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Commentary on Revelation

Chapter 2

The messages to the seven churches

The message to Ephesus

Rev. 2:1 "To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: 'The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. 2 "'I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear evil men but have tested those who call themselves apostles but are not, and found them to be false; 3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 Remember then from what you have fallen, repent and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. 6 Yet this you have, you hate the works 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 conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.'

Notice that each message begins by speaking to the group yet ends by speaking to the individual. Ephesus was called the "first and the greatest metropolis of Asia" and "the light of Asia." It was the greatest harbor in Asia. Ephesus was the greatest and wealthiest city in Asia. Ephesus was one of the few "free cities." That is, it was within its own limits self governing and could never have Roman troops garrisoned within it. Ephesus was the center of worship of Artemis or Diana. The Temple of Artemis was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Read Acts 19. Ephesus also had temples dedicated to Nero and Claudius. In Ephesus, pagan religion was at its strongest. The population was very mixed. It was a center of crime and immorality. The temple was filled with hundreds of priestesses who were sacred prostitutes. Heraclitus, the weeping philosopher, attributed his tears to the fact that no one could live in Ephesus without weeping at the immorality. Although Ephesus seemed very unpromising soil for the word of God, some of the Church's greatest triumphs occurred there. R. C. Trench wrote "Nowhere did the word of God find a kindlier soil, strike root more deeply or bear fairer fruits of faith and love." Paul stayed longer in Ephesus than in any other city (Acts 20:31). Aquila, Priscilla, and Apollos were in Ephesus (Acts 18). Paul's great farewell address was delivered to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20. Today little is left of Ephesus but ruins and it is no less than six miles from the sea. The coast is now a harborless line of sandy beach, unapproachable by a ship. The great harbor is now a marsh dense with reeds. As verse 23 implies these principles apply to all churches. In verse 1 the message is addressed to the angel yet in verse 7 it is addressed to the church itself. The Nicolaitans were a sect that developed from Nicolas, one of the first deacons in Acts 6:5, that was known for "loose thinking and loose living." Note in verse 5 that we have a coming of Christ that is clearly figurative. As in Matthew 24 it means that Jesus would come in judgment.

The message to Smyrna

8 "And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: 'The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life. 9 "'I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto 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 conquers shall not be hurt by the second death.'

Smyrna was the loveliest city in Asia. It was called the ornament of Asia, the crown of Asia, and the flower of Asia. Symrna stood at a crossroads and was a great trading city. Its harbor was Asia's safest and most convenient. Symrna was founded in 1000 B.C. as a Greek colony and destroyed in 600 B.C. by the Lydians. It was rebuilt as a planned city around 200 B.C. In a sense, Smyrna had also "died and come to life." Smyrna was a free city having cast her lot with Rome long before Rome was the undisputed leader of the world. It had erected a temple to the goddess Roma as far back as 195 B.C. The city was a center of culture housing a large library and many famous temples. It claimed to be the birthplace of Homer. The Jews in Smyrna were very influential and numerous. It was in Smyrna that Polycarp was martyred. Smyrna was a leading center of emperor worship and had a large population of hostile Jews. Its leading god was Dionysus, the god of wine. Who are the Jews that are not really Jews? In John 8:39 Jesus told some Jews that they were not truly Abraham's children. In Romans 9:6ff we see that all Israel is not Israel. In Romans 2:28-29 we see that to be a true Jew one must believe in Jesus Christ. What is the state of the Jew today? It is the same as in the days of John- their synagogue is a synagogue of Satan. See Appendix B. The 10 day tribulation may simply refer to a short period of trial. Compare Daniel 1:12 and Genesis 31:7. What about the second death? Stay tuned- we will discuss this when we reach Chapter 20.

The message to Pergamum

12 "And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: 'The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword. 13 "'I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is; you hold fast my name and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my witness, my faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 14 But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice immorality. 15 So you also have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Repent then. If not, I will come to you soon and war 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 conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone which no one knows except him who receives it.'

Pergamum was historically the most famous city in Asia. By the time of Revelation, Pergamum had been a capital city for 400 years: first of the Seleucid kingdom which appeared after Alexander the Great and then of the province of Asia formed by Rome. It was situated on a hilltop from which the Mediterranean could be seen 15 miles away. Pergamum was a center of culture surpassing even Ephesus and Symrna. It had a library which was second only to that in Alexandria. The word "parchment" is derived from "Pergamum." In the third century B.C. a Pergamene king attempted to lure away the librarian at Alexandria. The Egyptians imprisoned the librarian and banned the export of papyrus. Pergamum, in response, invented parchment from the skins of beasts. Pergamum was a great religious center housing two famous shrines. It contained a great altar to Zeus set 800 feet up on a hillside which looked much like a large throne. (Satan's throne in verse 13.) Pergamum was a center of medicine and healing by both priests and doctors. Pergamum was the administrative center of Asia and thus was a center of Caesar worship. Roman governors were divided into two groups: those who had the right of the sword and those who did not. The Pergamum governor did and thus had the right to execute Christians for any reason. Recall that Pergamum was called the "seat of Satan" and that Christ was introduced to them as the one with the "sharp two-edged sword." The word 'witness' is Greek is martus from which we get martyr. In Numbers 31:16 we see that Balaam taught King Balak to subvert Israel. Again, Jesus promises to come in judgment against these sects. Jesus is the true manna- compare John 6:31-65. Stones were given to indicate an acquittal at a trial, as a reward for heroism or victory, as passes to enter the games, or exchanged between friends. In Rev. 19:12-13 Jesus has a name that no one knows yet that name is given in verse 13. Names have special meanings in the Bible. They are often changed to indicate a change in status or circumstances. (Abram, Jacob, Simon, etc.) Thus to have a name that no one else knows is to have a status or relation that no one else can share.

The message to Thyatira

18 "And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: 'The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze. 19 "'I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. 20 But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and beguiling my servants to practice immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 21 I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her immorality. 22 Behold, I will throw her on a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her doings; 23 and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches shall know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you as your works deserve. 24 But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay upon you any other burden; 25 only hold fast what you have, until I come. 26 He who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, I will give him power over the nations, 27 and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received power from my Father; 28 and I will give him the morning star. 29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'

The longest of the seven letters was written to Thyatira, the least important of the seven cities. What importance it had was derived from its geographical location. It was on a road connecting Pergamum, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Smyrna. This made Thyatira a great commercial town. It was strategically important because it was a gateway to Pergamum, the capital of the province. It contained a garrison to act as a first line of defense against any attack. Thyatira had no special religious significance and was not a center of persecution of the Church. It was a center of trade for dye and woolens. Lydia, the seller of purple in Acts 16, came from Thyatira. It had a very large number of trade guilds. These guilds held meals in the temples where they ate meat sacrificed to idols and engaged in drunkenness and immorality. The Christians thus would refuse to join and hence suffered commercially. The big threat came from within the Church from a group who pled for compromise with the guilds. The confession that Caesar is lord was often required before one could buy and sell. The slogan of those who compromised was 'A man must live.' In verse 19 we see that the church had been patient- perhaps they had been too patient. Some believe that the "deep things of Satan" in verse 24 refers to some who felt they had a duty to experience every kind of sin. Their goal was to wallow in sin yet keep their soul unaffected. Jesus said that at this time he possessed power and authority over the nations. When will we share this power? We already do. In Romans 8:17 we are described as fellowheirs with Christ, in 1 Cor. 3:21-23 we find that the world and all things are ours, in Rev. 8:3-5 we find that our prayers have a powerful effect on the world, and in Romans 5:17 we find that we are now reigning in life through Jesus. Why then did Jesus promise them something they already had? Often a promise is simply an assurance that a present blessing will continue. Jesus' promise here means that the blessing will continue, be renewed, and be strengthened.