Internal biblical evidence shows that the seven churches of Revelation 2-3 all exist in the end time. Revelation is an end-time book, concentrating on the period known as the Day of Lord (Revelation 1:1, 10). The traditional church of God understanding that the seven churches form a loose chronological chain stretching from the days of the apostles until today can also find biblical, type-antitype support. It appears that the final attitude, shown in Christ’s warning to the Laodicean church (Revelation 3:14-22), is the most prevalent now in the runup to Christ’s return.

So, what happens now? As Christ spews some members of His church from His mouth for their indifference to Him, can we expect improvement, revival, from His people? As the church crumbles, stone by stone, do Christians have any hope for the future? In closing our study on this topic, we will examine what the Bible indicates will happen soon.

1. Does Scripture say how far this scattering will go? Matthew 24:1-2; Isaiah 5:1-15; 1:8-9; Ezekiel 5:1-4; Amos 5:3; Zechariah 11:1-14.

Comment: Using metaphors—the stones of the Temple, houses, vineyards, and flocks—these scriptures show God’s people being scattered and destroyed. Jesus’ prophecy, “[N]ot one stone left upon another,” envisions a thorough dismantling of the Temple structure, just as Herod’s Temple was systematically destroyed by the Romans who conquered Jerusalem in AD 70. (For a more optimistic interpretation of Jesus' prophecy, see "Will the Church of God be Thrown Down (Part One?")

Peter writes in I Peter 4:17, “For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?” The Good Shepherd is evaluating His flock, separating the devoted faithful from those who have become spiritually distant and apathetic. While it is impossible for us to fit the many organizations that comprise God’s church into a specific Revelation 2-3 church, Christ’s descriptions of the seven churches undoubtedly cover all the basic attitudes of the groups and individuals across the entire church. Our Savior instructs all of them to hear and overcome. None of us is perfect.

2. The above passages suggest God will reduce the church (and in the Tribulation, Israel) to about one-tenth of its original size. What does He do with this tithe of His church? Haggai 1-2.

Comment: Haggai prophesies that God will stir up a remnant of His people to come together with Zerubbabel and Joshua to rebuild the Temple just before He shakes the earth for the final time. Some among them are old enough to compare Solomon’s Temple to the latter Temple (Haggai 2:3). This Old Testament type can act as a hopeful sign that Christ will one day, in the lifetime of some living now, reverse the scattering, reconstituting a smaller, faithful, remnant church to represent Him before the end-time world.

3. Who are Zerubbabel and Joshua? Zechariah 3-4; Revelation 11; specifically comparing Zechariah 4:14 to Revelation 11:4.

Comment: Revelation 11:4 interprets Zechariah 4:14, showing that Zerubbabel and Joshua are types of the Two Witnesses of Revelation 11. Notice in Zechariah 4:1-4, 11-12 that they feed all seven of the end-time churches (compare this with the seven lampstands or candlesticks in Revelation 1:12-20, which symbolize these same churches). This introduction of the Two Witnesses shows their main responsibilities to be building the latter Temple and providing “oil” for the churches (see Matthew 25:1-13). Revelation 11:1-2 indicates the Witnesses do not go to the world at all initially, but they first measure the church of God, its ministry, and people. Later, during the Tribulation, they witness to the world.

4. How and where does this remnant come together? Isaiah 4:1-6; 41:19.

Comment: No single verse or passage dogmatically gives us the answer, but biblical imagery provides some hints. All seven women, representing the churches of God, take hold of one man. The leader of the Two Witnesses, typed by Zerubbabel, may be the main one they clutch in desperation. This remnant church is motivated to join in the Witnesses’ work, which God stirs and empowers to rebuild the spiritual Temple.

Isaiah 41:19 shows seven major trees, also representing the churches of God, being planted in the wilderness (as compared to three major trees and shepherds being cut down in Zechariah 11:8). Within the context of Isaiah 40-45, Isaiah gives the same warnings and encouragements that Haggai does in Haggai 2:4-5: Be of good courage, fear not, work, etc.

5. Do these scriptures refer to the time before or during the Millennium? Same verses.

Comment: A primary rule of Bible study is to interpret a verse’s meaning or application in context. Isaiah 4 continues the thought of the previous chapter, which speaks of God’s judgment on His people. Isaiah 4:2-5 show Zion being made holy and protected, much like Israel in the wilderness.

Isaiah 41 illustrates the same scenario, events that occur just before the Millennium, as God restores a remnant of Israel. As this age ends, God will prepare a table in the wilderness of this world for His church. What will occur to the nations of Israel as the Millennium starts has its origins in God’s activity with His church in the spiritual wilderness, given a foretaste of what will become a worldwide phenomenon after Christ sets up His Kingdom on earth.

6. If the latter Temple is only a remnant of the church, what happens to the rest? Zechariah 13:9; Luke 21:36; Revelation 2:22; 3:10, 18; 12:17.

Comment: When the remnant spiritual Temple under the leadership of Jesus Christ and the Two Witnesses comes to fruition, many lapsing believers will still be scattered throughout the world, having not been “counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass” (Luke 21:36; Revelation 3:10).

But God has not given up on them! They must face the refining fire of tribulation to reinvigorate their faith. They may have to endure extreme persecution and martyrdom, but God’s purpose is to purify them and restore their zeal and devotion to Him so that they will turn to Him with their whole hearts. Certainly, they are not lost, and if they overcome, they will enter God’s Kingdom and experience the joy and glory of being members of God’s Family!