Seven Letters to Seven Churches?

         I believe that each letter is to THE church as it  progresses though the last days.  By the point Philadelphia, in this time line, all that must overcome and will have already  been refined, stripped of false teachings and ready to meet the Lord in the air. The church of Philadelphia is the church at the time of the Rapture, the bride.
What is left of the church after this time is the Laodiceans.

SO THIS IS WHAT IT TELLS US ABOUT THE CHURCH DURING THE TRUMPS

     Ephesus- remember  your first love-(gospel of Jesus) church threatened by false teaching within  the church.

     Smyrna- tribulation and poverty, (persecution of christians)  martyrs killed.

     Pergamum-living in the midst of persecution. Two false teaching threatens to tare apart the foundation of the church, one threatens the Messianic Jew, a stumbling block, Perhaps trying to place them back under the law,  the other the gentile Christian with a new age attitude. Overcomers get hidden manna and white stone=like a pass to get  in.  (Remember to stick to the simple salvation message.)

     Thyatira-warning you are stronger in faith than when you began but some of you are still tolerating  Jezebel, (the final and worst false teaching, the most deceptive and the most damaging to the church some have overcome but the other bond-servants haven't).

     Sardis-last warning to wake up. What you have left is about to die, strengthen what is still alive (Belief in Jesus). Or I will remove your name from the book of life. (This is a warning to strengthen your faith and do the deeds that are listed throughout the letters before the rapture takes place).

     Philadelphia- raptured at the end of tribulation.

     Laodicea- Jesus would rather they were HOT (which is believing in Jesus as their Messiah) or COLD (believing in nothing) But these are the lukewarm, as the Jews are because they believe in God but not in Jesus as their Messiah. They are half way there.    Jesus spits them from His mouth- these will go through the wrath of God. They can still repent when they see Him, the one they pierced, or they will be trampled in the wine press. I believe the Parables of the 10 virgins and also the  wedding guests apply to the Laodiceans.


Pre-tribbers base a lot on this one verse concerning their doctrine;

In Rev 4:1 "Come up here and I will show you must take place "after" these things,"

When John is told come up here, some believe this is the pretrib rapture because of one word found in this verse. the Greek word "Meta", which means either "with" or "after".
If you were Greek and reading the verse:

In Rev 4:1 "Come up here and I will show you must take place meta these things,"
you would first read it as meaning "with these things". The reason for this is because the word means "with" and is used in that context most of the time. But it also means "after" but not exactly the way the English language defines the word after.

John is told "Come up here" .  Now the Lord begins showing him the order of what will take place at the same time as the letters.
He has seen how the church will fare. Now He will see how the rest of the world will fare. Starting with the seals. Then trumps and bowls. The inserts, such as Israel as portrayed in the 12  chapter. The antichrist kingdom (Islam) and the false prophet (New World Order) as portrayed in the 13th. etc.

Here are some examples of how the word is used. Replacing the word "with" with "after" and visa versa.
Here are 3 verses out of the 345 verses that use the word meta to mean "with".
 

Mat 2:3 When Herod the king had heard [these things], he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with [3326] him.

Mat 5:41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with [3326] him twain.

Mat 9:15 And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with [3326] them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.

Here is a verse where it is interpreted as after: Now the word after is used for meta 88 times and is at the discretion of the translators. They have a good deal of trouble when it comes to prophecy.
 
Mat 24:29 Immediately after [3326] the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
          I hope all will agree that John knew what he meant when he used the word meta in this sentence but we can only guess. This means that the letters to the churches can easily be a progression of the church throughout the time of the tribulation.
 
 

 -God Bless You

Return to Index