The Seven Letters to the Seven Churches of the Revelation

Do They Refer to Seven Church Ages?

There is a popular theory that teaches that the seven letters that John wrote to the seven churches
in Asia somehow set forth a Divine plan of the Church Age. According to current authors Gary G.
Cohen and Salem Kirban, the church ages may be identified by the following scheme.

 Ephesus Apostolic Church 30 - AD 100

 Smyrna Persecuted Church 100 - AD 313
 Pergamos State Church 313 - AD 590
 Thyatira Papal Church 590 - AD 1517
 Sardis Reformed Church 1517 - AD 1790
 Philadelphia Missionary Church 1790 - AD 1900
 Laodicea Apostate Church 1900 - to present

To their credit the authors of Revelation Visualized do admit that, "Both learned and
unlearned Bible scholars and students debate whether this Prophetical Theory is or is not true" (p.
68). To say the least, the concept of a Divine Plan of the Ages is a very arbitrary division of history
and does set dates. The arbitrary division of church history is reflected by the different schemes that
other authors have set forth such as Clarence Larkin who wrote a modest work entitled The
Greatest Book on Dispensational Truth Ever Written. According to Mr. Larkin the ages predicted
by the various letters to the churches may be identified in the following manner.

 Ephesus The Backslidden Church 70-AD 170

 Smyrna The Backslidden Church to Constantine 170-AD 312
 Pergamos From Constantine to the
Crowning Of Boniface III
As The Universal Bishop 312-AD 606
 Thyatira From Boniface III To The Reformation 606-AD 1520
 Sardis 1520-AD 1750
 Philadelphia 1750-AD 1900
 Laodicea 1900-to present

If John really saw seven church ages and if we really are now in the Laodicea Church Age
of Apostasy then the end of the world is very near indeed! Perhaps the saddest repercussion of this
whole prophetic scheme is that there is no hope for any great positive changes to be made in the
church.