Dear Christa—
I tend to neglect the book of Revelation. We tend to think
of it as a book regarding the future, and, frankly, I seem to think I need
something to help get me through the here and now when I read the words of God.
So, after much time, I decided to open the neglected book, if for no other
reason, it seemed like a good thing to do. And right there in the second
chapter, Jesus speaks to the churches. These were real churches in the time the
Apostle John penned his vision. Also, some think they could be interpreted to a
declining universal Church through the ages. Regardless, it seems to me that we
can approach the letters with the attitude, “If the shoe fits…”
The first church Jesus addresses is the congregation at
Ephesus:
Jesus praises them for their hard work, perseverance, and
for evaluating and recognizing false teachers, the Nicolaitans. The Nicolaitans
were a sect of false teachers in the very early church. They were known compromising
with the pagan culture, proclaiming that their spiritual liberty gave them
leeway to practice idolatry and immorality” (NIV Study Bible notes).
Similar to today, we see people who want to claim the name
of Christ, yet not live a life prescribed in Scripture. I think it probably
came about logically, as such things often do. There was the accusation of
legalism. There was the recognition of freedom in Christ. Yet, people have a
difficult time maintaining balance, and the tension between living in the world
and not being of it is ever present for all of us.
Freedom became license and license became rejection of some
of the basic tenants of the worship of the one True God in the presence and
practice of all types of idolatry from Genesis right down to the here and now.
The Nicolaitans did not spring from without; the false
perspective was bred right in the Church—perhaps from the church in Jerusalem
itself.
Right here in Revelation 1, Jesus states not that He hates
the Nicolaitans, but their practices; and the church at Ephesus was commended
for their recognition and stand against the false teaching. It’s always a
danger to interpret Scripture through the lens of culture instead of
interpreting culture through the lens of Scripture.
If we believe the Bible to be the very Words of God—and we
do—we must maintain a practice of the later, regardless of the difficulty. And
difficult it really is because we also must be sure that we are correctly interpreting
the Words of Truth. We naturally tend to interpret Scripture through our lens
instead of God’s. Oh, to approach Scripture with the attitude of “teach me your
ways, oh Lord.”
Jesus simply ends by stating, “He who has an ear, let him
hear what the Sprit (God) says to the churches” (Rev. 2:7).
Let us search the Bible to know God better and with the
desire to follow Him, for He alone can redeem us. And, He alone can reveal the
Words of Life.
—the parishioner who
doesn’t do anything
