To the Church in Ephesus
2 “To the angel[Or messenger; also in verses 8, 12 and 18] 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 people, 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 the love you had at first. 5 Consider how far 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 favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
7 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
To the Church in Smyrna
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 about 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 life as your victor’s crown.
11 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.
To the Church in Pergamum
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, not 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: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed 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 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.
To the Church in Thyatira
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 prophet. 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 except to hold on to what you have until I come.’
26 To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations— 27 that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’[ Psalm 2:9]—just as I have received authority from my Father. 28 I will also give that one the morning star. 29 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
NOTES:
2:1–3:22 Each of the seven letters follows the same pattern:
address; description of the exalted Christ; blame and/or praise for the church
addressed; threat and/or admonition; final exhortation and promise to all
Christians.
2:1–7 The letter to Ephesus praises the members of the
church there for their works and virtues, including discerning false teachers
(Rev 2:2–3), but admonishes them to repent and return to their former devotion
(Rev 2:4–5). It concludes with a reference to the Nicolaitans (see note on Rev
2:6) and a promise that the victor will have access to eternal life (Rev 2:7).
2:1 Ephesus: this great ancient city had a population of ca.
250,000; it was the capital of the Roman province of Asia and the commercial,
cultural, and religious center of Asia. The other six churches were located in
the same province, situated roughly in a circle; they were selected for
geographical reasons rather than for the size of their Christian communities.
Walks in the midst of the seven gold lampstands: this signifies that Christ is
always present in the church; see note on Rev 1:4.
2:2 Who call themselves…impostors: this refers to
unauthorized and perverse missionaries; cf. Acts 20:29–30.
2:6 Nicolaitans: these are perhaps the impostors of Rev 2:2;
see note on Rev 2:14–15. There is little evidence for connecting this group
with Nicolaus, the proselyte from Antioch, mentioned in Acts 6:5.
2:7 Victor: referring to any Christian individual who holds
fast to the faith and does God’s will in the face of persecution. The tree of
life that is in the garden of God: this is a reference to the tree in the
primeval paradise (Gn 2:9); cf. Rev 22:2, 14, 19. The decree excluding humanity
from the tree of life has been revoked by Christ.
2:8–11 The letter to Smyrna encourages the Christians in
this important commercial center by telling them that although they are
impoverished, they are nevertheless rich, and calls those Jews who are
slandering them members of the assembly of Satan (Rev 2:9). There is no
admonition; rather, the Christians are told that they will suffer much, even
death, but the time of tribulation will be short compared to their eternal
reward (Rev 2:10), and they will thus escape final damnation (Rev 2:11).
2:8 Smyrna: modern Izmir, ca. thirty miles north of Ephesus,
and the chief city of Lydia, with a temple to the goddess Roma. It was renowned
for its loyalty to Rome, and it also had a large Jewish community very hostile
toward Christians.
2:9–10 The church in Smyrna was materially poor but
spiritually rich. Accusations made by Jewish brethren there occasioned the
persecution of Christians; cf. Acts 14:2, 19; 17:5, 13.
2:11 The second death: this refers to the eternal death,
when sinners will receive their final punishment; cf. Rev 20:6, 14–15; 21:8.
2:12–17 The letter to Pergamum praises the members of the
church for persevering in their faith in Christ even in the midst of a pagan
setting and in face of persecution and martyrdom (Rev 2:13). But it admonishes
them about members who advocate an unprincipled morality (Rev 2:14; cf. 2 Pt
2:15; Jude 11) and others who follow the teaching of the Nicolaitans (Rev 2:15;
see note there). It urges them to repent (Rev 2:16) and promises them the
hidden manna and Christ’s amulet (Rev 2:17).
2:12 Pergamum: modern Bergama, ca. forty-five miles
northeast of Smyrna, a center for various kinds of pagan worship. It also had
an outstanding library (the word parchment is derived from its name).
2:13 Satan’s throne: the reference is to emperor worship and
other pagan practices that flourished in Pergamum, perhaps specifically to the
white marble altar erected and dedicated to Zeus by Eumenes II (197–160 B.C.).
2:14–15 Like Balaam, the biblical prototype of the religious
compromiser (cf. Nm 25:1–3; 31:16; 2 Pt 2:15; Jude 11), the Nicolaitans in
Pergamum and Ephesus (Rev 2:6) accommodated their Christian faith to paganism.
They abused the principle of liberty enunciated by Paul (1 Cor 9:19–23).
2:17 The hidden manna: this is the food of life; cf. Ps
78:24–25. White amulet: literally, “white stone,” on which was written a
magical name, whose power could be tapped by one who knew the secret name. It
is used here as a symbol of victory and joy; cf. Rev 3:4–5. New name: this is a
reference to the Christian’s rebirth in Christ; cf. Rev 3:12; 19:12; Is 62:2;
65:15.
2:18–29 The letter to Thyatira praises the progress in
virtue of this small Christian community (Rev 2:19) but admonishes them for
tolerating a false prophet who leads them astray (Rev 2:20). Her fate is
sealed, but there is hope of repentance for her followers (Rev 2:21–22).
Otherwise, they too shall die (Rev 2:23). They are warned against Satanic power
or knowledge (Rev 2:24–25). Those who remain faithful will share in the
messianic reign, having authority over nations (Rev 2:26–27), and will in fact
possess Christ himself (Rev 2:28).
2:18 Thyatira: modern Akhisar, ca. forty miles southeast of
Pergamum, a frontier town famous for its workers’ guilds (cf. Acts 16:14),
membership in which may have involved festal meals in pagan temples.
2:20 The scheming and treacherous Jezebel of old (cf. 1 Kgs
19:1–2; 21:1–14; 2 Kgs 9:22, 30–34) introduced pagan customs into the religion
of Israel; this new Jezebel was doing the same to Christianity.
2:23 Children: spiritual descendants.
2:24 The so-called deep secrets of Satan: literally, “the
deep things of Satan,” a scathing reference to the perverse teaching of the
Nicolaitans (Rev 2:15).
2:26–28 The Christian who perseveres in faith will share in
Christ’s messianic authority (cf. Ps 2:8–9) and resurrection victory over
death, symbolized by the morning star; cf. Rev 22:16.
2:26 Who keeps to my ways: literally, “who keeps my works.”
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