‘Being Ekklēsia’ According To Revelation 2:1 ̶3:22: An Exegetical And Theological Analysis

Abstract

The Greek word e vkklhsi ,a (congregation, assembly, gathering, ‘church’) designates the community of the followers of Jesus, the extension of his humanity, the locus where it is possible to experience his presence (cf. Matt. 18:20). Christian communities in Ghana have experienced an exponential growth, but they are besieged with two main challenges namely, diversity and fragmentation, and apparent low impact on the Ghanaian society. Their diversity and fragmentation raised a hermeneutic challenge because all appeal to the New Testament to define their identity and mission. Furthermore, their apparent low impact on the morality of Ghanaian society questions their authenticity and relevance. Against this backdrop, the research examined the identity and mission of the e vkklhsi ,a through an exegetical and theological analysis of Rev. 2⸻3. Holladay’s Theological Conversation Model was the theoretical framework that guided the study. The literary unit was analysed using Rhetorical Criticism, following Kennedy’s Rhetorical Criticism model, to discover how the literary unit portrays the identity and mission of the evkklhsi ,a, the rhetorical devices the author used to describe the features of the seven communities, and the perlocutionary effect of the text on its original readers. The research revealed that Rev. 2⸻3 portrayed the church as a spiritual entity created by God’s love (cf. 1:5; cf. Eph. 5:25) and designed to love God as well as love their fellow humans. She participates in the ‘world to come,’ lives in the horizon of the kingdom of God, and should embody its values, principles, and objectives. The e vkklhsi ,a as a ‘human’ entity is on a journey of continuous conversion (semper reformanda), to testify and imitate the Risen Lord, who is the faithful witness (cf. 1:5) and the Lamb who was slain (5:6). Conforming to her Lord, the church will be also persecuted. To impact his readers, the author employed several rhetorical devises such as: recipient formular, graphon imperative, tade legei formular, descriptive phrases about Jesus Christ, knowledge formular, indictment formular, exhortative formular, proclamation formular, promise of victory formular. The perlocutionary effect of the literary unit on the original readers was to offer comfort, and encouragement in time of crisis; to exhort them to persevere during persecution (cf. 2:10; 3:10-12). It urges them to pursue brotherly love, as a defining characteristic of the community of Jesus (cf. 2:5) and resist false teaching (cf. 2:2-3, 14-16, 20-23). It enjoins the churches to live a Christ-centered life and spirituality (cf. 2:20). The study recommends further research to contextualize the findings of this research in specific Christian communities in Ghana; furthermore, there is the need to study the theme of the identity and mission in the entire book of Revelation. Finally, the Christian communities in Ghana should commit to effective Bible training of their leaders and membership, to refocus their identity and mission on what is essential, discipleship of Jesus (Matt. 28:18-20), instead of popularized doctrines that are not biblically founded.