Revelation

Some have held that the seven churches chosen to receive mini-letters represent seven stages in church history. But given the different interpretations of these stages, it is unlikely the view has validity. More likely, the churches were chosen because of the lessons they provide for “all the churches” (2:23). In general, each letter includes the following elements: (1) a description of the risen Christ drawn from the vision in 1:12-18; (2) commendation of the church; (3) rebuke of the church’s shortcomings (although there is no criticism of the churches at Smyrna and Philadelphia) and instruction about how to correct them; (4) a command to “listen to what the Spirit says to the churches”; and (5) promises to the persevering spiritual “one who conquers” (Gk nikao, “to win, conquer”).

Christ’s Edict-letters to His Seven Churches. Revelation’s first sevenfold series (followed by seals, trumpets, and bowls) consists of seven “letters” or royal edicts, each of which follows a pattern: (1) The royal author describes himself in terms from ch. 1. (2) “I know” introduces his diagnosis of the church’s condition, both positive (except for Sardis and Laodicea) and negative (except for Smyrna and Philadelphia). (3) Comfort and commands flow from the diagnosis. (4) All of the churches are commanded to hear and heed all of the letters (“what the Spirit says to the churches,” 2:7, etc.). (5) A blessing is promised to “the one who conquers,” foreshadowing the final visions in chs. 21–22.

A timeless concern facing the church at Ephesus was dead orthodoxy. Though commended for persevering in zeal for proper belief (vv. 2-3), these church members had left the “love” they had “at first” (v. 4). This probably means love for God, since the greatest commandment is to love the Lord with all one’s being (Dt 6:5; Mt 22:36-38). Having “fallen” (Rv 2:5) does not mean losing one’s salvation, though ceasing to love God is a serious spiritual matter requiring soul-searching repentance. The significance of the Nicolaitans (v. 6) is clarified in the letters to the churches at Pergamum (vv. 14-15) and Thyatira (vv. 20-21,24).

To Ephesus. The church in Ephesus was commended for doctrinal vigilance and endurance but was rebuked for its loss of love. The city’s landmark was the temple of Artemis, and one of its symbols was the date palm tree (contrast “tree of life,” v. 7). See Introduction to Ephesians: The Ancient City of Ephesus.

The words of reflects the expression “thus says,” which in the OT could introduce either a word from God (e.g., Amos 1:6, 9, 11) or a royal edict (e.g., 2 Chron. 36:23).

the love you had at first. One interpretation is that Ephesus had lost its early love for Christ. Another interpretation is that Ephesian believers had lost love for one another and needed to revive the compassionate works you did at first. Many interpreters think both are in view, since love for Christ and love for one another are related (cf. Mark 12:29–31; 1 John 4:20). Remove your lampstand means that both in the near future and when Christ returns, they would lose their status as a church and Christ would treat them like apostate Israel.

Nicolaitans. Obviously a heretical Christian sect, but not identifiable with certainty from NT or extrabiblical evidence. Like the prophet Balaam, they seduced God’s people to participate in idolatry and sexual immorality (vv. 14–15), perhaps disguising antinomian license as freedom in Christ (see 1 Cor. 6:12–20; 8:1–11:1).

the one who conquers. Victory is the objective in a Christian’s spiritual warfare. The Lion of Judah conquered as a slain Lamb, redeeming people for God from every nation (5:5, 9). Believers who hold to their testimony conquer the dragon (12:11) and the beast (15:2). tree of life. Access to this tree in Eden, and the eternal life it promised to the pure, was banned after humanity’s fall (Gen. 3:22–24). It reappears in the new Jerusalem, its roots watered by living water from God’s throne, its fruit a constant source of nourishment, and its leaves bringing healing to the city’s inhabitants, whose names appear in the Lamb’s book of life (Rev. 22:1–2).

The church at Smyrna, against whom Christ voiced no criticism, was facing suffering related to spiritual warfare and imprisonment for their faith. A local Jewish synagogue was making blasphemous charges (v. 9) that would result in church members being thrown in jail for a short time (“ten days”) and causing some to die (v. 10). They “say they are Jews and are not” does not deny the Jewish lineage of the persecutors but instead mirrors Paul’s assertion that, ultimately, Jewishness is not just outward but inward, related to the circumcision of the heart by faith (Rm 2:28-29).

To Smyrna. Churches in Smyrna and Philadelphia (3:7–13) receive no rebuke from King Jesus, who encourages them as they endure persecution. Roman Smyrna (modern Izmir) was a harbor city renowned for its temple to the Mother Goddess and for its provincial imperial cult temples to Tiberius (1st century A.D.) and Hadrian (2nd century). Strabo in his Geography (14.1.37) reported early-first-century Smyrna to be a beautiful city possessing paved streets, a library, a gymnasium, and a shrine to Homer, who may have been born there. A few inscriptions point to a Jewish presence in the city. Jewish opposition to Christians in Smyrna was alleged in the martyrdom accounts of Polycarp and of Pionius (2nd and 3rd centuries, respectively; cf. 2:9).

the first and the last, who died and came to life. To a church already suffering “slander” (v. 9) and soon to face persecution “unto death” (v. 10), Jesus identifies himself as Israel’s eternal Redeemer who prepared the way through death to resurrection life (1:17–18).

your poverty (but you are rich). Physically poor, the Smyrnan believers were spiritually rich (cf. James 2:5), whereas the Laodiceans thought themselves affluent but in Jesus’ eyes were bankrupt (Rev. 3:17). The church’s opponents may say that they are Jews, but they have no legitimate claim to that name (John 8:39–44; Rom. 2:12–29). Quite to the contrary, they belong to the synagogue of Satan. The NT defines God’s people in relation to Jesus, not their genealogy.

ten days … unto death. The tribulation for Smyrnan Christians will be brief (cf. Dan. 1:12–16), yet it may end not in discharge from prison but in martyrdom, an even better release (Rev. 7:14–17). The crown of life (i.e., eternal life) is the laurel wreath of victory that God promises to those who love him (1 Cor. 9:25; 2 Tim. 4:6–8; James 1:12). The one who conquers by faithfulness in the face of death is immune from the second death (see Rev. 20:4–6).

In the church at Pergamum, things were worse than at Smyrna. Though the church members seem to have been facing similar spiritual warfare from Satan (v. 13), a faithful one named Antipas had already died (v. 13). Also, a viewpoint called the teaching of Balaam (v. 14; see Nm 22–25), which is equated with the teaching of the Nicolaitans (Rv 2:15), had a strong foothold in the church. Those involved were to repent of their sinful behavior of eating things sacrificed to idols and engaging in immorality (v. 14).

To Pergamum. The church at Ephesus resisted false teaching, and Smyrna endured persecution. Believers at Pergamum faced both assaults, withstanding persecution well but wrongly condoning dangerous deception. Pergamum was built on terraces leading up the only accessible slope of its acropolis. It was an important center for pagan and imperial religion, but there are also indications of Jewish religion (e.g., Cicero, For Flaccus 28; Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 14.247–255).

Christ’s reference to the sharp two-edged sword proceeding from his mouth (cf. 1:16) forewarns that the church’s failure to discipline false teachers will prompt him to intervene directly (2:16).

Pergamum hosted temples dedicated to “the divine Augustus and the goddess Roma” and to Asklepios (the god of healing, symbolized by serpents), and a large altar dedicated to Zeus. The worship of the emperor as a god was also strongly emphasized, even required, in the province of Asia, and it was a major problem for Christians at the time. All of this qualifies Pergamum to be called the site of Satan’s throne. Amid oppressive paganism, a believer named Antipas had sealed his testimony with his life, and Jesus shares with Antipas his own title, faithful witness (cf. 1:5).

As the Israelites migrated through the wilderness, the prophet Balaam, prevented from cursing them, advised Moab’s king to seduce them into both sexual and spiritual adultery (Num. 25:1–2; 31:16). Likewise the Nicolaitans, though opposed in Ephesus, were spreading sexual and spiritual infidelity at Pergamum (see Rev. 2:6).

If not, I will come to you soon. Jesus’ threat to come soon refers not to the second coming but to his intervention through providence, as at Corinth (1 Cor. 11:30–32).

As God fed Israel in the wilderness, Christ supplies hidden manna to the one who conquers, who endures persecution and stays pure from defilement (12:6, 14–17). Historically, a white stone was given to victors at games for entrance to banquets (cf. the messianic banquet); such a stone was also used by jurors at trials to vote for acquittal. The new name, given to the one who holds fast to Jesus’ name (2:13), may refer to the Holy Spirit’s work of conforming believers to the holiness of Christ (Rom. 8:29). The manna and the white stone suggest differing types of eternal blessings and rewards, as appropriate in each situation.

In the church at Thyatira, things had reached a crisis point. A false prophetess, called Jezebel (v. 20), had involved her followers in the same sins as those infecting the church at Pergamum (vv. 14,20). Here this view/lifestyle is unmasked as the “so-called secrets of Satan” (v. 24). This false belief and behavior originated with the devil. As discipline for this waywardness, there would be maximized suffering (the Gk is thlipsis megale, “great tribulation,” which refers to the end of the age in 7:14), which serves as a dire warning to “all the churches” (v. 23). The strong parallels between Jezebel and Babylon, the great harlot, in chaps. 17–18, as well as the startling usage of “great affliction” (v. 22), suggests Jezebel was a first-century preview of Babylon the Great.

To Thyatira. Thyatira was a politically and culturally marginalized city, finding its identity economically, with guilds dealing in metals and fabric (Acts 16:14). Guilds celebrated their patron deities in periodic festivities, so Christians may have been tempted toward the message of a “prophetess” who advocated participation in illicit sex and food sacrificed to idols, both staples of the social scene. Archaeological soundings at modern Ak-Hissar have yielded evidence of a few ancient architectural elements from Thyatira. Coins point to the ongoing NT-era worship of Apollo, who had been assimilated with the Lydian sun-god Tyrimnos.

Christ’s eyes like a flame of fire and feet … like burnished bronze (cf. 1:14–15) evoke images familiar to Thyatiran metalworkers, as well as echoing OT visions of God’s glory (Ezek. 1:27). With fiery eyes, Jesus “searches mind and heart” (Rev. 2:23), and his feet will crush his enemies.

Thyatira’s strengths and weaknesses are the inverse of those at Ephesus. This church is strong in love evidenced in works; but it lacks discernment and tolerates heresy. The self-proclaimed prophetess who endorses idolatry and immorality resembles Jezebel of Tyre, who married Israel’s King Ahab and violently imposed Baal-worship on the northern kingdom (1 Kings 16:30–33; 19:1–2). Many scholars think “Jezebel” represented an actual woman “prophetess” who was leading people astray in the church of Thyatira. In any case, she symbolizes the prostitute Babylon, who seduces through pleasure and luxury as well as ruthless violence (Revelation 17).

The Lord has given the “prophetess” (v. 20) time to repent, or the church time to bring her to discipline. Neither has occurred, and she proliferates lovers and children—spiritual offspring who exhibit her influence and will share in her great tribulation, unless they repent.

Jesus’ eyes distinguish sincere believers from those who abandon God’s Word to search elsewhere for the deep things of Satan, deceptive promises of secret spiritual knowledge through false religions. Those content with the gospel have nothing to fear and no other burden, as long as they hold fast.

The “Son of God” (v. 18) will share with the one who conquers his own authority to rule the nations (Ps. 2:7–9). The morning star is Christ himself (cf. Rev. 22:16), Israel’s ruler and rescuer, who was foreseen by Balaam, the unwilling seer (Num. 24:17). Premillennialists see here a reference to reigning with Christ in the millennium (cf. note on Rev. 20:4–5).