The Seven Church Ages
Reliving the Kingdom Age in Type
In the previous newsletter we demonstrated
graphically that the ups and downs of the seven
church ages conform
to the sequence of the feasts and to the ratings given
in Revelation chapters 2 and 3.
We also saw that the seven kingdom parables of
Matthew 13 parallel the seven churches. Type and
antitype, prophecy and history are woven together.
Now you are prepared to see something truly amazing.
The seven church ages prophesied in Revelation 2
and 3 are paralleling the kingdom age!
The Kingdom Age Deja vu
The Kingdom Age Can be Divided into Seven Eras
The kingdom age can be divided into seven eras
just as the church age is divided. These eras are
represented by seven kings whose lives typify the
respective church age.
- Ephesus - Saul
- Smyrna - David
- Pergamos - Solomon
- Thyatira - Jezebel
- Sardis - Hezekiah
- Philadelphia - Josiah
- Laodicea - Zedekiah
Church Age and Kingdom Age Compared
Divine Design or Remarkable Coincidence?
Ephesus - The Church's early zeal cooled
in the first century. Saul started out well but
he finished poorly.
Symrna - The persecuted church received
Christ's praise with no qualifications. David
was persecuted but took the Kingdom to its greatest
glory.
Pergamos - Pergamos means "married with
power". The church merged with the
pagan state under Constantine and the Roman
empire divided.
Solomon made alliances with the nations
marrying many foreign wives and the kingdom divided.
Thyatira - The church
was dominated by the papacy thought the dark
ages. The
letter to Thyatira actually mentions Jezebel.
The wicked queen typifies the long era in which Israel
fell into idolatry.
Sardis - The reformation broke the spell that
had kept
Europe enthralled by the corrupt church. Good king
Hezekiah brought reformation and put down
idolatry.
Philadelphia - The Victorian age was a
glorious era for the church. The gospel was taken all
over the world. This era
corresponds to the excellent reign of king
Josiah.
Laodicea - After Josiah died his
three sons brought the kingdom to defeat and
degradation. The last king was Zedekiah. We
are living in
the church age that corresponds to that sad era.
Reliving the Kingdom Age
We are on the stage for the last act
"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women
merely players: they have their exits and their
entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts,
his acts being seven ages." William
Shakespeare
We are on the stage for the last act. He wrote the
play before the world began. It is History.
