Laura Davis stopped by the Dragon’s Lair to talk about her book He Who Has An Ear. Take a look at what she has to say.  First a little about her book.

He Who Has an Ear,

Who the Seven Churches of Revelation are Today

By Laura Davis

1. Who Are the Seven Angels?

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ho or what are the seven churches of Revelation? Are they still in the world today? Were the seven churches in Asia Minor real churches or do they represent a type of church (i.e.: Catholic, Baptist, Pentecostal, etc.)? Are the warnings relevant to this generation? Are they for each of us as individuals? As we look carefully through the letters of Revelation, we will discover the answer to all these questions and more.

But before we can get to any of the letters, we must determine who the angels were that the letters were written to. It has been suggested that the angels represented the head or bishop of each church. Others suggest the angels were actual celestial beings that stood guard over these churches. First, let’s look at the word in both Hebrew and Greek.

Angel in Hebrew is Malack and means messenger. Angel in Greek is angelos and also means messenger. So, what kind of messages do angels bring?

1. They bring good news (Luke 2:8-14; Luke 1:26-38).
2. They also bring bad news (Genesis 19:15).
3. They communicate God’s will to men. (They helped reveal the law to Moses [Acts 7:52-53] and served as the carriers for much of the material in Daniel and Revelation).^[i]
4. They give instructions and act as guides (Matthew 1:20-21; Acts 8:26; Acts 10:1-8).
5. They strengthen and encourage God’s people (Matthew 4:11; Acts 5:19-20; Acts 27:23-25).

The most important thing about angels is that they continually praise God and carry out His commands. They ascend and descend to earth frequently. (John 1:51; Genesis 28:12; Revelation 7:2). We cannot see them, but they are here watching over us for God and, I assume, reporting back to Him on how we are doing (Job 1:6).

Besides being messengers for God, angels have different jobs. For example:

• God has used angels to provide for physical needs such as food for Hagar (Genesis 21:17-20), Elijah (1 Kings 19:6), and Christ after His temptation (Matthew 4:11).^[ii]
• They act as protectors (Daniel 3-6; Matthew 2:13).
• They can deliver people from danger. They released the apostles from prison in Acts 5 and did the same for Peter in Acts 12.
• They care for God’s people at the moment of their death (Luke 16:22).

There are also different types of angels:

• Cherubim (Ezekiel 1)*
• Seraphim (Isaiah 6)
• Archangels—We know of two, Michael (Daniel 10:13; Jude 9) and Gabriel (Daniel 9:21; Luke 1:19; 26).

*For the record, there is nothing in the Scriptures to indicate cherubim are cute little babies. In fact, the reaction of most people who saw angels was to fall down in fear, not reach out and say, “Coochie-coo!” The cherubs you see on Valentine’s Day cards and at Christmas are from the minds of their human creators.

Before the edict was given to write to the churches, John saw the following in his vision in Revelation 1:12-16:

I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.

It’s no wonder that, in the next verse, John “fell at his feet as though dead.” But Jesus touched him and said not to be afraid and then in verses 19-20 He said, “Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.”

To be clear, John wrote about the past, the present, and the future. Then Jesus explained the mystery of the seven stars and the seven golden lampstands. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches and the lampstands are the seven churches.

While the appearance of angels was usually frightening enough to make people fall to the ground, these supernatural beings sometimes took on human form. (In Genesis 18, Abraham welcomed three visitors who appeared as men.)

According to Strong’s Concordance, the word for messenger and angel were used interchangeably. For example, in Malachi 2:7 we read, “For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, because he is the messenger of the Lord Almighty and people seek instruction from his mouth.”

Again, the Hebrew word for angel, Malak, means messenger. It should be no surprise to learn that the word messengerin Hebrew is also Malak. If we read the verse above with that in mind, we get, “For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, because he is the angel of the Lord Almighty and people seek instruction from his mouth.”

Does that mean our pastors are angels? Not in the real sense of an angel, no. However, it does reveal how important God considers those who bring messages from Him, either through His Word or through prophecy. People, therefore, should not be so quick to say, “I have a message from the Lord,” unless they are very sure it is the Lord who is sending it and it lines up with the Bible.

While it is possible that each of the seven angels referred to in Revelation are actual angels disguised as humans, I think it is more plausible that they are the elders of the churches. It would make no sense for John to write letters and send them to real angels. For that matter, why would Jesus have John write everything down when the angels were always before Him in heaven?

In addition, we must also remember that John was writing to real churches during his era. The fact that these letters have been preserved for us is just a bonus. No, it makes more sense that the angels are the messengers in the church who will read the letters aloud to the congregations and thereby, bring forth the message from God.

Now, here is where confusion sets in. After the apostles died, other men who had known them took up the reins to keep the church functioning. Catholic tradition suggests there was a bishop for each church. For example, Ignatius was the bishop of Antioch; Polycarp was the bishop of Smyrna; Timothy was the bishop of Ephesus; and so on. However, there is no mention in the Bible that Timothy was appointed as a bishop, not by Paul or anyone else. In fact, there are no scriptural references that say each church should have one man as a bishop. The truth is, the role of a bishop over the church did not start until at least 154 A.D., more than fifty years after the Apostle John died. That’s plenty of time for wrong doctrine to enter the church.

Therefore, the angels referenced in the letters to the seven churches could not be bishops because one bishop for each church did not exist at the time the Apostle John wrote Revelation. And since most churches today don’t have bishops in the formal sense like the Catholic Church, how do these letters relate to us? Who are the bishops of the church today? We’ll discuss that in the next chapter.

To purchase He Who Has an Ear visit www.tinyurl.HeWhoHasanEar

[i] Dr. John Bechtle, “What is the Job Description for an Angel?” Christian Answers Network Website, URL http://christiananswers.net/q-acb/acb-t005.html#9

[ii] Dr. John Bechtle, “What is the Job Description for an Angel?” Christian Answers Network Website, URL http://christiananswers.net/q-acb/acb-t005.html#9

Now a little bit about and from Laura Davis:  For those who aren’t familiar with your work, can you tell us a little about yourself?

I am a former singer/songwriter who had a singing ministry for a little over 30 years. About 14 years ago a tumour was discovered in my abdomen and when the doctors took it out they accidentally ruptured my bladder without knowing it, sewed me up and sent me back to recovery. When I didn’t recover as expected, I was sent back in for emergency surgery. Somewhere in that time frame my vocal chords were damaged due to being intubated. Although I was assured that my voice would come back it never did and to make a long story short the Lord began a “new work in me” that ended with my first novel – Come to Me.

So you had a singing career and then a writing career – just like that?

Not really. Over a period of several months while I was recovering from my surgery, I struggled desperately to get my voice back. I went through a time of depression because I couldn’t understand why the Lord would allow my voice to be taken away after so many years of service. But during that time a story was beginning to form in my mind about the life of Christ through the eyes of his mother. I had the distinct impression from God that I was supposed to write about it, but I was so angry at losing my voice I ignored it because I wanted my voice back. Besides, I couldn’t see the end of the story, only the beginning. But, over time the desire to write became so strong that I could not ignore it. Until one day I went to my computer, placed my hands on the keyboard and said, “Okay, Lord. I surrender. Use my hands as you used my voice.” The next thing I knew the floodgates were opened and I didn’t stop typing until the story was complete.

But the Lord still had some more changes for you to come, didn’t He?

That’s for sure. About a year after my surgery, a fall down a flight of stairs left me partially disabled. In time, other problems set in, including arthritis. Then I was diagnosed with a disease called lipo-lymphedema, which affects my lymphatic system, which causes my legs to swell and requires me to keep them elevated all the time. I have to spend two hours every day in something called a lympha-press that massages my legs to get the lymphatic fluid moving. It has pretty much zapped my ability to move about on my own. However, the good part of this is that it forces me to stay at my computer writing every day!

So how long have you been writing?

Not including my song writing days, it would be about 14 years.

How many books have you written?

Three – Come to Me, a Bible study to go with Come to Me, called Learning from the Master, Living a Surrendered Life and He Who Has an Ear, Who the Seven Churches of Revelation are Today.

Tell us about your latest book.

He Who Has an Ear started as an inductive Bible Study for me. I was wondering about the churches the Apostle John sent letters to (in the book of Revelation) and asked myself if they still existed today. Out of the seven churches only two received commendation from the Lord. The rest were letters of warning. So I was very shocked when I realized these warnings are very relevant to the church today. It broke my heart at times to realize how similar the modern 21^st century church is to those churches that existed over 2000 years ago. So the warnings Jesus gave them also apply to us as well.

Is there a message in your book that you want your readers to grasp?

Yes. It is very important that Christians study their Bibles inductively, precept by precept. We have to get back to the Word and study it earnestly. The Bible says Jesus is the Word and Jesus said to abide in Him, if we are only having a short devotion each day, or not opening our Bibles until Sunday morning, we really aren’t allowing Him to abide in us as He should. Studying the Word of God keeps the Believer discerning. If we are a church that studies the Bible, we will not compromise our beliefs, nor will we be led astray by false doctrines. Unfortunately, the church has let in false doctrines because its people do not know the Word of God. This is exactly what happened to the churches in Revelation. Get back into the Word. It is so important.

Amen! Which do you enjoy more – reading or writing?

Since singing is my first love I will say reading. While I love to write, sometimes the research can get overwhelming and my brain turns to mush. I would much rather escape through a good historical fiction.

What are your current projects?

I am currently running a Bible Study on Revelation at www.believersbiblestudy.com. For a short time all the notes for this study are free and available to download. When it is finished I will put it all together in a workbook. I am also working on another historical novel tentatively called Finding Claire.

AUTHOR BIO:

Laura J. Davis is a former singer/songwriter turned full-time writer. She has had stories featured in Chicken Soup for the Soul Married Life and Chicken Soup for the Soul the Dating Game. Her first book, Come to Me, is a Reader’s Favorite award winner. In 2013, her Bible study, Learning from the Master, Living a Surrendered Life, was featured in BookFun Magazine as the non-fiction book of the month first place winner. Her latest book, He Who Has an Ear, is a look at who the seven churches of Revelation are today. Laura is currently featured in the Author’s Network latest book, 50 Great Authors You Should be Reading. She can be contacted through her website at www.laurajdavis.com .

Twitter: www.twitter.com/LauraJeanDavis

Facebook: www.facebook.com/LauraDavis

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/laurajeandavis

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/laurajeandavis

Come back tomorrow where Myrria will be talking to Emma Right stops by to talk about her book Dead Dreams.