The Book of Revelation Is About...Works! Part 2: The message to the Seven Churches

The Book of Revelation is about "works."  To be more precise, the Book of Revelation is about how works are a condition for journeying successfully through the wilderness of Babylon (Revelation 17-18) into the Promised Land of the New Jerusalem/New Garden (Revelation 21-22). We get a glimpse of the importance of the work that disciples of Jesus are called to by attending to two images of Jesus in the opening chapter. 

Two Orienting Visions of Jesus

In Revelation 1:5-6, we see that the accomplishments of Jesus are described after the pattern of Exodus, that paradigmatic event that demonstrated YHWH's power to deliver his people. In John's description, the death of Jesus functions like the blood of the Passover, liberating (literally "loosing" or "unbinding") God's people from the tyranny of sin. Just like the first exodus, this liberation comes with a responsibility, work to do: the work of being priests to the God and Father of Jesus Christ. 

The second image is found in Revelation 1:9-20, where Jesus is depicted as "one like a son of man" (Dan 7) who stands in the midst of the seven churches (Rev 1:13, 20).  What is important to recognize is that with the "son of man" imagery, John underscores that Jesus stands among the seven churches in a particular manner--with purifying perception ("eyes like a flame of fire") and penetrating words ("from his mouth came a two-edged sword"). That is, Jesus sees, knows, discerns and judges, and then speaks. These two images of Jesus (Rev 1:5-6 and Rev 1:9-20) prepare us for the message he brings to the seven churches in Revelation 2-3. 

Three Common Features of The Messages to the Seven Churches

If you were to read the seven messages (or perhaps more accurately, oracles) to the seven churches in one sitting, you would notice that they share a number of common features. Given the limits of space, I will only highlight three. First, Jesus says that he knows something about each of the churches he addresses. This knowing can include things for which the church can be commended, but it also may contain things for which the church is rebuked. Second, this  is often followed by a command or a charge, sometimes to repent from practices and/or attitudes that are a betrayal of allegiance to Jesus. Thirdly, we find a promise of sharing in the inheritance of the New Jerusalem/New Garden (Rev 21-22), which is extended to "the one who conquers."  

What is important to see about this pattern in the message to the seven churches is that the promise of a future inheritance, that is,  the promise of making it to the New Jerusalem, a share in that which is to come when Jesus returns, is conditioned upon conquering. But what does it mean to conquer in Revelation? In part, we learn what "conquering" means by attending to what it is that Jesus knows, what he affirms, what he condemns, and what he commands the churches to do. In other words, the message to the seven churches helps explain what the phrase "to the one who conquers" actually means. To "conquer" is to do the work that is either affirmed or demanded to each of the churches. 

To Ephesus: Get Back to your first work!

So for example in the church at Ephesus, what is it that Jesus knows? He knows their works (Greek word, ergon), their toil, and their patient endurance; that they have tested those who call themselves apostles but are not; that they have patiently endured hardship on account of claiming allegiance to Jesus and have not grown weary from the fidelity (Rev 2:2-3). But Jesus also knows that they have abandoned the love they had a first (this phrase could also be understood as "their first love" or "the priority of love"). Jesus commands them to remember from where they have fallen, to repent, and "to do the first works (ergon)" (or "the works of most importance"). Failure to repent and return to the "first works (ergon)" will result in the church losing its status as lampstand. But there is more. Eating of the tree of life (Rev 22) is contingent upon conquering. And according to this particular message to the church in Ephesus, to conquer means to prioritize the "work" of love (of God and of others) without abandoning patient endurance and fierce opposition to false teaching.

To Smyrna: Be faithful unto death!

Jesus knows the tribulation that his disciples in Smyrna face because of their costly allegiance to his teachings and way. In response, he extends the promise of "the crown of life" those who "conquer." But this promise of life in which death will be no more (see Rev 2:11, second death) is contingent upon them "being faithful unto death." Thus, to conquer in this context is to do the work of remaining faithful (loyal allegiance to Jesus' teachings and his pattern of life) in the face of opposition. 

To Pergamum: Stop your idolatry and sexual immorality!

The word "work" does not appear in the oracle to Pergamum, but the promise of hidden manna and a white stone is extended to those who "conquer" by not engaging in eating food sacrificed to idols and sexual immorality in order to alleviate the social ostracism that comes with expressing ultimate allegiance to Jesus. Antipas, who is characterized as "a faithful witness," is held up as a paradigm of what it looks like to resist accommodation even if it means death, and his martyrdom is a remind of how intense the social ostracism could be! The importance of uncompromising allegiance to Jesus is underscored by what Jesus affirms to be true for most but not all of the church: "You hold fast my name, and you did not deny having allegiance to me even in the days of Antipas (Rev 2:13)." 

To Thyatira: keep my works until the end!

This fourth oracle, which many scholars consider to contain the central message of Revelation 2-3,  underscores the importance of work like no other. In Rev 2:19, Jesus affirms that he knows their work (ergon), love, and faith, and that their latter works exceed the first. Like the oracle to Pergamum, the disciples are exhorted to abandon eating food sacrificed to idols and the practice of sexual immorality. What is illuminating is that when Jesus rebukes Jezebel and those who commit adultery with her, he says that they will be punished for such behavior unless they repent  of their "works" (ergon; 2:22), which he also describes as her "teaching" (Rev 2:24). Jesus goes on to explain that in dealing with Jezebel and her adherents in this way, "all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to (or in keeping with) your works (Rev 2:23)." The promised inheritance is extended to "the one who conquers and who keeps (tereo) my works (ergon) until the end (Rev 2:26). In this oracle, then, we learn that "conquering" is depicted as resisting the temptation to alleviate hardship by accommodating to cultural expectations and by keeping the works of God until the end. 

To Sardis: Your works are not complete!

The perceptive gaze of Jesus unveils a dire situation in Sardis: they have a reputation of being alive, but really they are dead. How does Jesus know this? By their works (ergon; 3:1). "I have not found your works to be complete in the sight of my God." According to Jesus, what is the remedy? To remember what they have heard (or been taught) and to keep it (tereo). In light of what we discussed in Part 1, it is illuminating that those whose works are incomplete are characterized as having soiled garments. This is contrasted with those who will receive white garments "for they are worthy." Throughout Revelation, white garments are associated with those who belong to God and his people, and who have demonstrated faithful allegiance to Jesus in the face of fierce opposition even if it resulted in death (Rev 3:18; 4:4; 6:11; 7:9, 13-14; 22:14). Jesus declares that the promise of being clothed in white and not being blotted out of the book of life is for those who "conquer". In the context, conquering refers to those who do the work of keeping the words of Jesus. 

To Philadelphia: keep my word about patient endurance!

To the church of Philadelphia, Jesus once again declares that he "knows their works" (Rev 3:8). He clarifies what he means by the phrase "works" by describing them as keeping (tereo) his word and not forsaking allegiance to him (lit. "not denied my name"). He encourages the Philadelphians to persist or hold fast what they have been doing so that they will receive their crown (see also Rev 2:10) and make it to the New Jerusalem (Rev 3:12). 

To Laodicea: your works make me vomit!

Jesus also knows the works of the Laodiceans, which he compares to the lukewarm water of their city, known for its gag-producing qualities due to its high mineral content ("spit" is a euphemism for the Greek word that means vomit). In other words, Jesus has nothing to commend! The self-sufficiency of the Laodiceans, and their overconfidence generated by their wealth is so bad that Jesus represents himself as standing outside of their community, asking to be invited in. This final oracle completes the picture of what it looks like to conquer: "The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his thrown (Rev 3:21)." Ultimately, to conquer is to follow the pattern of the witness of Jesus, whose faithful obedience that led to death was eventually vindicated. 

Conclusions

This brief survey reveals that "works" are central to the message to the seven churches,  that conquering is doing the works that Jesus either commends or demands, and that "works" are what enable one to participate in the promise of New Jerusalem. "Works," then, is best understood as faithful expressions of allegiance to Jesus, his teachings, and his pattern of life.