Question about Christ's letters to the seven churches in Revelation

I have a Biblical question from the Book of Revelation that has perplexed me for some time. The question relates to Christ's letters to the Seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3. I have not been able to find the answer to this question in commentaries or online research. The question may seem "minor" or inconsequential to some, but I believe NOTHING is minor or inconsequential in God's Word. So here it is (and hoping someone may have a constructive explanation to my question): In His letters to the Seven churches, Christ's concludes each of the Seven letters to the churches the SAME way: "He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says unto the churches". Christ then immediately states His promise (s) to the individual OVERCOMERS of each of the seven churches (and Christ's promises to the Overcomers of each of the seven churches are quite DIFFERENT from one another!). Well, that is the format and sequence found in the first THREE (3) churches (Ephesus, Smyrna, and Pergamos). Beginning with Thyatira (the 4th church), and continuing with Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea, the format to the ending of Christ's letters is inexplicably REVERSED. Christ concludes His letters to the last four (4) churches (Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea) first by stating His PROMISES to the Overcomers in those four (4) churches, and then followed by the conclusion, "He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says unto the churches." My question is (and I have not found anyone who even ADDRESSES the issue, much less answers it!) WHY did Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost REVERSE the order of the ENDING of His letters in His letter to the final four churches of Revelation? i.e, "He that has an ear, etc" FOLLOWS His promises to the overcomers in His letters to the final four (4) churches; whereas in His letters to the first three (3) churches (Ephesus, Smyrna, and Pergamos) the salutation, "He that has an ear, etc." PRECEDES His promises to those churches? As mentioned above, there is NOTHING minor or inconseqential in God's Word. Every jot, tittle, comma, and word in Scripture has been placed there for a REASON by the Holy Ghost (mankind, in his various translations over the centuries, has greatly messed that up, but that's a whole separate post). I am just very curious WHY the Holy Ghost REVERSED the order to the ending of Christ's letters to the seven churches between the third and fourth church? Any insights or revelation (no pun intended) would be much appreciated!
 
Thank you for your response. I don't believe you hit the target of what I was saying, or even really addressed my question. But thank your for your response. I certainly do consider ALL of the SEVEN letters that Christ wrote to the SEVEN churches as applying to ME personally, a follower and servant of Jesus Christ. And I take very seriously what Christ said to ALL of them. I believe the seven churches are a portrait of ALL the churches over the 2,000 years of the church age, and PERHAPS each represent a particular "church age" within that 2,000 year period where they represent the dominant characteristic of that age- lukewarm Laodicea being the final church age before Christ returns (but that is a SEPARATE TOPIC). But your response does not address my specific question.... which is: WHY was the order of the ENDING to Christ's letters to the final four (4) churches (Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea) REVERSED from the ENDING of His letters to the first THREE (3) churches; i.e., Christ's PROMISES to the Overcomers in the final four (4) churches comes BEFORE the phrase, "He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says unto the churches." Whereas in Christ's letters to the first THREE (3) churches (Ephesus, Smyrna, and Pergamos) the phrase, "He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says unto the churches" reverses position in the letter, and comes BEFORE His Promises to the Overcomers. Perhaps you didn't understand my question? Maybe read it again a couple of times. If you say, "It doesn't matter", or "it's just random, and it doesn't matter" we don't have a discussion. I believe it DOES matter.
 

Everlasting Life

Through Faith in Jesus
Very interesting observation!

Could it have something to do with the order of the formed churches (I've wondered if that order also reflects the timeline of the church age as well) and perhaps their culture (idol worship?) and how much persecution endured?

We know that those who overcome are those who place faith in Jesus.
 
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SarahRose

Well-Known Member
I like this question!

I don’t have a good response for it and I’m interested to see what other people here say.

During the first in-depth revelation Bible study I listened to, the pastor talked about the systems of the last four churches being fully alive today. Could that have something to do with the reversal?

The pastor talked about the churches being literal churches that existed during John’s lifetime, and also representing the church throughout history (thyatira symbolizing the Catholic Church’s dominance through 590-1517 ad for example). And then symbolizing believers individually on another level.

Maybe the reversal is a clue to the systems of those four churches still being largely present when the rapture occurs or when the tribulation begins?

I know this doesn’t answer your question well at all, I’m more just letting the thoughts roll around and trying to make sense of it.

This will definitely be on my mind for a while!
 

SarahRose

Well-Known Member
Okay I did some digging though Robert L Thomas’ revelation exegetical commentary (which is what the pastor I referred to earlier used frequently as reference in his Bible study)

On the reversal, Thomas says this (in a section on Thyatira):

“Beginning with this message and continuing with the last three, it is at the end after the promise to the overcomer, instead of before the overcomer promise that ends the first three messages. No significant rationale for this change in sequence has been advanced”

This was published 1992
 
Very interesting observation!

Could it have something to do with the order of the formed churches (I've wondered if that order also reflects the timeline of the church age as well) and perhaps their culture (idol worship?) and how much persecution endured?

We know that those who overcome are those who place faith in Jesus.
I believe you are on to something there. Thyatira (the 4th Church, or 4th church age) marks the beginning, many believe, of the Roman Catholic Church State, including the Pope system of authority, Mary worship, and idolatry, etc. Perhaps the re-orientation of the ending of Christ's letters to the churches has something to do with the serious idolatry and apostasy that occurred in Thyatira. Although Jesus addressed entirely DIFFERENT issues with Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. It's truly a mystery to me. There is nothing random in God's Word. Obviously, there IS a reason WHY the wording was reversed. I am just throwing this out for general discussion by serious Bible readers to see if I can get any input from others on this puzzle. Placement of WORDING in Bible verses is sometimes as important as the words themselves.
 
Okay I did some digging though Robert L Thomas’ revelation exegetical commentary (which is what the pastor I referred to earlier used frequently as reference in his Bible study)

On the reversal, Thomas says this (in a section on Thyatira):

“Beginning with this message and continuing with the last three, it is at the end after the promise to the overcomer, instead of before the overcomer promise that ends the first three messages. No significant rationale for this change in sequence has been advanced”

This was published 1992
Thank you. And that's basically the response I am getting in my online research into the commentaries, etc. One of Scripture's unsolved mysteries. There IS a reason for the change. Even if we don't at this point understand it. Jesus, the Word of God who became flesh, didn't reverse the order in the His letters to the churches randomly, or simply because He "felt like it".
 
Here is a crazy thought that's WAY outside the box. But sometimes, that's how discoveries are made- outside the box. Could it be the REVERSAL in the order in the ending of the letters to the Seven churches has something to do with the fact that SOMEWHERE around that time period-speaking of the emergence of the Church of Thyatira, and the three (3) church ages that followed- the Church of Jesus Christ on Planet earth went from being a predominately JEWISH church to becoming a predominately GENTILE church? And what does that have to do with a REVERSAL in the ending of the letters to the last four churches? The Jews, the Arabs, and the Oriental cultures that lie EAST of Israel (all the way to the Pacific) read from RIGHT TO LEFT. In contrast, the Gentile cultures- the cultures WEST of Israel, read in REVERSE fashion from the Jewish culture (and the cultures EAST of it) The Gentiles all read from the LEFT side of the page to the RIGHT side. And that is ANOTHER unsolved mystery. Like I said, it's a crazy thought, and outside of the box...but at least it's a theory. Better than, "I dunno", or "Huh?"
 

ItIsFinished!

Blood bought child of the King of kings.
I have an answer , but I'm going to see what others say.
There have been times where you can give a detailed answer to the question (s) presented and the OP never comes back to the thread , or never acknowledges what was provided.
Not saying that is the case here , but it does happen.
 

Andy C

Well-Known Member
I have an answer , but I'm going to see what others say.
There have been times where you can give a detailed answer to the question (s) presented and the OP never comes back to the thread , or never acknowledges what was provided.
Not saying that is the case here , but it does happen.
Yes, that has always bothered me in the past when the OP never responds back.
 

Everlasting Life

Through Faith in Jesus
It's possibly a chiasm. They are used in other areas of the Bible too.
Interesting. For those who don't know what this is:

A chiasm is a literary device where a sequence of ideas is presented and then repeated in reverse order. Like a "mirror", where ideas are "reflected" back in a passage. Each idea is connected to its "reflection" by a repeated word, often in a related form.

Or a type of crossing over:

https://www.compellingtruth.org/chiasm-chiastic.html

A chiasm (otherwise known as chiasmus) is a literary device that presents a series of ideas, and then repeats them in opposite order. Chiastic structure is often expressed in letters. An example of this structure is idea A and idea B, followed by idea B' and idea A'. B' and A' are the same ideas as B and A, but in reverse order creating ABB'A'. The goal of chiastic structure is to create emphasis, repetition, or clarification. The term 'chi' comes from the Greek letter 'chi,' which looks like the letter 'X' in English.

Although the basic structure of a chiasm is generally ABB'A', sometimes there is another idea nestled between the reverse order. This looks like ABXB'A'. In this structure, the ideas A and B are repeated in reverse order, but another idea, X, is inserted between the repetition. X is emphasized because of its position and because it is the only idea that is not repeated.

Some chiastic structures are complex, spanning the length of entire poems. Other chiasms are very simple, such as the axioms, "When the going get tough, the tough get going," and "By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.".... (italics and underline is mine)
 

Purchased With Blood

Well-Known Member
I doubt this is the reason, but for the sake of discussion, the first three churches go north. From Patmos, a letter carrier would first arrive at the seaport of Ephesus, then travel up to Smyrna, and then Pergamum. Just as the reversal happens in the text regarding he that hath an ear to hear and the subsequent promise to the overcomer, the next four churches reverse direction and go south. Again, I don't think this is why, but there is a reversal.
 
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