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Seven Deadly Spirits: The Message of Revelation's Letters for Today's Church

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I thoroughly enjoyed, and learned much from, this new book, Theologian/Pastor/Educator Doctor Scott Daniels' absorbing study of vital apocalyptic scripture. Calling for renewed pastoral and congregational commitment to these core Christian values central to the message penned by the author of The Revelation and relevant to today's churches of every size, for me the heart -- and perhaps greatest relevance -- are the Questions for Discussion posited at the conclusion of each chapter. These topical queries merit deep discussion, courageous consideration and any attendant hard work. Readable in one sitting, this caring book's unique value in my judgement is within these discussion questions. I would urge churches of every size to form your discussion group, and delve into these unique, empowering, questions that are relevant to every church.

In so many discussions and conversations on the nature of the church in our era (or any era) there is a curious reality that is almost always left out. Curious not because it is of minor importance or an extraneous component. Rather, because it seems so utterly vital to the nature of the church and is so absolutely a part of the Biblical discussion, and yet is still far too often ignored, even in so-called mystical or hyper-spiritual congregations.

This reality involves the spiritual context of a particular congregation, and it is precisely what John wrote about in the beginning of Revelation.

Scott Daniels writes, "that real change takes place in the church not simply by altering the visible structures of the institution, such as changing pastoral staff, instituting new programs, or modifying the style of worship, but by altering the spirit or core essence of the entity as a whole... I am convinced that the genius of the letters in Revelation is John's underlying recognition that complete change cannot occur without naming, describing, and calling to account the collective spirit of the church."

In other words, so much of church growth or renewal has been about addressing the symptoms or changing the decorations. This is the old analogy of rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, all while completely ignoring the fact there's an iceberg and a major gash in the hull that is causing the ship to sink. Daniels moves us deeper past the usual church growth topics, which so often want to jump into the newest model or develop the flashiest program, rather than really assessing the specific contexts of a congregation or neighborhood.


Daniels is not here emphasizing spirits as in some kind of evil, outside malevolent force. Rather, he is emphasizing that a spirit of a church is a collective spirit that reflects the people -- present and past -- who have influenced that setting. This spirit "that emerges from a congregation is formed by a unique combination of human action, institutional history, and cultural influence. The corporate spirit that emerges in every church captures the hopes, fears, and horizons of imagination for a congregation." This emphasis on a collective human spirit does not discount broader spiritual realities, but it does put the emphasis precisely where it needs to be, where the Bible itself points us. In our choices and temptations and overall approaches to life we can reflect the Spirit of God, or we can choose to participate in another expression of spirit, one that reflects chaos and corruption. Every church, it seems, like every person has a different kind of temptation or tendency, but these differences can be loosely gathered together in common themes.

Daniels uses the letters to the churches that we find in Revelation as a model of understanding the various kinds of temptations and spirits that can take hold of church, and in doing this he gives us insights and direction on how to best understand the specific issues and then how we can move to best respond in a way that recreates a church spirit.

Here is his outline:
* Ephesus: The Spirit of Boundary Keeping
* Smyrna: The Spirit of Consumerism
* Pergamum: The Spirit of Accommodation
* Thyatira: The Spirit of Privatized Faith
* Sardis: The Spirit of Apathetic Faith
* Philadelphia: The Spirit of Fear
* Laodicea: The Spirit of Self-Sufficiency

Understanding how these various spirits affect and undermine particular communities is essential to really respond to broken or confusing contexts. But more than learning about these spirits, Daniels writes, "the redeeming of the deadly spirit of a church can only fully be achieved as we also learn how to embody the Scriptures in community." And it is this fuller picture, not only of diagnosis but also of hope and promise that really fills out this excellent, readable, and enlightening text.

It should also be noted that Daniels is not a removed spectator, writing only in terms of theory. His own experiences as a pastor have shown him the highs and lows of these spirit realities. And his recent experience in helping turn a large church away from a season of brokenness and difficulty to a renewing place of health and light suggests that what he is writing about is something he has put into practice, and continues to apply to specific contexts.

Seven Deadly Spirits is the sort of book that may not have the widest audience, but it is, I think, very widely needed. I would go as far to say as this is a book that should be required reading by every new pastor or seminary student, as it orients both their expectations and their own tendencies to let go these undermining spirits and re-embrace the holistic Spirit of life. But more than these pastoral leaders, I think anyone involved in a church would greatly benefit by reading through this text, as it helps to really understand why we often experience, or contribute to, negative realities within a church setting. By naming the spirits for what they are, both leaders and those in the congregations, can begin to respond and overcome these tendencies, with the help of the Spirit who calls us, and empowers us, to live out in full the life that Christ has given to us. The Lord "stands at the door and knocks, inviting us to be open to his renewed life with us."

While reading this short book, I had trouble with wanting to see it as an exegesis on the historical situation of the Seven Churches in Asia and what the original author was trying to communicate. Further, I wanted a historical critical take on the book, and instead, I walked away with a practical theological assessment of the book, which while akin to William Barclay, presented a modern application of those letters. While I completely disagree with him on several minor details, I had to step back and remember that the book's purpose was not to engage the original audience of the text, but the audience of the modern church. What really stood out was the author's personal connection in life experiences to these letters, which I think is the real key to understanding the long controversial book. It was not about secret code words, only to be deciphered fifteen minutes after the end of the world, but the original intent of the book was to speak to the audience and to any audience in perpetuity, about their current condition, whether it is apathy, love or persecution. What Daniels has done is to scrape off some of the patina of countless and needless interpretative attempts to make, at the very least, these letters applicable to the modern Church.

Of the seven letters, two portions stood out to me, namely Ephesians and his postscript. In the letter to Ephesians Daniels calls for a more generous orthodoxy. For this letter, his focus is on this passage found in Revelation 2.2-4, on what they did right and what they did wrong. The Ephesians had orthodoxy (although, admittedly, while Revelation was written sometime around 96 according to many scholars, there was most likely not a general orthodoxy subscribed to by the communities interpreting the message of Christ) but they had lost the love of one another. Daniels quotes, Barclay,

"It may be that a hard, censorious, critical, fault-finding, stern self-righteousness had banished the spirit of love... Strict orthodoxy can cost too much, if it has to be bought at the price of love. (p39)"

Daniels further notes:

Few if any of us who are believers accepted Christ into our lives because we were doctrinally argued into the Church. It was the love of God demonstrated in the life of the Spirit-filled body of Christ that wooed us into relationship with the Father....(p40)

".... However, there is something in letter from the Revelator that desires the Church in Ephesus to place orthopraxy (rightly living out the faith) or orthopathy (having the right heart or spirit) above orthodoxy (mentally assenting to correct doctrine as cognitive propositions). (p42)"

I believe that he is partially correct here - that doctrine is not what draws us to Christ so much as what explains to us that call and the life led thereafter. I have a problem with his apparent lack of focus; instead of maintaining orthodoxy, he is in favor of practice and love as a measure of unity. I mean, what's that all about?

Daniels then goes on to speak about Scripture in a communal setting on page 135 and 136, noting that we read `Scripture in community to learn to interpret ourselves and the world as Christians.' This passage stood out as one which is needful at this present time. We have a large and ever growing community as the world gets smaller. Perhaps one of the best things to happen to (Western) Christianity in this century is the rise of the New Atheists (Dawkins, Hitchens) and their militant campaign against religion in general and more specifically, Christianity. The voices of the New Atheists focuses us on scholarship, theology, and looking at our presentation of the Gospel Message. Further, I think that we have to hear the voices of those who believe that Leviticus is a New Testament book or that women are nothing more than property with a voice heard only at the request of her husband. With that said, Daniels' reading of these letters is part of this embodiment of the Scriptures in community (136), and while I disagree with him, mainly in his interpretation of Thyatira, I find that there is much here to listen to and to learn from.

I feel that Daniel's section on Thyatira is lacking in grounding, with his dualist notions of what the problem in that city is unsupported by history or text. While his other letters are generally found to have some historical reality, this section seems almost to be pulled out of the very thin air of speculation, and mediocre air at that. I think that there are other `real life' examples and applications that could be drawn from the situation in Thyatira, notably the fact that a woman, unquestioning, was allowed to preach.


The minister, whether pastor, subordinate or simply lay, should be able to gain a great deal from the book. Notably, the fact that Revelation is applicable today, and not as fictional tales told to scare people into serving God, but real theological discussions meant to encourage conversations about what may be holding congregations back from growth. I think that the author does a fair job of naming the problems which plague many churches. Whether a too-strict orthodoxy which strangles the orthopathy, the consumerism which leads to the commodification of the Christian faith (47), accommodation, individualism in a faith community, or apathy (93) the spirits of the congregations envelope these groups and are self-feeding. In turn, these possessed congregations will select, either actively or through passive support of, leaders who feed into their spiritual need to neglect the Gospel. Further, Daniels helps to counter such rants as we see today against corporate salvation and stands firm against the American introduction to an individualistic faith. The author calls every congregation and ever leader in a congregation to name the spirits that plagues them and to use Scripture in a communal application against them.

What hinders our churches from being more healthy, more fruitful,
more likely to reproduce other healthy, fruit-bearing congregations?

What are the primary battles we face, and how can we overcome the
barriers that so often hold us back from achieving God's best?

Today's churches struggle in at least seven crucial areas --- as we
discover in the pages of this helpful, scholarly new book. Author
Scott Daniels serves as Dean of the School of Theology at Azusa;
in these pages he opens the Book of Revelation with fresh insight.

I tend to avoid this portion of Scripture --- So prone to being mis-
used, mis-calculated or mis-handled. Here, Author Daniels proves that
he cares about what matters most --- restoring churches to health,
overcoming the obstacles that others have faced before us.

A refreshing take on Revelation that has me returning to this part
of Scripture with fresh eyes and renewed purpose.

Well crafted, well written, and well worth reading!

Dr. David Frisbie
THE CENTER FOR MARRIAGE & FAMILY STUDIES
Author of: "The Soul-Mate Marriage" and 10 other books