The message to the 7 churches in the book of Revelation is critical to the church throughout all generations. What makes the message to the 7 churches very unique include 4 reasons:

1). Because Jesus is directly addressing them through the apostle John after all the other originals apostles were martyred.

2). Because Jesus doesn’t directly address the church in all the previous letters in the New Testament like he did through John’s vision in Revelation.

3). Jesus waits almost 70 years after the Day of Pentecost to address the 7 churches directly through John.

4). Because the message to the 7 churches in the book of Revelation is the final message to the church in the New Testament, which makes the 7 churches a crucial example for the church today.

When Jesus does His evaluation of the 7 churches, only 2 of them were commended, Smyrna and Philadelphia. Notice what these two churches were commended for and notice what the other churches were rebuked for, and then ask yourself, what was truly important to the Lord Jesus Christ when it comes to His church. For example, consider Smyrna who was a poor church stricken by poverty, but commended by Jesus because they were rich in faith, which begs the question, what does being rich in faith really entail? Material abundance, money, wealth, or possession? The account of the Rich Young Ruler surely speaks against this notion that true faith is equivalent to physical prosperity.

So, what does it mean to be rich in faith? in James 2:5, “Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? To be rich in faith means to be rich in your belief about Jesus’ messiahship, to be rich in the hope of eternal salvation, to be rich in obedience to the Word of God, and to be rich in your faith and belief about who Jesus is regardless of one’s affliction. Additionally, to be rich in faith means to be rich in the spiritual blessings of the Kingdom of God that include adoption as sons and daughters, the redemption by Jesus’ blood, the forgiveness of our sins, the grace of God, and the seal of the Holy Spirit until the day of redemption. These are just some of the spiritual blessings outlined in Ephesians 1:3-14. Praise the Lord! This is what it means to be rich in faith, and to be rich in hope!

Remember, your physical abundance does not quantify the richness of your true faith in Christ! Your faith is quantified by how you stand firm in your belief about who Jesus is, by how you remain faithful in your obedience to His Word, and by how you remain faithful in your participation of Christ mission for the church, in every season of your life!!

Now, notice the church of Laodicea who was rich in material possession and wealth, but rebuked by Jesus as poor, pitiful, naked, and wretched. The church of Smyrna and Laodicea provide two excellent examples along with the others churches of what quantifies true faith, true obedience, and true application to the Lord Jesus Christ and His eternal Word.

The overall message to the church according to the book of Revelation is that faith in Christ even in the most extreme of circumstances is what God cares about the most! Never forget that following Jesus in the context of the New Testament was illegal, and never forget how Christian’s continued to be persecuted for the first three hundred years of church history. The average Christian was poor in the original context of the New Testament because Christianity was illegal throughout the Roman Empire. But, as Jesus said in Matthew 24:13, those who stand firm to the end in their faith and practice in Christ will be saved.

Those who stand firm despite their poverty, despite their persecution, despite their oppression, despite their economic hardship, despite the attacks of the enemy, and stand firm on the absolute truth of God’s Word despite all the changes of the world will be saved in the end.

How are you enduring in your faith in the most trying of circumstances? Look at how Smyrna endured, look at how Philadelphia with little strength endured, look at how Jesus endured the cross, look at how all the disciples endured until their martyrdom,  look at how the church endured during the first 300 years of persecution under Roman Rule, and look at how the poor widow in Luke 21 remained faithful in her giving despite her own poverty. Thank you Lord for such faithful examples throughout scripture of what true faith is!! This is what Jesus Christ is seeking from His church: true faithfulness, true obedience, true repentance, true endurance, and true holiness!