Series: The seven churches of the Apocalypse and their dealings with the churches these days.

Series: The seven churches of the Apocalypse and their dealings with the churches these days.

The churches in the Apocalypse were not denominational. The New Testament configuration was very different from what we are witnessing today. The church was not divided into organizational groups and subgroups in the same way as we find it today. The divisions were simply a geographic necessity and the only division recognized by Jesus there was the divisions of locality of the "polis," that is, of the cities, so that we have seven cities there, not seven denominational groups. This understanding is very important in analyzing the implications of the word "angel" in that specific portion of the Apocalypse.

Today the local churches in a single city are divided into denominational groups and subgroups. People do not gather around the doctrine of the apostles and the teachings of Jesus. The denominational motivation is for various and non-biblical reasons which in very relativize the message of the "angel-angel". The angel-man is more hostage than the need to obey the configuration of his denomination, than to follow and obey the message of the angel-angel who acts on the city.

Another great difference was the absence of temples as we know it today and we call it "church". In Jesus' mind, church is people, people, people. The apostles also thought of the church as such. The church then had no "temples." The people gathered around the doctrines, teachings and testimonies of the apostles. Communion was not a "Sunday night" thing. The historical situation of a persecuted and marginalized group itself fostered love and unity among them.
Consider also the fact that in the days of John in Patmos and before him there was not yet a "New Testament." They used the scrolls (which were expensive!), From the letters of the apostles that circulated from city to city and from some biographical versions of Jesus written by some apostles. That is, the need for "synchronisms" with the spiritual realities and the search for a word of revelation that was in agreement with the apostles' teachings justified the sending of the letters of Jesus to the churches! There were not the denominational, doctrinal, cultural, and personifying relativisms that exist today!

Therefore, when one asserts himself as an angel of the church by the necessity of imposing upon his congregation, more from an authoritarian perspective than spiritual authority, he does not know what he is doing and how he is putting himself in a dangerous position before God, angels and men.


Right here in this blog I have a more complete text of the Study of the Apocalypse: https: //sintoniadavida.blogspot.com.br/search? Q = Apocalipse


Reinaldo de Almeida