Messages to the Seven Assemblies
A Sukkoth Instruction for S.A.M.
A Study Developed in S.A.M. Community Study Time
written by Barbara L. Klika, MSW, Undershepherd
October, 2012
Introduction
As we were moving toward the Season of our Joy we had many changes and challenges this year. We found land and did the basic preparation for our Sukkoth campus in just a few weeks. I knew in advance that our theme this year would be “Come Away with Me, My Beloved”and had some of the relevant worship music outlined in preparation for our daily worship time but did not have direction as to the study topic for our annual community observance! It is such a precious time that we do always want to use it wisely, even though this year, it was interspersed with development needs for the property. Even assembling together to mark the boundaries of the property proved to be a teaching and learning experience, though I will deal with that elsewhere!
The first evening here, after our preparation day and before the First Day, I awoke overnight with the question rephrased from about six years ago: “Does this part of the Bride have army boots yet?” and the inspiration that our time was to be spent studying the messages given to each of the Seven Assemblies, and then to evaluate their importance for us today. What a joyful understanding this was, though I had not made any of the advance preparations I probably would have done had I known this in advance…probably why inspiration didn’t come until we were already away from home. His way, not mine!
Still, in light of all that we have studied since the first time we studied eschatology issues as a community some six years ago, it seemed wise to begin with a review of the study of seven’s in general.We did this by distributing the final chart I’d developed of all the seven’s for completion by our entire community, children and adults.(Once again, grateful for the laptop and printer we bring along for the gathering!) It was an open book review, especially since we had some visitors who hadn’t participated in the previous studies. We remain grateful and indebted to Tony Robinson and Holissa Alewine for their assistance in our process of learning to study the Scriptures more deeply. If you are not familiar with thematic study, we heartily recommend Tony’s material. If you haven’t done a study of the many patterns of seven’s found throughout the Scriptures we joyfully suggest that you do so, and Hollisa’s material is a good place to begin. You might check out her Creation Gospel site, or consider listening to our teleconference recordings made as we studied through this material. You might also check our website for the charts we developed to help us remember the groups of seven’s and their relationship to one another, on our Creation Gospel page. We know there is so much yet to be learned about how to study the Word but are grateful once again for what He is able to show us!
O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
Rom 11:33
Though we have gone through the Scriptures that pertain to end times in many ways over the past few years, we had not spent a great deal of time specifically with the messages to each of the assemblies. This was a wonderful opportunity to do so together while we were away from our normal routines, especially as we saw the close relationship between those who have been chosen to choose, the Bride, and what the Spirit and the Bride are saying together. It became evident very quickly that these messages were just as interrelated with the other topics as anything else in the study of sevens. It also became evident that there was a chiastic structure in each of the messages, as well as an overview chiasmus of each of the seven patterns we saw. There was clear evidence of the application of each of the four most common ways to interpret eschatology yet also evidence that these messages are not to the world in general, but to those who at least claim belief in YHWH, and that the message to each assembly was to be considered by those in every assembly as well. Once again, we saw the encouragement and confirmation that our Messiah Yeshua and YHWH are One, in Echad, and that the Whole Word remains valuable for observance today. Shema, Shema! Hear and obey!
If you would like the joy of discovery as well, I would certainly encourage you to lay down this reading and go to your Scriptures and begin making some notes! You might do as some of us here did and use a paper in the “landscape” orientation, making seven columns for side by side comparison of the main points in each message.
Prayerfully take each message one at a time, and do some word studies on important points such as the meaning of each name. Look for patterns and themes. Consider the relationship of each of the Seven Spirits resting on our Yeshua Messiah, the moedim, and what was created on each of the seven days. If you decide to proceed here, you would do well to put your Scriptures close at hand as you consider what we have seen. As always, we want to encourage everyone to be a good Berean and learn to study the Word deeply, not just reading about what others have seen.
In order to establish context, we took a little while to examine the opening of Revelation 1. As I summarize this discussion here, I am seeing even more than we’d identified though I will have to return to this another time. The prophetic revelation came from the Father to the Son with the express purpose that it be shown to His servants so they would be aware of what was to come. There are many familiar descriptions of Yeshua included here that are found throughout Scriptures and are especially relevant to the message being given. Through the angels of each assembly,Yeshua gave the messages to John, the disciple who had been so closely by His side. Recall that the word translated as angel in English often refers to the function of being a messenger, whether or not it is a preternatural being. John makes it clear that he is a fellow believer and sharer of the tribulations of this world, but one who is a part of the kingdom of priests that Yeshua came to prepare. John had been a faithful witness of what had already been with Yeshua and of how He fulfilled the written Word, and was now being given the information about what is to come.
It seems that it must be important to understand this order and sequence because it is reinforced several times. In verse one, we see that the message came from our God, through the Son to be given to John, who would then pass the message on. In verses four and five, John faithfully makes it clear that the greeting he is bringing to the seven churches is from our God who is eternally existent and the Seven Spirits before His throne, as well as being from Yeshua Messiah.
The setting is described as being on the island of Patmos where John has been exiled for his faithful witness of the identity of Messiah as Yeshua of Nazareth, which of course, the authorities of the world did NOT appreciate. There is a unique blessing for those that read, hear and keep the words of this prophecy. The seven assemblies were in or near what we would recognize today as Turkey, in a near semi-circle, and none of them continue in existence now.
When Yeshua made Himself known to John, He offered the familiar reassurance to “fear not!” and affirmed His identity once again, as He also cleared up the mystery of the seven stars in His hand and the seven candlesticks as being the angel/messengers for each of the seven assemblies. John provided the eye witness testimony that we who are alive today would need-- to know that this Yeshua of Nazareth was THE person who perfectly fulfilled all the prophecies about the Messiah and to know now that this same Yeshua is the One Who is providing the information about what we may expect and watch to see.
In our past studies we have considered that each of these messages has a similar form; the identification of both from and to whom it was written, commendations, concerns, recommendations and finally a promise. One could say they are in a sort of “memorandum” form, short phrases but filled with symbolic significance. Now we saw even greater significance to their structure.
As we went along, taking one assembly a day for study, our comparative chart began to grow. Having started with the basic information of the name and meaning of the first assembly, Ephesus, and the creation events and moedim associated with each one, we later began to include the significance of the number of each day with the pictographic meanings as well as relevant Scripture passages that provided background or reference for that message. The relevance of the seven things YHWH hates was also very apparent! (Proverbs 6:16-19) When a chiasmus was found in the first two messages we anticipated that there would be such a pattern in each one, and so it was. Some were more difficult to isolate than others as there are many facets to those messages and it wasn’t always a specific repetitive phrase that indicated the pattern but more the concepts presented.
We do think that there is some additional refinement needed to our initial observations here but present what we have so far as an encouragement to others as we have ourselves been encouraged. Having assembled those patterns, with emphasis on the central point, we later saw that these points were also a chiasmus in themselves. The pivotal message to one and all becomes unmistakable!
He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies!
And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come.
And let him that is athirst come.
And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
Rev 22:17
Parts 1-7 To Follow.