To Him That Overcometh

In Revelation chapters 2–3, the Lord’s counsel to each of the seven branches of the Church in Asia follows a pattern:

• He told the members of the branch what they were doing that pleased Him.
• He told them in what ways they needed to repent.
• He told them of the blessings that would come if they were faithful.

Here is a chart to show specifically what the Lord taught the people in each branch:

City	What They Did That Pleased the Lord	How They Needed to Repent	Promised Blessings
Ephesus (2:1-7)	They were patient, shunned evil, cast out false apostles, and served the Lord	Return to missionary work and repent	Eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God
Smyrna (2:8-11)	They worked hard and endured tribulations	Endure their tribulations and not be afraid of what they might suffer in this life	They will not be hurt of the second death (spiritual death)
Pergamos (2:12-17)	They held fast to their faith and did not deny Christ	They are falling back into old traditions of sacrifice and fornication	Temple blessings were promised
Thyatira (2:18-29)	They had charity and served each other as well as faith and patience and good works	They were committing fornication and adultery as well as sacrificing to idols	Power over nations and the morning star
Sardis (3:1-6)	The Lord was not pleased with them	They needed to strengthen each other and remember what they had been taught about the gospel	Clothes in white and reside with Christ in the next life. The Lord will defend their names to the Father.
Philadelphia (3:7-13)	They had a little strength and obeyed the commandments and not denied the Lord	They were doing well and were not chastised to repent	They will have a place with the Father and the Son
Laodicea (3:14-22)	They were neither cold nor hot but lukewarm	Because they were lukewarm the Lord was not impressed	They need to let the Lord into their lives and be more passionate about the gospel

So how does the council and warnings of the seven branches of the Church in Asia apply to us today? Are we guilty of the same things that these early church members were guilty of? Do we put more emphasis on our idols (smart phones, cars, RVs, big homes, big screen tvs, social media, etc.) then we do on service, love, missionary work, and magnifying our callings? Are we lukewarm in the gospel or do we live the commandments with passion?

There is some council found in these verses to return to the basics of faith, charity, and service. Hidden in the text is also references to the temple work that needs to still be done. Again I ask, are you lukewarm when it comes to your activity and devotion to the covenants you have made and if so what will you do to light the spark again within your heart?

Several times in these scriptures we read the phrase “to him that overcometh”. Doctrine and Covenants 14:7, 63:20 gives additional insight and meaning to this phrase. From these scriptures we learn the simple truth of the gospel that we must endure to the end in order to obtain eternal life with the Father.

I encourage you to find the key to your own heart that will light a fire of faith and give you the strength to serve the Lord with all your heart so that you can have the strength to endure all of the trials and tribulations that will come in this life. If you are able to do this the Lord has promised you blessings beyond your comprehension.