Revelations Seven Churches - from Catholic perspective?

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I read Revelation, for myself, for the first time the other evening. I was of course expecting to read of the four horsemen, the seven seals and so forth of Revelation fame. However, I was surprised to see the first two chapters were on the “seven churches” or more accurately, the status of the seven churches.

This is a less spoken of part of the Book of Revelation. Being curious I googled, best I could, looking for commentary on these chapters. Best I could find were some anti-catholic sites stating how the criticism of some of these churches, by Christ, was criticism of the Roman Catholic Church and how She would come to be the “false church” that She is.

Of course I do not by this. However it certainly got me curious as to what catholic theologians might suggest these chapters are all about.

Sacred Scripture is the inspired Word of God. What I fail to see is the relevance of these chapters beyong the immediate relevance directed to John by Jesus. Do these chapters render themselves relevance to our modern time in any way?

Any links, books, articles and even opinions are welcome.
 
Be sure to check out Raymond Brown’s analysis of Revelation in his “Introduction to the New Testament.”

You might also investigate some of John J. Collin’s books dealing with apocalyptic literature.
 
You’ll find a wealth of information regarding the 7 churches, as well as the rest of Revelation at Agape Bible Study.

Here’s their link to Revelation:

Here’s their link to the rest of their Bible Studies.

I promise you, you will find more than enough information on Revelation and the rest of their studies. And, just as importantly, you’ll find Agape’s work to be very Orthodox as well as interesting.

Oh yeah, and it’s free!!!
 
Michael Barber’s “Coming Soon: Unlocking Revelation” is a great book that is also easy to read.
 
Mijoy2 said:
Sacred Scripture is the inspired Word of God. What I fail to see is the relevance of these chapters beyong the immediate relevance directed to John by Jesus. Do these chapters render themselves relevance to our modern time in any way?
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Let’s see, are you asking if Jesus still feels like spitting out someone who is lukewarm in their faith? 😉 Yes, it still applies!!!

Ironically, you may not find a great deal of early Church writings on Revelation because it took a while to become accepted throughout the Church. I think it grew in favor in the Eastern half of the Church in the late 2nd century, as the persecutions of the Christians were finally making it into the east. In the west, it was not widely accepted all the way up to the Councils of Hippo and Carthage (late 4th century).
 
NotWorthy said:
Here’s their link to Revelation:
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Enjoy the way Agape Bible Study charted out the strengths, failures, corrective instruction and the promise to the faithful at each Church.

Those “Churches” are the bold indicators of how Christian’s individually and collectively receive or reject the Holy Spirit.
 
The Seven Ages of the Church
Some hold that this is the message of Christ to the Church in seven distinct ages.

The Church of Ephesus (means thrust or force in Greek) (33 -100 AD)
Refers to the energy of the apostolic age but is also marred by false adherence and false apostles and the heresy of gnosticism and the sect of the Nicolites.

The Church of Smyrna (myrrh meaning death) (100-312AD)
This is the period of the persecutions. The ten day persecutions referring to the ten emperors who put to death the Christians.

The Church of Pergamus (Pergamum, city famous for it’s writers and where paper was produced) (312-800 AD)
This is the age of heresy but is also the age of the great Fathers and Doctors of the Church who refuted those heresies.

The Church of Thyatira (splendor and triumph of the Middle Ages) (800-1800 AD)
This marks the crowning of Charlemagne and the beginning of Christian Europe. A thousand year reign and recognition of the Catholic Faith as the One, True Faith. This was also the time of the schism of the Greeks of the eleventh century and the Albigensian heresy of the thirteenth century and the Protestant heresy of the sixteenth century. Nonetheless, the recognition of the Catholic Faith still holds.

The Church of Sardis (the city where Cresus reigned and famous for his wealth) (1800-? AD) This is our age
Sardis conjurs up the notion of money and prosperity. This also is a time of apostasy and defection with a few retaining their faith in Christ. It is also a time commended to retain whatever has been handed down by the Apostles, for Christ says “Be watchful and strengthen the things that remain, which are ready to die. Have in mind therefore in what manner thou hast received and heard, and observe, and do penance”.

The Church of Philadelphia (means brotherly love) (?-? AD)
This is an age of triumph for the Church which is ushered in by the conversion of the Jews.

The Church of Laodicia (means judgement of the people) (?-? AD)
This is The Second Coming of Christ.
 
Thank you for all replies. I will check out the suggested readings. I also noticed the Lambs Supper on EWTN following the Journey Home on Monday nights.

I’ll check that out as well. I read the book long away, (then lent it away and never got it back). I do not recall if Hahn went into any detail in this book on the first chapters. I’ll check it out.
 
Mijoy2 said:
Thank you for all replies. I will check out the suggested readings. I also noticed the Lambs Supper on EWTN following the Journey Home on Monday nights.

I’ll check that out as well. I read the book long away, (then lent it away and never got it back). I do not recall if Hahn went into any detail in this book on the first chapters. I’ll check it out.
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I don’t think he did. He focused on the Liturgy taking place in Heaven, that is duplicated in the Mass.

As much as I remember, there’s not much “liturgy” in the letters to the 7 churches.

But that doesn’t mean I’d skip “The Lambs Supper”!!!
 
If you have a chance to take Jeff Cavin’s Bible study on Revelation…take it! It is great and he goes into great detail about those chapters.
 
mskejj said:
If you have a chance to take Jeff Cavin’s Bible study on Revelation…take it! It is great and he goes into great detail about those chapters.
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Any suggestions on how or where I can take this bible study? I have used the locator on Cavin’s site but it seems there are never any of these bible studies offered in my area. Perhaps I should invest in the materials and take it on my own?

As far as conducting my own for others, I am not a good candiate for that I am afraid.
 
On the EWTN radio schedule, Jeff Cavin’s “The Great Adventure” airs on Sunday evening from

8 p.m. to 9 p.m. EST
7 p.m. to 8 p.m. CST
6 p.m. to 7 p.m. MST
5 p.m. to 6 p.m. PST
 
Mijoy2 said:
Any suggestions on how or where I can take this bible study? I have used the locator on Cavin’s site but it seems there are never any of these bible studies offered in my area. Perhaps I should invest in the materials and take it on my own?

As far as conducting my own for others, I am not a good candiate for that I am afraid.
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I think you would learn a lot from getting the materials and doing it on your own. The questions and answers will guide you and then the hour long CD explains everything about each chapter. He is so easy to listen to and does a great job presenting the material.

You could call around to several of the churches in your area. Maybe they are just starting and aren’t on their locator site list. I ended up ordering the CDs (DVD are much more expensive) and I have been listening to them again in my car to refresh my memory. It will really help you to understand Revelation!
 
mskejj said:
I think you would learn a lot from getting the materials and doing it on your own. The questions and answers will guide you and then the hour long CD explains everything about each chapter. He is so easy to listen to and does a great job presenting the material.

You could call around to several of the churches in your area. Maybe they are just starting and aren’t on their locator site list. I ended up ordering the CDs (DVD are much more expensive) and I have been listening to them again in my car to refresh my memory. It will really help you to understand Revelation!
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Thank you. So I gather you ordered something catering to the individual? Can you be more specific?
 
Mijoy2 said:
Thank you. So I gather you ordered something catering to the individual? Can you be more specific?
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I ordered his CDs from Revelation from Ascension Press…they came as a set. I already had the study questions and answers from when I took the class but you can order that separately too. Have you taken his Great Adventure Bible Study of Salvation History? It helps to have a background of the OT but you could still do it without it as long as you could listen to the CDs more than once because there is lots to learn. Here is the link to make it easier for you.

ascensionpress.com/shop/Scripts/prodList.asp?idCategory=84
 
NotWorthy said:
You’ll find a wealth of information regarding the 7 churches, as well as the rest of Revelation at Agape Bible Study.

Here’s their link to Revelation:

Here’s their link to the rest of their Bible Studies.

I promise you, you will find more than enough information on Revelation and the rest of their studies. And, just as importantly, you’ll find Agape’s work to be very Orthodox as well as interesting.

Oh yeah, and it’s free!!!
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Thank you so much for offering this site…exceptional in detail, totally free, more information on The Revelation of Jesus Christ, as told by St. John, understandable…and did I mention free? Awesome site!!! Totally approved and following the Magesterium of Catholic teaching BTW.
 
DENNYINMI said:
Thank you so much for offering this site…exceptional in detail, totally free, more information on The Revelation of Jesus Christ, as told by St. John, understandable…and did I mention free? Awesome site!!! Totally approved and following the Magesterium of Catholic teaching BTW.
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Best Catholic Scripture Study site ever!!!

… and its free.

BTW, the owner of the site, Michal Hunt is very responsive to questions. She’s great to talk to.
 
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