Revelation — Chapter 2
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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.
2I know your deeds, your labor, and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate those who are evil, and you have tested and exposed as liars those who falsely claim to be apostles.
3Without growing weary, you have persevered and endured many things for the sake of My name.
4But I have this against you: You have abandoned your first love.
5Therefore, keep in mind how far you have fallen. Repent and perform the deeds you did at first. But if you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.
6But you have this to your credit: You hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
7He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to eat from the tree of life in the Paradise of God.
8To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of the First and the Last, who died and returned to life.
9I know your affliction and your poverty—though you are rich! And I am aware of the slander of those who falsely claim to be Jews, but are in fact a synagogue of Satan.
10Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will suffer tribulation for ten days. Be faithful even unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.
11He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who overcomes will not be harmed by the second death.
12To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of the One who holds the sharp, double-edged sword.
13I know where you live, where the throne of Satan sits, yet you hold fast to My name. You did not deny your faith in Me, even in the days of My faithful witness Antipas, who was killed among you where Satan dwells.
14But I have a few things against you, because some of you hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block before the Israelites so they would eat food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality.
15In the same way, some of you also hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
16Therefore repent! Otherwise I will come to you shortly and wage war against them with the sword of My mouth.
17He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will give the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone inscribed with a new name, known only to the one who receives it.
18To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like a blazing fire and whose feet are like polished bronze.
19I know your deeds—your love, your faith, your service, your perseverance—and your latest deeds are greater than your first.
20But I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads My servants to be sexually immoral and to eat food sacrificed to idols.
21Even though I have given her time to repent of her immorality, she is unwilling.
22Behold, I will cast her onto a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her will suffer great tribulation unless they repent of her deeds.
23Then I will strike her children dead, and all the churches will know that I am the One who searches minds and hearts, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.
24But I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned the so-called deep things of Satan: I will place no further burden upon you
25than to hold fast to what you have until I come.
26And to the one who overcomes and continues in My work until the end, I will give authority over the nations.
27He will rule them with an iron scepter and shatter them like pottery—just as I have received authority from My Father.
28And I will give him the morning star.
29He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
1Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;
2I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
3And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.
4Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
5Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
6But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate.
7He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
8And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;
9I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.
10Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
11He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
12And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;
13I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.
14But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.
15So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate.
16Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
17He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.
18And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;
19I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.
20Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.
21And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.
22Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.
23And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.
24But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden.
25But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.
26And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
27And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.
28And I will give him the morning star.
29He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
1To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, he that walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks:
2I know thy works, and thy toil and patience, and that thou canst not bear evil men, and didst try them that call themselves apostles, and they are not, and didst find them false;
3and thou hast patience and didst bear for my name`s sake, and hast not grown weary.
4But I have [this] against thee, that thou didst leave thy first love.
5Remember therefore whence thou art fallen, and repent and do the first works; or else I come to thee, and will move thy candlestick out of its place, except thou repent.
6But this thou hast, that thou hatest the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
7He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. To him that overcometh, to him will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.
8And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These things saith the first and the last, who was dead, and lived [again]:
9I know thy tribulation, and thy poverty (but thou art rich), and the blasphemy of them that say they are Jews, and they art not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
10Fear not the things which thou art about to suffer: behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life.
11He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
12and to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These things saith he that hath the sharp two-edged sword:
13I know where thou dwellest, [even] where Satan`s throne is; and thou holdest fast my name, and didst not deny my faith, even in the days of Antipas my witness, my faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwelleth.
14But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there some that hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit fornication.
15So hast thou also some that hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans in like manner.
16Repent therefore; or else I come to thee quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of my mouth.
17He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. To him that overcometh, to him will I give of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and upon the stone a new name written, which no one knoweth but he that receiveth it.
18And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like a flame of fire, and his feet are like unto burnished brass:
19I know thy works, and thy love and faith and ministry and patience, and that thy last works are more than the first.
20But I have [this] against thee, that thou sufferest the woman Jezebel, who calleth herself a prophetess; and she teacheth and seduceth my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed to idols.
21And I gave her time that she should repent; and she willeth not to repent of her fornication.
22Behold, I cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of her works.
23And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he that searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto each one of you according to your works.
24But to you I say, to the rest that are in Thyatira, as many as have not this teaching, who know not the deep things of Satan, as they are wont to say; I cast upon you none other burden.
25Nevertheless that which ye have, hold fast till I come.
26And he that overcometh, and he that keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give authority over the nations:
27and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to shivers; as I also have received of my Father:
28and I will give him the morning star.
29He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.
1“To the angel of the church in Ephesus, write the following: “This is the solemn pronouncement of the one who has a firm grasp on the seven stars in his right hand—the one who walks among the seven golden lampstands:
2‘I know your works as well as your labor and steadfast endurance, and that you cannot tolerate evil. You have even put to the test those who refer to themselves as apostles (but are not), and have discovered that they are false.
3I am also aware that you have persisted steadfastly, endured much for the sake of my name, and have not grown weary.
4But I have this against you: You have departed from your first love!
5Therefore, remember from what high state you have fallen and repent! Do the deeds you did at the first; if not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place—that is, if you do not repent.
6But you do have this going for you: You hate what the Nicolaitans practice—practices I also hate.
7The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, I will permit him to eat from the tree of life that is in the paradise of God.’
8“To the angel of the church in Smyrna write the following: “This is the solemn pronouncement of the one who is the first and the last, the one who was dead, but came to life:
9‘I know the distress you are suffering and your poverty (but you are rich). I also know the slander against you by those who call themselves Jews and really are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
10Do not be afraid of the things you are about to suffer. The devil is about to have some of you thrown into prison so you may be tested, and you will experience suffering for ten days. Remain faithful even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown that is life itself.
11The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will in no way be harmed by the second death.’
12“To the angel of the church in Pergamum write the following: “This is the solemn pronouncement of the one who has the sharp double-edged sword:
13‘I know where you live—where Satan’s throne is. Yet you continue to cling to my name, and you have not denied your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was killed in your city where Satan lives.
14But I have a few things against you: You have some people there who follow the teaching of Balaam, who instructed Balak to put a stumbling block before the people of Israel so they would eat food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality.
15In the same way, there are also some among you who follow the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
16Therefore, repent! If not, I will come against you quickly and make war against those people with the sword of my mouth.
17The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, I will give him some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and on that stone will be written a new name that no one can understand except the one who receives it.’
18“To the angel of the church in Thyatira write the following: “This is the solemn pronouncement of the Son of God, the one who has eyes like a fiery flame and whose feet are like polished bronze:
19‘I know your deeds: your love, faith, service, and steadfast endurance. In fact, your more recent deeds are greater than your earlier ones.
20But I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and by her teaching deceives my servants to commit sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.
21I have given her time to repent, but she is not willing to repent of her sexual immorality.
22Look! I am throwing her onto a bed of violent illness, and those who commit adultery with her into terrible suffering, unless they repent of her deeds.
23Furthermore, I will strike her followers with a deadly disease, and then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts. I will repay each one of you what your deeds deserve.
24But to the rest of you in Thyatira, all who do not hold to this teaching (who have not learned the so-called “deep secrets of Satan”), to you I say: I do not put any additional burden on you.
25However, hold on to what you have until I come.
26And to the one who conquers and who continues in my deeds until the end, I will give him authority over the nations—
27he will rule them with an iron rod, and like clay jars he will break them to pieces,
28just as I have received the right to rule from my Father—and I will give him the morning star.
29The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
1“To the angel of the assembly in Ephesus write: “He who holds the seven stars in his right hand, he who walks among the seven golden lamp stands says these things:
2“I know your works, and your toil and perseverance, and that you can’t tolerate evil men, and have tested those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and found them false.
3You have perseverance and have endured for my name’s sake, and have not grown weary.
4But I have this against you, that you left your first love.
5Remember therefore from where you have fallen, and repent and do the first works; or else I am coming to you swiftly, and will move your lamp stand out of its place, unless you repent.
6But this you have, that you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
7He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of my God.
8“To the angel of the assembly in Smyrna write: “The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life says these things:
9“I know your works, oppression, and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews, and they are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
10Don’t be afraid of the things which you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested; and you will have oppression for ten days. Be faithful to death, and I will give you the crown of life.
11He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies. He who overcomes won’t be harmed by the second death.
12“To the angel of the assembly in Pergamum write: “He who has the sharp two-edged sword says these things:
13“I know your works and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. You hold firmly to my name, and didn’t deny my faith in the days of Antipas my witness, my faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
14But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to throw a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality.
15So you also have some who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans likewise.
16Repent therefore, or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of my mouth.
17He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies. To him who overcomes, to him I will give of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written, which no one knows but he who receives it.
18“To the angel of the assembly in Thyatira write: “The Son of God, who has his eyes like a flame of fire, and his feet are like burnished brass, says these things:
19“I know your works, your love, faith, service, patient endurance, and that your last works are more than the first.
20But I have this against you, that you tolerate your woman, Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. She teaches and seduces my servants to commit sexual immorality, and to eat things sacrificed to idols.
21I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality.
22Behold, I will throw her into a bed, and those who commit adultery with her into great oppression, unless they repent of her works.
23I will kill her children with Death, and all the assemblies will know that I am he who searches the minds and hearts. I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.
24But to you I say, to the rest who are in Thyatira, as many as don’t have this teaching, who don’t know what some call ‘the deep things of Satan,’ to you I say, I am not putting any other burden on you.
25Nevertheless, hold that which you have firmly until I come.
26He who overcomes, and he who keeps my works to the end, to him I will give authority over the nations.
27He will rule them with a rod of iron, shattering them like clay pots; as I also have received of my Father:
28and I will give him the morning star.
29He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies.
Summary
Christ, walking among the seven lampstands, dictates letters to four churches. To Ephesus he commends their hard work and rejection of false apostles, but rebukes them for abandoning their first love, calling them to remember, repent, and return, promising the tree of life to the one who overcomes (vv. 1-7). To Smyrna, suffering poverty and slander yet spiritually rich, he offers no rebuke, only a call to remain faithful through coming persecution, promising a crown of life to those who endure even to death (vv. 8-11). To Pergamum, commended for holding to his name in a hostile city, he warns against tolerating those who follow the teaching of Balaam and the Nicolaitans into idolatry and immorality, calling for repentance and promising hidden manna and a white stone with a new name to the one who overcomes (vv. 12-17). To Thyatira, praised for love and growing works, he rebukes their tolerance of a false prophetess he calls Jezebel, who leads believers into immorality and idol worship, warning of judgment on her followers while promising authority over the nations and the morning star to those who remain faithful (vv. 18-29).
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
- Ephesus (v.1): Major city in Asia Minor (modern Turkey); location of a key early church.
- Smyrna (v.8): City in Asia Minor; one of the seven churches in Revelation.
- Thyatira (v.18, v.24): City in Asia Minor; one of the seven churches in Revelation.
Places on this map
- Ephesusnear Selcuk, TurkeyThe largest port of Roman Asia, at the mouth of the Cayster on the west coast of Asia Minor, and home to the temple of Artemis. Its harbor silted up and the ruins now sit several miles inland, which is why a great seaport has no sea. Wikipedia
- Asia MinorTurkeyThe peninsula between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, a high dry plateau ringed by mountains with the Greek cities on its western coast. Roman Asia, the province Paul worked from Ephesus, was only its western end. Wikipedia
- SmyrnaIzmir, TurkeyA well-planned harbor city 40 miles north of Ephesus, loyal to Rome and prosperous, whose letter nonetheless speaks only of poverty and pressure. Wikipedia
- ThyatiraAkhisar, TurkeyAn inland manufacturing town known for dyeing, which is Lydia the seller of purple's home trade, and heavily organized into craft guilds. Wikipedia
Towns sit on their excavated or traditional site. Regions, rivers and seas are ringed rather than dotted, because for those a single point is only an anchor. Coastlines from Natural Earth.
Deep Dive
Setting: John is still on Patmos, probably about AD 95. The risen Jesus, who walks among the lampstands (1:13), now dictates seven short letters, four in this chapter and three in the next. They go to real churches along a circular road in the Roman province of Asia (western Turkey), in the order a messenger would travel: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, then Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. These churches face emperor worship, trade guilds with pagan feasts, hostile neighbours and their own drift. Each letter follows a pattern:
- a greeting that picks up a feature of Christ from the vision in chapter 1;
- "I know," followed by praise (usually);
- a rebuke and a call to repent (usually);
- "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches";
- a promise "to the one who conquers," which looks ahead to the new creation in chapters 21–22.
The four reading approaches meet the letters differently:
- Preterist and idealist readers take them as letters to first-century churches whose conditions recur in every age.
- Historicist readers often see seven ages of church history, from the apostolic church (Ephesus) to a lukewarm last age (Laodicea).
- Futurist readers take the letters as real first-century letters. Some dispensationalists also see the church ages in them.
Almost everyone agrees on the first two points: these were real churches, and "the churches" (plural) means every church listens in.
To the Church in Ephesus (vv1–7)
- "Him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands" (v1). "Holds" is a firm grip. The churches belong to Christ, and he is not absent from them. He walks among them, inspecting and caring. Ephesus was the leading city of the province, a great port and banking centre, and home of the vast temple of Artemis (Acts 19). Paul spent about three years there. Timothy later led the church, and tradition says John himself lived there in old age.
- "I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance" (v2). "I know" opens every letter. Jesus sees the good before he names the problem. "Patient endurance" is hypomonē, staying under a load without giving up. "Toil" is labour to the point of exhaustion.
- "Have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not" (v2). Paul had warned the Ephesian elders that "fierce wolves" would come (Acts 20:29–30), and Timothy had fought false teachers there (1 Tim 1:3). The church listened. It checked teachers' claims against the apostles' teaching and exposed the false ones.
- "You have abandoned the love you had at first" (v4). This is the heart of the letter. The church is orthodox, hardworking and brave, yet the warmth has gone. The text doesn't say whether the lost love is love for Christ, for one another, or both. Most take it as both, since in John's writings they can't be pulled apart (1 John 4:20–21). Paul's letter to Ephesus once praised their "love toward all the saints" (Eph 1:15). A church can win the battle for truth and lose its heart along the way.
- "Remember… repent, and do the works you did at first" (v5). There are three steps: remember where you were, repent (turn around), and return to the first works. Love is restored by doing again what love once did.
- "I will come to you and remove your lampstand" (v5). The threat is not loss of salvation for individuals. It is that the church would stop being a church, a light that has gone out. This "coming" is a visit in judgment now, not the Second Coming. The site of Ephesus is abandoned today. Its harbour silted up and its church faded over the centuries, though the letter's warning is about faithfulness, not geography.
- "You hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate" (v6). Little is known about them. Irenaeus (about AD 180) linked them to Nicolas, one of the seven chosen in Acts 6:5, but that is tradition, not certainty. From 2:14–15 they seem to have allowed eating at idol feasts and sexual immorality. Jesus hates their works, not the people.
- "To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life… in the paradise of God" (v7). "Conquers" is nikaō, to win a victory. In Revelation, believers conquer the way the Lamb did, by faithfulness even to death (12:11). The tree of life was guarded after the fall (Gen 3:22–24). It reappears by the river of the new Jerusalem (22:2). "Paradise" is a Persian loanword for a walled garden.
- Commentators: All three agree the sin is cooled love inside a sound church. JFB puts it sharply: "Their warmth of love had given place to a lifeless orthodoxy." Henry notes that "the first affections of men towards Christ… are usually lively and warm," so cooling is a real decline and not just maturity. Guzik says leaving first love is a choice, not an accident. He says the first works to return to are things like prayer and time in the Word. On v6, JFB reminds readers: "We should hate men's evil deeds, not hate the men themselves." Guzik and JFB both pass on the idea that "Nicolaitan" comes from Greek words for "conquer the people." JFB even calls it a Greek form of "Balaam." The lexicon gives only "a Nicolaitan," with no such meaning, so treat that as a suggestion and not a settled fact.
To the Church in Smyrna (vv8–11)
- "The first and the last, who died and came to life" (v8). This picks up 1:17–18 and God's title in Isaiah 44:6. Smyrna, a beautiful port north of Ephesus, had been destroyed and rebuilt, a city that "died and came to life." It still exists as Izmir. It was proudly loyal to Rome and built one of the first temples to the goddess Roma (195 BC), which made emperor worship a constant pressure.
- "I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich)" (v9). "Poverty" here is ptōcheia, real destitution, not just being short of money. Christians who wouldn't join guild feasts or honour Caesar could lose work and property (Heb 10:34). Jesus calls them rich (Matt 6:20; Jas 2:5). Laodicea is the reverse: rich in its own eyes and poor in his (3:17).
- "Those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan" (v9). "Slander" is blasphēmia. Some members of the local synagogue were denouncing Christians to the Roman authorities. Judaism had legal standing, and Christians who were pushed out of the synagogue lost that cover. John, himself a Jew, is not condemning Jewish people as a whole. He is naming the behaviour of one local group that was handing believers over to persecution, the same charge Jesus brought in John 8:44. "Satan" means "accuser," and that is what they were doing.
- "Do not fear… the devil is about to throw some of you into prison… for ten days you will have tribulation" (v10). Prison in Rome's world was usually a holding cell before trial or execution, not a sentence in itself. Behind the human accusers stands the devil, yet the time is limited. "Ten days" most likely means a short, set period (Dan 1:12–15). Some historicists once read it as ten imperial persecutions or ten years under Diocletian, but most interpreters today, futurist and otherwise, take it as a short, limited time.
- "Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life" (v10). The crown is stephanos, the victor's wreath at the games, not a king's diadem. Smyrna was known for its games, and for a "crown" of fine public buildings around its hill. About sixty years later, Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna and by tradition a disciple of John, was burned alive in its stadium. According to the earliest account of his death, he said he had served Christ eighty-six years and could not blaspheme his King.
- "Will not be hurt by the second death" (v11). The second death is the lake of fire, the final judgment (20:14; 21:8). Those who might face the first death for Jesus are safe from the second. Smyrna and Philadelphia are the only two churches with no rebuke.
- Commentators: Henry notes the suffering is "but for a set time, and a short time: Ten days". JFB adds that "the time of trial shall be short, the duration of your joy shall be for ever." JFB also explicitly rejects reading the ten days as ten Roman persecutions. Guzik calls Smyrna a poor church that is rich, the mirror image of Laodicea. He tells the story of Polycarp's martyrdom as the letter lived out. He also notes that Smyrna's name comes from myrrh, the embalming spice, and that the church gave off its fragrance by being crushed.
To the Church in Pergamum (vv12–17)
- "Him who has the sharp two-edged sword" (v12). Pergamum was the old capital of the province. The Roman governor there held the "right of the sword," the power of execution. Jesus reminds the church who really holds that power: his word judges (1:16; Heb 4:12). The city also had a great library, and "parchment" (pergamēnē) is named after it.
- "Where Satan's throne is" (v13). Several things may lie behind this: - the huge altar of Zeus on the acropolis, shaped like a throne; - the temple of Asclepius, the healing god whose symbol was a serpent; - Pergamum's role as the first city in Asia with a temple to a living emperor (Augustus, 29 BC).
Emperor worship is probably the main point, since that is what got Christians killed.
- "Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you" (v13). Jesus gives Antipas his own title from 1:5, "faithful witness" (martys). This word later came to mean "martyr" because so many witnesses died. Nothing else is known about Antipas. Later tradition says he was roasted inside a bronze bull, but that comes from much later.
- "The teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel" (v14). Balaam couldn't curse Israel (Num 22–24), so he advised Balak to seduce Israel into idol feasts and immorality at Peor instead (Num 25:1–3; 31:16). What a curse couldn't do, compromise did. In Pergamum the pressure came through trade guilds and civic festivals, where a meal in a temple dining room often came with worship and sometimes with prostitution. Paul handles the same issue in 1 Corinthians 8–10.
- "So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans" (v15). "So also" probably links the two: the Nicolaitans were a Balaam-like group. Ephesus hated their works. Pergamum tolerated them.
- "Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth" (v16). The whole church must repent of tolerating the error, but the sword is turned against the false teachers ("them"). Balaam himself died by the sword (Num 31:8).
- "Some of the hidden manna… a white stone, with a new name written on the stone" (v17). Those who refuse idol meat will eat heaven's food. A jar of manna was kept in the ark (Exod 16:33). Jewish tradition held that the ark was hidden before the Babylonian exile and that manna would return in the Messiah's day. Jesus calls himself the true bread from heaven (John 6:32–35). The white stone is uncertain. Several customs are possible: - Jurors voted "not guilty" with a white stone. - Victors and guests received a token for admission to a feast. - Stones were worn as amulets with secret names.
All point to acceptance and belonging. The new name, known only to its owner, speaks of a personal relationship with Christ (Isa 62:2).
- Commentators: Henry traces a downward path: "Corrupt doctrines and a corrupt worship often lead to a corrupt conversation" (in his day "conversation" meant way of life). He reads the white stone as "absolution from the guilt of sin" and the hidden manna as the Spirit's comfort in communion with Christ. JFB sets the manna "in contrast to the idol-meats" and notes that the whole church, "not only the Nicolaitanes," is told to repent. JFB also reads the white stone as a diamond, which few follow. Guzik stresses that a hard place to live is never an excuse for compromise. He lists the possible meanings of the white stone and says the new name matters more: it speaks of closeness with Jesus.
To the Church in Thyatira (vv18–29)
- "The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze" (v18). This is the only use of "Son of God" in Revelation, and it fits. Thyatira's guardian god was Apollo, honoured as a son of Zeus, and coins showed the emperor as son of a god. Jesus is the true Son. The bronze feet may glance at the city's metalworkers. Thyatira, the smallest of the seven cities, was a garrison and trade town full of guilds (wool, dyeing, leather, bronze). Lydia, the seller of purple cloth, came from here (Acts 16:14).
- "Your love and faith and service and patient endurance… your latter works exceed the first" (v19). This is the opposite of Ephesus. Thyatira is growing in love and service, but it is weak on truth. Each church has the strength the other lacks.
- "You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess" (v20). Queen Jezebel brought Baal worship into Israel and led Ahab into it (1 Kgs 16:31; 21:25). Most take "Jezebel" as a code name for a real woman teaching in the church. Her message was probably that believers could join guild feasts and their immorality without harm, perhaps even that they should experience such things. Some manuscripts read "your wife Jezebel." A few take that as the leader's wife, but most translations, the ESV included, follow the manuscripts without "your."
- "I gave her time to repent, but she refuses" (v21). God's patience comes before his judgment (2 Pet 3:9), but it doesn't last forever.
- "I will throw her onto a sickbed… and I will strike her children dead" (vv22–23). "Sickbed" is klinē, a bed or couch. The same word was used for the couches people lay on at banquets. The bed of immorality and the guild feast becomes a bed of sickness. "Her children" probably means her committed followers, not literal children. Even for them the door is still open: "unless they repent" (v22).
- "I am he who searches mind and heart" (v23). In the Greek this is "kidneys and hearts," the seat of feelings and will. It echoes God's claim in Jeremiah 17:10, now made by Jesus. "All the churches will know," so Thyatira is a lesson for everyone.
- "What some call the deep things of Satan" (v24). The false teachers probably boasted of "deep things," secret knowledge. Jesus calls them by their real name: Satan's depths, not God's (1 Cor 2:10). Some link this to later Gnostic groups, who prized secret knowledge. Others think the teachers claimed believers could enter Satan's world unharmed.
- "I do not lay on you any other burden. Only hold fast what you have until I come" (vv24–25). This echoes the Jerusalem council (Acts 15:28–29), which asked Gentile believers to avoid idol food and immorality, "no greater burden." Faithful believers don't need new rules, only steadiness.
- "Authority over the nations… rule them with a rod of iron" (vv26–27). This quotes Psalm 2:8–9, the Messiah's coronation psalm. "Rule" is poimainō, to shepherd, which the lexicon confirms. The iron rod is the shepherd's club that protects the flock and smashes what threatens it. Jesus shares with his people the authority he received from the Father (3:21; 20:4).
- "I will give him the morning star" (v28). The morning star (Venus) shines just before dawn. In 22:16 Jesus says, "I am… the bright morning star." The final gift is not just authority but Christ himself.
- Commentators: Henry notices that "their last works were better than the first". JFB sees the woman in the church as the old queen at Ahab's side: "The symbolical Jezebel was to the Church of Thyatira what Jezebel, Ahab's 'wife,' was to him." He adds a warning: "The deeper the Church penetrated into heathenism, the more she herself became heathenish". JFB notes that searching the heart is "God's peculiar attribute… given to Christ." Henry ("Christ is the morning-star") and JFB both take v28 as the gift of Christ himself. Guzik agrees and calls it better than the authority promised before it. He suggests "Jezebel" worked through the trade-guild feasts. He reads "sickbed" as a play on banquet couches, which the lexicon supports.
Pointing to Christ
Each letter starts with Jesus and ends with Jesus. He is the one who holds and walks among the churches. He died and came to life, he holds the sword, and his eyes burn like fire. He is the tree of life, the hidden manna and the morning star. He sees busy, orthodox churches that have lost their love, poor churches that are rich, brave churches that tolerate compromise, and loving churches that tolerate error. He tells each one the truth. Every rebuke comes with a way back, and every promise to "the one who conquers" depends on the Lamb who conquered first.
Commentary
- Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik covers each of the four churches with historical background, commendation, rebuke, and application.
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871): blueletterbible.org A critical and explanatory commentary on the whole Bible, more concise than Matthew Henry and closer to the Hebrew and Greek, with attention to historical and geographical detail. Public domain.
- Matthew Henry's Exposition (1710): blueletterbible.org A devotional verse-by-verse commentary in the Puritan tradition, still among the most widely read three centuries on. Public domain.
Videos
Articles
- GotQuestions.org: gotquestions.org On the whole book: an overview of the book of Revelation -- who wrote it, when, why, and how it fits the rest of Scripture.
Links open on the publisher's own site. Nothing here is reproduced on this page.
Reflection
- Leaving Your First Love (v.4) — Ephesus did all the right things — worked hard, endured, tested false teachers — yet Christ says they had abandoned the love they started with. Has your walk with Christ become more about correct activity than genuine affection for Him?
- Faithful Even to Death (v.10) — Smyrna received no rebuke, only a call to stay faithful through suffering and poverty, even to the point of death. What level of cost or suffering would tempt you to quietly step back from your faith?
- Holding Fast in Hostile Ground (v.13) — Pergamum is commended for holding onto Christ's name even while living where opposition to Him was strongest. Where do you feel pressure to blend in rather than stand out as a believer?
- Tolerating What Should Be Confronted (v.20) — Thyatira is praised for growing love and service, but rebuked for tolerating a false teacher who led people into immorality. What compromise or false teaching are you tolerating in the name of keeping the peace?