The Lord speaks to His global Church through a letter to each of these hubs. He conveys His message through His messenger. The all-knowing Lord knows His Church and their works. He commends each of these set of believers for their faith. He also points out their mistakes and blunders so that they can repent. He promises them rewards if they repent and come back to Him. He also warns them of the negative consequences if they fail to hear Him.

Ephesus

The Lord introduces Himself as the One who has control over the messengers of His church. He is in continuous communication with the Church. He observes everything that is happening inside it.

The church at Ephesus had begun its life with the Lord with great fervour and love. They hated what their Lord hated. They had remained patient and had stood against evil people. They could identify who are liars that said God has sent them on ministry. They did not approve those who compromised with the world. Hard work!

The church hated those who promoted inclusion. These liberals compromised with the world. They failed to condemn sexual immorality and idolatry. Covetousness or love of money is also idolatry. Leaving behind God to pursue other things is also fornication. True believers suffered, endured and remained faithful to their Lord. They laboured but did not faint. He had been their Protector all along. He had walked with them in their days of pain.

Yet, they failed to maintain their passion for the Lord. The Lord asks them to repent and return to their original state of love for Him. If they fail, He will remove them from their place. The Lord calls those who heed to His instruction overcomers. He promises them life with Him right from here. This life will extend throughout eternity.

Smyrna

The Lord Jesus Christ presents Himself as the first and the last in the purpose of God. The Lord, the Head of the Church, had died for Her sake. He rose from the dead and lives for evermore to fulfil this purpose. He is aware that believers are facing tribulation because of their faith. He also knows that the church here is poor. He reminds them they are rich though they had failed to realise it.

The Lord their Head is rich in grace, mercy and glory. He supplies all their needs according to His riches. All that belongs to the Lord is theirs.

The Lord also knows that there are believers in the church who call themselves Jews but are not. (True Jews accept Jesus as their Messiah). They were blaspheming God and are the abode of Satan.

The Lord says there is more suffering to come. But they don't have to fear. The devil will imprison some of the true believers not allowing them to move around with freedom. They would not get enough food or a good place to rest. The devil would also curb their rights. The devil will put them to trial. Their tribulation would continue for a fixed short time determined by the Lord. This might result in their death. The Lord encourages them to be faithful to Him even until then. He promises these overcomers eternal life as their royal reward. All those who ignore this message will face painful eternal death.

Pergamos

The Lord of the church at Pergamos poses as One holding a sword. His sword can slay His enemies that lie outside. It can also slay those that corrupt His Church from inside.

The church was surviving in the very place where Satan dwelt and exercised his authority. They held on to the Lord's name. They did not deny their faith in Him even though one of them died as a martyr.

The Lord hated those in the church who did not live a life different from the world. Unlike the church at Ephesus, this church did not hate those that the Lord hated. They adopted a compromising way of life. Some in the church were offering evil counsel to the leaders. They advised the leaders to entice, coax and trap people into a sinful lifestyle. The church did not condemn a life of sexual immorality. Pursuing other gods and money is also fornication. Believers here would go to even the level of joining themselves to demons by eating food offered to idols.

The Lord is calling His Church to repentance. Else, He would come soon and fight against all those who continue in their apathy. He would put an end to such who care little for sanctification.

The Lord has already justified His believers. He is already their underwriter. He accounts His righteousness to them. So, He declares these overcomers "not guilty". He is the signatory to that verdict. Only the righteous know who endorsed them, no one else. He feeds them with heavenly food required for their spiritual growth. They would grow to perfect maturity comparable to the stature of their Lord.

Thyatira

The Lord Jesus is the all-knowing One. Unlike men, He tries the heart of man and tests its intentions and motives. He can't tolerate sin nor even behold it. The Lord is also unmoved in His stance towards His enemies. The same foot that Satan tried to hurt is the one that crushed Satan's head. The brazen glow of His feet instils fear in the mind of His enemies.

The Head of the Church is aware of her works, love, service, patience and faithfulness. He also knows that they had been growing in their good works. They were doing more than they did earlier. But they were also approving some who resembled Jezebel, an evil queen of the past. She dressed up like a harlot but also called herself a prophetess of Baal, an idol. Such people taught and seduced the Lord's servants to confirm to world's fashions. Love of money is idol worship. Idol worship is spiritual fornication. The Lord's servants were turning unfaithful to Him to pursue material wealth. They were falling into the sinful depths of Satan. They were promising this worldly prosperity to their audience as if it was the word of God. They were also becoming a part of the worldly system by joining themselves to its evil lifestyle.

The Lord had given these deceivers enough time and opportunity to repent but they did not. So, the Lord says He will strike them down that they would rise no more. He will also put all those unrepentant ones who are party to their crime into great trouble. He will also destroy their children and wealth. He is a righteous Judge. He gives unto everyone according to their works.

The Lord also knows that there are others who are true servants and believers in the church. They had not fallen into deep sin the prosperity teaching lead them into. As they were already under severe pressure, the Lord says that He will burden them no more. All that He wants is that they hold on to their genuine faith.

The Lord will continue to reward those who persist without buckling. These overcomers exercise power over the people of the world as the Lord rules over them. God has appointed His Son to enforce strict justice and destroy those who reject Him. The Lord also has given His believers Himself. All that is His, He has shared with His people.

Sardis

The Lord Jesus Christ identifies Himself as the anointed One. The Spirit of God rests on Him in His fullness to exercise power. He would not bend rules to accommodate unrighteousness. He is the Messiah, the Christ. He also has complete control of His angels.

The church in Sardis had Life as its name but it was dead. The believers were hyper-living to hide their actual stinking state. They were displeasing the Lord with this hypocritical lifestyle. The Lord warns them to remain watchful so that at least the few that are soon losing their life among the dead might not die. The Lord reminds them how they had received from Him everything. They had heard what is in stake for them in Him. He advises them to hold fast this life in Him and remain watchful that they don't lose it. If they remain slack not anticipating His coming, they will miss Him and that blessed hope. (Shunamite woman?) They will lose their privilege to live with Him for ever if they have not prepared themselves to meet Him. Sadly, they lacked readiness.

The few who are watchful in the church have not corrupted themselves with sin. The Lord would receive them to Himself to walk with them in glory. Their worth comes from their desire to remain pure. The Lord clothes them with His righteousness and share with them His glory. The Lord foreknew them and so have their name written in the book of life. He assures them that they need not fear about their destiny. Their eternal life is guaranteed. They have their names mentioned in God's presence. He intercedes and pleads for them as their advocate. They will remain in the purpose of God forever. The declaration is public. Even the angels would know why they are overcomers.

Philadelphia

The Holy Lord is unique and incomparable to His creation. He is the truth. Everything else is false. He is the promised Messiah that is the Seed of the woman and the Seed of Abraham. He is the root of the believing generation as well as One of its offspring. The government is upon His shoulders. He has authority over everything. If He shuts, no one can open and if He opens none can shut.

Before the death of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross, the devil held the keys of death and hell. Satan, God's adversary, murdered mankind and kept people in hell. But when the Lord triumphed over death for mankind and rose from the dead, He usurped all power from the devil. He destroyed Satan who had power over death through His death. He descended to a compartment in hell and delivered the believers who were captives of death. He took them captive and ascended to heaven.

The Lord set an open door for the believers of Philadelphia so they can go about doing their work. They evangelised without fear and saved souls from going to hell. It seemed like a flood as believers kept flowing into the church. It was the time of the latter rain. The church reaped a rich harvest. The Lord did this because, though they had little strength, they obeyed His word and did not deny His name.

Some of the members in the church at Philadelphia claimed that they were Jews. Actually, they were not and were lying because a true Jew would accept Jesus as the Christ. Those who reject Jesus the Messiah are not believers. They are, in fact, the local dwelling of Satan. The Lord will humble them to the level that they will fall face down before the believers. They would eat dust like their father the devil. They will also know that the Lord loves the Church.

The Lord had instructed the believers about His patience that would work out in them. The church had kept this word of the Lord. So, the Lord promises them that he would keep them from the hour of temptation. This temptation will come upon the world to try every believer on the face of the earth. (This hour has started since 1948 – the year Israel, the fig tree, became an independent country trying to defy the curse of God). The Lord encourages the church to hold fast what they have. There is a greater possibility that men could deceive them. Even the elect and chosen ones would lose their valuable prize amidst apostasy. He is coming soon.

The Lord will place the overcomers in positions in His Church from where they can uphold the weak. Such a person would never lose his esteemed place among the believers. The Lord gives each one a new identity. They will be the children of God who is the Father of His whole family in heaven and on earth. The overcomer is also a part of New Jerusalem which will come down from heaven to the new earth. The Lord also brands the overcomer with His new name. (Paul says that the Lord branded him so). Such a one will belong to the Lord for ever. His people reflect the supreme quality of their Saviour.

Laodicea

The Lord is the Son of God that had been with the Father always, even from the beginning. So, He is the faithful and true witness to the purpose of God and the plan of God. He is the affirmation of God's will and mind. The Lord, as Son of Man, always said "Yes" to God's will and executed it to the tee. This is the Lord who is speaking to the church at Laodicea.

The church is already in the hour of temptation. Satan has now come out of his confinement from the bottomless pit. He has resumed his deceiving activity. He has gone out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth. The devil is exalting man's self above all that people call or worship as god. The man of sin Satan is revealing himself in every haughty individual. The self-willed man enthrones himself in his own heart showing himself that he is god. This is an indicator that the Lord is coming soon.

The devil is deceiving people to find the god in them or revive or raise the Christ-consciousnesses lying dormant in them. People of the world are swallowing this lie of the old serpent. The gullible believe they are gods themselves. Each one wants to become his own god. Some even want to become god to the people around them. They want to take control of the lives of their dependents and enforce their decisions on them. Unfortunately, this is happening right inside the last-days Church. Pastors desire to have control over the believers in their local congregation. This paradigm has surged during this Laodicean church times.

The evil world has managed to slay even the Elect by deceiving them with the lie that they are gods themselves. The scriptures say that there will come a falling away or apostasy by the believers before Jesus returns. (They will not only backslide but also turn their backs to their benevolent Lord. Some will even betray their own who continue to hold on to their precious faith).

The last days Church has failed to make an impact in the world. The people around them are not able to sense the presence of the Church. The believers mingle with the evil world and have lost their Christian identity. They have failed to make a difference. It seems sanctification is unknown to them. They have shut their Lord out of their lives. They are becoming unpalatable to the Lord. They have disappointed Him. They are disgusting to the Lord. He wants to spew them out of His mouth.

The believers are puffed up and are making empty noise. The Church is in a wretched condition but is telling people around that it is flourishing. They hype that they are plentiful but are in fact miserable. The members say they need nothing, but they are poor. And they deny their actual state. Worse still, the people in the Church are blind and naked. They cannot not even see themselves. They have lost their garments and were exposing their shame.

The Lord tells them that they should buy gold from Him to be rich and white raiment to cover their shame. He also prescribes that they buy eye salve from Him to treat their blindness. The Lord seems to be sarcastic here. They can't buy because they have nothing. They can't afford invaluable gold from the Lord. He offered this royalty to His believers in His grace. Righteousness is beyond the reach of a sinner. The Lord would have to offer it for free to clothe one with this garment. None can buy genuine understanding unless the Lord shows mercy to heal one's eyes.

Here is in verse a clarion call to the Church that is in a pathetic condition:

Backward, Christian soldiers, fleeing from the fight,
With the cross of Jesus nearly out of sight.
Christ, our rightful Master, stands against the foe,
But forward into battle we are loathe to go.

Like a mighty tortoise moves the Church of God;
Brothers we are treading where we’ve always trod.
We are much divided, many bodies we,
Having many doctrines, not much charity.

Crowns and thorns may perish, kingdoms rise and wane,
But the Church of Jesus hidden does remain.
Gates of hell should never ’gainst the Church prevail;
We have Christ’s own promise, but think that it will fail.

Sit here then ye people, join our useless throng,
Blend with ours your voices in a feeble song.
Blessings, ease and comfort, ask from Christ the King;
With our modern thinking, we don’t do a thing.

-Anonymous (from finestofthewheat.org)

As the Lord is rebuking His church, they must take it with a pinch of salt. He does this because He loves His Church. He is chastening His Church so that He can present Her spotless to Himself. All that the Lord expects is repentance and renewed zeal. Because of the Elect’s sake, the time of temptation is being shortened.Will it be less than an hour? Less than sixty years from 1967? Will it be before 2027? (The Lord is set to perform a short-work as per Paul, the writer of the epistle to the Romans. He might windup things faster than this time period!)

The Lord wants to revive His bond with the individuals in the church. He wants to enter into the life of a believer again. He wishes to give everyone a second chance to have fellowship with Him. He is knocking at the door of the believer’s heart. He promises to restore such a believer's position of rulership with Him. As a Man, He overcame death, hell and Satan to sit with His Father on the throne. He wants the believer to share His throne and enforce His authority over the enemy.

A mass revival (Ezhuppudhal in Thamizh) in the last days is only wishful thinking of the so-called preachers of today and at the most a pretext. The latter rain is already poured during the Philadelphia church times. What is happening now is only a trickle – a one-to-one encounter with the Lord here and there. (A personal encounter with the Lord has always been the case with every believer who receives salvation even in large evangelistic crusades. However, the number of such converts has dwindled alarmingly. This is due to the appealing false ‘gospels’ that have deceived the masses with promises of worldly riches). He wishes to dine with the one who hears His voice and opens the door to Him. ‘I with him and he with Me”, the Lord says.

The last sheep are being added to the Fold; the last stones are being set in the Building; the last cells are being birthed in the Body; the last Jews and the last gentiles are being saved to be brought into the Church; the last spot wrinkle or blemish is being removed from the Bride.

Every believer must work hard and pay due diligence to take the gospel to the last lost soul; this, even if it requires shedding of blood and sacrificing one’s life.