2025/03/17

187. The Seven Disciples and the Seven Letters (Letters 1 and 2)

In the previous article, we saw that the words "until I come" (Jn 21:22) in the last words of the risen Jesus in the Gospel of John are the theme of the letters addressed to the angels of six of the seven churches in the province of Asia in the Book of Revelation other than the church in Smyrna. From this, we understood that the words "until I come" meant "until the New Testament is completed" and that John, who had interpreted these words, already had foreseen the Book of Revelation. If that is the case, we may be able to find a connection between the Gospel of John and Revelation, as well as other Gospels, in this passage. 

Therefore, I thought there may be a correlation between the seven disciples who appear in the fifth episode of the Risen Jesus, the scene of the great catch at Lake Tiberias, and the letters to the angels of the seven churches in Revelation. The seven disciples are listed in order as "Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathan'a-el of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zeb'edee, and two others of his disciples were together" (Jn 21:2). We will apply these disciples to the angels of the seven churches in the order given above and see if they match the content of each letter. 

The first letter is addressed to "the angel of the church in Ephesus" (Rev 2:1), corresponding to Simon Peter, who is listed first in the order of the seven disciples. The letter says,"[Y]ou have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember then from what you have fallen, repent and do the works you did at first" (2:4-5). Its content corresponds to the fact that Peter, who had said, "I will lay down my life for you" (Jn 13:37) on the night of the Lord's Passion, denied three times before the cock crowed. The letter continues, "If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent." In the Book of Revelation, the "lampstand" refers to the church (cf. Rev 1:20), and "your lampstand" appears only here. Therefore, this "lampstand" is thought to refer to the church that Jesus said, "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church" (Mt 16:18). 

At the end of the letter, it says, "To him who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God" (Rev 2:7). This is in line with the words of Jesus, "And every one who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life" (Mt 19:29), when Peter said to Jesus, "Lo, we have left everything and followed you. What then shall we have?" (Mt 19:27). "Inherit eternal life" and "I will grant to eat of the tree of life" have the same meaning. 

The addressee of the second letter, "the angel of the church in Smyrna" (Rev 2:8), corresponds to "Thomas called the Twin" in the order of the seven disciples in the Gospel of John. Thomas was not with the disciples when the risen Jesus first appeared to them. Thomas' name appears frequently in the Gospel of John, and he had conversations with Jesus at crucial moments (cf. Jn 11:16, 14:5). So, it must have been a shock for him that the risen Jesus had visited the disciples in his absence. The Gospel tells us, "So the other disciples told him, 'We have seen the Lord.' But he said to them, 'Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe'" (20:25). 

The second letter of the Revelation begins with the words, "The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life" (Rev 2:8). The phrase "who died and came to life" is directed at Thomas, who said he would not believe in the resurrection of Jesus. And the words "Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life" (2:10) correspond to what Thomas said when Jesus went to Bethany to raise Lazarus from the dead: "Let us also go, that we may die with him" (Jn 11:16). If he lives up to his words and is given the crown of life, he "shall not be hurt by the second death" (Rev 2:11). 

As mentioned above, this second letter does not have the theme "until I come" that appears in the other six letters. It is possible that it was omitted from this letter because the risen Jesus had already come to the disciples again for the sake of Thomas alone in the episode mentioned above (cf. Jn 20:24-29). It may also be a sign for us to notice the connection between the seven disciples in the Gospel of John and the letters to the angels of the seven churches in the Book of Revelation. 

To be continued.

Maria K. M.