Ch 2: The letters to the seven churches
Map courtesy of Mike Campbell and is not to be used without his permission
From the island of Patmos you sail to the port of Ephesus and then travel overland to Smyrna, Pergamum then to Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and finally to Laodicea.
For my photos of Ephesus see Images of Ephesus.
2. The letters to the seven churches (2:1)
Introduction to the letters to the seven churches:
The letters to the seven churches are a distinct unit of seven within the book of Revelation. Other sevenfold units are the seven seals, the seven trumpets and the seven bowls of God's wrath. Because the number seven denotes divine completeness as a whole the seven letters form a whole unit which has a message to the church universal; there are more than seven churches in Asia, for example Colossi has been omitted. In 1:11 John is commanded to 'write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea'. In verse 13 we see Christ among the lampstands, that is the seven churches, and in the letters we find out what he observed as he walks among the seven churches (2:1). Our Lord is one who walks among the churches and sees their deeds both good and bad. The seven churches represent the different imperfections that are likely to be found in individual churches in different localities and at different times. The churches give us a template against which we can measure our church in order to see our weaknesses and strengths, he also gives us the remedy for our deficiencies.
In this preliminary section God is judging His church in order to purify it from sin within so that it will be able to stand up to the coming persecution and also so that it will not be condemned along with the world (1 Cor 11:32), see the warning in Rev 18:4 to come out of Babylon lest we share in her sins and her judgement. This judgement is depicted later in the sections of the seven trumpets, the seven bowls, the judgement of the harlot and the day of judgement. Pergamum is warned about the Balaamite teaching concerning idolatry and immorality, Thyatira is warned about the false prophet Jezebel who misleads the church into idolatry and immorality. Laodicea thinks it is rich but actually it is poor, but we find that those whom the Lord loves he rebukes and disciplines. Here God warns the church because the world is infiltrating the church, but later the seven trumpets are warnings to the world to repent of its idolatry and its results which include sexual immorality. The harlot Babylon which seduces the people of the world is herself destroyed by fire.
Smyrna and Philadelphia are both troubled by false Jews who slander her, later we find the 144,000 who are sealed by God to protect them from the seven trumpets, these are the true Jews, the Israel of God, who we later see as a great multitude. Smyrna is warned that a period of Satanic testing is coming and they must be faithful unto death and in 12:17 we find Satan making war against the saints and in chapter 13 we find that the beast from the sea making war against the saints and conquering them. We find that those who would not worship the beast are killed and yet in 15:2 there are those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and his name.
Ephesus was sound in doctrine and persevered under hardship, neither the world or persecution was the problem. However they had lost their first love, for Christ and each other and had therefore almost become sub-Christian. John, as his first epistle makes clear, considers love to be the essential response to God's love; 'We love because God first loved us' (1 John 4:19); 'Whoever loves God must also love his brother' (1 John 4:21). One of the features of the churches witness was that her members love each other (John 13:34-35), it is not an option it is a commandment. God's counterpart to the hatred of the world is to be the love of Christians for each other. The church in Sardis was on the verge of death and was hardly in a position to withstand attack from the world and its values. Similarly the church in Laodicea was in danger of receiving the world's values.
In verse 1:19 he commands John to 'Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later'. The letters to the seven churches form a unit as to 'what is now' and the rest of Revelation concerns 'what will take place later'.
The letters follow a general sevenfold pattern:
- A greeting. To the angel of the church.
- A reference to Christ's self designation from Rev 1:12-19, this has some application to the letter to the church.
- A commendation. I know your deeds... (except in case of Laodicea and Pergamum).
- A rebuke if applicable (except in case of Smyrna and Philadelphia).
- A charge to repent or a warning.
- A call to hear. The phrase 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches'.
- A promise. The phrase 'To him who overcomes' followed by a reference to a reward mentioned later in Revelation.
Dr A T Pierson (quoted by Lang) pointed out that these promises at the end of each letter follow an historical order. The tree of life refers back to Eden; the second death to the fall; the hidden manna to the manna in the desert; the white stone to the engraved stones on the high priest's shoulder and breastplate; the rod of iron to Moses holding the rod of God for the defeat of Amalek (Ex 17:8); the white raiment to the garments of the priests; the pillar in the temple to those in the temple of Solomon; and the sitting on the throne to Solomon's reign in glory and peace.
Lang points out that there are three aspects under which these letters may be considered.
- As a description by the Lord of the state of the seven churches of believers then existing (preterist).
- As a prophetic foreview of the Christian age then commenced and to conclude at the coming of the Lord (historicist).
- As a revelation of the moral characteristics of churches found always throughout the age (idealist).
The first (i) is obvious but these were chosen out of all the churches then existing because these reveal the states of every church in all ages, the number seven, the number of completeness suggests this.
The second (ii) is a widely held belief that these seven church in the order used, foreshadow a progressive development of the church throughout church history.
a. the first letter reveals the beginning of declension in the waning of first love, and the last (Laodicea) shows the final outcome of this in rejection by the Lord.
b. The meaning of the name of each church corresponds to the historic feature of the stage assigned to each.
c. The history of the Christian age has in fact followed the stages thus obscurely outlined in advance.
Trench has given a summary of the history of this interpretation and offers these reasons against it.
i. The Letters themselves contain no hint of a prophetic period sense.
ii. The scheme is not known to the apostolic, the post apostolic or even the following sub apostolic age.
iii. The advocates of this interpretation vary greatly among themselves in their distribution of the periods, examples of which of which divergence are given.
iv. There is no truly accurate correspondence of Letters with periods.
One of the themes that runs through the letters are the promises of rewards to those who overcome. Clearly Jesus is the model of one who overcame (3:21). In Johns first epistle we read of those young men within whom the word of God lives who overcome the evil one (1 John 2:14); those who overcome the antichrist because Jesus within them is greater that Satan (1 John 4:4); those who overcome the world by faith (1 John 5:4). Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God (1 John 5:5). In John 16:33 Jesus tells his disciples that in the world they will have trouble but not to fear because he has overcome the world.
The rewards for those who overcome involve a share in Christ himself:
- Will eat of the tree of life watered by the river of life whose source is Christ (2:7).
- Will receive the hidden manna which is Christ the true bread which comes down from heaven (2:17).
- Will share in Christ's authority over the nations (2:26).
- Will walk with Christ dressed in white (3:4).
- Will write on him my new name (3:12).
- Will sit with Christ on his throne (3:21).
The letters to the seven churches are integral to the book because they refer to the vision of Christ and the new Jerusalem at the end of the book. In the letters he prepares and purifies the church so that it can withstand the coming assaults on it by its enemies: Satan, the beast, the false prophet, the world and its seduction which are described in the rest of the book.
Summary of the condition of the churches:
i. Commended with nothing against:
Smyrna: Materially poor but spiritually rich, enduring affliction, slandered and persecuted.
Philadelphia: Open door, little strength, kept his word, had not denied his name, endured patiently.
ii. Commended but with things against.
Ephesus: Hard work, perseverance, have not grown weary, cannot tolerate wicked men but had lost their love.
Pergamum: Live where Satan has his throne, Antipas was martyred, remain true to his name did not renounce their faith, but some hold to teaching of Balaam.
Thyatira: Have growing love and faith but tolerate the false teaching of Jezebel.
iii. Nothing to commend.
Sardis: Reputation of being alive but spiritually dead. Wake-up
Laodicea: Lukewarm, materially rich but spiritually poor, blind and naked. About to be spewed out.
Ramsey notes that the descriptions of the churches in all their imperfection serves to define the limits within which the church may exist, yet all of them are part of the church of Christ despite their imperfections
We can see in the letters to the seven churches examples of how Satan wages war against the church (Rev 12:17). In Rev 13 we see the beast out of the sea who persecutes the church and the beast out of the earth who is the false prophet. This is true to the character of Satan who is a murderer and a liar (John 8:44). In the seven churches we can see how Satan wages war against the church by persecution and slander (lies) from outside and false prophets within.
2.1. Ephesus (2:1)
2:1 "To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:
These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: 2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. 4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. 5 Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. 6 But you have this in your favour: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
Key phrase: You have forsaken your first love
There is much information in the bible about the church at Ephesus. The church at Ephesus was founded by Paul where he reasoned with the Jews, he left Priscilla and Aquila there (Acts 18:19). Paul came back to Ephesus and found some disciples who had not received the Holy Spirit, they had only been baptised into John's baptism, when they were baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus the Holy Spirit came upon them (Acts 19:1-7). Paul spoke in the synagogue for three months (Acts 19:8) and then in the lecture hall of Tyrannus for 2 years (Acts 19:9-10). Then there was a disturbance because of the fertility goddess Artemis who brought the Ephesians wealth through making silver images of her (Acts 19:23), they were afraid that through Paul's preaching about Christ they would lose business. Paul left Timothy at Ephesus (1 Tim 1:3). He said good-bye to the elders of Ephesus at Miletus before going to Jerusalem (Acts 20:17-38) where he warned them that savage wolves will come in among them (Acts 20:29).
He also wrote to the Ephesians a long letter from which it is clear that they were a mature church. It is also thought that the apostle John and Mary, Jesus mother, settled at Ephesus. Some two-and-a-half centuries after Paul preached in Ephesus, the city hall was converted into a church and later used by the Council of Ephesus, which in 431 AD formally accepted the teaching that Jesus was both fully human and fully divine (Hill).
Ephesus was the most important city of proconsular Asia. Situated at the mouth of the Cayster River on a gulf of the Aegean Sea, it flourished as an important commercial and export centre for Asia. By NT times it had grown to at least 250,000 people (Mounce). From the island of Patmos Ephesus would be the first church you would come to. The nearest seaport to Patmos is Miletus (Acts 20:15) and then you would follow the coast road to Ephesus, but Ephesus also had its own more important port so you could go direct by ship from Patmos to Ephesus.
Ramsay has this to say about Ephesus. In the Roman province of Asia, Pergamum, the old capital of the kings, continued to be the titular capital, but Ephesus, as the chief harbour of Asia looking towards the west, was far more important than an ordinary city of the province. It was the gate of the province, both on the seaway to Rome, and also on the great central highway leading from Syria by Corinth and Brundisium to Rome. The Roman governors naturally fell into the habit of entering the province by way of Ephesus, for there was, one might almost say, no other way at first, and this custom soon became a binding rule, with uninterrupted precedents to guarantee it. After the harbour of Ephesus had grown more difficult of access in the second century, and other harbours (probably Smyrna in particular) began to contest its right to be the official port of entrance, Emperor Caracalla confirmed the custom of "First Landing" at Ephesus by the imperial rescript.
v1 - "To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: - Possibly the angel of the church means to the spirit of the church, that is, symbolising the churches. It could also mean guardian angel or elder. We should note here that it is Jesus himself dictating the letters to the seven churches, John is the amanuensis. As with Revelation itself (see 1:1) the letters claim direct divine authorship rather than divine inspiration of a human writer. It is appropriate that the last letter to the church which would sustain the church through trials and tribulation over the coming centuries should come with the highest authority. It is Christ's own evaluation and description of the condition of the churches together with His remedy for any defects.
v1 - These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: - This is a repetition of his self designation from 1:13 and 1:16. A reference to his self designation is repeated for each of the seven churches. He holds the seven stars in his right hand, the seven stars are the seven angels of the church, this probably means that he determines the destiny of the churches. He walks among the seven churches and therefore he knows them intimately.
v2 - I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. - I know your deeds, a commendation, common to all the churches except Smyrna (I know your affliction and your poverty) and Pergamum (I know where you live - where Satan has his throne). Jesus is one who knows our condition because he walks among the seven lampstands. They had hard work (kopos) and perseverance; Paul commended the Thessalonians because of their work produced by faith, their labour (kopos) prompted by love (agapao) and their endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thess 1:3). The church in Thyatira is commended for their love and faith, service and perseverance (2:19). They had taken heed of Paul's warning to them when he left the elders that false prophets would arise out of their midst, Acts 20:28, 2 Cor 11:12. These men would be like savage wolves among a flock of sheep, they will distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them, Paul warned them to be on their guard against such false prophets. The Ephesians had tested the doctrine of these men and their lives and found them to be false. Jesus tells us that we will recognise false prophets by their fruit, that is their lives and the results of their doctrine. In 1 Thess 5:21 we are to test everything and hold on to the good, in 1 Cor 14:29 when two or three prophets speak the others should carefully weigh what is said. 1 John 4:1 warns us to test the spirits to see whether they are from God. 2 Peter 2 and Jude give descriptions of these people: they introduce destructive heresies, they exploit the people with stories they have made up, they will have shameful ways, they follow their own sinful ways and despise authority, they are bold and arrogant. They change the grace of our God into a license for immorality, these men are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage. In particular they are greedy for money.
v3 - You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. - A commendation, again it repeats the previous verse, they have endured for his name though not through love but through duty. Compare 'endured hardships' (kopiao) with 'hard work' (kopos) in verse 2, in Greek kopiao is a derivative of kopos.
v4 - Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. - Rebuke: they had deeds but not their love for each other and Jesus as at first. The word used for love is agape a stronger form of love rather than phileo which is brotherly love. Agape most characterises the love that Christ has for us which is a deeply committed love and which depends more on the nature of the giver than the attractiveness of the one loved (cf. eros the love between lovers). We are to love one another as Christ has loved us (John 13:34), agape love and not just brotherly love. It is likely that they had lost their initial love for Christ which resulted in a lack of love for each other. This is the great test for the saints, do they love one another (1 Cor 13:3, John 13:35). Their testing of everyone to see whether they are false apostles or false brethren had created an atmosphere of mutual distrust in which love could not grow (Mounce).
v5 - Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. -
Jesus now gives three steps to recovery:
i. Remember your former condition (stop and recall your love in the past, realise your current position and compare to how you used to be).
ii. Repent (change your direction, stop doing the negative)
iii. Do the things you did at first (do the positive, repentance is not just turning from wrong but also doing what is right).
Repentance does not merely involve us in stopping doing bad things but learning to do good things (Isa 1:16-17). We are to produce fruit in keeping with repentance (Mat 3:8). 'Do the things you did at first' their love was to be practical (1 John 3:16-18, James 2:14-17. The positive thing is to love one another as Christ loved us (John 13:34-35, Rom 13:8, 1 Pet 1:22, 1 John 3:11 ff.). A survey of the term 'one another' in the NT indicates that in practise this means: agreeing with one another, forgiving one another as God forgave us, being patient with one another, encouraging one another, spurring one another on toward love and good deeds, not judging or slandering one another, offering hospitality to one another.
v5 - If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place - Warning that the church will die if they do not repent. There is no church at Ephesus today. The KJV has 'come unto thee quickly' which emphasises the suddenness of his judgement and that therefore they should repent quickly (cf 2 Pet 3:9).
v6 - But you have this in your favour: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. - A commendation, Nicolations: followers of Nicolas of Antioch, not much is known other than in the book itself, see also Rev 2:15, the Nicolations and 'those who hold the teaching of Balaam' (2:14) and the followers of the woman Jezebel (2:20) represent the same group of heretics. There is a play on words here because the name Nicolaus can be derived from the two Greek words, nikan, to conquer, and laos, the people. Balaam can be derived from the two Hebrew words, bela, to conquer, and ha'am, the people. The two names, then are the same and both can describe an evil teacher, who has won victory over the people and subjugated them to poisonous heresy (Barclay). Just as Satan uses the beast to conquer (nikao) the saints from without (11:7, 13:7) so he uses false prophets to conquer the church from within, see also the reference to the Nicolaitans in the letter to Pergamum (2:15). It is likely that they took a laxer view of pagan society than did Jesus Christ, by allowing food offered to idols to be eaten and sexual immorality (2:14 and 2:20) they compromised with the world.
v7 - 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches, - A personal challenge to the members of the churches and a general invitation to the individuals who hear the words of this book, to take its message to heart (Rev 1:3, Mat 13:15-16). A similar phrase is used in the gospels by Jesus (Mat 11:15, Mark 4:9, Luke 8:8). The phrase 'He who has an ear' is repeated in Rev 13:9. Note, it is what the Spirit says to the churches, this message is for us today. This book has a number of authors, God, Jesus Christ, John, and here the Spirit (see 1:1-2, 11). The book must be spiritually interpreted, we need to discern what the Spirit is say to the churches. For the Spirits involvement in this book see also 1:4, 3:1, 4:2, 4:5, 5:6, 14:13, 17:3, 21:10, 22:17.
v7 - To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. - Once again this is a personal rather than a corporate challenge. In the letter to each church there is a promise to the one who overcomes, meaning he who conquers, Rom 8:37. From the contents of the letter, the person who overcomes is the one who repents of his lack of love and finds his first love again. The letters to the seven churches are very much in harmony with the rest of the book, the promises to those who overcome always refer in all seven letters to something mentioned later in the book, for example, the tree of life in Rev 22:2. In 22:14 those who wash their robes have the right to the tree of life and enter into the city. And in 22:19 if anyone takes words away from Revelation God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city. The paradise of God is also mentioned in Luke 23:43, 2 Cor 12:2. In 22:2 the tree of life is on each side of the river of life which flowed from the throne of God and the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city which is the New Jerusalem. The New Jerusalem is therefore the paradise of God. The tree of life takes its water from the river of life whose source is Christ. The fruit of the tree of life confers eternal life on those who eat it (Gen 3:22).
Rewards are part of God's purposes in motivating his people and in Revelation we see the rewards of the overcomers and the rewards of the cowardly, one leads to eternal life the other leads to the second death. Lang remarks that Ephesus had toiled and endured, and as to the body of their labours, the external efforts, they had not grown weary. But the inner life had felt the strain; in heart affection to Christ they had lapsed and fallen. The inner man needed renewing. He who repented, and found again this inward invigoration of love to Christ, and so overcame personally the general defeat, should be blessed correspondingly in the day of reward -- he should find permanent strength and satisfaction in the fruit of the tree of life (Lang).
2.2. Smyrna (2:8)
Rev 2:8 "To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:
These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. 9 I know your afflictions and your poverty--yet you are rich! I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.
11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.
Key phrase: Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.
Smyrna is today called the city of Izmir, it lies about 35 miles north of Ephesus on the Aegean coast of Turkey. It has an excellent harbour. It had a strong allegiance to Rome and in 195 BC it became the first city in the ancient world to build a temple in honour of Dea Roma. Later in 23 BC, Smyrna won permission to build a temple to the emperor Tiberius. The strong allegiance to Rome plus a large Jewish population which was actively hostile to the Christians made it exceptionally difficult to live as a Christian in Smyrna. The most famous martyrdom of the early church fathers was of the elderly Polycarp, the 'twelfth martyr in Smyrna', who, upon his refusal to acknowledge Caesar as Lord, was placed upon a pyre to be burned (Mounce). There is still an active church in the city today.
v8 - "To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again - This a repetition of his self designation, see Rev 1:17-18. He is the first and the last word in human history and therefore is sovereign over what is in between (xxxx). Through him the world was created and human history will end when he comes again. He died and came to life again and hence conquered death, he is the firstborn of many brothers, this should be of comfort to those in Smyrna who are about to be persecuted and some will die.
v9 - I know your afflictions and your poverty--yet you are rich! - For the other churches (except Pergamum) Christ says 'I know your deeds' but here he says 'I know your affliction and your poverty - yet you are rich'. They were physically poor but spiritually rich, contrast this with the Laodiceans who thought that they were rich but were poor, 3:17 (Jam 2:5). Physically the church in Smyrna suffered from persecution from the Jews and they were poor, they had few luxuries and possessions, yet spiritually they were rich in the sight of Christ. Jesus sees their affliction, he knows about it, this must be of comfort to this persecuted church.
v9 - I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. - Again he says 'I know the slander...' he sees their situation, he is aware of it and its injustice, once again this must bring comfort to this church. These Jews follow Satan in slandering God's people, the word Satan means accuser (12:10), but the Devil means slanderer. Behind these Jews stands Satan; it is he, not Abraham, who is their spiritual father, John 8:44, (Wilcock). Slander, that is telling lies to blacken the character of people, is one of Satan's weapons against the church, see the river of lies, Rev 12:15. Again in the letter to Philadelphia there is a reference to those who claim but to be Jews but are liars, they are actually a synagogue of Satan (3:9). See also other examples of Jewish antagonism in Acts 13:45, 14:2, 17:5, 18:6, 25:7. Paul defines a real Jew not as one physically circumcised but as one circumcised in the heart by the Spirit (Rom 2:29) and who believes God just as Abraham believed God (Gal 3:6-7).
v10 - Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. - Here we find John's first warning concerning the persecution of the Church, the second occurs in the letter to the church in Pergamum. First Christ counsels them not to be afraid of what they are about to suffer. Christ by telling them beforehand is indicating that, as the all knowing God, it is part of his plan and under his control. In John 16:33 Jesus tells his disciples that in world they will have tribulation, but to take courage; he has overcome the world, cf. 3:21, 5:5. In Luke 12:4 Jesus warns us not to fear man who can kill the body but do no more, we should fear God who, when the body is dead, can cast us into hell. 1 Pet 3:13-18 tells us not to be afraid if we suffer for doing right, we have the example of Jesus who died for doing right but he was raised again (cf. 1 Pet 2:19-25, Isa 51:7-8). Ten days is a limited, but complete, period of time known by God, note that Daniel asked to be tested for ten days to see whether he would still look well on a diet of vegetables (Dan 1:12). The devil will put some of them in prison to test them, not the devil himself but using his human subjects just as he uses the beast to wage war against God's servants later, 11:7, 13:7. The Lord encourages them to be faithful by stressing the reward that this will bring them just as he did in Mat 5:10-12 in which those who are persecuted because of Him will have a great reward in heaven. There were in fact ten periods of persecution during the time of the Roman Empire until the 'conversion' of Constantine in 316 AD (Hill). Christ is aware of what is about to happen to them, but he does not intervene because it is for their ultimate good that they be tested even unto death so that they will receive the great reward of the crown of life spoken of by James. Just as Jesus overcame by dying, so the saints overcome by being faithful even to the point of death. The church of Pergamum did not renounce their faith in the face of martyrdom, 2:13. The fact that Christ died and came to life again (v8) also ensures that even though they die they will live again.
v10 - Be faithful, even to the point of death and I will give you the crown of life. - By dying they will gain their (eternal) life (John 12:25). He who stands firm to the end will be saved. Martyrdom is a common theme in the book, but there is also a promise that he will receive the crown of (eternal) life. Jesus had already conquered death, he came to life again, verse 8. They will be tested, this is in harmony with the rest of scripture, after which they will receive the crown of life, Jam 1:12. They must be faithful unto death to receive the crown of life, a wonderful Christian paradox, John 12:25. The word for crown used here is the victors crown (stephanos), rather than the royal crown (diadema), which is appropriate for those who have overcome i.e. won the victory. The crown of life is eternal life, which is signified by the water of life and the tree of life later in Rev 22:1. Here in one line is the message of the book of Revelation: Be faithful, even to the point of death and I will give you the crown of life. This message is further expanded in the death of the two witnesses (11:7) and later when the beast wages war on the saints and overcomes them (13:7), but in both cases God vindicates his servants because the two witnesses are raised to life again (11:11) and we find those who are victorious over the beast praising God in heaven (15:2).
v11 - He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death. - Note the formula: 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches', we need to heed what is being said here. This verse again emphasises the reward for being faithful, even to the point of death, the far worse second death will not hurt them (21:7-8). The second death is contrasted with the crown of life of v10, the second death is lake of fire, Rev 20:14. It takes only a short while to endure the pain of the first death even as a martyr, the pain of the second death lasts for eternity. Those who endure to the end (Mat 10:22, 2 Tim 2:12) and are faithful to the death will be saved from the lake of fire. Note how the saints in 12:11 overcome Satan, who is mentioned here as the devil v10, 'by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death'.
2.3. Pergamum (2:12)
Rev 2:12 "To the angel of the church in Pergamum write:
These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. 13 I know where you live--where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city--where Satan lives.
14 Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality. 15 Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.
Key phrase: I know where you live--where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name.
This capital city is where Satan has his throne, the serpent, the symbol of healing of the pagan god Asclepius was everywhere in the city. It was also a centre of Caesar worship, it had a temple dedicated to Rome and it also had many heathen temples.
v12 - "To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. - The double-edged sword is a reference to the Word of God, Heb 4:16 see also Rev 1:16, 19:15. He will use this sword to fight against the Balaamites and Nicolaitans in v16.
v13 - I know where you live--where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city--where Satan lives. - In the case of the other church (except Smyrna) Jesus says 'I know your deed' here he says 'I know where you live--where Satan has his throne', he knows that they are living where Satan seemingly reigns, this must bring comfort to the church. Pergamum was a centre of both pagan religion and Caesar worship, Asclepius the serpent God of healing was worshipped there and so the city can truly be described as one where Satan reigns, i.e. has his throne. However this is precisely the place where Christians are to witness, c.f. 'Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified' (11:8). The Greek word used here for witness is martys, thus by the witness of his life and death Antipas bore witness to Jesus, becoming an example for much of the book later. Jesus knows our circumstances, he knows that the church at Pergamum is where Satan has his throne, he knows about the martyrdom of Antipas this should bring comfort to the saints. Jesus is the faithful witness (1:5), Antipas is one who followed the example of Jesus and remained faithful unto death (2:10, 14:12), just as Christ remained faithful until death, and is called here my faithful witness; being faithful under persecution is one of the key messages of revelation. But after death Christ rose again, just as the two witnesses came to life again (11:11). In Revelation we find those who died for the sake of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus, but they are alive in heaven and will live for eternity as they drink from the waters of life. Just as Christ's death brings many sons to glory so the death of the martyrs is a necessary part of God's plan for the world. As Caird states martyrdom is price God's people pay for God's patience with the world. The martyrs are the seed bed of the church and the death of the martyrs acts as a testimony to men and will result in some people coming to repentance. The testimony of God's people through their life and death is a part of God's plan, just as the life and death of Jesus was.
v14 - Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality. - While the church coped with the external threat of persecution it did not deal with the threat from within the church. They had been infiltrated by Satan's servants who introduce destructive heresies. The book of Revelation is largely about the external enemies of the church yet we must not forget the false prophets within the church. The word of God warns us about false prophets, Mat 7:15, 24:24, 2 Pet 2:1, 1 John 4:1. In the letters to the seven churches Jesus is purifying his church so that it will cope with the coming persecution. For Balaam the false prophet see Numbers 22-25:3, 31:16, 2 Pet 2:15. He enticed God's people to commit sexual immorality and bow down and eat food offered to idols, Num 31:16. These sins all involve spiritual and physical compromise with the world, the church of God is to be blameless and holy (11:2, 14:4-5, 20:6, 21:2). Idols are mentioned because God wants to purify his church of anything that resembles idolatry (2 Cor 6:12-7:1 cf. Rev 18:4) which is the fundamental sin of those who worship the beast and his image (cf. 13:14-15, 14:7, 9-12).
v14 - eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality - These are the same things mentioned in the letter to Thyatira, there they tolerated the woman Jezebel, who called herself a prophetess, but who by her teaching misleads God's servants into sexual immorality and eating food sacrificed to idols, Rev 2:20. Paul covers these topics in 1 Cor they are also mentioned in Acts 15:28, these are clearly matters that troubled the Christians of the time, see Acts 15:28-29, 1 Cor 6:18, 8:1. They involve compromise with the world, the church is to be holy and separate from the world, in the world but not of it. John was clearly concerned by idolatry (1 John 5:21).
v15 - Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. - For the relationship between the Nicolations and Balaam see Rev 2:6 in the letter to the Ephesians. They permitted compromise with the world. This heresy is one that all God's people are tempted with throughout church history, it is nothing new. Another OT figure, Jezebel, is used while describing the same sins in Rev 2:20 again she compromises with the world. The saints are to be pure for they are the bride of Christ, Rev 14:4. False teaching is one of Satan's main weapons against the church, see his river of lies (12:15). If he cannot destroy the church from without he will try to destroy it from within, in 2 Cor 11:13-15 Paul talks about Satan's servants masquerading as apostles of Christ.
v16 - Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. - Christ first commands them to repent, that is the whole church for allowing this sin within and in particular those actually committing the sin, but if they do not then He will fight against them, that is those who hold to the teachings of the Nicolations, not against the church as a whole. He will fight against them with the word of God, compare with the description of Christ at his second coming in Rev 19:15 in which he will strike down the nations with the sword that comes out of his mouth. This could therefore be a reference to the second coming which is also mentioned in the letter to the church in Sardis (3:3), or it could refer to some other judgement.
v17 - He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it. - Note the formula: 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches', we need to heed what is being said here. Manna was the daily food for the Israelites in the desert (Exo 16:31, Psa 78:24), it alludes to the proper heavenly food that is Christ (John 6:57-58) in contrast to the food offered to idols. There could also be a connection to the fruit of the tree of life, 'If anyone eats of this bread (i.e. Christ), he will live forever' (John 6:51). In the ancient law courts white and black stones were used for registering the verdicts of Juries, black for condemnation and white for acquittal. This would mean that the Christian is acquitted in God's sight because of the work of Jesus Christ (Barclay). In the ancient world there was a common custom to carry a charm or amulet. It could be just a pebble on which there was a sacred name.
To know a God's name was to have a certain power over him and to summon him in times of difficulty. It was thought to be doubly effective if no one else knew the name inscribed on it (Barclay). Lang remarks that Pergamum was tempted to eat defiled food, but he who defeated this temptation should eat of the sacred food of heaven, Christ, now hidden from men. Each who held fast the profession of His name, when it meant death to do this, shall receive His right to use His new name in the kingdom. Isaiah said that God would give his people a new name (Isa 62:2). As well as a new name in Revelation there are references to the new Jerusalem (3:12, 21:2), a new song (5:9, 14:3), a new heaven and new earth (21:1) and in 21:5 God says 'I am making everything new'. The new name would be appropriate to a new life and status in God's new creation and society. The old order of things has passed away, the saints will live in a new body and the new name signifies the demise of the old life lived in a decaying body amidst a corrupt world and the start of a new incorruptible life. The new song could only be learned by those redeemed from the earth and the new name is part of ones reward for remaining faithful to Jesus while on the old earth. It is interesting to note that Sarai, Abram and Israel all were given a new name by God to denote a change from their old life to a life after some new revelation of God (Gen 17:5, 15, 32:28).
Sandford says the following about the white stone; "Alchemists were fond of speaking of the 'lapis lazuli,' or white stone (actually a rich azure or sky-blue)... ...Alchemists sought by science and discipline to build themselves into perfected stones - actually to become the white stone by which they could possess total knowledge and wisdom... ... On the island of Patmos, whether or not John was aware of alchemy, the Holy Spirit certainly was, and the Lord promised, [quotes Rev. 2:17]. In Hebrew culture, a white stone was given to a man who had been forgiven great sins. Wearing the stone was a sign that he had been forgiven. But the Holy Spirit may also be saying something like this: 'To him who overcomes will I give a perfected soul; no one has to study alchemy to achieve it.' Every Christian is in the process of being transformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ, which will finally be accomplished in 'the twinkling of an eye' (1 Cor. 15:52) - as a gift and not by alchemic science or its modern counterpart, New Age humanism."
2.4. Thyatira (2:18)
Rev 2:18 "To the angel of the church in Thyatira write:
These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. 19 I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first. 20 Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. 21 I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. 22 So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. 23 I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds. 24 Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan's so-called deep secrets (I will not impose any other burden on you): 25 Only hold on to what you have until I come.
26 To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations--
27 'He will rule them with an iron sceptre; he will dash them to pieces like pottery' --
just as I have received authority from my Father. 28 I will also give him the morning star. 29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Key phrase: Only hold on to what you have until I come.
The city of Thyatira is now Akhisar. The city was on the trade route south east of the capital Pergamum and a period of great prosperity and increase was only beginning when the seven letters were written. More trade guilds were known in Thyatira than any other Asian city. The inscriptions mention the following: wood workers, linen workers, makers of outer garments, dryers, leather workers, tanners, potters, bakers, slave dealers and bronzesmiths (Ramsay). The woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth came from the city of Thyatira, (Acts 16:14).
v18 - "To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. - Here he clearly identifies himself with the 'someone "like a son of man"' from 1:13 as the Son of God. His blazing eyes see everything, this repeats the description found in 1:14-15. The church in Thyatira was in a city which was a centre for the worship of Apollo, known as the 'son of God' because he was supposed to be the son of Zeus. The message is therefore sent from the true 'Son of God'. Thyatira was a centre for making the image of the all-seeing eye, little glass images which are still on sale today to tourists (Hill). Thyatira was famous for the manufacture of purple dye, and numerous references are found in secular literature of the period to the trade guilds which manufactured cloth (Swete quoted by Walvoord). Lydia was a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, Acts 16:14. Purple cloth was only worn by the wealthy (Luke 16:19, Rev 17:4)
v19 - I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first. - Compare this church to the Ephesians who lost their first love, and the almost dead Sardis. Notice that their love produced service and their faith produced perseverance, they were doing more than they did at first, theirs was not a dead faith, it was a growing faith (cf. 1 Thess 1:3).
v20 - Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. - Despite their growing love and faith they tolerated evil in the form of Jezebel in their midst, she calls herself a prophetess but is in fact a false prophetess (Jezebel is transliterated from the Hebrew 'Izevel meaning, ironically, chaste [Zodhiates]). Compare this church to the Ephesians who did not tolerate wicked men (Rev 2:2), Ephesus had truth and lost their love, but they had love but lost their love of the truth and permitted impure doctrine to be taught in the church resulting in impure acts. They had not guarded the truth entrusted to them, the church leaders had not guarded their flock as those in Ephesus had. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth (1 Cor 13:6). Doctrinal error leads to immorality but the truth leads to godliness (Tit 1:1). Sexual immorality and eating food sacrificed to idols are the same sins are mentioned at Pergamum. Jezebel brought idolatry into Ahab's life, she urged him on in evil (1 King 21:25-26), especially idolatry and persecuted the prophets (2 King 9:7), note that as with Balaam in the letter to Pergamum in Rev 2:14 a famous OT figure is used to heighten the imagery. He also uses the word Jezebel because that is how God sees the prophetess. Jezebel killed the true prophets of God (1 King 18:4) and by her teaching here she is bringing spiritual death to those who follow her.
Since sexual immorality and eating sacrificed food to idols are mentioned in Acts 15:20 and in Corinthians 6:18, 8:1, we should take it literally. Eating food offered to idols would be a temptation with respect to the trade guilds which would have feasts involving food offered to idols and possibly sexual immorality. Once again spiritual compromise is warned against, James 4:4 warns that friendship with the world is hatred towards God, it is a form of spiritual adultery. In 18:4 the saints are warned to come out of Babylon so that they will not share in her sins or her punishment. The reason for his intolerance of evil is that he wants his bride to be pure cf. 14:4-5, Eph 5:27. See also comments on 2:14.
v21 - I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. - Here we see God's patience and mans response. Delayed punishment does not mean that punishment does not come in the end (xxxx).
v22 - So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. - They do not physically commit adultery with her, that is Jezebel, but they follow her example. She is repaid according to her deeds (v 23) as are those who follow her, this is conditional since they can repent. Contrast the bed of suffering with the bed of adultery (Ladd). Thyatira was famous for its purple cloth which the harlot woman Babylon also wears in Rev 17:4 and in 18:4 God commands his people to come out of her 'so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues'.
v23 - I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds. - This punishment will make all the churches aware that Jesus sees all and is intimately concerned with what they do. 'I am he who searches hearts and minds', see v18 'whose eyes are like blazing fire'. He repays each person according to what they have done (Psa 62:12, Isa 62:11, Jer 17:10, also Mat 16:27, 1 Cor 4:5, Rev 20:12, 22:12), in this verse judgement of her deeds is in this life. The similar references later in Revelation refer to the judgement of earthly deeds which occurs after death, in Rev 20:12 in which after death each person was judged by what they had done and 22:12 in which rewards are according to what people have done, indicating the importance of deeds done in this life, which is one of the important messages of Revelation, see also 14:13 in which their deeds follow them. We take our deeds with us into the next life to be judged and we are rewarded or punished.
v24 - Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan's so-called deep secrets (I will not impose any other burden on you): - To those who resist sexual immorality and eating food offered to idols, and do not compromise with the world he does impose any other burden on them, see Acts 15:28. To learn Satan's so called deep secrets one has to plumb the depths of wickedness in order to appreciate God's grace.
v25 - Only hold on to what you have until I come. - He only commands them to hold onto what they have (their deeds, love and faith, their service and perseverance) until he comes, the second coming or death whichever is earlier, Heb 3:14. He also told the church of Philadelphia to hold on to what they had, so that no one would take their crown (3:11). Compare this with John's injunction in 2 John 1:8 to 'Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully'.
v26 - To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations - This is the only instance where overcoming is defined in the specific terms of doing His will. The saints must follow the example of Jesus who did his Father's will to the end, even to the cross (John 4:34, 6:38, Mat 26:39). We see the saints having authority over nations in 20:4 when the martyrs reign with Christ for a thousand years. In Mat 10:22 we are warned to stand firm to the end during persecution and we will be saved. We see hints of the saints authority over nations in 1 Cor 6:3 they judge angels, in Rev 5:10 they reign on the earth, in Mat 19:28 they judge the twelve tribes of Israel. There is an echo from Psa 2:8 here 'Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession', v9 of which is quoted in the next verse.
v27 - 'He will rule them with an iron sceptre; he will dash them to pieces like pottery' -- just as I have received authority from my Father. - This is quoted from the Messianic psalm 2, verse 9, it is used also in Rev 12:5 of Jesus at his birth and Rev 19:15 when Christ comes again. To rule with an iron sceptre means to destroy rather than rule sternly. Lang remarks that Thyatira was dominated by a false seducing prophetess. He who resisted this usurping tyrant, and maintained the crown rights of Christ as Head of His Church, shall himself be a ruler in the day of Christ. We have Jesus as our example of an overcomer, see also the letter to Laodicea in which those who overcome will sit with him on his throne just as he overcame and sat with his Father on his throne (3:21).
v28 - I will also give him the morning star - The Morning star refers to Jesus himself, see Rev 22:16, in which he is described as the bright morning star, and in 2 Pet 1:19 it refers to the second coming when 'the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts', Isa 14:12 speaks of the morning star as 'son of the dawn' but referring to Lucifer. The morning star is figurative of the approach of the day when He will appear as the 'sun of righteousness' (Vine). There are other scriptures which depict the righteous shining like stars (Dan 12:3, Phil 2:15). Thus they will receive a special interest in Christ himself.
v29 - He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. - Note the formula: 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches', we all need to heed what is being said here.