The Jesus Letters - Seven Secrets That Can Change You and Your Church.

By David Ravenhill

Publisher : Destiny Image (2003)

Reviewed by David Collins

After the Da Vinci Code fantasy comes the real deal … ‘The Jesus Letters’! And from the pen of respected Bible teacher, David Ravenhill, these vital communications from the Bible’s Book of Revelation come alive with relevancy and considerable challenge for the church of the 21st Century. There are six chapters to read before the letters to seven churches are examined, chapter by chapter, then two more that give a further ‘prophetic plea’ from the author to the modern church.

During the first six chapters the anticipation builds … the reader is more than ready to launch into the teaching from The Book of Revelation chapters 2 and 3. In these initial chapters the author creates the scene by:

1. •Making a clear statement of who the church truly is … “The Church is, and always will be, primary. We are His holy nation called to ‘proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called [us] out of darkness into His marvellous light’.” Ravenhill observes of is adopted country, “In America, the Christian community has poured multiplied millions into Christian politics with the hope that somehow we can make a difference . . . . I am trying, however, to redirect our attention and energies back to the importance and power that God has invested in us, the Church.”
   

2. •Showing that if the Church is represented in Revelation Chapter 1 as a “candlestick”, then the inevitable applies, “wicks would need to be trimmed periodically . . . . The end result being that the lamp burned brightly . . . . If these deposits were not removed, the light gradually weakened, and ultimately, would go out, plunging everything into darkness.” This to explain the examination and correction contained in the letters Jesus wrote.
   

3. •Revealing the special place of leadership to the church … “’the seven stars … in My right hand’ (Rev 1:20a).” What a refreshingly different list of truths David Ravenhill presents here, far from the hackneyed successful leadership messages we often encounter. “Spiritual leaders have a place of … Security … Intimacy … Authority … Clarity … Unity … Purity … Ascendancy.
   

Now we arrive at the first church to receive a letter from Jesus. The chapter is titled, “Ephesus - The ‘Big Successful Church’”, and by way of introduction David Ravenhill writes, “Ephesus was the type of church every pastor dreams of leading. There were no slackers here. Everyone was involved. You didn’t find five percent of the people doing ninety-five percent of the work, because everyone was labouring together.” This is the style, it’s easy to read, and applied insightfully to the times in which we live.

Before moving to the next church, David Ravenhill sneaks in a chapter that relates to the letter Jesus wrote to the Ephesians. It’s titled “Will The Real Apostles Please Stand Up?” Here he addresses the current phenomena in the Pentecostal churches of appointing apostles or claiming apostleship. He tells that when he Googled the word ‘apostolic ministry’ it returned no fewer than 46,000 references! Looking for a balanced, biblical and wise description of apostolic ministry? This chapter alone is worth the price of the book.

I couldn’t wait to read chapter 14 “Laodicea - Can These Bones Live?”, because I am sympathetic to the view that David Ravenhill expresses, “Christian commentators for centuries have associated the condition of the Laodicean believers with the present-day Church . . . . That the seven churches represent seven seasons of time, and that Laodicea represents the condition of the Church in the last days prior to the second coming of Christ.” It’s in this chapter that the author addresses the problem of esteeming prosperity; “What was missing in Laodicea was what is missing in so many congregations - ‘relationship.’ How tragically the Church today parallels her in almost every way. Today, more than ever, we have learned to ‘excel’ without the abiding presence of God in our midst.”

Just as Jesus did those millennia ago, David Ravenhill blends warning with encouragement and promise; and the last chapter is a call to intimacy with Christ. Titled, “To The Bride”, the heartbeat of Jesus - perhaps the very reason for the Jesus letters - is obviously felt by David Ravenhill. “We have seen in this study of the seven churches that there is no substitute for the presence of God.”