The "7 Church Ages" Prophecy

[Gottservant]

I never understood prophecy unfolding at discreet points in time (I always tended to view it as one long continuum). Learning this has been great!

That's the nature of chaos I guess, all you can do is be happy with it.

The point being that even being "chaos", God knows when and where it will develop.

 

[Heart2Soul]

Christ's 7 Messages to the 7 Churches are ALL STILL ACTIVE TODAY. "How so?", some might ask.

The Church you attend, you are to look at all 7 of Christ's Messages in Revelation 2 & 3 and compare.

There were only 2 Churches that Lord Jesus had no rebuke for. So those represent His very elect. You might study what they knew that the other 5 Churches didn't.

At the end of Revelation 1, Jesus also showed John that there are 7 CANDLESTICKS represented in HEAVEN for the 7 Churches. That means... the 7 Churches REPRESENT a symbolic PATTERN IN HEAVEN for ALL... Churches, from the start of the Church all the way up to the day of Christ's future return.


But MEN'S FALSE DOCTRINES like Darby's false Dispensationalist theories, instead try to force Christ's 7 Messages to the 7 Churches into a false 'Church Ages' theory. Doing that destroys... what Lord Jesus gave His 7 Messages for! How?

By creating a FALSE AGE for each Church Message, that is to WRONGLY assign them to past history, which in turn means to DISREGARD them as already fulfilled! Thus you will DISREGARD Christ's warnings in them of potential errors in YOUR OWN CHURCH you go to, thus not compare errors that might associate with those early 7 Churches, and thus Christ's rebuke and warning to repent!

I have always taken "church age" to represent how the church body grows spiritually throughout history. And with each new age there comes greater wisdom, knowledge and understanding of scripture. Remember the "faith" movement? Whatever you speak you will receive if you have faith?
As the church evolved it grew further and further away from preaching the foundational teaching of the gift of salvation. Jesus being the chief cornerstone. And when this foundation was being built upon man started using doctrines which they created and added their doctrine of faith to follow as well as the Doctrine of Jesus Christ.
Only those who are studying and asking the Holy Spirit to teach them the truth will be able to see the deception in the doctrines of man....which scripture tells us to not follow them.

 

[rockytopva]

I remember a quote from Saint Augustine that went, "Mans extremity is Gods opportunity." But as far as I am concerned mans extremity is God's big headache. Which is why I don't mind objections, debate, and disagreements. There are possibilities that I have referred to some nut as the star of the Laodicean Church Age and in that you will all perish for not following his teachings.

 

[Davy]

I have always taken "church age" to represent how the church body grows spiritually throughout history. And with each new age there comes greater wisdom, knowledge and understanding of scripture. Remember the "faith" movement? Whatever you speak you will receive if you have faith?
As the church evolved it grew further and further away from preaching the foundational teaching of the gift of salvation. Jesus being the chief cornerstone. And when this foundation was being built upon man started using doctrines which they created and added their doctrine of faith to follow as well as the Doctrine of Jesus Christ.
Only those who are studying and asking the Holy Spirit to teach them the truth will be able to see the deception in the doctrines of man....which scripture tells us to not follow them.

That's philosophy from men's teaching, not actually what is written in God's Word. John Darby (1830s) was one of the first ones to come up with the 'Church Ages' theory. It's just a theory and nothing more. But Darby's idea is a theory that actually destroys... the purpose of Christ including those seven Messages.

Firstly, in Revelation 1, Lord Jesus showed John seven candlesticks in the heavenly, and told John those represented the seven Churches. That reveals a HEAVENLY PATTERN for the seven Churches. And Jesus even warns with the very first Church at Ephesus, that if they don't repent He will remove their 'candlestick' out of its place. What place? In the Heavenly Pattern that Jesus showed John in Revelation 1:20.

That reveals we have a lot more going on here about the seven Churches than mere history.

Jesus had rebuke for 5 out of the 7 Churches. Only 2 Churches, Smyrna and Philadelphia, He had no rebuke for. And those two Churches both had a teaching that Jesus mentioned with them, that was missing from the other five Churches. Those two Churches represent His elect that cannot be deceived for the end.

The END also is an idea that Jesus points to with those seven Messages. So to TRY and say those Messages fulfill some 'Church Ages' theory is totally moving away from Christ's purpose for those Messages. Each Church today is to look at those seven Messages, and then look at their Church, and compare. And I can guarantee you, you can find Churches today that fit every one of those seven Messages.

 

[Ronald Nolette]

Thanks for sharing! Please know I will take the time to enjoy and study your research.

YOu are welcome!

If you wish to have an indepth study of the church ages I suggest you get the book "Footsteps of the Messiah" by Arnold Fruchtenbaum. It is an in depth study of eschatology and goes into great detail about the seven letters and how they play out prophetically. I have used this book as my standard text in teaching eschatology classes now for over 2 decades.

 

[Ronald Nolette]

This is a false doctrine especially instigated by John Darby of England and William Branham in the US. I would not be so lulled into loose theories that quickly develop into concrete traditions and beliefs as we have today in Christian doctrine.

These 7 types of congregation that existed after Christ's in SW Turkey resurrection represent characteristics of typical congregations then, through every generation, and today. There is no intriguing, end-times and nifty time sequence of the predominance of specific characteristics of one congregation in one age over another.

just saying....

Well , I disagree.

Yes they are seven types of church congregations in all ages of the church.
They also are seven letters to seven literal churches.
They are also seven types of believers in every age of the church age.
Now for them showing a progression of the church through the ages that is drawn by the following:

1. the name of the church and what it means.
2. the characteristic of that particular church
3.the exhortations and rebukes of the church.
4. The order of the letters as they appear in Scripture.

When you factor these in and look at the churches and specific dates when the church underwent major changes, it aligns perfectly with history. also when you look at what the name means and matchit to historic dates, you see that the general characteristic of teh visible church matches the exhortations and condemnations for each particular church!

Darby may or may have not laid the seeds for this, but it is still true and fits to a tee. The reason it took so long is that eschatology was a subject buried in the covenant theology of Romanism and those protestant branches which kept to covenantalism. Also as Daniel said in the last days more and more truths of end times would be revealed. Unfortunately with that truth comes the fact that many sincere believers have gone off the dep end with all sorts of whacky eschatology based on an allegorical reinterpretation of SCripture.

 

[rockytopva]

Well , I disagree.

Yes they are seven types of church congregations in all ages of the church.
They also are seven letters to seven literal churches.
They are also seven types of believers in every age of the church age.
Now for them showing a progression of the church through the ages that is drawn by the following:

1. the name of the church and what it means.
2. the characteristic of that particular church
3.the exhortations and rebukes of the church.
4. The order of the letters as they appear in Scripture.

When you factor these in and look at the churches and specific dates when the church underwent major changes, it aligns perfectly with history. also when you look at what the name means and matchit to historic dates, you see that the general characteristic of teh visible church matches the exhortations and condemnations for each particular church!

Darby may or may have not laid the seeds for this, but it is still true and fits to a tee. The reason it took so long is that eschatology was a subject buried in the covenant theology of Romanism and those protestant branches which kept to covenantalism. Also as Daniel said in the last days more and more truths of end times would be revealed. Unfortunately with that truth comes the fact that many sincere believers have gone off the dep end with all sorts of whacky eschatology based on an allegorical reinterpretation of SCripture.

To know these things I deem a good thing. It is also very easy to include the ego of man. My church is the Latter Day Laodicean church, for example, and then to say something like, it is heretical to go against my teachings, especially as I am the star of the Laodicean church age. And then proceed to make the interpretation a bad thing. In which... In the head of the wrong person an easy thing to do!

 

[Book of Revelation]