THE CHURCH(ES) IN REVELATION

I am reading Dr. Greg Beale's commentary (NIGTC) in preparation to teach on the book of Revelation in Sunday School. Beale writes this about the way John presents the churches:

A chiastic structure can be seen in the presentation of the seven churches: the first and last are on the verge of losing their christian identity (2:5; 3:16), though Christ still commends the first (Ephesus) for a few things. The second and sixth churches have no weaknesses, and are encouraged to continue on in their faithful witness. The third, fourth, and fifth churches, in the middle of the chiasm, are in a mixed condition. They are commended for some good things but corrected for serious problems, which if allowed to continue will rip the churches apart. In one way or another, all the problems of the churches have to do with the challenge of witnessing in the midst of temptations to compromise with idolatry.

Then Dr. Beale makes this shocking statement about what John is communicating in his messages to the churches:

The main point in a chiastic structure lies usually on the outside parallels, though sometimes the middle point receives the emphasis. The significance of the chiasm here is to emphasize that the churches in Asia Minor are in serious trouble. The chiasm is bounded by churches that could be about to lose their identity, and the churches in the middle of the pattern are in poor health. If the seven churches represent the church universal of the first century and throughout the church age (see on 1:4, 11), then the significance of the chiasm is to underscore that the church in any generation is typically not a healthy, witnessing church. Nevertheless, there is always a small part of the church which faithfully maintains its witness like Smyrna and Philadelphia. This sober assessment of the church's overall condition matches what is said in 2 Tim. 1:15, though the evaluation there is even more negative. Ministers of the gospel must be aware of such realistic evaluations of the church, so that their calling is not destroyed when the triumphalistic expectations of modern Christendom are not fulfilled.