The Word Made Fresh
1Write this to the angel of the church in Ephesus:
“These are the words of the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven gold lampstands. 2I know all about what you have done, and about your hard work and the way you have patiently endured. I am well aware that you cannot tolerate the wicked, and that you have tested those who falsely claim to be apostles and have found them to be liars. 3I am also aware that you are patiently holding on for my name’s sake.
4“But I am disappointed that you seem to have not held onto the love you had at first. 5Remember what you have turned away from. Repent, and get back to doing the things you did at first. If you don’t repent, when I come to you I’ll remove your lampstand from its place.
6“Still, I give you credit for hating what the Nicolaitans are doing. I hate it, too. 7Everyone who can hear ought to listen to what the Spirit is telling the churches. I will give permission to eat from the tree of life in God’s paradise to everyone who conquers.”
8Write this to the angel of the church in Smyrna:
“These are the first and last words from the One who was dead but came to life. 9I know all about how you have suffered, and about your poverty, even though you really are rich. I know about those who slander you. They say they are Jews, but they are not. They belong to the synagogue of Satan. 10Do not be afraid of the things you will have to suffer. Be advised that the devil is going to test you by having some of you thrown into prison, and you will suffer for ten days. But be patient as long as you are alive, and I will give you the crown of life. 11Let those who can hear listen to what the Spirit is telling the churches. Those who conquer won’t be harmed by the second death.”
12Write this to the angel of the church in Pergamum; these are the words of the one who holds the sharp, two-edged sword.
13“I know that you live where Satan has his throne. Still, you are holding fast to my name. You didn’t deny your faith in me even when they killed Antipas, my faithful witness there where Satan lives among you. 14But there are a few things I have against you: some of you are following Balaam’s teaching, the one who taught Balak to trick the people of Israel so that they would eat food that was sacrificed to idols and practice sexual sins. 15And some of you follow the teachings of the Nicolaitans. 16Repent! If you don’t, I’ll come to you and use the sword of my mouth to war against them. 17Let everyone who can hear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. To those who conquer, I will give some of the hidden manna, and a white stone on which is written a new name that no one will know but the one who receives it.”
18Write this to the angel of the church in Thyatira; these are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like flaming fire, and whose feet are like polished bronze:
19“I know what you do, and I know your love, faith, service, and patience. I know that your latest works are greater than your first ones. 20But I do have this against you: you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet, and is teaching and luring my servants away to engage in sexual sins and to eat food that has been sacrificed to idols. 21I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to give up her sexual sins. 22Watch out, then, because I’m throwing her on a bed, and I will throw those who commit adultery with her into great distress; 23and I will strike down her children. All the churches will know that I am the one who searches people’s minds and hearts, and I will pay each of you what your deeds deserve. 24But to those of you in Thyatira who do not follow this teaching and have not given in to what some call the ‘deep things of Satan,’ I want you to know I’m not burdening you with anything else. 25Just hang on to what you have until I arrive. 26To those who conquer and continue to do my bidding until the end, I will grant authority over the nations; 27they will shepherd them with an iron staff, the kind used to shatter clay pots. 28Just as I received authority from my Father, I will give it to them. And to the one who succeeds, I will also give the morning star.”
29Let those who have ears listen to what the Spirit is telling the churches.
Commentary
1-7: Note that he is not to write to the seven churches, but to the angels of the seven churches. The idea is that when the church receives the communication it will receive it as a divine message, not just as an assessment from John. The first church addressed is Ephesus, on the Turkish coast almost due east of Athens, Greece. The word to Ephesus is to be sent as though it were from the one who holds the seven stars, etc. That is, from Jesus Christ himself. The identifying phrases used for the first 5 churches come directly from the description of Christ’s appearance in 1:13-16. The Christians at Ephesus are commended for their hard work, their patient endurance, and their refusal to tolerate false doctrines. However, they are criticized for not loving one another as they did at the first. If they don’t shape up, their lampstand will be removed; this is a threat that the spirit of Christ will leave their assembly if the love of Christ is not present there. They are commended for hating the Nicolaitans, an early heresy mentioned by several of the early church fathers: Irenaeus charged them with unrestrained indulgence; Thomas Aquinas believed they promoted some form of polygamy. At the end of each church’s monologue a treasure is given “to those who conquer.” For Ephesus it is permission to eat from the tree of life; that is to say, eternal life.
8-11: Smyrna is on the coast about 30 miles north of Ephesus. The introduction of Jesus, the first and the last, is from 1:17. The congregation at Smyrna is poor and persecuted. They are under attack by the “synagogue of Satan,” probably a reference to a local Jewish group persecuting Christians in the city. The church is warned that some of them will be imprisoned and for some the suffering will be unto death. But they are told not to fear, that “those who conquer won’t be harmed by the second death.” The first death is death to sin. The second death is physical death. Once again there is the hint of the reward of eternal life.
12-17: Pergamum is located 40 miles north of Smyrna about 10 miles inland on the river Caicus. It was the capital of the Roman province of Asia — “where Satan has his throne” (verse 13). The two-edged sword is featured in the introduction to Pergamum – the appearance of Jesus that emphasizes the word of God that cuts both ways. The church is commended for not losing faith even when one of them, Antipas, was executed, presumably for being a Christian. Remember, the earlier appearance in chapter one of Jesus to John spoke of the double-edged sword that emphasizes the word of God that cuts both ways. There are some things against them as well: Balaam, who blessed Israel in Numbers 23-24, was blamed in later Jewish commentaries for leading the Israelites astray to the Moabite fertility cults. That explains the reference to fornication. The Nicolaitans were mentioned above (verse 6). The church is encouraged to repent these aberrations. Those who conquer in this case are to be given the hidden manna (perhaps a reference to the bread of the sacrament) and a white stone. The meaning of the white stone is obscure. It could be related to the onyx stones that Aaron had sewn into the breast piece of his priestly garments, on which were inscribed the names of the tribes of Israel.
18-29: Thyatira was a commercial city located about 30 miles southeast of Pergamum through which the trading route passed which connected Smyrna and Pergamum to the rest of Asia. The introduction to the letter focused on the flaming eyes and bronze feet of the Son of Man (1:14-15), which is an image of judgment and anger. At first they are commended for their works, but then we find the reason for Christ’s flaming eyes and bronzed feet: Jezebel. In the Old Testament Jezebel was the wife of King Ahab of Israel, the daughter of a Sidonian king who enticed Ahab and Israel to worship Baal (1 Kings 16:31). Likewise, this Jezebel in Thyatira is enticing them to do things against the teachings of Jesus and the church. She refuses to repent, and punishment is coming to her and to her “children,” that is, her followers. To the others, the faithful ones, no other requirement is given to them but that they keep the faith. Those who conquer will be given the “morning star,” a reference to Jesus himself (see 22:16).
Takeaway
We thank God today for those nameless believers who kept the faith amid terrible opposition. Pray for the people in those places of the world where faith in Jesus is treated as treason against the ruling authorities. Yes, it’s easy to be a Christian in America today, but forces against Christianity are always hiding in the shadows. Don’t just keep the faith; share it!