He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. Revelation 3:22 (KJV)

In Revelation chapters 1-3, Jesus had messages for seven churches. Each church is told areas where they are strong and are warned about areas that need work. Each of us in the body of Christ should heed these messages. I recommend that you read them for yourself because they do speak to how we are to live as believers. However, what I am going to discuss today are the messages to be found within the names of the seven churches and what they mean to us today. To do this, let’s look at each church individually.

Ephesus

Ephesus means desirable, deeply loved by the Lord. We see that Jesus loves and deeply desires His church. How deeply? Deep enough to take the deep wounds of the cross. According to John 15:13, there is no greater love than that. He loves us that much.

Smyrna

Smyrna means myrrh. Myrrh has a bitter taste and it speaks of the bitter things we all face in life. Yet, when we look at the bitter suffereing of Jesus at the cross, we can be encouraged. Because He overcame, we can overcome our bitter trials as well. In Exodus 15:22-26, Moses threw a tree into bitter waters and they became sweet. That tree was a picture of the cross. When trials come, we must not become bitter, but we must apply the cross of Christ to our lives and God will bring sweetness to our lives.

Pergamos

Pergamos refers to an elevated place. Ephesians 2:6 says we have been seated with Christ in heavenly places. Even when we have a low position or our life seems insignificant, remember that God has lifted us up in Christ to a higher place. When we know who we are in Christ, we can overcome anything that would seek to bring us low. Knowing Christ is in us and we are in Him brings us victory in every outcome.

Thyatira

Thyatira means incense or odor of affliction. Whatever we go through, we are to offer it to God as a sweet smelling sacrifice of praise. Notic it is not an offering of complaining, but one of praise and gratitude. As we learn to praise and thank God in the midst of a trial, our thanksgiving will turn into triumph.

Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ. II Corinthians 2:14 (KJV)

Sardis

Sardis means those who escape, who broke free from what held them in bondage. According to Deuteronomy 6:23, God brought us out to bring us in. We have been delivered from the authority of darkness and translated into the kingdom of God’s dear Son (Colossians 1:13). In Christ, we can live free from anything that seeks to hold us captive.

Philadelphia

As many people know, Philadelphia means brotherly love. We are to love the brethren. We are to love each other as Jesus loves us (John 15:12)

Laodicea

Laodicea speaks of people’s rights. As children of God, we surrender our rights to Jesus. We must say, “not my will but Your will be done.” When we surrender our will to God’s will, we will find that He will give us what we desire.

In summary, we can take away the following lessons from the seven churches. When we know Jesus desires and loves us, we can go through anything. We know on the other side of trials, the Lord will lift us higher as we lift a higher praise to Him. This will make us more like Him. Jesus brought us out to bring us into the fulfilled promises of God. As we surrender our will to the will of Jesus, we love one another as Christ loved us. It’s all about the love of Jesus flowing to us, flowing through us to others and then flowing back again to God!