Revelation – Chapter 2
Message to the Seven Churches
Introduction
The basic structure of these seven letters follows the same pattern: 1) The addressee is first given, 2) The speaker/author is mentioned, 3) The divine knowledge of the speaker is asserted, 4) an assessment of good works is mentioned along with lacking areas which require repentance (not every church is confronted with works requiring repentance), 5) A promise to those who endure and remain faithful.
The Church at Ephesus (The Doctrinally
, Yet Church) • Ephesus was known as the supreme metropolis of Asia”.
• The Roman governor resided there
• It was known as a “free city” that was self-governed
• It has often been referred to as the “Vanity Fair” of the ancient world.
• Three major highways converged and was a major trade city.
• It was the center of worship for the Greek fertility “bee” goddess Artemis or Romanized as “Diana” (Acts 19:23).
• Thousands of priests/priestesses were involved in the service of the temple of Artemis.
• Priestesses were dedicated to temple prostitution.
• The Ephesus church was the orthodox church. The doctrinally pure church passionately refuted both false teaching and false prophets.Verse 1 – Again we see God’s care and concern for the church. He walks among His churches. Even churches with issues and in need of repentance, God is not seen forsaking these. Instead, He is walking among, trimming the lampstands, and maintaining the oil – God is preforming that priestly function ensuring everything is done in order that the church can shine. This of course parallels the Old Testament priestly function of maintaining the candlesticks in the tabernacle. This was done in order to provide light within the tabernacle.
Verse 2 – The speaker acknowledges the churches perseverance and resistance to false apostles.
Verse 3 – This perseverance was faithful, even to the point of hardship.
Verse 4 – The church at Ephesus had forsaken its
. This was its great sin mentioned by the speaker. Loving devotion to Christ can be lost in the midst of active service, and certainly no amount of orthodoxy can make up for a failure to love one another” (434).
Verse 5 – This verse is characterized by a call to repentance – “remember…repent…do.” Remember where you came from and your first love, change your ways, and then continue in your service to The Kingdom of God.
Verse 6 – “Christ adds a further commendation concerning the Ephesians’ hatred of the practices of the Nicolaitans (2:15) – a hatred directed at the practices of the Nicolaitans, not the people themselves (Ps 139:21). It is difficult to determine exactly who the Nicolaitans were and what they taught. Etymologically the name means conquer (or ‘consume,’ nikao) the people (laos).” (435). There is a similar reference to the Balaamites in 2:14-15 which seems similar to that of the Nicolaitans. If there is a link, it would mean the Nicolaitans taught falsely, promoted false prophets, ate foot sacrificed to idols, and participated in sexual immorality.
Verse 7 – The verse references the seconded coming of Christ; during which, all will bear witness of Him. In closure, an assertion of the omnipresence is stated. Alpha and Omega are the first and last letter in Koine Greek. Jesus Christ is the One God who is, was, and forever will be.
The Church at Smyrna (The
Church) • About 40 miles north of Ephesus.
• The city was exceptionally beautiful and large
• The city is known as the birthplace of Homer and was also an important seaport that commanded the mouth of the Hermus River valley.
• Smyrna was a wealthy city and like Ephesus, a self-governed city under Tiberius and other successive emperors.
• Among the beautiful, paved streets traversing it from east to west was the “Golden Street,” with the temples of Cybele and Zeus at either end and along which were temples to Apollo, Asclepius, and Aphrodite.
• Smyrna was a center of the emperor worship, having won the privilege from the Roman Senate in A.D. 23 of building the first temple in honor of Tiberius. Under Domitian (A.D. 81-96) emperor worship became compulsory for every Roman citizen on threat of death.
• Once a year, a citizen had to burn incense of the altar to the godhead of Caesar, after which he was issued a certificate.
• Such an act was probably considered more as an expression of political loyalty than religious worship, and all a citizen had to do was burn a pinch of incense and say, “Caesar is Lord (Kyrios).” Yet, most Christians refused to do this! Perhaps nowhere was life for a Christian more perilous than in this city of zealous emperor worship.
• About sixty years later, Polycarp was burned alive at the age of eighty-six as the “twelfth martyr in Smyrna”.
• His words have echoed through the ages: “Eighty-six years have I served Christ, and he was never done me wrong. How can I blaspheme my King was saved me?” (436-437).Verse 8 – Again, a reference to Jesus Christ (the one who died and came to life) as the eternal God manifest in the flesh.
Verse 9 – The church in Smyrna is characterized by 1) tribulation and 2) poverty. Tribulation is most likely a reference to persecution. Poverty however, most likely is a reference to physical/financial poverty. This seems to make the most sense by the statement “but you are rich”; likely being a reference to spiritual wealth.
Verse 10 – Clearly, the “tribulation” is not over as the speaker warns of more suffering which is to come. The reference to Satan throwing some into prison for ten days should be taken as a short period of time and not literal.
“In the first-century Roman world, prison was usually not punitive but the prelude to trial and execution, hence the words “Be faithful, even to the point of death (438).””
Verse 11 – The “faithful” who receive their reward from verse 10 seem to be the ones who will not be hurt by the “second death”. The second death is a reference to God’s eternal judgement. “Death was a real possibility for these believers. But far greater than the fear of physical death should be the fear of God’s eternal judgement (Luke 12:4-5)…it was reassuring indeed to hear the Lord himself say that his followers would not be harmed by the second death – viz., the lake of fire (20:14; 21:8)” (439). It should be noted, there are no instructions given to the Smyrna church to repent because a persecuted church is typically a pure church.
The Church at Pergamum – (The Church Which
Sin) • Pergamum lay about sixty-five miles north Smyrna.
• Pergamum held the official honor of being the provincial capital of Roman Asia.
• Among its notable features were its beauty and wealth; its library of nearly two hundred thousand volumes; its famous sculpture; its temples to Dionysus, Athena, Asclepius, and Demeter and the three temples to the emperor cult; its great altar to Soter Zeus; and its many palaces.
• Tradition records that in Pergamum, King Eumenes II planned to build a library to rival the one in Alexandria. Ptolemy Epiphanes of Egypt took action to stop this venture by cutting off the export of papyrus sections. It was this embargo that forced Eumenes to develop parchment, a writing material made from animal skins (439-441).Verse 12 – Another reference to God – the one with a sharp two-edged sword. This should not be taken literally; but rather as a reference to His Word (see Heb 4:12). God doesn’t need superior weaponry; His Word is enough.
Verse 13 – The Pergamum church is acknowledged for their strong faith and standing firm for the name of God. The reference to Satan’s throne “certainly refers to the fact that Pergamum was a center for worship of the pagan gods, especially the emperor cult. Pergamum was an idolatrous center; and to declare oneself in that place a Christian who worships the one true God and Savior, Jesus Christ, would certainly provoke hostility” (440). Antipas, though little is known about him, seems to have been a well-known martyr among the church who was also unwavering in his faith to the point of death.
Verse 14-15 – The Pergamum church tolerates the sinfulness of some within the church. The list of sins is 1) holding the teachings of Balaam, 2) eating food sacrificed to idols, and 3) practicing sexual immorality. Additionally, there was infiltration of the doctrine of the Nicolaitans.
Verse 16 – Again, a command is given for repentance. With the command is a warning issued to those who refuse to repent. For those apostate people, God declares He’ll fight against them with the sword of His mouth – a direct reference to His Word.
Verse 17 – Again shows a reward for repentance and faithfulness. Three difficult symbol are given: 1) hidden manna, 2) a white stone, and 3) a new name.
The Church at Thyatira (The Church That
Spiritual Authority) • Forty-five miles east of Pergamum was the city of Thyatira.
• Thyatira was not known as a “great” city, it was nevertheless important through commerce in wool, linen, apparel, dyes, leatherwork, tanning, and excellent bronze work.
• It was a “blue collar” type of town. It was a town of hard-working people.
• Associated with its commerce was an extensive trade guild or labor union network, which must have played a prominent role in the social, political, economic, and religious life of the city.
• Each guild had its own patron deity, feasts, and seasonal festivities that included sexual revelries (443-444).
• Known for its work and labor unions, it’s no mystery why God, attempting to get His church’s attention began with, I know your works!” and “I know that you’re doing more now than what you did at first.”Verse 18 – Is a simple address and in-depth description of the Son of God.
Verse 19 – The good works cited of the church at Thyatira are: love, faith, service, perseverance, and growth (doing more than you did at first).
Verse 20 – The sins cited however, is that this church tolerates “that woman Jezebel”, who calls herself a prophetess. This is clearly not a reference to the Old Testament Jezebel, but more likely the spirit of Jezebel. The spirit of Jezebel attacks and misleads leadership.
Verse 21-22 – “Christ’s verdict continues with his strongest accusation directed against, not Jezebel’s perversion, serious as that is, nor even against her successful deception of fellow Christians, but against her refusal to repent” (444). Bookmark not defined.
“As in the case with Jezebel, Christ’s strongest threat to the offenders is not in regard to their sin, serious as that is, but to their reluctance to repent” (445).
Verse 23 – God searches both heart and mind. “Heart” (Heb., lēb; Gr., kardia) Hebrew refer to the inner most part of a person; the secret or hidden places of a person. God not only searches our emotions, thoughts and feelings, but the secret places. It should be noted, this is the place from which God desires we seek Him from.
“The reference to “Satan’s so-called deep secrets” is ambiguous (“the deep things of God (1 Cor 2:10)). It may mean the “deep things,” i.e., the secret knowledge of God reserved only for the initiates into the heretical teaching” (445).
Verses 24-29 – Toward the end of the letter to the church at Thyatira the promises are given to the repentant and the faithful. Promises mentioned are 1) authority over the nations, 2) the morning star. “The first promise is a fulfillment of Psalm 2, which is messianic and tells how the Father gave the Messiah the rule over the nations of the world” (446).
“Secondly, the ‘overcomers’ in Thyatira are promised “the morning star”. Some link this expression to Christ himself as in 22:16. Believers would then receive Christ as their very life. Or it may refer to the Resurrection in the sense that the morning star rises over the darkness of this world’s persecution and offers victory over it” (446).