Ups and downs, blessings and trials, have characterized every era of the church. God's people are always battling something negative between the brief highs.

As High Priest, Christ is putting His people through the paces, tailoring the trials and experiences needed for sanctification and ultimate glorification.

Each of the letters in Revelation 2 and 3 speak of overcoming. By examining those churches, we can understand what we are up against and what we must do.

Christ prepared the members of Smyrna for martyrdom, promising them eternal glory for enduring a relatively short time, looking at things from a hopeful perspective.

We must be careful in our approach to our spiritual riches so we do not fall into the same trap that people with abundant physical wealth fall.

Revelation 10 and 11 describe a time before the Tribulation and the Day of the Lord, a time when the last of the seven thunders rumbles to a faint whimper.

Revelation's seven churches have intrigued readers for centuries. Were they just seven historical churches, eras, or attitudes ever-present in the church?

At day's end, ask how much time we spent communicating with God and Christ and how much time They were in none of our thoughts (Psalm 10:4).

Laodiceanism, the prevalent attitude in God's church today, can be overcome if we submit to Christ's judgment rather than our flawed self-evaluation.

Destruction comes from a gradual withdrawal from intimacy with God rather than outright rejection. We must be vigilant against spiritual complacency.

The time when the offspring of Jacob are going to pay the piper is rapidly closing in. We must cultivate a sense of urgency in our relationship with God.

Our biggest danger at this time is to be lured into spiritual drunkenness by the pagan Babylonian system. Our God is not what we say we worship but whom we serve.

Colossae and Laodicea were susceptible to fast-talking teachers, whose plausible words eroded the true Gospel in favor of pagan thought and practice.

We are admonished to change, becoming living sacrifices, renewing our minds from carnal to spiritual, becoming transformed into the image of our Savior.

Israel had every opportunity that the Gentiles did not have. God gave the Israelites gifts to live a better way, but they completely failed to reflect Him.

Our love for beauty must be coupled with love for righteousness and holiness. Our relationship with Christ must take central place in our lives, displacing all else.

High Christology as a doctrinal stance was not enough to prevent the eventual apostasy of those in Asia Minor. Doctrine must produce the right conduct.

Bearing our cross means our time on this earth is virtually finished, that we are willing to give up our lives, emulating the life of our Savior.

The notion that it does not matter what we wear if our heart is right on the inside is foolish. Our clothing ought to reflect our inward character.

In the Day of the Lord, Christ stands in the midst of all seven churches. We are to learn from the lessons from all seven, not get sidetracked by eras.

The subject of a remnant occurs 540 times in the Bible! What is a remnant? How does it apply in this end time? How does it apply to the church?

Most of God's church believes that the seven letters of Revelation 2-3 reveal seven church eras. However, the Bible indicates an end-time fulfillment.

When we ask to be blessed, it should be exclusively on God's terms. What God has done in our lives is the best preparation for our future responsibilities.

Just as fighting to escape its cocoon strengthens the butterfly, our calling requires effort above what the world has to endure to become free of Satan's cocoon.

When the end-time signs begin to be fulfilled, the time for long-term spiritual growth will be over. So Jesus commands us, 'Therefore you also be ready.'

The Laodicean congregation had a penchant toward materialism, which sidetracked them from their primary goal of following Christ.

In the letters to the seven churches, Scripture foresees that a dearth of steadfastness marks the time of the end, but Christians are urged to hold fast.

Contrary to Protestant understanding, our works emphatically do count - showing or demonstrating (not just telling) that we will be obedient.

God has the ability to protect and save in a variety of methods. The Scriptures reveal various purposes for intervention, protection, and prudent escape.

The letters to the seven churches of Revelation warn of losing our first love, heeding false teachers, compromising God's Truth, and forgetting right doctrine.

The letters in Revelation 2 and 3 are for the end times, shortly before Christ's return. Each emphasizes repentance, overcoming, and judgment according to works.

A man with myopic judgment will take the good times he has as evidence of God's pleasure, and conclude that the bad times must be caused by Satan's persecution.

The primary focus at this time is the repair of the faith once delivered that has seriously deteriorated because of heresy, apostasy, and Laodiceanism.

Amos describes the Israelites as proud and secure in their special relationship with God, while God castigates them for presuming He approved of them.

The biblical city of Smyrna may be one that many know the least about. The city's name reveals the themes that the Head of the church wants us to understand.

Throughout Israel's history, the trumpet blast has always meant the onset of war, death, and destruction, ushering in harsh correction for physical Israel.

The ancient Israelites smugly believed that God was on their side, and that because He had not yet responded to their sins, they would be victorious.

Paul urged that we get our focus more balanced, emphasizing love over prophetic correctness, not remaining indifferent to what Christ deemed important.

People choose the curse of spiritual blindness through habitually practicing the evils God commands us to avoid. We all have areas of spiritual blindness.

Zeal is characterized as ardent, passionate, energetic, or being on fire. Jesus Christ exemplified this kind of zeal as He drove the moneychangers from the Temple.

The 'people of the lie' do not believe they have any major defects and, consequently, do not have any need to examine themselves, let alone change.

Zeal has been discredited as the tool of the charlatan, but Christians must develop passion and zeal for the Christian way of life and the Kingdom of God.

In the unsettling letter to the Laodiceans, Jesus paints a picture of Himself in relation to the church that reveals His people care about other things.

Obsessing about the Place of Safety is a sure way to disqualify oneself from it. God calls some faithful, zealous ones for martyrdom during the Tribulation.

Are we giving our all for Christ and the way of life that God has revealed to us? Are we giving our all for the Kingdom of God? Are we truly zealous?

In Laodicea, the people judge, but they are judging according to themselves. They are not seeking the will of Christ, and thus their judgment is distorted.