have established the background for our study of the seven churches, let us proceed with a short summary look at the church of Ephesus, the church of the first century.  From there in subsequent articles in this series, we will look at a short summary of the next four, then will land on Philadelphia – the church age that we want to delve into for it is our current age and now going into Laodicea, the final church.

In this series of articles, we will see that not only do the candles of the menorah represent the seven churches and the seven stars in Jesus’ right hand represent the angels, or messengers, of those seven churches as Jesus said, but that they also represent the seven church ages, or periods of time within the aforementioned “Dispensation of Grace” of the past two-thousand years since Christ and that each candle of the menorah and it’s star represent it’s respective age in sequential order. We will see from a study of history that Christ’s prophecy of the events and themes of each letter written in these seven letters occurred historically in their respective order (just as he said it would). Ephesus is the first church in the line of succession as we progress through the following 6 and land upon our current age, the age of Philadelphia, that like all the other church ages, falls within the 2,000 year“dispensation of grace” itself that is still ongoing.

Church Candle 1: The Church And Age Of Ephesus

“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; 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” (Revelation 2:1-3).

This was the home church of the Apostle John.  Just how John ended up there is not certain.  Some forty years before, the Apostle Paul established the church and confronted the pagan practice of making silver idols to the goddess Diana.  Ephesus was the world headquarters for the worship of Diana.  She was the moon goddess of the ancient Greeks and believed to be the mother of the Earth.

It is not known how many centuries the worship of Diana was practiced in Ephesus.  Her origin was the work of the Danades – the fifty daughters of Danaus, king of the Spartans.

In acts 19, we are told that the apostle Paul spent two years developing the Ephesian church.  While he was living in Ephesus, he encountered several vagabond Jews who practiced exorcism.  Among them were seven sons of a prominent Jewish priest known as Sceva, who thought they could cast out demons in the name of Jesus.  These men made the mistake of trying to cast a demon spirit out of some poor soul by invoking the name of “Jesus, whom Paul preaches” (Acts 19:13).  The demon said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” (Acts 19:15).  The possessed man then jumped on the would-be exorcists and almost killed them.

Perhaps they were among the claimants to apostleship that the Ephesians found to be liars.  From the words of this letter to Ephesus, it seems that Jesus was unhappy with pretenders, but greatly loved the Ephesians for their patience, labor and durability.

One of the main themes of this letter leads us to believe that the Ephesian church had been taught the concept that Christ was our Bridegroom and we are his bride.  It seems that Jesus felt that their spiritual honeymoon was over.  He said …

“Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because you have left your first love” (Revelation 2:4).

The concept of loving their Bridegroom was taught to the church at Ephesus by none other than the Apostle Paul himself.  Paul wrote an epistle to Ephesus, in which he encouraged them to nurture the love they had for Christ …

“That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.  Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen” (Ephesians 3:17-21).

Paul also taught them about their relationship as the bride of Christ …

“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.  Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.  So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.  For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.  For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.  This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church” (Ephesians 5:22-32).

The concept of the Savior and his bride was a mystery revealed by Paul.  Now, some forty years later, the apostle John is told by Jesus himself to deliver a special message in which the Bridegroom tells his bride that she has lost her first love.  Jesus reprimands them and says …

“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” (Revelation 2:5).

The candlestick (or lamp) represented the soul winning efforts of the congregation.  It would be a tragedy to remove their candlestick – their testimony throughout the world.  In his epistle to the church at Ephesus, Paul mentions this light …

“For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.  And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.  For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.  But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.  Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.  See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:8-16).

The spiritual exploits of the Ephesian church were being told all over the known world.  They were the church that destroyed the sales of Diana dolls.  They had turned the city toward Christ – at least they did forty years before.  But memories of glory days are not enough for a congregation.  The church must continue.  There is no time to let down on the job of soul winning.  To lose their lamp like we read in this letter does not mean that they would lose their salvation.  Paul makes that clear in his epistle to the Ephesians …

“In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:13-14).

Christ was referring to their famous work of spreading the Gospel and for having been bold for the Savior.  Even though the church at Ephesus had slowed down in their soul winning efforts, their orthodoxy remained strong.  Jesus told them …

“But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate” (Revelation 2:6).

Not much is known about the Nicolaitanes.  They may have been associated with Diana worship – sent to undermine the faith of the Ephesians.  They might have been associated with the Gnostics – a sect of the Greeks that believed in a secret wisdom.  The Greek word Gnosis implies knowing something that the rest of the world does not know.  It was a widespread heresy in the early centuries.  The term translated Nicolaitanes is represented by two Greek words – nicao, meaning “to conquer,” and laity, meaning “the people.”  Most theologians agree that the Nicolaitanes may have been a sect that sought to establish ministerial control over the people.  By the fourth century, a Christian priesthood emerged.  Whether or not they were descendants of the Nicolaitanes, history does reveal that the Roman priesthood controlled their congregations to the point of superstition.  Under their rule, Europe slipped into the “Dark Ages.”  Horror stories emerged out of the Dark Ages – of chaining Bibles to their pulpits and forbidding their people to read it – of inquisitions and tortures of anyone who disagreed with their doctrines.  In the letter to Pergamos, thought to be the church of the fourth century under imperial favor, Jesus laments that the Nicolaitanes were fast gaining control …

“So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate” (Revelation 2:15).

It seems that in Pergamos the doctrine of Balaam was also closely associated with the Nicolaitanes.  At least in Ephesus, the people were grounded enough to refuse those doctrines that are contrary to faith in Christ.

Finally, Jesus concluded his letter to Ephesus through John by letting them know that his words were more than just a mere message to a single church.  He suggested that they read the letter with a spiritual understanding that transcends the ordinary …

“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” (Revelation 2:7).

Again, Paul explains this special ability to “hear what the spirit saith” in his epistle …

“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints …” (Ephesians 1:17-18).

Now that we have observed the background and history of Ephesus and are convinced that Ephesus was the perfect example for this first of seven letters, let us listen to the spirit as well.  The message of the spirit is that though the letter was written to Ephesus, it was not meant for the Ephesians alone, but for every church in the first century … the period of time that the physical church of Ephesus represents.  What was said of Ephesus was generally true in every community where the Apostles established and nurtured congregations.  We have only to read the epistles to the churches of Galatia, Thessalonica, Corinth, Philippi and Colosse to appreciate the pressure the early church was under as they struggled with Judaisers, heretics, backbiters and the like of some of their members.

Finally, Jesus told the people of the first century that a special blessing awaits the faithful.  The overcomer will eat of the tree of life in the midst of the paradise of God.  This takes us back to the Garden of Eden – to the tree kept from Adam and Eve after they fell into a state of death and taking the creation with them.  We will see this tree in the closing chapters of Revelation – in the Holy City New Jerusalem, not far from the throne of God.

This mention of the Tree of Life was reserved for the end of the letter.  It was given after the suggestion that the faithful obtain a special spiritual hearing in order to understand it.  The tree of life is another one of those mysteries that evades a full understanding.  Whatever it is, we know that it is not something that grows on Earth.  It is not presently available to humankind.  All that we know is that it continually produces a different fruit every month and that it’s leaves will be used for the healing of the nations.  Of Adam and Eve, God said that if they partook of it, they would live forever …

“And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever” (Genesis 3:22).

The Tree of Life is definitely one of those mysteries that we shall never fully comprehend in simple terms.  However, once we enter beyond the veil, we will understand it all.  Note that there are no New Testament epistles to Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia or Laodicea by which we might gain insight to help us understand the metaphoric aspects of their letters in Revelation 2 & 3.  There is only Ephesus. Why?  Perhaps because Ephesus was a first-century church.  Those others represented church ages that had not yet come to pass.  Their letters are far more clouded with mystical meaning because in A.D. 96 they were still future.  They may deserve the extensive coverage given here to Ephesus, but we simply do not have access to the history of these churches.  Therefore, analysis of them will be comparatively brief.

By listening to human opinion the church proved unfaithful to its trust that it demonstrated throughout the age of Ephesus and ceased to adhere to the principles with which it started. We make the same mistake today. History reveals that the city of Ephesus faded away as a port when the silt from the river that flowed into the harbor filled up the harbor, and the sea shore moved away from the city. So, gradually, human leadership and ideas took over the thinking of the people in the early church of Ephesus and it’s time frame when they began drifting away from the written Bible. It can be deduced that the main error of the first age was that a presbyter took on the name of “priest” and he was established as the head of a local church. Then this man-induced system grew into a monster when bishops began being established as the heads of the local churches in each city and its surrounding areas. Thus, the stage was set for the next errors that entered during the second church age. This is the likely reason why Christ declared to Ephesus …

“Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because you have left your first love” (Revelation 2:4).

Some people hold the view that the most important cause of the decline of the Roman Empire came during the reign of a basically good Emperor: Marcus Aurelius. Except for his mad compulsion to persecute Christians. It was the Antonine Plague, one of the most devastating plagues in history, that swept through the Empire between 165 AD – 180 AD. This plague came when Rome was at war, so the army was gathered together. It swept through their ranks, removing their numerical superiority. It also created a population problem. Less people in the Empire meant less people to produce food, which led to a decrease in urbanization (because cities need large agricultural production to survive) and less population growth overall. In short: Rome no longer had enough manpower to garrison all of its Empire at the same time. This laid the seeds for the later collapse of the western Roman Empire in 476 A.D. when there was neither the money nor the manpower to defend their borders. But until then, although the seeds of collapse were planted, the Roman Empire still continued as the dominant force on Earth until the appointed time of it’s collapse. Thus in the midst of this aforementioned great plague we can probably draw a line around 170 A.D. or so to indicate where the first church age ended and the second church age of persecution (the church and age of Smyrna) started. Life became tough. This was the consequence of the church moving away from the example of the apostolic church of the New Testament.

As we can see, the history of the church of Ephesus unfolded exactly as Christ predicted it would when he gave the prophecy to John after being supernaturally caught up into Heaven off the Isle of Patmos into the presence of Christ himself and saw him standing in the midst of those candlesticks that represented these churches. From here, it only gets more interesting as we investigate the remaining six churches and their time eras of prophetic fulfillment on our way to the current church era (Philadelphia) within the 2000 year church age itself. These will be dealt with in the forthcoming series of articles.

Part 2 of this series in the link below:
THE SEVEN CHURCHES IN TIME AGES OF PROPHECY FULFILLMENT: CHURCH CANDLE 2 – THE AGE OF SMYRNA (part 1)

Questions and comments can be left in the comment section further below (sometimes comments end up in my spam box – will approve them as soon as I check it every day).