Why are the 7 Churches in Revelation each greeted differently...

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Heart2Soul

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In Chapter 1 all of the characteristics below are used to describe Jesus...but when addressing each church separately only 1 characteristic is used in the greeting to the church....and each church received a different one. WHY? Is there any significance to this?
Refer to Revelation 1:11-20


2:1 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

8 And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;

12 And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;

18 And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;

3:1 And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars;

7 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;

14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

I don't believe this was done by mistake or happenstance. I believe there is a reason and am studying it as best I can. Anyone got an answer?
 

farouk

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In Chapter 1 all of the characteristics below are used to describe Jesus...but when addressing each church separately only 1 characteristic is used in the greeting to the church....and each church received a different one. WHY? Is there any significance to this?
Refer to Revelation 1:11-20


2:1 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

8 And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;

12 And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;

18 And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;

3:1 And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars;

7 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;

14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

I don't believe this was done by mistake or happenstance. I believe there is a reason and am studying it as best I can. Anyone got an answer?
Hi; I have always understood the letters to the seven churches of Asia as indicating tendencies which can affect various local churches; each response from the Lord, and the wording in which it is expressed, must presumably have its special appropriateness to the place where the lampstand of God's presence is situated.
 
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Heart2Soul

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Hi; I have always understood the letters to the seven churches of Asia as indicating tendencies which can affect various local churches; each response from the Lord, and the wording in which it is expressed, must presumably have its special appropriateness to the place where the lampstand of God's presence is situated.
Yes I understand that....but why did each church receiving a different greeting as related to His appearance.
 

Enoch111

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I don't believe this was done by mistake or happenstance. I believe there is a reason and am studying it as best I can. Anyone got an answer?
We should look for the simplest answer. Each church was different from the others, and each church needed a different message, and a different aspect of Christ to be the focus. But there is also a common pattern in each message.
 

Willie T

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I love the projection of the characteristics of these churches forward to the problems with today's churches. Thankfully there can only be seven things wrong with churches, instead of maybe eight or ten, or more...….. because poor old John only had seven churches he wrote to.
 

Heart2Soul

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I love the projection of the characteristics of these churches forward to the problems with today's churches. Thankfully there can only be seven things wrong with churches, instead of maybe eight or ten, or more...….. because poor old John only had seven churches he wrote to.
Lol...oh Willie...be serious. I am studying Revelation seeking a deeper understanding.
 
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Heart2Soul

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you are the churches being addressed, maybe, and the sins outlined in the seven churches are the same sins you will have to overcome in building your temple? "The Revelation of Christ" where is Christ revealed, iyo, from a practical standpoint?
He could address all 7 churches with the same greeting if it was about sins. Could it have something to do with the church ages?
 

farouk

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He could address all 7 churches with the same greeting if it was about sins. Could it have something to do with the church ages?
This is an interesting point; with the world being so varied; I do think that conditions in one local church in one locality may differ markedly with those in another the other side of the world; so I'm not sure that we are presented with uniformly consistent conditions worldwide at a particular stage of the age of the church.
 

bbyrd009

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He could address all 7 churches with the same greeting if it was about sins. Could it have something to do with the church ages?
ah, specifically the greetings? Imo you make a great connection there, quite possible, yeh. Your "church" goes thru diff ages too, yeh?

Might be pertinent to just list all the seven greetings, we could do a comparo
oh, guess you aready did lol. brb

might be a ref to ages, but i would see if there were any correlations with the sins listed too i guess. I agree that it most likely isnt for nothing tho!
 
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Enoch111

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In Chapter 1 all of the characteristics below are used to describe Jesus...but when addressing each church separately only 1 characteristic is used in the greeting to the church....and each church received a different one. WHY? Is there any significance to this?
We can discern the meaning by seeing what is represented in the bolded portions.

CHRIST IS CONSTANTLY SCRUTINIZING HIS CHURCHES
2:1 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

CHRIST IS GOD WHO DIED FOR MAN
8 And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;

CHRIST USES HIS WORD AS THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT
12 And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;

CHRIST IS NOW EXALTED AND JUDGES THE SAINTS
18 And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;

CHRIST WORKS WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT WITHIN THE CHURCHES
3:1 And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars;

CHRIST HAS ALL AUTHORITY IN HEAVEN AND ON EARTH
7 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;

CHRIST IS THE FULNESS OF THE GODHEAD BODILY
14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
 

Helen

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A hard one for sure...going to need the Holy Spirit through this to open my understanding.

It is a book like slippery soap...just as I think I have 'got it' it slips out of my hand again. :)

I don't think it is a book which can be understood , or ever meant to be understood. I 'used to' believe that it could be studied and interpreted , but I no longer do.
I believe the Lord just takes bits here and there and opens it up at a certain given time.

It's unique for sure. Enjoy your studies and be sure to
let us know when the Lord shows you new things in it. :)

Blessings...H
 

bbyrd009

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2:1 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
The amazing name Nicolaitans: meaning and etymology

so right away some associations to He that holds the seven stars in His right hand v "the Nicolaitans" are apparent, but id wanna...think about it a little more, and then stop thinking about it, in order to have any opinion, later. Unfort we who declare that we are not under the law are likely the most under the law, so defining who "Nicolaitans" is today in an unbiased way is prolly going to be hard, you basically have to decide for yourself who these ppl are yeh, and if you have a king your answer will necessarily be diff from...mine, cant even imagine who a um patriot say might even think "Nicolaitans" are? But my guess is that to someone with a king, they are just some long-dead historical race that no longer exists or some such?
 

bbyrd009

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We can discern the meaning by seeing what is represented in the bolded portions.

CHRIST IS CONSTANTLY SCRUTINIZING HIS CHURCHES
2:1 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

CHRIST IS GOD WHO DIED FOR MAN
8 And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;

CHRIST USES HIS WORD AS THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT
12 And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;

CHRIST IS NOW EXALTED AND JUDGES THE SAINTS
18 And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;

CHRIST WORKS WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT WITHIN THE CHURCHES
3:1 And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars;

CHRIST HAS ALL AUTHORITY IN HEAVEN AND ON EARTH
7 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;

CHRIST IS THE FULNESS OF THE GODHEAD BODILY
14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
may not be a bad first approximation, yeh.

i would collect several of these from diff ppl maybe, and find a concensus that way.
"he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand" gives me a diff impression than "scrutinizing," which to me comes out more in part two there; a la "He Who is really in control, as opposed to what the Nicolaitans believe" maybe, "and can pop your king's head like a zit whenever He wants" kinda thing.
 
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Heart2Soul

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may not be a bad first approximation, yeh.

i would collect several of these from diff ppl maybe, and find a concensus that way.
"he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand" gives me a diff impression than "scrutinizing," which to me comes out more in part two there; a la "He Who is really in control, as opposed to what the Nicolaitans believe" maybe, "and can pop your king's head like a zit whenever He wants" kinda thing.
Lol..
 
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Heart2Soul

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We can discern the meaning by seeing what is represented in the bolded portions.

CHRIST IS CONSTANTLY SCRUTINIZING HIS CHURCHES
2:1 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

CHRIST IS GOD WHO DIED FOR MAN
8 And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;

CHRIST USES HIS WORD AS THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT
12 And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;

CHRIST IS NOW EXALTED AND JUDGES THE SAINTS
18 And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;

CHRIST WORKS WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT WITHIN THE CHURCHES
3:1 And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars;

CHRIST HAS ALL AUTHORITY IN HEAVEN AND ON EARTH
7 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;

CHRIST IS THE FULNESS OF THE GODHEAD BODILY
14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
Good points! Which brings back to thinking the Church was progressing spiritually. I looked up the time frames of each church and they do go in order chronologically as to when they existed.
 
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