Why believe in one authoritative Church if Revelation names seven churches?
I am still unable to grasp why we need to believe that one authoritative Church is necessary when I read about the seven churches in Revelation. It does not appear that they held to the teachings of a single Church providing all truth based in Rome, or else they could not have allowed for the “practices of the Nicolaitans” (I am unsure what that refers to, though). I have also heard some Roman Catholic apologists argue that these were simply seven parishes. My difficulty with that argument is: a) the teachings and practices would have had to be the same as those of their central authority, since today, for example, parishes cannot hold on to the equivalent of “Nicolaitan practices,” and b) Jesus specifically seemed to be dealing with them as individual churches, since He warned them that He would remove their “lampstands.” This does not seem to fit with the idea that they were merely parishes, since removing the lampstands would reflect upon and equally indict the main central Church from which authority and doctrine were binding on the parishes. It would also undermine its validity in the eyes of God. Hence, why should it be assumed that the Church of Rome held superiority over all churches and could not be treated like the seven churches if it lost doctrinal integrity along the way?
Answer
The New Testament tells us that Peter was in authority (Acts 15:1–12) and that the bishops under James sent out letters to each of the churches (Acts 15:22–29). So a centralized authority was in place very early, which was then transferred to Rome when Peter went from Antioch to Rome. We also know that Paul was in authority over the churches he founded, many of them in Asia Minor, which John focuses on in Revelation 1–3. Notice in Paul’s dealings with these churches that they were often practicing various harmful things long before Paul became aware of it (for example, 1 Corinthians 1:11; Galatians 1:6–10). So we can understand how the church of Ephesus could have had the Nicolaitans present without Peter’s or Paul’s knowledge. We can also understand how the Nicolaitans were exposed, since it is Jesus Himself who reveals the problem. In fact, this is the very purpose of Revelation 1–3: the churches may think they are hiding their sins from Peter and Paul, but Jesus is watching everything that is happening and will judge the churches accordingly. Hence, it is logical that a local church could lose its “lampstand” without the whole Catholic Church losing its lampstand. In the United States alone, hundreds of local churches have been closed due to the pedophilia problem.