Typology of the Seven Churches of Revelation

Over time, there have been many attempts to explain the meaning behind the letters John wrote to the seven churches in Asia minor. The fact that seven congregations were selected tells us that these messages are representative of the universal church throughout the world and throughout history, with the number seven already indicating perfection and completeness in the vision of Christ. However, what are these churches representative of? John doesn't tell us directly, which has led many scholars and commentators to offer their speculations, primarily in the 20th and 21st centuries.

Before we get into any symbolic meanings, we should remember that these were actual churches suffering significant persecution under the Roman Empire and Jewish diaspora. The overarching message of the book of Revelation is take hope in the sure promises of God, and live without reserve for Jesus each moment of every day. That the letters were to be passed from church to church is a strong reminder that whatever a congregation may be going through today may change into something different at another time.

[Insert discussion of historical churches here]

Throughout the Bible we see examples of typology, which is where one person or thing represents many or all the characteristics of something or someone else. Three possible typologies have been proposed for the seven churches, with varying degrees of acceptance among scholars: types of persecution, types of response, and types of historical periods.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/study/larkin/dt/22.cfm
http://www.gotquestions.org/seven-churches-Revelation.html
http://www.mazzaroth.com/ChapterSix/SevenHistoricalChurchAges.htm
https://www.gci.org/bible/rev/ephesus
Thompson's Chain Reference study Bible (TCR)

I. Ephesus (A.D. 33-170): Apostolic
Surrounded by evil, the church is strong in its resistance. But threats of Gnosticism and the passing of the eyewitness generation have allowed the church to fall into routines of daily life, including a relentless examining of every member for false doctrine. They have forgotten their first love and backslidden to a degree into works and knowledge over faith. TCR calls this "The Active Church, Sound in Doctrine but Deficient in Love".

II. Smyrna (A.D. 170-312): Ceasars
People were being taken from their homes in Smyrna and thrown into prison for their faith. As a historical type, the Gladiator games at the Roman Colosseum in the second and third centuries had become such a big deal, Christians were routinely slaughtered for sport. The church was feeling abandoned by God, who reminded them that this persecution was in fact part of His plan. The promises of Revelation would provide hope that their suffering would be avenged. TCR calls this "The Poor but Rich Church".

III. Pergamos (A.D. 312-606): Constantine
Constantine was a Roman Emperor who successfully joined Christianity with the political establishment. The actual church at Pergamos was dealing with both external and internal persecution as political authorities continued making examples of those who followed Christ. Internally, false members were convincing true believers to practice heresy - by teaching that the Christian Church had replaced Israel in Old Testament promises, and that common people needed priestly intercessors within the church. The politicized church is a problem in many congregations, but was especially prominent as power shifted from Rome to Byzantine during the decline of the Roman Empire. TCR call this "The Heretical Church".

IV. Thyatira (A.D. 606-1517): Dark Ages
The historical congregation at Thyatira had a powerful female leader. Jesus made no mention that her gender was a problem, but the fact that she regularly taught what amounted to idolatry, and that the church did nothing to correct or remove her, was the problem. Specifically, there was a blending together of the teachings of Jesus with the cultural traditions of the Greek and Roman temples, including religious prostitution and eating food known to be sacrificed to idols. During the Middle Ages, the Papal church began to practice its own form of idolatry, including veneration of Mary, and of saints. As Christianity spread into new territories, the church readily compromised itself by accepting without hesitation existing pagan practices in the name of "tolerance". TCR calls this "The Church of the False Prophetess".

V. Sardis (A.D. 1517-1750): Renaissance
In both history and typology, Sardis epitomizes Mindless Traditionalism. There was a sense of godliness in that congregation, but many of the errors Christ had condemned the Pharisees for had returned under the name of Christianity. During the Reformation period following Martin Luther, the Protestant denominations largely continued holding on to stale traditions that had no place in a life lived by faith. Human effort continued to be the driving force, even though the evils of Papacy had been mostly rejected. TCR calls this "The Dying Church", but perhaps stagnant would be a better choice.

VI. Philadelphia (A.D. 1750-1925): Missionary
The church at Philadelphia was known for its endurance. They were a church looking intently for the return of Christ in an area dominated by secular humanism. Though they didn't suffer the physical persecution of Smyrna, or the internal forces of destruction found in Pergamos and Thyatira, the possibility of compromising faith in Christ with the world's science was just as much a danger. Representative of the time following the Protestant Reformation, Philadelphia was a sending church, strong in following Paul's example of taking the Gospel to the uttermost parts of the Earth. It was marked by periods of great revival, and the beginning of urgent study of eschatology. And it held the promise that it would be spared from Tribulation. TCR call this "The Loyal Church".

VII. Laodicea (A.D. 1925-?): Apostate
This congregation could probably be called more of a social club than a church. They were neither loved nor hated by the world, and were sidelined into irrelevance. Attendance wasn't about coming into the presence of God, but about being seen and approved of by one's peers. Christ lamented in Luke 18:8, "but when the Son of Man returns, will He find faith on the Earth?" When God is barely in second place in a congregation, He has much to lament in His bride. "The Lukewarm, Self-satisfied Church", as TCR calls this type, is appropriately placed as the last of the seven churches.

We have much to learn from the typology of the seven churches of Revelation, but care must be taken not to overapply the types. Each church listed was a physical church in a real place and time. Throughout history, we can find examples of each type of church scattered around the globe, often all clustered together in the same community. But God did not select this specific order of listing the churches randomly. Let us learn with diligence what Christ admires, warns, and promises each of these churches and make sure that we are living each day completely sold out to the cause of our Resurrected, Returning Messiah.