Revelation · Chapter 2

V. 1. Write-So Christ dictated to him every word.

These things saith he who holdeth the seven stars in his right hand-Such is his mighty power! Such his favour to them and care over them, that they may indeed shine as stars, both by purity of doctrine and holiness of life!

Who walketh-According to his promise, "I am with you always, even to the end of the world."

In the midst of the golden candlesticks-Beholding all their works and thoughts, and ready to "remove the candlestick out of its place," if any, being warned, will not repent. Perhaps here is likewise an allusion to the office of the priests in dressing the lamps, which was to keep them always burning before the Lord.

Verse 1. Unto the angel of the Church of Ephesus] By aggelov, angel, we are to understand the messenger or person sent by God to preside over this Church; and to him the epistle is directed, not as pointing out his state, but the state of the Church under his care. Angel of the Church here answers exactly to that officer of the synagogue among the Jews called rwbyx jylv sheliach tsibbur, the messenger of the Church, whose business it was to read, pray, and teach in the synagogue. The Church at Ephesus is first addressed, as being the place where John chiefly resided; and the city itself was the metropolis of that part of Asia. The angel or bishop at this time was most probably Timothy, who presided over that Church before St. John took up his residence there, and who is supposed to have continued in that office till A.D. 97, and to have been martyred a short time before St. John’s return from Patmos.

Holdeth the seven stars] Who particularly preserves, and guides, and upholds, not only the ministers of those seven Churches, but all the genuine ministers of his Gospel, in all ages and places.

Walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks] Is the supreme Bishop and Head, not only of those Churches, but of all the Churches or congregations of his people throughout the world.

Verse 1. Unto the angel — That is, to the pastor, presiding elder, or bishop, called an angel because he was God’s messenger (as the word angel signifies) to the people, or his minister appointed to serve them. “That there was one pastor,” says Doddridge, “who presided in each of these churches, is indeed evident from the expression here used; but that he was a diocesan bishop, or had several congregations of Christians under his care, can by no means be proved. Nor is there the least hint of it in any of these epistles.” Of the church of Ephesus — Concerning Ephesus, see note on Acts 19:1, and the preface of the epistle to the Ephesians. The first letter is addressed to the church in this city, as it was the metropolis of the Lydian Asia, and the place of St. John’s principal residence. According to Strabo, it was one of the best and most glorious cities, and the greatest emporium of the Proper Asia. It was called by Pliny one of the eyes of Asia, Smyrna being the other; but now, as eye-witnesses have related, it is venerable for nothing but the ruins of palaces, temples, and amphitheatres. It is called by the Turks Ajasaluk, or the temple of the moon, from the magnificent structure formerly dedicated to Diana. The church of St. Paul is wholly destroyed. The little which remains of that of St. Mark is nodding to ruin. The only church remaining is that dedicated to St. John, which is now converted into a Turkish mosque. The whole town is nothing but a habitation for herdsmen and farmers, living in low and humble cottages of mud, sheltered from the extremities of weather by mighty masses of ruinous walls, the pride and ostentation of former days, and the emblem in these of the frailty of the world, and the transient vanity of human glory. The Rev. H. Lindsay, Chaplain to the Embassy of Constantinople, in a letter to the British and Foreign Bible Society, relative to the present state of the Apocalyptic churches, dated Jan. 10, 1816, says, “The town consists of about fifteen poor cottages. I found there but three Christians, two brothers, who keep a small shop, and a gardener. They are all three Greeks, and their ignorance is lamentable indeed. In that place, which was blessed so long with an apostle’s labours, and those of his zealous assistants, are Christians who have not so much as heard of that apostle, or seem only to recognise the name of Paul as one in their calendar of saints. One of them I found able to read a little, and left with him the New Testament in ancient and modern Greek, which he expressed a strong desire to read, and promised me he would not only study it himself, but lend it to his friends in the neighbouring villages:” so strikingly hath the denunciation been fulfilled, that their candlestick should be removed out of its place. Write — So Christ dictated to him every word. These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand — To signify that he is the great support of his ministering servants, and directs their several situations and motions in the churches. Such is his favour to them, and care over them, that they may indeed shine as stars, both by purity of doctrine and holiness of life. Who walketh — According to his promise, I am with you always, even to the end of the world; in the midst of the golden candlesticks — Beholding all their works and thoughts, and ready to remove the candlestick out of its place, if any, being warned, will not repent. Perhaps here is likewise an allusion to the office of the priests in dressing the lamps, which was to keep them always burning before the Lord.

Verse 1. The angel of the church of Ephesus, or the messenger of Christ; for the apostles, and apostolic men, while they remained in any church, were always regarded as the chief pastors, and as having the first powers of discipline. Hence John rebuked Diotrephes, and Paul threatened the disturbers of Corinth with a rod. John in like manner, as the apostle of the Lord, regarded his pastoral trusts, as general superintendent and bishop of all the churches of western Asia, though the seven principal ones only are named.

I have read Mr. Smith’s small volume of the Greek churches. He visited them in 1671, with all goodness of heart, and the portrait he draws of their poverty, ignorance, and diminished state, is most affecting. What a phenomenon, that they have subsisted at all among the cruel Turks. He found in their rubrics our hymn, “Therefore with angels and archangels we sing.” His tour was from Ephesus to Smyrna, forty six miles northwest; from Smyrna to Pergamos, sixty four; from Pergamos to Thyatira, forty eight; from Thyatira to Sardis, thirty three; from Sardis to Philadelphia, twenty seven; and from Philadelphia to Laodicea, about forty two. These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand. In all the seven addresses the Lord assumes aspects conformably to the moral state of all the churches. And all the names and titles that earth and heaven can give, belong to him as Lord of all.

1. Ephesus—The messenger who bore this epistle to Ephesus would have a sea route through the blue AEgean, of sixty miles, a brief trip for a modern steamer. Of the great and noble city into whose harbor he arrives we have given some account in our notes on Paul’s visiting the city and founding the Church, in Acts 19:1. Paul came down upon the city from the interior high-lands; our messenger approaches it, reversely, from the sea. How Paul here found a few believers in John the Baptist, preached in the school of Tyrannus, encountered Diana of the Ephesians, and founded the Ephesian Church, we have duly noted in that chapter. How afterwards Paul, returning from his final missionary tour, called the elders of Ephesus to a last interview with himself at Miletus, (see our map,) we have noted on Acts 20:17-38. Paul’s warning to the elders should be read before reading this epistle to this same Ephesus. Next we have the epistles of Paul to Timothy at Ephesus, and we see Timothy either briefly or permanently at that city. John arrived there probably soon after the commencement of the Roman war against the Jews, or after the fall of Jerusalem, and was banished to the rocky isle of Patmos by the Emperor Domitian. And now this epistle of Christ to Ephesus gives us the last glance at the Church and city furnished us in the New Testament. After that we must go to history for a knowledge of their destinies.

Historically, Ephesus had ever maintained an eminence among the cities of Ionia. In the earliest times, before their conquest by the Persians, Ephesus was head of the confederacy of twelve cities. Under the Romans, while the other cities tended to decline, its favourable commercial position, and the munificence of its Roman rulers, rendered it the emporium of Asia Minor. The Bishop of Ephesus, in later times, was a Metropolitan and a Patriarch. But when, in 1308, it submitted to the Turk, its inhabitants were transported to Tyraeum and there massacred.

Write—Mohammed wrote, or at least claimed to have written, his own Koran; but Jesus Christ dictates to another to write. It is not recorded that he ever wrote, except mysteriously, upon the pavement. His majestic words, uttered as by the voice of many waters, and penned by his apostle, were, doubtless, received at that apostle’s Ephesus as virtually written by Christ’s own hand. To none but these seven Churches did Christ ever address a written epistle, yet in these seven Churches are we all represented. What he wrote to them he writes to us.

Was one copy of each single epistle carried to each single church, or was the whole Apocalypse carried to the whole in a single volume or roll? We think that the whole first three chapters are one Christophanic Apocalypse; but as each epistle was truly for all the seven, (and really for us all,) and as the title and introductory parts preface all the epistles as a unit, we may believe that the whole first three chapters were, either in separate copies or in one common circular for each in succession, sent round to the whole circuit of Churches in the order in which they are named. Each Church could then transcribe its own copy, with the common understanding that this body of epistles was the harbinger of a further and great Apocalypse, with which it was to be a unit, and which was soon to be received from their own great apostle, now in Patmos. When, after the death of the savage Domitian, John and the other banished Christians were returned to their homes by the Emperor Nerva, Domitian’s successor, John resumed his apostolic circuit around the seven Churches, and may have reduced the Apocalypse to a unit, so that no separated copies survived. These things—The two clauses by which the divine Speaker describes himself here, are taken from St. John’s description of his person, Revelation 1:13, 16. They describe his authority over the Churches, and are beautifully appropriate to the metropolitan Church of Ephesus, the Church of St. John’s own residence. Holdeth—Is here a different word from had, in Revelation 1:16, and a stronger, signifying graspeth, or holdeth fast. It asserts strongly this power and possession, as if each Church were a gem in his grasp and at his disposal. None can pluck them from his hand, (John 10:28,) and it is his to exalt them to heaven or cast them down to hell, according to their faithfulness or apostasy. When, therefore, these letters patent came from Christ at Patmos, with what earnestness did both he that readeth to the congregation and they that hear within the congregation, listen to the words of this prophecy! Revelation 1:3. Walketh—In St. John’s description, Revelation 1:13, he is apparently standing, but here he walketh. He walketh in the midst of the… golden candlesticks, to watch the strength or fulness of their blaze, to supply the oil of grace, to trim their dead wicks, and to remove them when their lustre, in spite of his every care, persistently dies away. These seven Lydian Churches, lying on the soil of Asia as their names lie on our little map, know that the glorious Lord is walking around their circuit—that he is even present while they listen to his golden letters.

V. 2. I know-Jesus knows all the good and all the evil, which his servants and his enemies suffer and do. Weighty word, "I know," how dreadful will it one day sound to the wicked, how sweet to the righteous! The churches and their angels must have been astonished, to find their several states so exactly described, even in the absence of the apostle, and could not but acknowledge the all-seeing eye of Christ and of his Spirit. With regard to us, to every one of us also he saith, "I know thy works." Happy is he that conceives less good of himself, than Christ knows concerning him. And thy labour-After the general, three particulars are named, and then more largely described in an inverted order,

1. Thy labour. — 6. Thou hast borne for my name's sake and hast not fainted.

2. Thy patience. — 5. Thou hast patience.

3. Thou canst not bear evil men. — 4. Thou hast tried those who say they are apostles and are not, and hast found them liars. And thy patience-Notwithstanding which thou canst not bear that incorrigibly wicked men should remain in the flock of Christ. And thou hast tried those who say they are apostles, and are not-For the Lord hath not sent them.

Verse 2. I know thy works] For the eyes of the Lord are throughout the earth, beholding the evil and the good; and, being omnipresent, all things are continually open and naked before him. It is worthy of remark, that whatsoever is praiseworthy in any of these Churches is first mentioned; thereby intimating that God is more intent on finding out the good than the evil in any person or Church; and that those who wish to reform such as have fallen or are not making sufficient advances in the Divine life, should take occasion, from the good which yet remains, to encourage them to set out afresh for the kingdom of heaven. The fallen or backsliding who have any tenderness of conscience left are easily discouraged, and are apt to think that there is no seed left from which any harvest can be reasonably expected. Let such be told that there is still a seed of godliness remaining, and that it requires only watching and strengthening the things which remain, by prompt application to God through Christ, in order to bring them back to the full enjoyment of all they have lost, and to renew them in the spirit of their mind. Ministers continually harping on Ye are dead, ye are dead; there is little or no Christianity among you, &c., &c., are a contagion in a Church, and spread desolation and death wheresoever they go. It is far better to say, in such cases, “Ye have lost ground, but ye have not lost all your ground; ye might have been much farther advanced, but through mercy ye are still in the way. The Spirit of God is grieved by you, but it is evident he has not forsaken you. Ye have not walked in the light as ye should, but your candlestick is not yet removed, and still the light shines. Ye have not much zeal, but ye have a little. In short, God still strives with you, still loves you, still waits to be gracious to you; take courage, set out afresh, come to God through Christ; believe, love, obey, and you will soon find days more blessed than you have ever yet experienced.” Exhortations and encouragements of this kind are sure to produce the most blessed effects; and under such the work of God infallibly revives.

And thy labour] He knew their works in general. Though they had left their first love, yet still they had so much love as excited them to labour, and enabled them to bear persecution patiently, and to keep the faith; for they could not tolerate evil men, and they had put fictitious apostles to the test, and had found them to be liars, pretending a Divine commission while they had none, and teaching false doctrines as if they were the truths of God.

Verses 2, 3. I know — Jesus knows all the good and all the evil which his servants and his enemies suffer and do. Weighty words, I know! How dreadful will it one day sound to the wicked, how sweet to the righteous! The churches and their angels must have been astonished to find their several states so exactly described, even in the absence of the apostle, and could not but acknowledge the all-seeing eye of Christ and of his Spirit. With regard to us, to every one of us also he saith, I know thy works! Happy is he that conceives less good of himself, than Christ knows concerning him! The good works, which are the proper and necessary fruits of faith, are here intended. See on 1 Thessalonians 1:3; James 2:14-26. And thy labour — Of love, thy endeavours to promote the glory of God, and the present and everlasting good of mankind; and thy patience — In bearing persecution, opposition, and the various trials to which thou hast been exposed. And how thou hast such zeal for the honour of my gospel, and the establishment of my kingdom, that thou canst not bear them who are evil — Canst not suffer them to go uncensured, but proceedest against all those by the exercise of a proper discipline, whose principles or practices are contrary to the gospel, and are stumbling-blocks in the way of others. And thou hast tried them — By my word; (see on 1 John 4:1;) who say they are apostles, and are not — Who make false pretensions to a divine mission, and inspiration, and have endeavoured to impose their errors on others, on the pretence of apostolical authority; and hast found them liars — Or deceivers, and accordingly hast rejected their pretensions with a becoming disdain. And hast borne — Endured the contradiction of false apostles, and much opposition from men and devils, and still art not wearied out, but hast patience, and perseverest, and for my name’s sake — That is, out of love to me, and with a view to my glory; hast laboured — In opposing error and sin, and promoting the progress of truth and grace; and hast not fainted — Hitherto, under any difficulties or dangers, trials or troubles, which thou hast had to encounter.

Ver. 2. I know thy works. I search the heart. I know how commendable thy works are in all suffering virtues, and in all active piety. Thou hast tried the judaizing and heretical teachers, who say they are apostles, or messengers of the churches, and are not. Thou hast required the grand tests, as in 1 John 4., whether they believe in the godhead of Christ; whether by that faith they are born of God; whether they have laboured in word and doctrine, and whether they have suffered for Christ? The false teachers prudently avoided the cross.

2. I know—His omniscient eyes… as a flame of fire, (Revelation 1:14,) blaze into the deepest recesses of their hearts and into all the deeds of their daily life. Thy—As the epistles are addressed each to the angel, it is remarkable how uniformly throughout the second person singular thy, thou, and thee are used. It might at first seem as if the missives from Patmos passed over the heads of the congregation and hit the angel only. Yet we think that no such misconception took place. The letters were to the Churches, (Revelation 1:4, 11,) and each Church in its unity knew that the angel and the Church were so one that his fault was their fault, his excellence theirs. And it was no divergency to address plurally you and the rest, as in ver. 24. If the bishops were here addressed, it is certain that bishops were first appointed as the bulwarks of the faith, to preserve the pure, unmingled apostolic tradition, to guard the books of the growing canon of the New Testament, and to repel the entrance of errors and demoralizations. Hence to the bishop belonged a high responsibility. He was praised or blamed as his Church was faultless or faulty. With a similar charge in the second person singular does St. Paul address Timothy. He must see that the true gospel tradition be preserved against all heresies. (1 Timothy 5:1-20, where see our notes.) He is responsible for the trial and suitableness of the elders, and for their careful ordination, Revelation 5:17-22. And we may add, that in the narrative given by St. Clement of St. John and the young man of Ephesus, the apostle holds the bishop to the same sharp responsibility, in the second person singular, as he exhibits here.

Thy works—Both good and bad, both external and internal, of the hand and of the heart. But it is of the good he first speaks, namely, labour or activity, and patience or firm persistence passively. Canst not bear— Carry as a burden. They had both a holy patience and a holy impatience. Tried them… apostles—Who claimed to be commissioned by Christ to dictate doctrines to the Church, and so to be apostles. The Ephesians had ample means for trying by the then extant gospels of the four evangelists, by St. Paul’s warnings in Acts xx, and in his epistle to their own Church and to other Churches. Liars—One of St. John’s severe terms, arising from his deep conception of the evil of falsifying Christianity at its fountain, and so sending down a false religion to the future ages.

Verse 3. And hast borne] The same things mentioned in the preceding verse, but in an inverted order, the particular reason of which does not appear; perhaps it was intended to show more forcibly to this Church that there was no good which they had done, nor evil which they had suffered, that was forgotten before God.

And hast not fainted.] They must therefore have had a considerable portion of this love remaining, else they could not have thus acted.

Verses 2, 3. I know — Jesus knows all the good and all the evil which his servants and his enemies suffer and do. Weighty words, I know! How dreadful will it one day sound to the wicked, how sweet to the righteous! The churches and their angels must have been astonished to find their several states so exactly described, even in the absence of the apostle, and could not but acknowledge the all-seeing eye of Christ and of his Spirit. With regard to us, to every one of us also he saith, I know thy works! Happy is he that conceives less good of himself, than Christ knows concerning him! The good works, which are the proper and necessary fruits of faith, are here intended. See on 1 Thessalonians 1:3; James 2:14-26. And thy labour — Of love, thy endeavours to promote the glory of God, and the present and everlasting good of mankind; and thy patience — In bearing persecution, opposition, and the various trials to which thou hast been exposed. And how thou hast such zeal for the honour of my gospel, and the establishment of my kingdom, that thou canst not bear them who are evil — Canst not suffer them to go uncensured, but proceedest against all those by the exercise of a proper discipline, whose principles or practices are contrary to the gospel, and are stumbling-blocks in the way of others. And thou hast tried them — By my word; (see on 1 John 4:1;) who say they are apostles, and are not — Who make false pretensions to a divine mission, and inspiration, and have endeavoured to impose their errors on others, on the pretence of apostolical authority; and hast found them liars — Or deceivers, and accordingly hast rejected their pretensions with a becoming disdain. And hast borne — Endured the contradiction of false apostles, and much opposition from men and devils, and still art not wearied out, but hast patience, and perseverest, and for my name’s sake — That is, out of love to me, and with a view to my glory; hast laboured — In opposing error and sin, and promoting the progress of truth and grace; and hast not fainted — Hitherto, under any difficulties or dangers, trials or troubles, which thou hast had to encounter.

3. Hast borne with even those whom thou canst not bear. A contradiction in terms, a truth in facts.

V. 4. But I have against thee, that thou hast left thy first love-That love for which all that church was so eminent when St. Paul wrote his epistle to them. He need not have left this. He might have retained it entire to the end. And he did retain it in part, or there could not have remained so much of what was commendable in him. But he had not kept, as he might have done, the first tender love in its vigour and warmth. Reader, hast thou?

Verse 4. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee] The clause should be read, according to the Greek, thus: But I have against thee that thou hast left thy first love. They did not retain that strong and ardent affection for God and sacred things which they had when first brought to the knowledge of the truth, and justified by faith in Christ.

Verse 4. Nevertheless, I have somewhat to allege against thee — Exemplary as thou art in many respects; or, as somewhat is not in the original, the verse may be properly read, I have against thee that thou hast left thy first love — Namely, the zeal and fervour of it, which thou didst manifest to me and my cause; that love for which the church at Ephesus was so eminent when St. Paul wrote his epistle to them. Neither they nor their pastors need to have left this; they might have retained it entire to the end. And they did retain it in part, otherwise there could not have remained so much of what is commendable in them. But they had not kept, as they might have done, the first tender, affectionate love in its vigour and warmth. Reader, has the love of God, of Christ, and of his people, been shed abroad in thy heart? And hast thou retained it in all its fervour and efficacy? If not, the following exhortation is addressed to thee. “It is very plain,” says Doddridge, “that these epistles, though inscribed to the angels or pastors of the churches, are directed to the churches themselves, as represented by them. Just as the Jewish Church was represented by Joshua their high-priest, Zechariah 3:1. But it is not improbable that where some of the churches are blamed, there might be in their ministers some faults correspondent to those charged on the society; and particularly that the zeal of this minister of Ephesus might be declining. There is, I think, no reason to be anxious with regard to Timothy’s character on this account; for it can never be proved that he was a stated pastor of the church of Ephesus, though such confident things have been said concerning it on very slender foundations.”

4. Nevertheless—The turning point from commendation to reproof. Somewhat—Not in the Greek, which would read, I have against thee that thou hast left, etc. First love—The glow of holy life at their first conversion (Acts 19,) and so beautifully recognised in Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians. Hengstenberg remarks, “That first love we see still flourishing so long as Paul’s connexion with the Ephesians lasts.”

V. 5. It is not possible for any to recover the first love, but by taking these three steps, 1. Remember: 2. Repent: 3. Do the first works. Remember from whence thou art fallen-From what degree of faith, love, holiness, though perhaps insensibly.

And repent-Which in the very lowest sense implies a deep and lively conviction of thy fall. Of the seven angels, two, at Ephesus and at Pergamos, were in a mixed state; two, at Sardis and at Laodicea, were greatly corrupted: all these are exhorted to repent; as are the followers of Jezebel at Thyatira: two, at Smyrna and Philadelphia, were in a flourishing state, and are therefore only exhorted to steadfastness.

There can be no state, either of any pastor, church, or single person, which has not here suitable instructions. All, whether ministers or hearers, together with their secret or open enemies, in all places and all ages, may draw hence necessary self-knowledge, reproof, commendation, warning, or confirmation. Whether any be as dead as the angel at Sardis, or as much alive as the angel at Philadelphia, this book is sent to him, and the Lord Jesus hath something to say to him therein. For the seven churches with their angels represent the whole Christian church, dispersed throughout the whole world, as it subsists, not, as some have imagined, in one age after another, but in every age. This is a point of deep importance, and always necessary to be remembered: that these seven churches are, as it were, a sample of the whole church of Christ, as it was then, as it is now, and as it will be in all ages.

Do the first works-Outwardly and inwardly, or thou canst never regain the first love.

But if not-By this word is the warning sharpened to those five churches which are called to repent; for if Ephesus was threatened, how much more shall Sardis and Laodicea be afraid! And according as they obey the call or not, there is a promise or a threatening, Revelation 2:5, 16, 22; 3:3,

20. But even in the threatening the promise is implied, in case of true repentance.

I come to thee, and will remove thy candlestick out of its place-I will remove, unless thou repent, the flock now under thy care to another place, where they shall be better taken care of. But from the flourishing state of the church of Ephesus after this, there is reason to believe he did repent.

Verse 5. Remember] Consider the state of grace in which you once stood; the happiness, love, and joy which you felt when ye received remission of sins; the zeal ye had for God’s glory and the salvation of mankind; your willing, obedient spirit, your cheerful self-denial, your fervour in private prayer, your detachment from the world, and your heavenly-mindedness. Remember-consider, all these.

Whence thou art fallen] Fallen from all those blessed dispositions and gracious feelings already mentioned. Or, remember what a loss you have sustained; for so ekpiptein is frequently used by the best Greek writers. Repent] Be deeply humbled before God for having so carelessly guarded the Divine treasure.

Do the first works] Resume your former zeal and diligence; watch, fast, pray, reprove sin, carefully attend all the ordinances of God, walk as in his sight, and rest not till you have recovered all your lost ground, and got back the evidence of your acceptance with your Maker.

I will come unto thee quickly] In the way of judgment.

And will remove thy candlestick] Take away my ordinances, remove your ministers, and send you a famine of the word. As there is here an allusion to the candlestick in the tabernacle and temple, which could not be removed without suspending the whole Levitical service, so the threatening here intimates that, if they did not repent, &c., he would unchurch them; they should no longer have a pastor, no longer have the word and sacraments, and no longer have the presence of the Lord Jesus.

Verse 5. Remember therefore, &c. — It is not possible for any church, or individual Christian, whether public teacher or private member, that has lost the first love, to recover it, but by taking the three steps here spoken of. 1st, Remember; 2d, Repent; 3d, Do the first works. Remember from whence thou art fallen — From what degree of faith, love, holiness, though perhaps insensibly; and repent — Have a deep and lively conviction of thy fall, be humbled and truly sorry for it before God, earnestly desiring to be pardoned and renewed, and bringing forth fruits worthy of repentance in all respects; do the first works — Outwardly and inwardly, otherwise thou canst never regain the first love; or else thou must expect that I will come unto thee quickly — In some awful dispensations of providence. By this word is the warning sharpened to those five churches which are called to repent, this admonition belonging equally to them; (for if Ephesus was threatened, how much more shall Sardis and Laodicea be afraid!) and according as they obey the call or not, there is a promise or a threatening, Revelation 2:5, 16, 22; 3:3, 20. But even in the threatening the promise is implied in the case of true repentance. And will remove thy candlestick out of its place — This threatening, considered as addressed to the angel or pastor of the church, meant, Unless thou repent, I will remove the flock now under thy care to another place, and put it under the care of another pastor, where it shall be better taken care of. Considered as addressed to the church, it implies that it should no longer continue to be a church, if the members of it did not endeavour to recover their lost ground, and to shine at least with their former lustre; but that the hedge of discipline should be broken down, and the light of the gospel removed from them. From the flourishing state of the church, however, at Ephesus, for a time after this, there is reason to believe that both the pastor and his flock did repent, although, not long after, they declined again, and fell lower than ever; and this church, with the other churches addressed in these letters, was ruined and overthrown by heresies and divisions from within, and by the arms of the Saracens from without. So that Mohammedanism prevails and prospers in all those countries which were once the glory of Christendom, their churches being turned into mosques, and their worship into superstitions; even Ephesus, which was once so magnificent and glorious a city, being become, as is observed on verse 1, a mean, sordid village, with scarcely a single family of Christians dwelling in it.

Ver. 5. I will — remove thy candlestick out of its place, except thou repent. This most eventful city was burned by Erostrates the night Alexander was born; and after being plundered by Pompey, rose under the Roman government to be the glory of Asia minor. But it was pillaged by the Persians in the third century, and by the Scythians, and lastly by the Turks. It is now a poor village, to record its ancient splendour: the glory of this world passeth away.

5. Remember—A calling to remembrance the days when his heart was rich with his first divine love, is often the first inspiring impulse for the backslider to return. First works—For that early love was not a mere emotion ending where it begun, within the feeling, but put itself forth in works. I will come—Greek present tense, I come, or, am coming; but remove is in the future, showing that the present of come implies vividness of conception. The come does not designate the second advent, for which parousia is the unequivocal word, as noted in 2 Peter 3:4. This coming is the interposition of Christ to remove the Church of Ephesus. This removal some interpreters apply to the transfer of the primary episcopate elsewhere. Others, to the transfer of the Christian Church from east to west, from Asia to Europe. We can easily imagine how the necessity of uttering this threat to his own Ephesus should touch the heart of St. John.

V. 6. But thou hast this-Divine grace seeks whatever may help him that is fallen to recover his standing.

That thou hatest the works of the Nicolaitans-Probably so called from Nicolas, one of the seven deacons, Acts 6:5. Their doctrines and lives were equally corrupt. They allowed the most abominable lewdness and adulteries, as well as sacrificing to idols; all which they placed among things indifferent, and pleaded for as branches of Christian liberty.

Verse 6. The deeds of the Nicolaitanes] These were, as is commonly supposed, a sect of the Gnostics, who taught the most impure doctrines, and followed the most impure practices. They are also supposed to have derived their origin from Nicolas, one of the seven deacons mentioned Acts 6:5, where see the note. The Nicolaitanes taught the community of wives, that adultery and fornication were things indifferent, that eating meats offered to idols was quite lawful; and mixed several pagan rites with the Christian ceremonies. Augustine, Irenæus, Clemens Alexandrinus, and Tertullian, have spoken largely concerning them. See more in my preface to 2d Peter, where are several particulars concerning these heretics.

Verse 6. But — Or nevertheless; this thou hast — This honour and praise remaining; divine grace seeks whatever may help him that is fallen to recover his standing; that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes — A sect so called, it is thought, from Nicolas, one of the seven deacons mentioned Acts 6:5; according to ancient writers, their doctrine and their lives were equally corrupt. They allowed the practice of the most abominable lewdness and adulteries, as well as sacrificing to idols; all which they placed among things indifferent, and pleaded for as branches of Christian liberty.

Ver. 6. Thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes. The character of this sect is thus reported by some of the ancients. That Nicolas, a proselyte of Antioch, Acts 6:5, had a very beautiful wife, whom he repudiated through jealousy; and that though he himself lived in continence, yet a sect arose which sheltered their enormities under his name, and by the weight of his example.

6. But—An added mitigation of the rebuke, and a directing how to avoid the removal. Hatest the deeds—The Ephesians hated better than they loved. Severe pietists hate sinners often more than they love goodness. They abhor antichrist more than they love Christ. And these are in danger of mixing an impure passion with their moral antagonism, which may produce a fall from Christian love. After having warned his Ephesians of this danger, our seer reiterates the rightness of their abhorrence of the corruptionists, assuring them of Christ’s authentication therein. Nicolaitans—The professed followers of Nicolas, one of the first seven deacons of Jerusalem, as we have noted on Acts 6:5. The earliest authorities are decisive on this point. Says Irenaeus: “The Nicolaitans also have Nicolaus as their master, one of the first seven who were ordained to the deaconship by the apostles.” Tertullian: “Another heretic emerged— Nicolaus. He was one of the seven deacons mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles.” Later, and so less trustworthy, authorities exculpate Nicolas, under excuse either that he was misunderstood by his followers or that they claimed his authority falsely, or that it was another Nicolas, a bishop of Samaria, who was their real founder. As we have said in our note above quoted, the sexual licentiousness of the sect was based upon a philosophical maxim, namely, that all evil resides in matter. From this principle two opposite inferences could be drawn, and two opposing sects be formed. 1. It could be affirmed that all material indulgence must be avoided, and thence would arise asceticism, with its rejection of meats, monasticism, enforced celibacy, self-flagellation, and denial of the real corporeity of Christ. 2. It could, on the other hand, be affirmed that all material sins could be indulged, and yet the spirit be pure, and thence would arise the most unrestrained inebriety and debauchery. It was this last sect which our Lord gives over to a holy and divine hate. See our note on Acts 6:5; 8:9-12; Romans 14:1-6; 2 Thessalonians 2:7. Well might the true heart hate the deeds of this sect, for it would have buried Christianity in base licentiousness. But while the Christian would hate their deeds, he would earnestly wish to save the men.

V. 7. He that hath an ear, let him hear-Every man, whoever can hear at all, ought carefully to hear this.

What the Spirit saith-In these great and precious promises. To the churches-And in them to every one that overcometh; that goeth on from faith and by faith to full victory over the world, and the flesh, and the devil.

In these seven letters twelve promises are contained, which are an extract of all the promises of God. Some of them are not expressly mentioned again in this book, as "the hidden manna," the inscription of "the name of the new Jerusalem," the "sitting upon the throne." Some resemble what is afterwards mentioned, as "the hidden name," Revelation 19:12; "the ruling the nations," Revelation 19:15; "the morning star," Revelation 22:16. And some are expressly mentioned, as "the tree of life," Revelation 22:2; freedom from "the second death," Revelation 20:6; the name in "the book of life," Revelation 20:12; 21:27; the remaining "in the temple of God," Revelation 7:15; the inscription of "the name of God and of the Lamb," Revelation 14:1; 22:4. In these promises sometimes the enjoyment of the highest goods, sometimes deliverance from the greatest evils, is mentioned. And each implies the other, so that where either part is expressed, the whole is to be understood. That part is expressed which has most resemblance to the virtues or works of him that was spoken to in the letter preceding. To eat of the tree of life-The first thing promised in these letters is the last and highest in the accomplishment, Revelation 22: 2, 14, 19. The tree of life and the water of life go together, Revelation 22:1, 2; both implying the living with God eternally.

In the paradise of my God-The word paradise means a garden of pleasure. In the earthly paradise there was one tree of life: there are no other trees in the paradise of God.

Verse 7. He that hath an ear] Let every intelligent person, and every Christian man, attend carefully to what the Holy Spirit, in this and the following epistles, says to the Churches. See Clarke’s note on “Matthew 11:15”, where the same form of speech occurs. To him that overcometh] To him who continues steadfast in the faith, and uncorrupt in his life; who faithfully confesses Jesus, and neither imbibes the doctrines nor is led away by the error of the wicked; will I give to eat of the tree of life. As he who conquered his enemies had, generally, not only great honour, but also a reward; so here a great reward is promised tw vikwnti, to the conqueror: and as in the Grecian games, to which there may be an allusion, the conqueror was crowned with the leaves of some tree; here it is promised that they should eat of the fruit of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God; that is, that they should have a happy and glorious immortality. There is also here an allusion to Genesis 2:9, where it is said, God made the tree of life to grow out of the midst of the garden; and it is very likely that by eating the fruit of this tree the immortality of Adam was secured, and on this it was made dependent. When Adam transgressed, he was expelled from this garden, and no more permitted to eat of the tree of life; hence he became necessarily mortal. This tree, in all its sacramental effects, is secured and restored to man by the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Christ. The tree of life is frequently spoken of by the rabbins; and by it they generally mean the immortality of the soul, and a final state of blessedness. See many examples in Schoettgen. They talk also of a celestial and terrestrial paradise. The former, they say, “is for the reception of the souls of the just perfect; and differs as much from the earthly paradise as light from darkness.”

The Epistle to the Church at Smyrna.

Verse 7. He that hath an ear, let him hear — Every man, whoever can hear at all, ought carefully to hear this; what the Spirit saith — In these great and awful threatenings, and in these encouraging and precious promises; to the churches — And in them to all in a similar state, in every age and nation. To him that overcometh — His spiritual enemies, visible and invisible, that resists the devil, overcomes the world, crucifies the flesh, and conquers every besetting sin, and the fear of death; that goes on from faith to faith, and by faith to full victory over all opposing power; will I give to eat of the tree of life — This first thing promised in these letters is the last and highest in the accomplishment, Revelation 22:2, 14, 19; which is in the midst of the paradise of God — Namely, the paradise above, and the fruit of which tree gives immortality; so that he who resides within its reach, is possessed of such felicities and delights as are far superior to those which Adam enjoyed in an earthly paradise, though in a state of uncorrupted and perfect innocence. The tree of life and water of life go together, Revelation 22:1, 2, both implying the living with God eternally. In these seven letters twelve promises are contained, which are an extract of all the promises of God. Some of them are expressly mentioned again in this book, as the hidden manna, the inscription of the name of the New Jerusalem, the sitting upon the throne. Some resemble what is afterward mentioned, as the hidden name, (Revelation 19:12,) the ruling the nations, (Revelation 19:15,) the morning star, Revelation 22:16. And some are expressly mentioned, as the tree of life, (Revelation 22:2,) freedom from the second death, (Revelation 20:6,) the name in the book of life, (Revelation 20:12, 21:27,) the remaining in the temple of God, (Revelation 7:15,) the inscription of the name of God and of the Lamb, Revelation 14:1; 22:4. In these promises, sometimes the enjoyment of the highest good, sometimes deliverance from the greatest evils, is intended. And each implies the other, so that where either part is expressed, the whole is to be understood. That part is expressed which has most resemblance to the virtues or works of him that was spoken to in the letter preceding.

Ver. 7. He that hath an ear, let him hear. I will restore a paradise to his soul.

Epistle the second.

7. Hath an ear—This summons to every human ear to listen, preludes the glorious promise to the conqueror in the battle of faith through which Ephesus is struggling. Let every ear hear, for there can be no more thrilling announcement than this. It is seven times uttered; each utterance connected with the closing promise; the first thrice preceding the final promise, the other four times succeeding it, until in the last it gives a ringing close to the seven epistles. The Spirit saith—For the utterance of the Son is with the concurrent inspiration of the Spirit. Unto the Churches—For what he saith to one he saith for all; and what he saith for the Churches he saith for every individual ear in the Churches. To him that overcometh—The seven promises are each made to the conqueror in the struggle, suggested by the characterization preceding. The Christian life is a battle, and the crown awaits the victor. Wordsworth attempts, with little success, to show that the seven promises succeed each other in ascending degrees. They are: 1. To eat of the tree of life in paradise. 2. Exemption from second death. 3. The secret white stone with the secret name. 4. Rule with Christ over the nations. 5. The white raiment, the name unblotted from the book of life, and confessed before God and angels. 6. To be a pillar in the temple of my God. 7. To be co-assessor on the throne. Will I give the privilege to eat of… tree… paradise—This refers to 22:2, which is not (as Wordsworth) in the spirit world, but in the paradise merged in the eternal heaven, and, therefore, is the highest final award. See notes on 1 Thessalonians 4:17.

II. SMYRNA.—The poor in wealth, but rich in faith and works, 8-11.

V. 8. These things saith the first and the last, who was dead and is alive-How directly does this description tend to confirm him against the fear of death! Revelation 2:10, 11.

Even with the comfort wherewith St. John himself was comforted, Revelation 1:17, 18, shall the angel of this church be comforted.

Verse 8. Unto the angel] This was probably the famous Polycarp. See below.

These things saith the first and the last] He who is eternal; from whom all things come, and to whom all things must return. Which was dead, for the redemption of the world; and is alive to die no more for ever, his glorified humanity being enthroned at the Father’s right hand.

Verses 8, 9. And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna — “Smyrna was the nearest city to Ephesus, and for that reason probably was addressed in the second place. It is situated on lower ground than the ancient city, and lieth about forty-five miles northward of Ephesus. It is called Esmir by the Turks, and is celebrated, not so much for the splendour and pomp of the buildings, (for they are rather mean and ruinous,) as for the number, and wealth, and commerce of the inhabitants. The Turks have here fifteen mosques, and the Jews several synagogues. Among these enemies of the Christian name the Christian religion also flourishes in some degree. Smyrna still retains the dignity of metropolis, although there are only two churches of the Greeks. But besides them, here is a great number of Christians of all nations, sects, and languages. The Latin church hath a monastery of Franciscans. The Armenians have one church. But the English, who are the most considerable number, next to the Greeks and Armenians, have only a chapel in the consul’s house, which is a shame, says Wheler, considering the great wealth they heap up here, beyond all the rest; yet they commonly excel them in their pastor. Frequent plagues and earthquakes are the great calamities of the place; but the Christians are here more considerable, and in a far better condition, than in any other of the seven churches; as if the promise was still in some measure made good to Smyrna, Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer, be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” — Newton. “From the conversation,” says Mr. Lindsay, “which I had with the Greek bishop and his clergy, as well as various well-informed individuals, I am led to suppose, that if the population of Smyrna be estimated at one hundred and forty thousand inhabitants, there are from fifteen to twenty thousand Greeks, six thousand Armenians, five thousand Catholics, one hundred and forty Protestants, and eleven thousand Jews.” These things saith the First and the Last — Even that glorious and Divine Person, who, having assumed the human nature into union with his Deity, is able to say he was dead and is alive; and who therefore demands, by all considerations of reverence, gratitude, and love, thy most attentive and obedient regards. How directly does this description of the person of Christ tend to confirm the pastor of this church, and all the members of it, against the fear of death! See verses 10, 11. Even with the comfort wherewith St. John himself was comforted, (Revelation 1:17, 18,) would the angel of this church, and the people under his care, be comforted. I know thy works — To have been, in many respects, extraordinary; and thy tribulation and poverty — A poor prerogative in the eyes of the world! The angel at Philadelphia likewise and his flock had in their own sight but a little strength. And yet these two were the most honourable of all in the eyes of the Lord. But thou art rich — In faith and love, of more value than all the kingdoms of the earth. And the blasphemy of them who say they are Jews — God’s own people; and are not — They are not Jews inwardly; not circumcised in heart; but a synagogue of Satan — Who, like them, is a liar and murderer from the beginning, and whose temper they breathe in their opposition to my gospel and to my people, being engaged in promoting error, superstition, and wickedness, the very things wherein the kingdom of Satan consists.

Ver. 8. The angel of the church in Smyrna. This city has now stolen away the glory of Ephesus, and risen to be third in rank in the Turkish empire, though eight times, says Boiste, ruined by earthquakes.

8. Smyrna—From Ephesus, proceeding northward in a straight line, a journey of forty miles would bring our messenger, or rather, we may say, our apostle, on his circuit to Smyrna. He might have gone by sea; but the modern traveller every now and then falls upon traces of the old Roman road from Ephesus to Smyrna. Smyrna was first founded, or at least planned, by Alexander the Great, in consequence of a dream soon after the battle of Granicus. During the vicissitudes of conquest by Persian, Grecian, and Roman, Smyrna was renowned for the easy servility with which she flattered every new master. Her most admirable harbour, in modern times has secured her pre-eminent prosperity. She is the ordinary point from which the European traveller starts for the interior. Being thus the seaport of Asia Minor, Smyrna is the most modernized of all the seven. “Along the seashore,” says Svoboda, “is a row of houses among which are seen some flagstaffs of all the foreign consuls, and projecting on the water are a number of cafes. The civilized Turks, Greeks, and Armenians have adopted European manners and dress. The European quarter, which extends all along the seashore to the Point, is the most handsome in appearance, with the finest houses, and is beautifully situated. The Turkish and Jewish quarters, which are the poorest, lie on the slope of Mount Pagus.” Two lines of railway have been constructed during the last few years; the one running to Ephesus and Aidin, (Tralles,) and the other to Magnesia and Cassaba, a distance of sixty miles. The climate and scenery are among the finest in the world, and the soil productive, but badly cultivated. Herodotus was not mistaken when he wrote in his book, (1. s. 142,) “These Ionians, to whom the Panionium belongs, have built their cities under the finest climate in the world with which we are acquainted.” The principal merchants, after our own fashion, reside in suburban villages connected with town by railways. Of the founding of Christianity in that place the New Testament gives us no account, and its growth at the writing of this epistle is an indication of the late date of the Apocalypse. Smyrna is celebrated in early Christian history as the place of the episcopate and martyrdom of Polycarp, the pupil of St. John, the teacher of Irenaeus, who, according to both Irenaeus and Tertullian, was ordained by St. John to the episcopate. He may have been the very angel here addressed by St. John. He was martyred in A.D. 168, and at his death declared that he had served a faithful Lord for eighty-six years, bringing the year of his conversion at A.D. 82. But this epistle was probably written thirteen years after that conversion, namely, in A.D. 95. Polycarp might have been bishop within thirteen years after his conversion, and so may have been the angel of this epistle. We seem to see in the high spiritual tone and martyr air of the epistle some indication of Saint Polycarp. The tomb of Polycarp, overshadowed by a cypress tree, is still shown. Dead… is alive—Repeated from the Christophanic self-annunciation of Revelation 1:11-20. It strikingly corresponds with the entire address to this martyr Church. It told the suffering Christian that he was a follower of a martyred Lord, and that holy martyrdom was a gate to a glorious resurrection. The phrase and is alive must not be lowered into and is alive again. It is not that (as Trench supposes) vixit is equivalent to re-vixit. See our note on 20:5. The meaning is, that such death is no interruption to the true life. The death of the body is only phenomenal; it leaves in continuity that blessed, immortal, true life that comes from Christ. The large buildings on the reader’s right are barracks for the soldiery. The castle is seen on the heights above the city. The consular residence, with their flags, on the left.

V. 9. I know thy affliction and poverty-A poor prerogative in the eyes of the world! The angel at Philadelphia likewise had in their sight but "a little strength." And yet these two were the most honourable of all in the eyes of the Lord.

But thou art rich-In faith and love, of more value than all the kingdoms of the earth.

Who say they are Jews-God's own people.

And are not-They are not Jews inwardly, not circumcised in heart. But a synagogue of Satan-Who, like them, was a liar and a murderer from the beginning.

Verse 9. I know thy works] As he had spoken to the preceding Church, so he speaks to this: I know all that ye have done, and all that ye have suffered. The tribulation here mentioned must mean persecution, either from the Jews, the heathens, or from the heretics, who, because of their flesh-pampering doctrines might have had many partisans at Smyrna. And poverty] Stripped probably of all their temporal possessions, because of their attachment to the Gospel.

But thou art rich] Rich in faith, and heir of the kingdom of Christ. The blasphemy of them which say they are Jews] There were persons there who professed Judaism, and had a synagogue in the place, and professed to worship the true God; but they had no genuine religion, and they served the devil rather than God. They applied a sacred name to an unholy thing: and this is one meaning of the word blasphemy in this book.

Verses 8, 9. And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna — “Smyrna was the nearest city to Ephesus, and for that reason probably was addressed in the second place. It is situated on lower ground than the ancient city, and lieth about forty-five miles northward of Ephesus. It is called Esmir by the Turks, and is celebrated, not so much for the splendour and pomp of the buildings, (for they are rather mean and ruinous,) as for the number, and wealth, and commerce of the inhabitants. The Turks have here fifteen mosques, and the Jews several synagogues. Among these enemies of the Christian name the Christian religion also flourishes in some degree. Smyrna still retains the dignity of metropolis, although there are only two churches of the Greeks. But besides them, here is a great number of Christians of all nations, sects, and languages. The Latin church hath a monastery of Franciscans. The Armenians have one church. But the English, who are the most considerable number, next to the Greeks and Armenians, have only a chapel in the consul’s house, which is a shame, says Wheler, considering the great wealth they heap up here, beyond all the rest; yet they commonly excel them in their pastor. Frequent plagues and earthquakes are the great calamities of the place; but the Christians are here more considerable, and in a far better condition, than in any other of the seven churches; as if the promise was still in some measure made good to Smyrna, Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer, be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” — Newton. “From the conversation,” says Mr. Lindsay, “which I had with the Greek bishop and his clergy, as well as various well-informed individuals, I am led to suppose, that if the population of Smyrna be estimated at one hundred and forty thousand inhabitants, there are from fifteen to twenty thousand Greeks, six thousand Armenians, five thousand Catholics, one hundred and forty Protestants, and eleven thousand Jews.” These things saith the First and the Last — Even that glorious and Divine Person, who, having assumed the human nature into union with his Deity, is able to say he was dead and is alive; and who therefore demands, by all considerations of reverence, gratitude, and love, thy most attentive and obedient regards. How directly does this description of the person of Christ tend to confirm the pastor of this church, and all the members of it, against the fear of death! See verses 10, 11. Even with the comfort wherewith St. John himself was comforted, (Revelation 1:17, 18,) would the angel of this church, and the people under his care, be comforted. I know thy works — To have been, in many respects, extraordinary; and thy tribulation and poverty — A poor prerogative in the eyes of the world! The angel at Philadelphia likewise and his flock had in their own sight but a little strength. And yet these two were the most honourable of all in the eyes of the Lord. But thou art rich — In faith and love, of more value than all the kingdoms of the earth. And the blasphemy of them who say they are Jews — God’s own people; and are not — They are not Jews inwardly; not circumcised in heart; but a synagogue of Satan — Who, like them, is a liar and murderer from the beginning, and whose temper they breathe in their opposition to my gospel and to my people, being engaged in promoting error, superstition, and wickedness, the very things wherein the kingdom of Satan consists.

Ver. 9. I know the blasphemy of those who say they are jews, and converted to the christian faith. When the elders of the church in Smyrna wrote the narrative of the martyrdom of their beloved pastor and father, Polycarp, they observed, that the jews made themselves very prominent in bringing fire-wood to burn him. Eleven other martyrs from Thyatira suffered with him.

9. But thou art rich—The parenthetic words, flung in as if to correct his own language. Their poverty, like their death, was only phenomenal. Their death was truly an immortal life, and their poverty an infinite treasure. Doubtless their poverty and their death came from the same cause—the oppression of their persecutors. Among all the commendations to the seven, perhaps this, but thou art rich, is the brightest stroke. It was the consolation for their deepest sorrow, and it was of all joys their highest joy. Note that here it was tribulation and poverty on one side, and blasphemy on the other; blasphemy alike against the Lord and against his followers. Say they are Jews—And, doubtless, were Jews by descent from Abraham, but not in character. They are unnatural sons of their natural father, since they rejected the Messiah whom Abraham foresaw and predicted. One of the most interesting remains of early Christian literature is a letter written by this Church of Smyrna to the Church at Philomelum as a circular to be sent the round of sister Churches. It relates that after Polycarp was apprehended and condemned to death by fire: “This, then, was done with greater speed than it was spoken, the whole multitude instantly gathering together wood and fagots out of the workshops and booths; the Jews especially, according to their custom, assisting them in doing it.” After his death the governor was dissuaded from giving his remains to his friends under pretence that he refused lest, forsaking Him who was crucified, they should begin to worship Polycarp. “This he did at the suggestion of the Jews, who also watched us that we should not take him out of the fire, not considering that it is impossible for us either to forsake Christ, who suffered for the salvation of all such as shall be saved throughout the world, or to worship any other.” The synagogue of Satan—How truly they deserved this severe title the previous narrative shows. So hostile were the Jews to the Christians of this first age, that the term synagogue is seldom applied to a Christian Church, the general Church preferring the classic term ecclesia. Trench finely remarks, “As we have here ‘the synagogue of Satan,’ so, presently, ‘the throne of Satan,’ (Revelation 2:13,) and then, lastly, ‘the depths of Satan,’ (Revelation 2:24;) the synagogue of Satan, representing the Jewish antagonism to the Church; the throne of Satan, the heathen; and the depths of Satan, the heretical.”

V. 10. The first and last words of this verse are particularly directed to the minister; whence we may gather, that his suffering and the affliction of the church were at the same time, and of the same continuance. Fear none of those things which thou art about to suffer-Probably by means of the false Jews.

Behold-This intimates the nearness of the affliction. Perhaps the ten days began on the very day that the Revelation was read at Smyrna, or at least very soon after.

The devil-Who sets all persecutors to work; and these more particularly. Is about to cast some of you-Christians at Smyrna; where, in the first ages, the blood of many martyrs was shed.

Into prison, that ye may be tried-To your unspeakable advantage, 1 Peter 4:12, 14.

And ye shall have affliction-Either in your own persons, or by sympathizing with your brethren.

Ten days-(Literally taken) in the end of Domitian's persecution, which was stopped by the edict of the emperor Nerva.

Be thou faithful-Our Lord does not say, "till I come," as in the other letters, but unto death-Signifying that the angel of this church should quickly after seal his testimony with his blood; fifty years before the martyrdom of Polycarp, for whom some have mistaken him. And I will give thee the crown of life-The peculiar reward of them who are faithful unto death.

Verse 10. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer] This may be addressed particularly to Polycarp, if he was at that time the bishop of this Church. He had much to suffer; and was at last burnt alive at Smyrna, about the year of our Lord 166. We have a very ancient account of his martyrdom, which has been translated by Cave, and is worthy of the reader’s perusal. That account states that the Jews were particularly active in this martyrdom, and brought the fagots, &c., by which he was consumed. Such persons must indeed have been of the synagogue of Satan.

Ten days] As the days in this book are what is commonly called prophetic days, each answering to a year, the ten years of tribulation may denote ten years of persecution; and this was precisely the duration of the persecution under Diocletian, during which all the Asiatic Churches were grievously afflicted. Others understand the expression as implying frequency and abundance, as it does in other parts of Scripture. Genesis 31:7, 41: Thou hast changed my wages TEN TIMES; i.e. thou hast frequently changed my wages Numbers 14:22: Those men have tempted me now these TEN TIMES; i.e. they have frequently and grievously tempted and sinned against me. Nehemiah 4:12: The Jews that dwelt by them came and said unto us TEN TIMES, i.e. they were frequently coming and informing us, that our adversaries intended to attack us, Job 19:3; These TEN TIMES have ye reproached me; i.e. ye have loaded me with continual reproaches. Daniel 1:20: In all matters of wisdom, he found them TEN TIMES better than all the magicians; i.e. the king frequently consulted Daniel and his companions, and found them more abundantly informed and wise than all his counsellors.

Some think the shortness of the affliction is here intended, and that the ten days are to be understood as in Terence, Heaut., Act v., scen. 1, ver. 36, Decem dierum vis mi est familia. “I have enjoyed my family but a short time.”

Be thou faithful unto death] Be firm, hold fast the faith, confess Christ to the last, and at all hazards, and thou shalt have a crown of life-thou shalt be crowned with life, have an eternal happy existence, though thou suffer a temporal death. It is said of Polycarp that when brought before the judge, and commanded to abjure and blaspheme Christ, he firmly answered, “Eighty and six years have I served him, and he never did me wrong, how then can I blaspheme my king who hath saved me?” He was then adjudged to the flames, and suffered cheerfully for Christ his Lord and Master.

Verses 10, 11. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer — Probably by means of the false Jews. Behold — This intimates the nearness of the affliction; the devil — Who sets all persecutors to work, and those more particularly who persecute the followers of Christ, to imprisonment, torture, and death; shall cast some of you — Christians at Smyrna, where, in the first ages, the blood of many martyrs was shed; into prison, that ye may be tried — Which God will permit, for the trial of your faith and patience, to your unspeakable advantage, 1 Peter 4:12, 14. And ye shall have tribulation — Either in your own persons, or by sympathizing with your brethren; ten days — That is, a considerable time: for, as Lowman observes, It is not to be understood literally, which would have been a short time of affliction indeed, and hardly agreeable to such a description of that tribulation as this prophecy seems to have been intended to prepare the church for. Bishop Newton supposes that these ten days mean ten years, according to the usual style of prophecy; and that the persecution of Dioclesian is referred to, which lasted that time, and was the greatest persecution that the primitive church ever endured, most grievously afflicting all the Asian, and indeed all the eastern churches. This persecution, he thinks, and none of the other general persecutions, answers the character here given, none of the others lasting so long as ten years. Be thou faithful — Our Lord does not say, till I come, as in the other letters, but unto death — Signifying that the angel of the church should quickly after seal his testimony with his blood, fifty years before the martyrdom of St. Polycarp, for whom some have mistaken him. And I will give thee a crown of life — The peculiar reward of them who are faithful unto death. He that overcometh — That is victorious unto the end; shall not be hurt of the second death — Though he may encounter the first death in this world for my sake, he shall not be injured by the second, namely, the lake of fire, the portion of the fearful, who do not overcome, Revelation 21:8; but he shall rest in everlasting security and peace, while those who desert the cause of Christ, and renounce their duty, for the preservation of this transitory life, shall be consigned to that state of misery where they shall seek death, but it shall for ever flee from them.

Ver. 10, 11. Fear none of those things — The devil, the murderer who instigates his children to imitate their father, shall cast some of you into prison, and ye shall have tribulation ten days. The storms shall be short; or if we understand the words as predictive of the ten Roman persecutions, two of which were now past, still the time is limited. God for his elect’s sake can shorten the evil days. The crown of life is before you, as it was before the eyes of Paul. 2 Timothy 4:8.

Epistle the third.

10. Fear none—Literally, (Greek,) Fear not what things thou art about to suffer. And this fear not cheers them with three facts:—their persecution will be limited to a few, some: to a brief time, ten days: and will be followed by a crown of life. The word some is, indeed, not expressed by the Greek, but is necessarily implied: the Church would not be exterminated: it is not exterminated yet. Ten days—Literally, thou shalt have a persecution of ten days. A variety of unnecessary symbolical interpretations have been given to the ten days. They have been interpreted to predict “the ten persecutions,” which history has been rather strained to make out in order to fulfil that meaning of the text. But if ten general persecutions could be made out, still this text only predicts locally, and for Smyrna alone. Others find a parallelism with the ten commandments; and others, applying the “year-day” principle, find ten years. But the purpose of the whole verse is to express a consoling limitation of the time, as some of you limits the number. Ten days, as a brief round number, occurs in Genesis 24:55; Numbers 11:19; Daniel 1:12. Unto death—Even a martyr’s death. The words do not mean during thy life, but to the extremest suffering, even of death. Crown of life—The glorious antithesis of death. Says Trench: “This ‘crown of life,’ always remaining essentially the same, is not the less designated by a rich variety of images. Here, and with St. James, (James 1:12,) it is a ‘crown of life;’ with St. Paul, a ‘crown of righteousness,’ (2 Timothy 4:8;) with St. Peter, a ‘crown of glory,’ (1 Peter 5:4;) with Isaiah, a ‘crown of beauty;’ with which compare diadem of beauty; (Wisdom 5:7;) in the martyrdom of Polycarp, a ‘crown of incorruption;’ with Ignatius, a ‘crown of conflict.’” A crown of life, is life or immortality itself, as a bestowed and crowning endowment.

V. 11. The second death-The lake of fire, the portion of the fearful, who do not overcome, Revelation 21:8.

Verse 11. He that overcometh] The conqueror who has stood firm in every trial, and vanquished all his adversaries.

Shall not be hurt of the second death.] That is, an eternal separation from God and the glory of his power; as what we commonly mean by final perdition. This is another rabbinical mode of speech in very frequent use, and by it they understand the punishment of hell in a future life. The Epistle to the Church at Pergamos.

Verses 10, 11. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer — Probably by means of the false Jews. Behold — This intimates the nearness of the affliction; the devil — Who sets all persecutors to work, and those more particularly who persecute the followers of Christ, to imprisonment, torture, and death; shall cast some of you — Christians at Smyrna, where, in the first ages, the blood of many martyrs was shed; into prison, that ye may be tried — Which God will permit, for the trial of your faith and patience, to your unspeakable advantage, 1 Peter 4:12, 14. And ye shall have tribulation — Either in your own persons, or by sympathizing with your brethren; ten days — That is, a considerable time: for, as Lowman observes, It is not to be understood literally, which would have been a short time of affliction indeed, and hardly agreeable to such a description of that tribulation as this prophecy seems to have been intended to prepare the church for. Bishop Newton supposes that these ten days mean ten years, according to the usual style of prophecy; and that the persecution of Dioclesian is referred to, which lasted that time, and was the greatest persecution that the primitive church ever endured, most grievously afflicting all the Asian, and indeed all the eastern churches. This persecution, he thinks, and none of the other general persecutions, answers the character here given, none of the others lasting so long as ten years. Be thou faithful — Our Lord does not say, till I come, as in the other letters, but unto death — Signifying that the angel of the church should quickly after seal his testimony with his blood, fifty years before the martyrdom of St. Polycarp, for whom some have mistaken him. And I will give thee a crown of life — The peculiar reward of them who are faithful unto death. He that overcometh — That is victorious unto the end; shall not be hurt of the second death — Though he may encounter the first death in this world for my sake, he shall not be injured by the second, namely, the lake of fire, the portion of the fearful, who do not overcome, Revelation 21:8; but he shall rest in everlasting security and peace, while those who desert the cause of Christ, and renounce their duty, for the preservation of this transitory life, shall be consigned to that state of misery where they shall seek death, but it shall for ever flee from them.

Ver. 10, 11. Fear none of those things — The devil, the murderer who instigates his children to imitate their father, shall cast some of you into prison, and ye shall have tribulation ten days. The storms shall be short; or if we understand the words as predictive of the ten Roman persecutions, two of which were now past, still the time is limited. God for his elect’s sake can shorten the evil days. The crown of life is before you, as it was before the eyes of Paul. 2 Timothy 4:8.

Epistle the third.

11. Not be hurt of… second death—However he may suffer the death of martyrdom, his crown of life exalted him far above the second death. The promise corresponds, also, with the self announcement in verse 8. The second death, in Revelation 20:15, is defined as the being cast into the “lake of fire.” Neither term—second death nor lake of fire—is used in any scripture outside the Apocalypse. Gehenna, a figure drawn from the valley of Hinnom at Jerusalem, used by our Lord, and used in the New Testament twelve times, comes most nearly to the same conception. Both Gehenna and second death are terms introduced into Jewish biblicism by the Targumists, the Hebrew paraphrastic translators of the Old Testament. How the term second death was understood at Smyrna may be inferred from certain passages from the above quoted letter from the Smyrnean Church. Thus, when the proconsul threatened Polycarp with death by fire, the latter replied, “Thou threatenest me with the fire that burns for an hour and in a little time is extinguished; for thou knowest not the fire of the future judgment, and of the eternal punishment that is reserved for the ungodly.” Of the other martyrs the Church says, “Even the fire of their persecutors seemed cold unto them, for they had before their eyes the prospect of escaping that which is eternal and unquenchable.” III. PERGAMOS.—The martyr Church, yet too tolerant of licentious heresy, 12-17.

V. 12. The sword-With which I will cut off the impenitent, Revelation 2:16

Verse 12. The angel of the Church in Pergamos] See the description of this place, Revelation 1:11.

Which hath the sharp sword] See Clarke on “Revelation 1:16”. The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, cuts every way; it convinces of sin, righteousness, and judgment; pierces between the joints and the marrow, divides between the soul and spirit, dissects the whole mind, and exhibits a regular anatomy of the soul. It not only reproves and exposes sin, but it slays the ungodly, pointing out and determining the punishment they shall endure. Jesus has the sword with the two edges, because he is the Saviour of sinners, and the Judge of quick and dead.

Verses 12, 13. And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write — “Pergamos, formerly the metropolis of the Hellespontic Mysia, and the seat of the Attalic kings, is by the Turks, with some little variation, still called Bergamo, and hath its situation about sixty-four miles to the north of Smyrna. Here are some good buildings, but more ruins. All the city, almost, is occupied by the Turks, very few families of Christians being left, whose state is very sad and deplorable. Here is only one church remaining, dedicated to St. Theodorus; and that the name of Christ is not wholly lost and forgotten in Pergamos, is owing to the care of the metropolitan of Smyrna, who continually sends hither a priest to perform the sacred offices. The cathedral church of St. John is buried in its own ruins; their angel or bishop removed; and its fair pillars adorn the graves and rotten carcasses of its destroyers, the Turks, who are esteemed about two or three thousand in number. Its other fine church, called Santa Sophia, is turned into a mosque, and daily profaned with the blasphemies of the false prophet. There are not in the whole town above a dozen or fifteen families of miserable Christians, who till the ground to gain their bread, and live in the most abject and sordid servitude.” There is the less reason to wonder at the wretched condition of this church, when we consider what Christ here testifies concerning the corruptions which now prevailed in it, and the threatening denounced against it, if they did not repent, and purge out the destructive leaven.

These things saith he which hath the sharp sword — Coming out of his mouth, with two edges — To wound and pierce the unbelieving and disobedient, and bring them to the footstool of divine mercy for pardon and salvation; and to cut off the impenitent, and especially the persecuting enemies of his church; even that Word, which is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword: I know thy works — I observe them exactly; so as to reward or punish as the case requires: the ministers are commended for what is good, or blamed for what is amiss in their respective churches, because the state thereof depends much upon them, and they will be made accountable, in some measure, for it. And where thou dwellest — What thy situation is, and the circumstances in which thou art placed; even where Satan’s seat is — Fixed in the midst of idolatry, superstition, and persecution, by the union of which the kingdom of darkness is supported. Pergamos was above measure given to idolatry. And thou holdest fast my name — Openly and resolutely confessing me before men; and hast not denied my faith — Any great truth of my gospel; even in those days wherein Antipas — Put to death under Domitian; was my faithful martyr — Laying down his life in attestation of the truth. Happy is he to whom Jesus, the faithful and true Witness, giveth such a testimony! Slain among you, where Satan dwelleth — Seems to take up his residence, as may be inferred from the enormities which are continually practised there.

Ver. 12, 13. Pergamos. The existence of a church in this place is a wonder: yet about fifteen christian families still subsist there. By Satan’s seat, we understand a scale of deep depravity from the rulers towards the poor, and vices reigning in all the circles of society, Hence the martyrdom of Antipas, while striving against the wickedness of the age, is a high mark of his fidelity to God.

12. Pergamos—Sixty miles northeast from Smyrna, would bring our apostle on his circuit to Pergamos, (more correct form of the word, Pergamum,) once the celebrated capital of a small kingdom ruled by a succession of noble monarchs. It was the seat of the temple of Esculapius, and once the possessor of a library of 200,000 volumes, collected by one of its kings, but afterwards added to the Alexandrian library in Egypt. But whatever its ancient intellectual or moral fame, it seems to have been in the time of the Apocalypse the headquarters of antichristianity, where the only martyr by John commemorated suffered death. In the other epistles the Churches are rebuked, in this the city is anathematized.

V. 13. Where the throne of Satan is-Pergamos was above measure given to idolatry: so Satan had his throne and full residence there. Thou holdest fast my name-Openly and resolutely confessing me before men.

Even in the days wherein Antipas-Martyred under Domitian. Was my faithful witness-Happy is he to whom Jesus, the faithful and true witness, giveth such a testimony!

Verse 13. Where Satan’s seat is] oJpou o qronov tou satana. Where Satan has his throne-where he reigns as king, and is universally obeyed. It was a maxim among the Jews, that where the law of God was not studied, there Satan dwelt; but he was obliged to leave the place where a synagogue or academy was established.

Thou holdest fast my name] Notwithstanding that the profession of Christianity exposed this Church to the bitterest persecution, they held fast the name of Christian, which they had received from Jesus Christ, and did not deny his faith; for when brought to the trial they openly professed themselves disciples and followers of their Lord and Master. Antipas was my faithful martyr] Who this Antipas was we cannot tell. We only know that he was a Christian, and probably bore some office in the Church, and became illustrious by his martyrdom in the cause of Christ. There is a work extant called The Acts of Antipas, which makes him bishop of Pergamos, and states that he was put to death by being enclosed in a burning brazen bull. But this story confutes itself, as the Romans, under whose government Pergamos then was, never put any person to death in this way. It is supposed that he was murdered by some mob, who chose this way to vindicate the honour of their god Æsculapius, in opposition to the claims of our Lord Jesus.

Verses 12, 13. And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write — “Pergamos, formerly the metropolis of the Hellespontic Mysia, and the seat of the Attalic kings, is by the Turks, with some little variation, still called Bergamo, and hath its situation about sixty-four miles to the north of Smyrna. Here are some good buildings, but more ruins. All the city, almost, is occupied by the Turks, very few families of Christians being left, whose state is very sad and deplorable. Here is only one church remaining, dedicated to St. Theodorus; and that the name of Christ is not wholly lost and forgotten in Pergamos, is owing to the care of the metropolitan of Smyrna, who continually sends hither a priest to perform the sacred offices. The cathedral church of St. John is buried in its own ruins; their angel or bishop removed; and its fair pillars adorn the graves and rotten carcasses of its destroyers, the Turks, who are esteemed about two or three thousand in number. Its other fine church, called Santa Sophia, is turned into a mosque, and daily profaned with the blasphemies of the false prophet. There are not in the whole town above a dozen or fifteen families of miserable Christians, who till the ground to gain their bread, and live in the most abject and sordid servitude.” There is the less reason to wonder at the wretched condition of this church, when we consider what Christ here testifies concerning the corruptions which now prevailed in it, and the threatening denounced against it, if they did not repent, and purge out the destructive leaven.

These things saith he which hath the sharp sword — Coming out of his mouth, with two edges — To wound and pierce the unbelieving and disobedient, and bring them to the footstool of divine mercy for pardon and salvation; and to cut off the impenitent, and especially the persecuting enemies of his church; even that Word, which is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword: I know thy works — I observe them exactly; so as to reward or punish as the case requires: the ministers are commended for what is good, or blamed for what is amiss in their respective churches, because the state thereof depends much upon them, and they will be made accountable, in some measure, for it. And where thou dwellest — What thy situation is, and the circumstances in which thou art placed; even where Satan’s seat is — Fixed in the midst of idolatry, superstition, and persecution, by the union of which the kingdom of darkness is supported. Pergamos was above measure given to idolatry. And thou holdest fast my name — Openly and resolutely confessing me before men; and hast not denied my faith — Any great truth of my gospel; even in those days wherein Antipas — Put to death under Domitian; was my faithful martyr — Laying down his life in attestation of the truth. Happy is he to whom Jesus, the faithful and true Witness, giveth such a testimony! Slain among you, where Satan dwelleth — Seems to take up his residence, as may be inferred from the enormities which are continually practised there.

Ver. 12, 13. Pergamos. The existence of a church in this place is a wonder: yet about fifteen christian families still subsist there. By Satan’s seat, we understand a scale of deep depravity from the rulers towards the poor, and vices reigning in all the circles of society, Hence the martyrdom of Antipas, while striving against the wickedness of the age, is a high mark of his fidelity to God.

13. And where thou dwellest—A touch of sympathy and palliation for shortcomings. Satan’s seat is—No contemporary history exists to tell us what rendered Pergamos the home of the Satanic throne; for throne the word seat should have been rendered. Wordsworth notes, that the emblem of Esculapius was the serpent, who is represented on the Pergamene medals as “Pergameus Deus,” the Pergamene god; and this temple may have been the seat of Satan. Great numbers resorted to the Esculapian shrine for cures; and the cures were supposed to be effected by the miraculous power of the god. Hence it appears quite a probability that this temple, like that of Diana at Ephesus, was the source of violent persecution to the Church, rendering the city the stronghold of a violent pagan fanaticism.

The terms holdest fast, hast not denied, are delightful endorsements of the patience of the Church in that trying hour. Even—What heightens the firmness. Antipas—Is said by Eusebius to have been slain, in a tumult, by the Esculapian priests. He is supposed to have been bishop of Pergamos, and to have been martyred in the time of Domitian. The Greek Church dedicates April 11 as his day. Hengstenberg, by a preposterous etymology, makes Antipas mean “against all,” giving the last syllable its Greek meaning of all. This meaning of the whole name he likens to antichrist, against Christ, and anticosmos, against the world. To this Alford objects, that Antipas is a contraction of Antipater, and so cannot bear such a meaning. (See our biography of Luke, prefixed to his Gospel.) Trench, however, as absurd as Hengstenberg, while not accepting his meaning of Antipas, condemns Alford’s objection, averting that Antipas has all the rights of a word however formed. But surely if Antipas is merely a shortened form of Antipater, (meaning, instead of a father, pro-father,) the last syllable cannot mean all. When it is maintained by some that Antipas is an allegorical. and not a real character, because Balaam and Jezebel are here used allegorically, we reply that neither designates an unreal person in this book.

V. 14. But thou hast there-Whom thou oughtest to have immediately cast out from the flock.

Them that hold the doctrine of Balaam-Doctrine nearly resembling his. Who taught Balak-And the rest of the Moabites.

To cast a stumblingblock before the sons of Israel-They are generally termed, the children, but here, the sons, of Israel, in opposition to the daughters of Moab, by whom Balaam enticed them to fornication and idolatry.

To eat things sacrificed to idols-Which, in so idolatrous a city as Pergamos, was in the highest degree hurtful to Christianity. And to commit fornication-Which was constantly joined with the idol-worship of the heathens.

Verse 14. I have a few things against thee] Their good deeds are first carefully sought out and commended; what was wrong in them is touched with a gentle but effectual hand.

The followers of Balaam, the Nicolaitanes, and the Gnostics, were probably all the same kind of persons; but see Clarke on “Revelation 2:6”. What the doctrine of Balaam was, see the notes on Numbers 24:1-25:18; 31:1-54. It appears that there were some then in the Church at Pergamos who held eating things offered to idols in honour of those idols, and fornication, indifferent things. They associated with idolaters in the heathen temples, and partook with them in their religious festivals.

Verses 14, 15. But I have a few things against thee — Things that deserve reproof, and require reformation; because thou hast there — Those whom thou oughtest to have immediately cast out from the flock, that hold the doctrine of Balaam — Doctrine nearly resembling his: who taught Balak — And the rest of the Moabites; to cast a stumbling-block before the children — Rather, the sons, as twn uiwn signifies; of Israel — So named in opposition to the daughters of Moab, by whom Balaam enticed them to the commission of gross sin; to eat things sacrificed to idols — Which, in so idolatrous a city as Pergamos, was, in the highest degree, hurtful to Christianity: and to commit fornication — Which was constantly joined with the idol-worship of the heathen. So hast thou also — As well as the angel at Ephesus; them that hold the doctrine, &c. — Who go so far as to justify their bad conduct by receiving the principles of the Nicolaitanes; which thing I hate — Condemn and detest as most inconsistent with the purity of the Christian faith and religion: and these thou sufferest to remain in the flock. “It seems not improbable,” Doddridge thinks, “that the doctrine of Balaam and that of the Nicolaitanes might be the same; or the latter might be more strenuous in justifying and propagating their doctrine, and acting upon it; and that this doctrine might be like that of some modern seducers, namely, that it is lawful to dissemble the Christian faith, and to conform to the established superstition, to prevent persecution: a fatal error, which tends most effectually to overthrow Christianity, the existence of which, in these later ages, is owing to the contrary doctrine and practice.”

Ver. 14. Balaam, or lord of the people, a surname probably given him on account of his popularity. Thus Balaam’s children, even in the church of Christ, allured unwary souls to gentile feasts.

14. Doctrine of Balaam—The teachings of Balaam and of the Nicolaitans, had each a very different historical origin and doctrinal basis. The former is Shemitic, the latter is Aryan; the former came from Phoenicia, the latter from India. Baal-Peor, the god of Balaam and the Moabites, was no other than the Phoenician god Baal, with Peor added to designate the local name of his Moabite worship. Baal was held by the glowing sensuality of the Phoenicians to be the sun-god, the fire-god; thence the god of all sexual generation in nature, vegetable, animal, human. The taurus, bull, was his animal representative, the type of vigorous generative power. His image for worship was the phallus. In the religious theory the sexual impulse was a holy sensation, the temple was a consecrated brothel, the priestess was a harlot, and the rites were debauchery; not only made decent and respectable, but sacred and religious by this most satanic of systems. As counterpart this same Baal, as fire-god, was Moloch, the representative of the destructive power of the element of heat. Human victims were made sacrifices to this form of the god, by “passing through the fire,” fully proving the serious earnestness of the belief of the people in both forms of deity and both systems of rites. Ashtaroth (Greek form, Astarte) was the feminine side of the same worship, to which the lustful Venus was in later ages the Roman parallel. It was the most seductive of religions, and haunted Israel through his whole history, requiring all the energy of prophets and priests, and of pious kings, to repel its inroads and preserve the nation true to its holy mission. The failure was at last complete, and brought on the captivity. Pictures of the ruin wrought by Israel’s adoption of this double system of sensuality and cruelty—of Baal and Moloch— abound in the sacred history, but as specimen passages, 2 Kings 17:6-33, and Hosea 4:12-14, may be read. In the Apocalyptic age, some of the more sensual traits of this system passed to the Roman mythology, (see our vol. iv, p. 9,) and its ideas would often be adopted by mystical sensualists who loved to veil base indulgences with religious sanctions. In our own day sexual promiscuity is sometimes blended with religious pretences, but more usually under the authority of physiology and race developments. The existence of the doctrine of Balaam at Pergamos seemed to be rather in intimate proximity with the Church than within it. The Church was responsible, not so much for sharing in it, as for too little energy of opposition to it. Stumblingblock—Note on Matthew 18:7. Idols… fornication—It was this union of sacrificial feasting with regularly established and expected debaucheries, which we at this day can hardly understand, that rendered it dangerous for the Christian to attend a feast or to eat of sacrificial meat. It was by this route that sexuality would have a short cut into a primitive Church. So it was in Corinth. 1 Corinthians 5:1.

V. 15. In like manner thou also-As well as the angel at Ephesus. Hast them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans-And thou sufferest them to remain in the flock.

Verse 15. The doctrine of the Nicolaitanes] See Clarke on “Revelation 2:6”.

Verses 14, 15. But I have a few things against thee — Things that deserve reproof, and require reformation; because thou hast there — Those whom thou oughtest to have immediately cast out from the flock, that hold the doctrine of Balaam — Doctrine nearly resembling his: who taught Balak — And the rest of the Moabites; to cast a stumbling-block before the children — Rather, the sons, as twn uiwn signifies; of Israel — So named in opposition to the daughters of Moab, by whom Balaam enticed them to the commission of gross sin; to eat things sacrificed to idols — Which, in so idolatrous a city as Pergamos, was, in the highest degree, hurtful to Christianity: and to commit fornication — Which was constantly joined with the idol-worship of the heathen. So hast thou also — As well as the angel at Ephesus; them that hold the doctrine, &c. — Who go so far as to justify their bad conduct by receiving the principles of the Nicolaitanes; which thing I hate — Condemn and detest as most inconsistent with the purity of the Christian faith and religion: and these thou sufferest to remain in the flock. “It seems not improbable,” Doddridge thinks, “that the doctrine of Balaam and that of the Nicolaitanes might be the same; or the latter might be more strenuous in justifying and propagating their doctrine, and acting upon it; and that this doctrine might be like that of some modern seducers, namely, that it is lawful to dissemble the Christian faith, and to conform to the established superstition, to prevent persecution: a fatal error, which tends most effectually to overthrow Christianity, the existence of which, in these later ages, is owing to the contrary doctrine and practice.”

15. So hast thou also—Observe that the Nicolaitans are different from, and additional to, the holders of the teachings of Balaam, and not identical. They very much agreed in the ultimate of licentiousness they reached, but from different historical and doctrinal starting points. The doctrines of Balaam were a remnant of the old Canaanite or Phoenician Baalism, and were Shemitic; that of the Nicolaitans was Aryan, derived from India, and based on the dogma of the residence of all evil in matter. See notes on Acts 6:5, Jude 1:11, and Introduction to John’s Epistles. The active existence of these heretics at the time of the writing of this book proves it later than the reign of Nero.

V. 16. If not, I come to thee-who wilt not wholly escape when I punish them.

And will fight with them-Not with the Nicolaitans, who are mentioned only by the by, but the followers of Balaam.

With the sword of my mouth-With my just and fierce displeasure. Balaam himself was first withstood by the angel of the Lord with "his sword drawn," Numbers 22:23, and afterwards "slain with the sword," Numbers 31:8.

Verse 16. Will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.] See Clarke on “Revelation 2:12”. He now speaks for their edification and salvation; but if they do not repent, he will shortly declare those judgments which shall unavoidably fall upon them.

Verses 16, 17. Repent, therefore, of these irregularities; or else I will come unto thee quickly — In the way of chastisement; and will fight against them — Those corrupt members; with the sword of my mouth — With my word, pronouncing terrible calamities against them, and executing what I have threatened. The word of God is the great engine wherewith Christ fights against, wounds, and overcomes all antichristian powers. He that hath an ear — That is disposed to receive useful instruction; let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches — Let him carefully regard the arguments and warnings given by the Spirit of prophecy. To him that overcometh, and eateth not of these sacrifices, will I give to eat of the hidden manna — He shall be made a partaker of those sacred pleasures which God’s sanctuary above affords, and of which the manna that fell in the wilderness, and was laid up in a golden vessel before the Lord, was only an imperfect type; even the full, glorious, everlasting fruition of God, and those comforts which flow from him. And will give him a while stone — The ancients, on many occasions, gave their votes in judgment by small stones; by black they condemned, by white ones they acquitted. Sometimes also they wrote on small smooth stones. Here may be an allusion to both customs; and the thing principally intended by the white stone is complete victory, and full public absolution. And in the stone a new name written — Eminent honour following thereon. So Jacob, after his victory, gained the name of Israel. Wouldest thou know what thy new name will be? The way to this is plain: overcome. Till then, all thy inquiries are vain. But then thou wilt read it on the white stone.

16. Thee… them—His visitation would be to the Church and its bishops, his fight would be with the sensualists. Sword of my mouth—The blessed weapon of moral warfare and providential destruction. Observe the threatening corresponds with the sword of the self-assertion in verse 12.

V. 17. To him that overcometh-And eateth not of those sacrifices. Will I give of the hidden manna-Described, John 6:31-35. The new name answers to this: it is now "hid with Christ in God." The Jewish manna was kept in the ancient ark of the covenant. The heavenly ark of the covenant appears under the trumpet of the seventh angel, Revelation 11:19, where also the hidden manna is mentioned again. It seems properly to mean, the full, glorious, everlasting fruition of God. And I will give him a white stone-The ancients, on many occasions, gave their votes in judgment by small stones; by black, they condemned; by white ones they acquitted. Sometimes also they wrote on small smooth stones. Here may be an allusion to both.

And a new name-So Jacob, after his victory, gained the new name of Israel. Wouldest thou know what thy new name will be? The way to this is plain,-overcome. Till then all thy inquiries are vain. Thou wilt then read it on the white stone.

Verse 17. The hidden manna] It was a constant tradition of the Jews that the ark of the covenant, the tables of stone, Aaron’s rod, the holy anointing oil, and the pot of manna, were hidden by King Josiah when Jerusalem was taken by the Chaldeans; and that these shall all be restored in the days of the Messiah. This manna was hidden, but Christ promises to give it to him that is conqueror. Jesus is the ark, the oil, the rod, the testimony, and the manna. He who is partaker of his grace has all those things in their spiritual meaning and perfection.

And will give him a white stone] I. It is supposed that by the white stone is meant pardon or acquittance, and the evidence of it; and that there is an allusion here to the custom observed by judges in ancient times, who were accustomed to give their suffrages by white and black pebbles; those who gave the former were for absolving the culprit, those who gave the latter were for his condemnation. This is mentioned by Ovid, Metam. lib. xv., ver. 41:

Mos erat antiquus, niveis atrisque lapillis,

His damnare reos, illis absolvere culpa.

Nunc quoque sic lata est sententia tristis.

“A custom was of old, and still remains,

Which life or death by suffrages ordains:

White stones and black within an urn are cast,

The first absolve, but fate is in the last.”

DRYDEN.

II. Others suppose there is an allusion here to conquerors in the public games, who were not only conducted with great pomp into the city to which they belonged, but had a white stone given to them, with their name inscribed on it; which badge entitled them, during their whole life, to be maintained at the public expense. See Pind., Olymp. vii. 159, and the Scholia there; and see the collections in Wetstein, and Rosenmuller’s note. These were called tesseræ among the Romans, and of these there were several kinds.

1. Tesseræ conviviales, which answered exactly to our cards of invitation, or tickets of admission to a public feast or banquet; when the person invited produced his tessera he was admitted. The mention of the hidden manna here may seem to intimate that there is a reference to these convivial tesseræ, whether given to the victor in the public games, entitling him to be fed at the public expense, or to a particular friend, inviting him to a family meal or to a public banquet.

2. There were tesseræ inscribed with different kinds of things, such as provisions, garments, gold or silver vessels, horses, mares, slaves, &c. These were sometimes thrown by the Roman emperors among the crowd in the theatres, and he that could snatched one; and on producing it he received that, the name of which was inscribed on it. But from Dio Cassius it appears that those tesseræ were small wooden balls, whereas the tesseræ in general were square, whence they had their name, as having four sides, angles, or corners. Illi tessarhn, vel tessaran, vocabant figuram quamvis quadratam, quæ quatuor angulos haberet; and these were made of stone, marble, bone, or ivory, lead, brass, or other metal. See Pitiscus.

3. Tesseræ frumentariæ, or tickets to receive grain in the public distributions of corn; the name of the person who was to receive, and the quantum of grain; being both inscribed on this badge or ticket. Those who did not need this public provision for themselves were permitted to sell their ticket, and the bearer was entitled to the quantum of grain mentioned on it.

4. But the most remarkable of these instruments were the tesseræ hospitales, which were given as badges of friendship and alliance, and on which some device was engraved, as a testimony that a contract of friendship had been made between the parties. A small oblong square piece of wood, bone, stone, or ivory, was taken and divided into two equal parts, on which each of the parties wrote his own name, and then interchanged it with the other. This was carefully preserved, and handed down even to posterity in the same family; and by producing this when they travelled, it gave a mutual claim to the bearers of kind reception and hospitable entertainment at each other’s houses.

It is to this custom that Plautus refers in his POENULUS, act. v., scen. 2, ver. 80, in the interview between Agorastocles, and his unknown uncle Hanno.

HANNO.—

O mi popularis, salve!

AGORASTOCLES.—

Et tu edepol, quisquis es.

Et si quid opus est, quæso, die atque impera,

Popularitatis caussa.

HAN.—

Habeo gratiam.

Verum ego hic hospitium habeo: Antidamæ filium

Quæro; commonstra, si novisti, Agorastoclem.

Ecquem adolescentem tu hic novisti Agorastoclem?

AGOR.—

Siquidem tu Antidamarchi quæris adoptatitium,

Ego sum ipsus, quem tu quæris.

HAN.—

Hem! quid ego audio?

AGOR.—

Antidamæ gnatum me esse.

HAN.—

si ita est, tesseram

Conferre si vis hospitalem, eccam adtuli.

AGOR.—

Agedum huc ostende; est par probe: nam habeo domi.

HAN.—

O mi hospes, salve multum! nam mihi tuus pater,

Pater tuus ergo, hospes Antidamas fuit.

Hæc mihi hospitalis tessera cum illo fuit.

AGOR.—

Ergo hic apud me hospitium tibi præbebitur.

Nam haud repudio hospitium, neque Carthaginem:

Inde sum oriundus.

HAN.

Di dent tibi omnes quæ velis.

HANNO.-Hail, my countryman!

AGORASTOCLES.-I hail thee also, in the name of Pollux, whosoever thou art. And if thou have need of any thing, speak, I beseech thee; and thou shalt obtain what thou askest, for civility’s sake.

HANNO.-I thank thee, but I have a lodging here; I seek the son of Antidamas. Tell me if thou knowest Agorastocles. Dost thou know in this place the young Agorastocles?

AGORASTOCLES.-If thou seek the adopted son of Antidamarchus, I am the person whom thou seekest.

HANNO.-Ha! What do I hear?

AGORASTOCLES.-Thou hearest that I am the son of Antidamas. HANNO.-If it be so, compare, if thou pleasest, the hospitable tessera; here it is, I have brought it with me.

AGORASTOCLES.-Come then, reach it hither: it is the exact counterpart; I have the other at home.

HANNO.-O my friend, I am very glad to see thee, for thy father was my friend; therefore Antidamas thy father was my guest. I divided this hospitable tessera with him.

AGORASTOCLES.-Therefore, a lodging shall be provided for thee with me; I reverence hospitality, and I love Carthage, where I was born. HANNO.-May all the gods grant thee whatsoever thou wishest! The tessera taken in this sense, seems to have been a kind of tally; and the two parts were compared together to ascertain the truth. Now it is very probable that St. John may allude to this; for on this mode of interpretation every part of the verse is consistent. 1. The word yhfov does not necessarily signify a stone of any kind, but a suffrage, sentence, decisive vote; and in this place seems answerable to the tessera. The tessera which Hanno had, he tells us in his Punic language, was inscribed with the image or name of his god. “Sigillum hospitii mei est tabula sculpta, conjus sculptura est Deus meus. This is the interpretation of the Punic words at the beginning of the above 5th act of the Pœnulus, as given by Bochart. 2. The person who held it had a right to entertainment in the house of him who originally gave it; for it was in reference to this that the friendly contract was made. 3. The names of the contracting persons, or some device, were written on the tessera, which commemorated the friendly contract; and as the parts were interchanged, none could know that name or device, or the reason of the contract, but he who received it. 4. This, when produced, gave the bearer a right to the offices of hospitality; he was accommodated with food, lodging, &c., as far as these were necessary; and to this the eating of the hidden manna may refer.

But what does this mean in the language of Christ? 1. That the person is taken into an intimate state of friendship with him. 2. That this contract is witnessed to the party by some especial token, sign, or seal, to which he may have recourse to support his claim, and identify his person. This is probably what is elsewhere called the earnest of the Spirit; see Clarke’s note on “Ephesians 1:14”, and the places there referred to. He then who has received and retains the witness of the Spirit that he is adopted into the heavenly family, may humbly claim, in virtue of it, his support of the bread and water of life; the hidden manna-every grace of the Spirit of God; and the tree of life-immortality, or the final glorification of his body and soul throughout eternity. 3. By this state of grace into which he is brought he acquires a new name, the name of child of God; the earnest of the Spirit, the tessera, which he has received, shows him this new name. 4. And this name of child of God no man can know or understand, but he who has received the tessera or Divine witness. 5. As his Friend and Redeemer may be found everywhere, because he fills the heavens and the earth, everywhere he may, on retaining this tessera, claim direction, succour, support, grace, and glory; and therefore the privileges of him who overcometh are the greatest and most glorious that can be imagined. For a farther account of the tessera of the ancients, as well as for engravings of several, see Grævii Thesaur.; Pitisci Lexic.; and Poleni Supplement; and the authors to whom these writers refer.

The Epistle to the Church at Thyatira.

Verses 16, 17. Repent, therefore, of these irregularities; or else I will come unto thee quickly — In the way of chastisement; and will fight against them — Those corrupt members; with the sword of my mouth — With my word, pronouncing terrible calamities against them, and executing what I have threatened. The word of God is the great engine wherewith Christ fights against, wounds, and overcomes all antichristian powers. He that hath an ear — That is disposed to receive useful instruction; let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches — Let him carefully regard the arguments and warnings given by the Spirit of prophecy. To him that overcometh, and eateth not of these sacrifices, will I give to eat of the hidden manna — He shall be made a partaker of those sacred pleasures which God’s sanctuary above affords, and of which the manna that fell in the wilderness, and was laid up in a golden vessel before the Lord, was only an imperfect type; even the full, glorious, everlasting fruition of God, and those comforts which flow from him. And will give him a while stone — The ancients, on many occasions, gave their votes in judgment by small stones; by black they condemned, by white ones they acquitted. Sometimes also they wrote on small smooth stones. Here may be an allusion to both customs; and the thing principally intended by the white stone is complete victory, and full public absolution. And in the stone a new name written — Eminent honour following thereon. So Jacob, after his victory, gained the name of Israel. Wouldest thou know what thy new name will be? The way to this is plain: overcome. Till then, all thy inquiries are vain. But then thou wilt read it on the white stone.

Ver. 17. To him that overcometh, and holds fast the faith in so wicked a place, I will give a triple crown of glory; namely, the hidden manna, of which see in the sixteenth of Exodus; and a white stone, in the full blaze of justifying and sanctifying grace; and a new name, which the world do not know, for the good shepherd calls his sheep by a new name, which the enemies cannot learn.

Epistle the fourth.

17. Hidden manna—For him who spurns the meat of idol sacrifices there is reserved a divine food, the hidden manna. Not merely secret, but hidden, laid up and deposited away from human gaze. So God commanded Moses, Exodus 16:32-34, to deposit a memorial manna, “and lay it up before the Lord to be kept for your generations.” According to Hebrews 9:4, the manna was deposited in a pot enclosed in the ark of the covenant, within the holy of holies. Our Saviour denominates himself the “bread,” figured by the manna, (John 6:48-50,) of which our sacramental bread is the symbol. But the depositing the memorial manna by Moses in the holy of holies, (the symbol of the highest heavens,) figures Christ in his ascended and resurrected state. Hebrews 9:24. It is our risen Lord, then, who is our hidden manna, our immortalizing food. Parallel to this is the fruit of the tree of life, the aliment of a heavenly immortality, whose vitality and vitalizing power are derived from Christ. See note on Revelation 22. A white stone—Of all interpretations of this image, that of Trench is both most beautiful and most satisfactory. The white stone is the oracular urim, (it was probably a diamond,) in the breast-plate of the High-priest, bearing the incommunicable name. And as every glorified Christian becomes a high-priest, so to every one is given the diamond urim. This stone, as white, represents the purity of heaven. Nay more, it is not merely the pale dim white, (Latin, albus,) but the lustrous, radiating white, (Latin, candidus,) of which the diamond gives a sample, and so symbolizes even the glory of heaven. So, white are the hairs of the Son of God, 1:14; and white raiment, Revelation 3:5; white robes, Revelation 7:9; a white cloud Revelation 14:14; white horses, Revelation 19:8, 14; great white throne, Revelation 20:1. The Greek word for stone here, yhfov, meaning a pebble or smooth sea-worn stone, was used before the invention of the paper ballot for the decision of alternative questions, as the election of a candidate to office, or the acquittal of an accused person; which was by a “white stone” in opposition to a black. Hence it was used in some kinds of divination to decide a future event, which may have suggested its use here for the urim, by which the will of Jehovah was ascertained; though Trench does not notice that point. The use of the word to designate so precious a stone as the diamond, is, perhaps, sustained by the fact, that in later Greek it is used by Callimachus to denote the gem of a finger-ring.

How far it is made sure that the urim was a diamond is not so clear. The breastplate of the high priest (see note, Matthew 26:3) was studded with twelve precious stones, on which were inscribed the names of the twelve tribes. The urim was, very probably, an additional stone, most precious of all, and so a diamond, or at least some stone of high value and radiant clearness. Its highest value, however, was, that it was officially borne upon the heart of the high priest in his highest functions, and that it was a medium of communion with Jehovah. The white stone bestowed upon the apocalyptic conqueror, that is, upon every triumphant Christian, is token that he is high priest, and his intercommunion with God is glorious. And all this is confirmed by the remarkable fact that both the hidden manna and the white stone of the urim being in the holy of holies, were accessible to the high priest alone.

If we reject this identification of the white stone as too ingenious, or for other reasons, we may fall back upon Hengstenberg’s view, that the white stone is merely the appropriate basis or surface for bearing the gracious inscription of the divine witness of our sonship of God. And we may also add the view of Grotius and others, that the white stone is an entrance-ticket into the gates of heaven, with God’s own signature upon it. He that receiveth it—It means the stone, and not the name; the name is not that of the receiver, but that of the divine donor. And nothing can be wiser than Bengel’s reply to him that asks, What is that name? “Wouldst thou know what sort of a name thou wouldst receive? Overcome! Otherwise, thou askest vainly. But overcoming thou wilt soon read that name upon the white stone.” That name is not a word, but a power. IV. THYATIRA.—The working Church, yet too careless of Christian truth and purity, 18-28.

V. 18. And to the angel of the church at Thyatira-Where the faithful were but a little flock.

These things saith the Son of God-See how great he is, who appeared "like a son of man!" Revelation 1:13.

Who hath eyes as a flame of fire-"Searching the reins and the heart," Revelation 2:23

And feet like fine brass-Denoting his immense strength. Job comprises both these, his wisdom to discern whatever is amiss, and his power to avenge it, in one sentence, Job 42:2, "No thought is hidden from him, and he can do all things."

Verse 18. These things saith the Son of God] See the notes on Revelation 1:14, 15.

Verse 18. And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write — “Next to Pergamos is Thyatira situated, at the distance of about forty-eight miles to the south-east. At present the city is called by the Turks Akhisar, or The White Castle, from the great quantities of white marble there abounding. Only one ancient edifice is left standing: the rest, even the churches, are so destroyed, that no vestiges of them are to be found. The principal inhabitants are Turks, who have here eight mosques. So terribly have the divine judgments, denounced in this letter, been poured upon this church!” “Akhizar, the ancient Thyatira,” observes the Rev. H. Lindsay, “is said to contain about thirty thousand inhabitants; of whom three thousand are Christians, all Greeks, except about two hundred Armenians. There is, however, but one Greek church and one Armenian. The superior of the Greek church, to whom I presented the Romaic Testament, esteemed it so great a treasure that he earnestly pressed me, if possible, to spare another, that one might be secured to the church, and be free from accidents, while the other went round among the people for their private reading. I have, therefore, since my return hither, sent him four copies.” Write; These things saith the Son of God — See how great he is who appeared like a Son of man, Revelation 1:13; who hath eyes bright and penetrating, like unto a flame of fire — Searching the reins and the heart, verse 23; and his feet like fine brass — Denoting his immense strength. Job comprises both these particulars, namely, his wisdom to discern whatever is amiss, and his power to avenge it, in one sentence, (Job 42:2,) saying, No thought is hidden from him, and he can do all things. Or the latter emblem, his feet being like fine brass, may signify that all his ways are gloriously just and holy.

Ver. 18. To the angel of the church in Thyatira write; these things saith the Son of God. This relative appellation which bespeaks our Lord’s full participation in the divine nature, is frequently mentioned in scripture to show his essential and original dignity. Psalms 2:7Psalm 2:7. Matthew 3:17. 16:16. 17:5. Acts 13:33. This also coincides with his revealed name, the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last. Christ, in this epistle, reäppears, as in the vision of Revelation 1:14, and as he was seen by the Hebrew prophet. Ezekiel 1. 4. 9.

Boiste describes this city of Anatolia, as situate on the river Hermus, in a plain of eighteen miles broad, and interspersed with plantations of cotton, and in a high state of agriculture. The inhabitants are estimated at thirty thousand, one third of which are christians. The Turks call it Akissar, from its castle being built of white marble. It is thirty two miles south-east of Smyrna. Dr. More gives a history of the name of this city, out of Stephanus Byzantius. Thyatira, a city of Lydia, was first called Pelopea, and then Semiramis; but Seleucus, the son of Nicanor when at war with Lysimachus, on hearing that he had a daughter newly born, called it Thygatira, that is, a daughter.

18. Thyatira—From the renowned capital, Pergamos, to the still more renowned Sardis, our apostle would find a strait south-eastern Roman road: he would be obliged to turn a little aside to the east to the lesser town of Thyatira. When Alexander the Great drove the Persian power out of Ionia, he and his successors planted therein a number of cities, filling them with inhabitants from his own Macedonia. Of these cities one was Thyatira. This city was filled with a number of industrial classes or guilds, namely: bakers, potters, weavers, tanners, dyers, etc. Hence “Lydia of Thyatira” was found at Philippi, Macedonia, by Paul, and she became the first European Christian convert. She was “a seller of purple,” probably the cloth, the “imperial purple,” not the dye alone. She was, doubtless, a Macedonian by descent, a Lydian by birth, a Philippian by residence. She bore the name of her native province, for Lydia was no doubt her proper name. Altogether Luke’s narrative places her as a graceful figure in early Christian history. How vivid the contrast between Lydia of Thyatira and Jezebel of Thyatira! It is curious to note that the American missionary, Brewer, in 1831, found the guild of dyers still working at the occupation in Thyatira. It was never a great city, but a thrifty manufacturing town. The modern town is said by Svoboda (The Seven Churches of Asia, 1869) to contain 15,000 inhabitants, of whom two thirds are Turks, one third Greek Christians, with a few Armenians. He adds, “The whole trade is in the hands of the Christian population, as it generally is throughout the East, the Christians comprising the most industrious and intelligent part of the population.” Son of God—St. John had identified him as son of man in remembrance of the human humiliation in which he once had known him; he here identifies himself as that same son in his glorification. The promises at close of this epistle are taken from the second psalm, in which that sonship is described in its power. Eyes… feet—Quoted from St. John’s picture of him, Revelation 1:14, 15. The eyes are alluded to in searcheth, verse 23.

V. 19. I know thy love-How different a character is this from that of the angel of the church at Ephesus! The latter could not bear the wicked, and hated the works of the Nicolaitans; but had left his first love and first works. The former retained his first love, and had more and more works, but did bear the wicked, did not withstand them with becoming vehemence. Mixed characters both; yet the latter, not the former, is reproved for his fall, and commanded to repent.

And faith, and thy service, and patience-Love is shown, exercised, and improved by serving God and our neighbour; so is faith by patience and good works.

Verse 19. I know thy works] And of these he first sets forth their charity, thn agaphn, their love to God and each other; and particularly to the poor and distressed: and hence followed their faith, thn pistin, their fidelity, to the grace they had received; and service, thn diakonian, and ministration; properly pious and benevolent service to widows, orphans, and the poor in general.

And thy patience] thn upomonhn sou. Thy perseverance under afflictions and persecutions, and thy continuance in well-doing. I put faith before service according to the general consent of the best MSS. and versions.

Thy works] The continued labour of love, and thorough obedience. The last to be more than the first.] They not only retained what they had received at first, but grew in grace, and in the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ. This is a rare thing in most Christian Churches: they generally lose the power of religion, and rest in the forms of worship; and it requires a powerful revival to bring them to such a state that their last works shall be more than their first.

Verse 19. I know thy works — Of piety and mercy; and charity — Or love, rather. How different a character is this from that of the angel of the church at Ephesus! The latter could not bear the wicked, and hated the works of the Nicolaitanes; but he had left his first love and first works. The former retained his first love, and had more and more works, but bore with the wicked; did not withstand them with becoming vehemence. Mixed characters both; yet the latter, not the former, is reproved for his fall, and commanded to repent. And service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works — Love is shown, exercised, and improved, by serving God and our neighbour: so is faith by patience and good works. And the last to be more than the first — Greater and better. Very far art thou from that declining state of religion of which I have had reason elsewhere to complain.

Ver. 19. I know thy works. This is named a second time in this verse, which is equivalent to an emphatic word of consolation. I have seen thy conflicts, thy sorrows, and grief of heart, for some who glory in their shame; and yet thou hast been too remiss in using the knife of excision, for all deadly sins require the two-edged sword; and he who uses it not, in driving away adulterers and fornicators from the church, and all their beguiling defences of vice, shall have the sword unsheathed against himself, as against Balaam, and Jezebel in ancient time.

19. Thy works—Works are here generic, and include the four qualities that follow, namely, charity, service, faith, patience. They are both works internal and works external. Charity is here love both to God and man. Faith—By the true reading this occurs next after charity. It implies the true believing faith by which a man is justified, a perseverance in which is fidelity. Service—The quality by which the faithful Christian serves the well-being of his fellow beings. Patience—The persistence and consistency with which he perseveres in those works. And—The semicolon should precede this and, and the clause should read, “and thy last works are more than the first.” The blessed reverse of the declension of Ephesus, verse 4. The Church was abounding and advancing in graces of heart and activity of life.

V. 20. But thou sufferest that woman Jezebel-who ought not to teach at all, 1 Timothy 2:12.

To teach and seduce my servants-At Pergamos were many followers of Balaam; at Thyatira, one grand deceiver. Many of the ancients have delivered, that this was the wife of the pastor himself. Jezebel of old led the people of God to open idolatry. This Jezebel, fitly called by her name, from the resemblance between their works, led them to partake in the idolatry of the heathens. This she seems to have done by first enticing them to fornication, just as Balaam did: whereas at Pergamos they were first enticed to idolatry, and afterwards to fornication.

Verse 20. That woman Jezebel] There is an allusion here to the history of Ahab and Jezebel, as given in 2 Kings 9:1-10:36; and although we do not know who this Jezebel was, yet from the allusion we may take it for granted she was a woman of power and influence in Thyatira, who corrupted the true religion, and harassed the followers of God in that city, as Jezebel did in Israel. Instead of that woman Jezebel, thn gunaika iezabhl, many excellent MSS., and almost all the ancient versions, read thn gunaika sou iezabhl, THY WIFE Jezebel; which intimates, indeed asserts, that this bad woman was the wife of the bishop of the Church, and his criminality in suffering her was therefore the greater. This reading Griesbach has received into the text. She called herself a prophetess, i.e., set up for a teacher; taught the Christians that fornication, and eating things offered to idols, were matters of indifference, and thus they were seduced from the truth. But it is probable that by fornication here is meant idolatry merely, which is often its meaning in the Scriptures. It is too gross to suppose that the wife of the bishop of this Church could teach fornication literally. The messenger or bishop of this Church, probably her husband, suffered this: he had power to have cast her and her party out of the Church, or, as his wife, to have restrained her; but he did not do it, and thus she had every opportunity of seducing the faithful. This is what Christ had against the messenger of this Church.

Verses 20, 21. Notwithstanding, I have a few things, &c. — Yet, observe, there are some things in thy conduct I take notice of, which deserve blame, and call for reformation, namely, thou sufferest that woman Jezebel — Thou givest too much countenance to some evil persons, who, like that wicked woman Jezebel, of old, who defiled Israel with her idolatrous and lewd practices, set themselves to teach, and, on wicked pretences of prophecy and revelation, to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed to idols — Both which are contrary to the truth and purity of the doctrine and worship of my gospel. When the description of the imitators or followers of Jezebel in this verse is compared with what was before said of the Nicolaitanes, verses 14, 15, “the resemblance,” says Doddridge, “appears so great, that I am induced to believe it is the same heresy which is represented under both these views; namely, the doctrine of those who taught it was lawful to dissemble our religious principles, and occasionally to conform to superstition and idolatry, in order to avoid persecution. And as Jezebel was so infamous an idolatress, and so great a mistress of seducing arts, there was an evident propriety in such a representation, 1 Kings 16:31; 21:25.” Some have fancied this was some female heretic. And I gave her space to repent, &c. — Though I have granted these persons a long time to consider the sinfulness of their conduct, and to reform it, yet they are so sunk in depravity and wickedness, that they still remain impenitent and obstinate, and afford no signs or hopes of amendment. So, though repentance is the gift of God, man may refuse it: God will not compel.

Ver. 20. I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel. Some consider this woman as representing the character of the synagogue; some consider her as the bishop’s wife, a prophetess profane in morals. Others suppose her to be some woman of noble family and great influence, at the head of the Nicolaitanes, who mixed themselves with the church. Here is a case, a sad case of some baptized christians, who feasted profanely, and repeated the sins of Baal-peor, and of Jezebel. 1 Kings 16:31. Numbers 25:1, 5.

20. That woman—Though Alford rather approves the reading, thy wife, (meaning the wife of the pastor or bishop,) Tischendorf and Trench reject it. This reading may have arisen from the words, “Jezebel, his wife,” 1 Kings 21:25. Jezebel—Was the true female counterpart of Balaam, both being great patrons of the same system of idolotrous sensualism, the fiery Molochism of the Tyrian sun-god. He seduced Israel on his first entrance to the promised land; she, more fatally, centuries after, won the kingdom of Israel to a still more fatal form of the same apostasy. She was the daughter of Ethbaal, king of Tyre and priest of Astarte. She became the wife of Ahab, king of Israel, and not only imported the voluptuous rites of the Tyrian religion, but gave it a complete ascendency over the religion of Jehovah in Jehovah’s own land. A contempt for the gloomy and narrow scruples of the true Israelite was diffused; it became aristocratic to be dissolute; temples were abundantly erected for the seductive rites, until but 7,000 adherents of Jehovah were alone known to Jehovah himself in the fallen nation. The overthrow and tragic end of Jezebel we need not here rehearse. Her antitype in spirit and influence was now found in the little Church of Thyatira, a libertine woman of great talent seducing the people by sensual doctrines, and leading them into most atrocious practices. There is not the slightest demand or excuse for giving any allegorical sense to these plain facts. The remark of Alford, that the emblematical name of Jezebel, given to this woman, leads “us into the regions of symbolism,” is over-strained. If we were to brand a modern traitor with the name of Judas, that would not at all imply that his treasonable character and acts were allegorical, or his person an unreality. And we have specimens of even female lecturers at the present day denouncing the institution of marriage, and propagating a theory of unsanctified sensualism, aiding us to understand both the Tyrian and the Thyatirian Jezebel. She claimed to be a prophetess, as Balaam was a prophet. That is, she assumed to be a religious doctrinary. My servants—As Balaam’s influence seduced Israel of old. Fornication—Eating of things sacrificed unto idols.

V. 21. And I gave her time to repent-So great is the power of Christ! But she will not repent-So, though repentance is the gift of God, man may refuse it; God will not compel.

Verse 21. I gave her space to repent] “This alludes to the history of Jezebel. God first sent Elijah to Ahab to pronounce a severe judgment upon him; upon which Ahab showed tokens of repentance, and so God put off his punishment. By these means the like punishment pronounced against Jezebel was also put off. Thus God gave her time to repent, which she did not, but instead of that seduced her sons to the same sins. See 1 Kings 21:1-29. According to the Mosaical law, the punishment of idolatrous seducers was not to be delayed at all, but God sometimes showed mercy; and now much more under the Christian dispensation, though that mercy is often abused, and thus produces the contrary effect, as in the case of this Jezebel. See Ecclesiastes 8:11.

Verses 20, 21. Notwithstanding, I have a few things, &c. — Yet, observe, there are some things in thy conduct I take notice of, which deserve blame, and call for reformation, namely, thou sufferest that woman Jezebel — Thou givest too much countenance to some evil persons, who, like that wicked woman Jezebel, of old, who defiled Israel with her idolatrous and lewd practices, set themselves to teach, and, on wicked pretences of prophecy and revelation, to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed to idols — Both which are contrary to the truth and purity of the doctrine and worship of my gospel. When the description of the imitators or followers of Jezebel in this verse is compared with what was before said of the Nicolaitanes, verses 14, 15, “the resemblance,” says Doddridge, “appears so great, that I am induced to believe it is the same heresy which is represented under both these views; namely, the doctrine of those who taught it was lawful to dissemble our religious principles, and occasionally to conform to superstition and idolatry, in order to avoid persecution. And as Jezebel was so infamous an idolatress, and so great a mistress of seducing arts, there was an evident propriety in such a representation, 1 Kings 16:31; 21:25.” Some have fancied this was some female heretic. And I gave her space to repent, &c. — Though I have granted these persons a long time to consider the sinfulness of their conduct, and to reform it, yet they are so sunk in depravity and wickedness, that they still remain impenitent and obstinate, and afford no signs or hopes of amendment. So, though repentance is the gift of God, man may refuse it: God will not compel.

Ver. 21. I gave her a space. Wickliffe reads, “I gaf to her tyme to repent.”

21. I gave her space—The Church tolerated her from negligence, but Christ allowed her space in mercy. Yet she had been living on probation. Repented not—It would seem that the space for repentance hardly now existed; yet there is a saving clause at the close of the next verse.

V. 22. I will cast her into a bed-into great affliction-and them that commit either carnal or spiritual adultery with her, unless they repent-She had her time before.

Of her works-Those to which she had enticed their and which she had committed with them.

It is observable, the angel of the church at Thyatira was only blamed for suffering her. This fault ceased when God took vengeance on her. Therefore he is not expressly exhorted to repent, though it is implied.

Verse 22. Behold, I will cast her into a bed] “This again alludes to the same history. Ahaziah, son of Ahab and Jezebel, by his mother’s ill instruction and example, followed her ways. God punished him by making him fall down, as is supposed, from the top of the terrace over his house, and so to be bedridden for a long time under great anguish, designing thereby to give him time to repent; but when, instead of that, he sent to consult Baalzebub, Elijah was sent to pronounce a final doom against his impenitence. Thus the son of Jezebel, who had committed idolatry with and by her advice, was long cast into the bed of affliction, and not repenting, died: in the same manner his brother Jehoram succeeded likewise. All this while Jezebel had time and warning enough to repent; and though she did not prevail with Jehoram to continue in the idolatrous worship of Baal, yet she persisted in her own way, notwithstanding God’s warnings. The sacred writer, therefore, here threatens the Gnostic Jezebel to make that wherein she delighteth, as adulterers in the bed of lust, to be the very place, occasion, and instrument, of her greatest torment. So in Isaiah, the bed is made a symbol of tribulation, and anguish of body and mind. See Isaiah 28:20; Job 33:19.

Verses 22, 23. Behold — I will at length execute judgment upon her, and let the process of my righteous vengeance be observed. I will cast her into a bed — Not of pleasure, but of great tribulation — I will severely punish these seducers for their evil principles and practices; and this punishment shall reach all who have been partakers in such acts of wickedness: and this threatening shall be accomplished as surely as the punishment was which the Prophet Elijah denounced in the name of the Lord against Jezebel, 1 Kings 21:23. Except they repent, &c. — Except they be humbled for, and forsake their vile practices. And I will kill her children — I will slay those that presume to follow her in her wickedness; with death — An expression which denotes death by the plague, or by some manifest stroke of God’s hand. Probably the remarkable vengeance taken on these was the token of the certainty of all the rest. And all the churches — To which thou now writest; shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins — The desires; and hearts — Thoughts; and that though I am very long- suffering with respect to many sinners, and am unwilling immediately to come to extremities; yet I am not to be mocked and trifled with; and therefore they will learn to respect and honour the administration of my government; who, as I know the secrets of men’s hearts, so I will at length give unto every one of you according to your works — And according to those principles from which I know they have proceeded; and thus I will approve the perfect justice of my treatment of you all. It is observable, the angel of the church at Thyatira was only blamed for suffering such deceivers to seduce Christ’s servants. This fault ceased when God took vengeance on these seducers. Therefore he is not expressly exhorted to repent, though that is implied.

22. Behold—A challenge of attention to this threatened judgment; a judgment so clear and palpable as to strike all the Churches, verse 23. Cast her into a bed—Her bed of adulteries shall be exchanged for a bed of tribulation; a figurative bed of penalty for the literal bed of sin.

V. 23. And I will kill her children-Those which she hath borne in adultery, and them whom she hath seduced.

With death-This expression denotes death by the plague, or by some manifest stroke of God's hand. Probably the remarkable vengeance taken on her children was the token of the certainty of all the rest. And all the churches-To which thou now writest.

Shall know that I search the reins-The desires.

And hearts-Thoughts.

Verse 23. And I will kill her children with death] “That is, I will certainly destroy her offspring and memory, and thereby ruin her designs. Jezebel’s two sons, being both kings were both slain; and after that, all the seventy sons of Ahab; (2 Kings 10:1;) in all which the hand of God was very visible. In the same manner God predicts the destruction of the heretics and heresies referred to; see Revelation 2:16. It should seem by the expression, I am he which searcheth the reins and the hearts, that these heretics lurked about, and sowed their pernicious doctrines secretly. But our Saviour tells them that it was in vain, for he had power to bring their deeds to light, having that Divine power of searching into the Evilly and affections of men; and hereby he would show both them and us that he is, according to his title, The Son of God; and hath such eyes to pry into their actions, that, like a fire, they will search into every thing, and burn up the chaff which cannot stand his trial; so that the depths of Satan, mentioned in the next verse, to which this alludes, (Christ assuming here this title purposely) shall avail nothing to those who think by their secret craft to undermine the Christian religion; he will not only bring to light, but baffle all their evil intentions. See Revelation 17:9.

Verses 22, 23. Behold — I will at length execute judgment upon her, and let the process of my righteous vengeance be observed. I will cast her into a bed — Not of pleasure, but of great tribulation — I will severely punish these seducers for their evil principles and practices; and this punishment shall reach all who have been partakers in such acts of wickedness: and this threatening shall be accomplished as surely as the punishment was which the Prophet Elijah denounced in the name of the Lord against Jezebel, 1 Kings 21:23. Except they repent, &c. — Except they be humbled for, and forsake their vile practices. And I will kill her children — I will slay those that presume to follow her in her wickedness; with death — An expression which denotes death by the plague, or by some manifest stroke of God’s hand. Probably the remarkable vengeance taken on these was the token of the certainty of all the rest. And all the churches — To which thou now writest; shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins — The desires; and hearts — Thoughts; and that though I am very long- suffering with respect to many sinners, and am unwilling immediately to come to extremities; yet I am not to be mocked and trifled with; and therefore they will learn to respect and honour the administration of my government; who, as I know the secrets of men’s hearts, so I will at length give unto every one of you according to your works — And according to those principles from which I know they have proceeded; and thus I will approve the perfect justice of my treatment of you all. It is observable, the angel of the church at Thyatira was only blamed for suffering such deceivers to seduce Christ’s servants. This fault ceased when God took vengeance on these seducers. Therefore he is not expressly exhorted to repent, though that is implied.

23. Her children—Not her partisans and followers, for they are threatened their due in the last verse; but her literal brood, who are worthy of death for the sins both which they have learned from her and have freely practised. With death—As a direct penal infliction, a capital punishment. It shall not be a natural decease. All the Churches—The seven and their sister Churches: for Alford’s opinion, that it means “all the Churches in the world,” and gives “an oecumenical character to these messages,” seems to be inadmissible. “The Churches” were to know this by the plainly palpable judicial character of the known penalties endured by these culprits; but those facts, as they were, have never been presented to “all the Churches in the world.” We have, indeed, no proof that any special tribulation was suffered by these individuals. They may have repented under influence of this message. Reins—Literally, the kidneys; the lower parts of the back, where the workings of anxious emotions are recognised. Reins and hearts are often associated in Scripture, Psalms 7:9Psalm 7:9; 26:2; Jeremiah 11:20. The searching them is named as an attribute of omniscience. And here the declaration is, that he whose eyes are like unto a flame of fire, fully knows all the dark secrets of these votaries of hidden sensual sin. Works— The doubt whether Jezebel was guilty of actual deeds of sin, expressed by Stuart and others, seems fully contradicted by such terms as seduce, her fornication, commit adultery, deeds, works. To resolve all these plain terms of active perpetration into figures signifying “doctrines,” would render it difficult to find any terms which might not be figured out of their literal meaning. If these words do not express actual deeds, what terms can?

V. 24. But I say to you who do not hold this doctrine-Of Jezebel. Who have not known the depths of Satan-O happy ignorance! As they speak-That were continually boasting of the deep things which they taught. Our Lord owns they were deep, even deep as hell: for they were the very depths of Satan. Were these the same of which Martin Luther speaks? It is well if there are not some of his countrymen now in England who know them too well!

I will lay upon you no other burden-Than that you have already suffered from Jezebel and her adherents.

Verse 24. But unto you I say, and unto the rest] “But unto the rest, &c. This is the reading of the Complutensian, and seems preferable to the common one, as it evidently shows that the rest of the epistle wholly concerns the faithful, who have not received the former doctrine of error. I will put upon you none other burden is a commendation of the sound part of the Church, that they have no need of any new exhortation or charge to be given them, no new advice but to persevere as usual. See Romans 15:14, 15. The expression of burden is taken from the history of Ahab, 2 Kings 9:25: The Lord laid this burden on him; a word often used by the prophets to signify a prophecy threatening heavy things to be suffered. See Clarke on “Isaiah 13:1”, and “Numbers 4:19”.” See Dodd’s Notes.

It is worthy of remark that the Gnostics called their doctrine the depths of God, and the depths of Bythos, intimating that they contained the most profound secrets of Divine wisdom. Christ here calls them the depths of Satan, being master pieces of his subtlety. Perhaps they thought them to be of God, while all the time they were deceived by the devil.

Verses 24, 25. But unto you I say, who have not this doctrine — Of Jezebel; and to the rest — Who have kept themselves from being led astray by these delusions; and have not known — O happy ignorance! the depths of Satan — The deep arts of deceit and error practised in his kingdom, to bring in all sorts of corruption, by teaching men to account things as indifferent and innocent that are wicked and abominable; as they speak — It seems they were continually boasting of the deep things which they taught. Our Lord owns they were deep, even deep as hell; for they were the very depths of Satan. I will put upon you none other burden — Than that you have already suffered from Jezebel and her adherents. Or, I will lay no new restraints or injunctions upon you; but will only confirm the laws of truth, righteousness, and goodness, given to make you free from the dominion of sin, the truest and most important liberty. But that which ye — Both the pastor and the church; have already received through my gospel, as essential to true religion, and necessary in order to your pleasing God, hold fast — In principle and practice, in faith, love, and obedience; till I come — To put an end to your time of trial, and receive you to the heavenly paradise.

24. Unto you… the rest—The and being omitted as spurious, you, and the rest, mean the same class, namely, the part of the Church pure from Jezebel. Depths… speak—To boast of their depth was a trait of the Gnostics. Says Tertullian, “Put an inquiry to them in good faith, and with grave face and lofty brow they will answer, It is deep!” Says Irenaeus, “Really blind, they profess themselves to have attained the depths of the abyss.” And Eusebius says of the Simonians: “Those deeper secrets, of which they say that he who hears them for the first time would be astonished and confounded, are indeed full of folly and madness. They are such things that a decent person cannot write of them, nor open his lips about them, on account of their horrid filthiness and obscenity.” As they speak—Or rather, say, or, as they call them. To whom does this they refer? Some reply, the Christians; but there is nothing that fixes the reference to them; and more probably it was the Gnostics who talked about the depths. It may be that the they say, has for its object the term the depths, while the phrase of Satan is flung in sarcastically by the Lord himself, to characterize their depths. It might then be printed thus: have not known “the depths”—of Satan!—as they say. Or the whole phrase, more probably, may be in the mouth of the Gnostics themselves, unequivocally professing that they do know the very depths of Satan. Their satanic bravado of licentiousness justifies this rendering. Eusebius says, (b. 4, c. 7,) that they went so far as to say, “that the basest deeds should be perpetrated by those who would attain to a perfect insight into their secret doctrine.” See our note on 2 Thessalonians 2:7. None other burden—Seems to be a remarkable quotation from the apostolic decree, Acts 15:28, where the abstaining from licentious sacrificial feasts are the very burden, or Christian obligation, imposed upon them. Purity from these Gnostic depths is the only injunction he now presses upon them.

V. 25. What ye-Both the angel and the church have.

Verse 25. That which ye have] That is, the pure doctrine of the Gospel, hold fast till I come-till I come to execute the judgments which I have threatened.

Verses 24, 25. But unto you I say, who have not this doctrine — Of Jezebel; and to the rest — Who have kept themselves from being led astray by these delusions; and have not known — O happy ignorance! the depths of Satan — The deep arts of deceit and error practised in his kingdom, to bring in all sorts of corruption, by teaching men to account things as indifferent and innocent that are wicked and abominable; as they speak — It seems they were continually boasting of the deep things which they taught. Our Lord owns they were deep, even deep as hell; for they were the very depths of Satan. I will put upon you none other burden — Than that you have already suffered from Jezebel and her adherents. Or, I will lay no new restraints or injunctions upon you; but will only confirm the laws of truth, righteousness, and goodness, given to make you free from the dominion of sin, the truest and most important liberty. But that which ye — Both the pastor and the church; have already received through my gospel, as essential to true religion, and necessary in order to your pleasing God, hold fast — In principle and practice, in faith, love, and obedience; till I come — To put an end to your time of trial, and receive you to the heavenly paradise.

Ver. 25. That which ye have, of truth and of holiness, hold fast till I come. St. Paul often repeats his confidence in the stability of the churches that were well instructed in the knowledge of Christ. But especially hold fast the active and the passive graces of faith and patience, for these are followed with the great rewards here subjoined.

25. But—Closely following upon the last words. That purity is theirs now, only hold it fast. Till I come—Till the hour when your final account with me shall be settled.

We have elsewhere remarked, (1 Corinthians 15:23,) that while the Greek word parousia always designated, unequivocally and solely, Christ’s second advent, yet the words come and coming often refer to other interpositions and spiritual presences. The hour of death is never spoken of as such a coming. (See our note, John 14:3.) Yet perseverance to the end of our probation is perseverance even to the judgment day. Note on Matthew 24:13. So, (verse 10,) faithfulness unto death is faithfulness unto the final reward. And (verse 11) overcoming in life is verbally connected, instantaneously, with the eternal deliverance. The two things— the probation and the reward, the life passed and the coming to judgment—are connected as antecedent and consequent, irrespective of time. The intermediate time is dropped out of thought, and the close of life and the commencement of the eternal state are joined in unbroken connection. For the Thyatirans to hold fast until their closing hour, was to hold fast till I come. So next verse.

V. 26. By works-Those which I have commanded.

To him will I give power over the nations-That is, I will give him to share with me in that glorious victory which the Father hath promised me over all the nations who as yet resist me, Psalms 2:8Psalm 2:8,9.

Verse 26. Power over the nations] Every witness of Christ has power to confute and confound all the false doctrines and maxims of the nations of the world, for Christianity shall at last rule over all; the kingdom of Christ will come, and the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our God and of his Christ.

Verses 26-29. And he that overcometh — That holds fast faith and a good conscience, notwithstanding the efforts of the enemies of my gospel to wrest them from him; and keepeth my works — Those which I have commanded to be done; unto the end — Of his time and trials; to him will I give power over the nations — That is, I will give him to share with me in that glorious victory which the Father hath promised me over all the nations which as yet resist me, Psalms 2:8Psalm 2:8, 9. This, says Doddridge, appears to be intended of that “final triumph of Christ over his enemies in the last day, when he shall crush them all to utter and irrecoverable ruin, and when all his saints, raised from the dead, and clothed with robes of glory, shall sit down with them on his throne, and constitute that illustrious body which in and with their exalted Head, shall subdue every opposing power.” And he shall rule them — That is, shall share with me when I do this; with a rod of iron — With irresistible power, employed on those only who will not otherwise submit; who will hereby be dashed in pieces, totally conquered. And I will give him the morning-star — Thou, O Jesus, art the Morning-Star! O give thyself to me! Then will I desire no sun, only thee, who art the sun also. He whom this Star enlightens, has always morning and no evening. The duties and promises here answer each other: the valiant conqueror has power over the stubborn nations. And he that, after having conquered his enemies, keeps the words of Christ to the end, shall have the morning-star — an unspeakable brightness and peaceable dominion in him.

Ver. 26-29. He that overcometh — to him will I give power over the nations. He shall reign, because Christ reigns. Psalms 2:9Psalm 2:9-12. I will give him the morning star. Christ is himself the light of the world, and the day- star that shall arise in the believer’s heart. He shall ever behold, as in a glass, the glory of the Lord; and finally see his throne in open vision, with transforming ecstasy and infinite delight.

26. Unto the end—Of his life trial. Power over the nations— Identification with the Son of God, who is heir of all the promises of the second psalm.

V. 27. And he shall rule them-That is, shall share with me when I do this. With a rod of iron-With irresistible power, employed on those only who will not otherwise submit; who will hereby be dashed in pieces-Totally conquered.

Verse 27. He shall rule them with a rod of iron] He shall restrain vice by the strictest administration of justice; and those who finally despise the word and rebel shall be broken and destroyed, so as never more to be able to make head against the truth. This seems to refer to the heathen world; and perhaps Constantine the Great may be intended, who, when he overcame Licinius, became the instrument in God’s hand of destroying idolatry over the whole Roman empire; and it was so effectually broken as to be ever after like the fragments of an earthen vessel, of no use in themselves, and incapable of being ever united to any good purpose.

Verses 26-29. And he that overcometh — That holds fast faith and a good conscience, notwithstanding the efforts of the enemies of my gospel to wrest them from him; and keepeth my works — Those which I have commanded to be done; unto the end — Of his time and trials; to him will I give power over the nations — That is, I will give him to share with me in that glorious victory which the Father hath promised me over all the nations which as yet resist me, Psalms 2:8Psalm 2:8, 9. This, says Doddridge, appears to be intended of that “final triumph of Christ over his enemies in the last day, when he shall crush them all to utter and irrecoverable ruin, and when all his saints, raised from the dead, and clothed with robes of glory, shall sit down with them on his throne, and constitute that illustrious body which in and with their exalted Head, shall subdue every opposing power.” And he shall rule them — That is, shall share with me when I do this; with a rod of iron — With irresistible power, employed on those only who will not otherwise submit; who will hereby be dashed in pieces, totally conquered. And I will give him the morning-star — Thou, O Jesus, art the Morning-Star! O give thyself to me! Then will I desire no sun, only thee, who art the sun also. He whom this Star enlightens, has always morning and no evening. The duties and promises here answer each other: the valiant conqueror has power over the stubborn nations. And he that, after having conquered his enemies, keeps the words of Christ to the end, shall have the morning-star — an unspeakable brightness and peaceable dominion in him.

Ver. 26-29. He that overcometh — to him will I give power over the nations. He shall reign, because Christ reigns. Psalms 2:9Psalm 2:9-12. I will give him the morning star. Christ is himself the light of the world, and the day- star that shall arise in the believer’s heart. He shall ever behold, as in a glass, the glory of the Lord; and finally see his throne in open vision, with transforming ecstasy and infinite delight.

27. Rule them with a rod of iron—In the Hebrew (Psalms 2:9Psalm 2:9) the promise is, “Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron.” But the Septuagint translators render the Hebrew word for “break,” by a word signifying to superintend them as a shepherd, or briefly, for want of better English, to shepherd them. This was a mistake founded on the sameness of the consonants of the two different Hebrew words. That graceful mistake the heavenly speaker here accepts, and, in accordance with the milder spirit of the gospel dispensation, authorizes it. His sceptre (for so the word rod here imports) is a shepherd’s crook, and yet its iron power, its absolute authority, still remains. What the nature of this power over the nations is, and what the overcomer’s share in it, may be learned from our notes on Matthew 19:28; 1 Corinthians 6:2; Revelation 19:11-21; 20:4.

V. 28. I will give him the morning star-Thou, O Jesus, art the morning star! O give thyself to me! Then will I desire no sun, only thee, who art the sun also. He whom this star enlightens has always morning and no evening. The duties and promises here answer each other; the valiant conqueror has power over the stubborn nations. And he that, after having conquered his enemies, keeps the works of Christ to the end, shall have the morning star,-an unspeakable brightness and peaceable dominion in him.

Verse 28. And I will give him the morning star.] He shall have the brightest and most glorious empire, next to that of Christ himself. And it is certain that the Roman empire under Constantine the Great was the brightest emblem of the latter day glory which has ever yet been exhibited to the world. It is well known that sun, moon, and stars are emblems, in prophetic language, of empires, kingdoms, and states. And as the morning star is that which immediately precedes the rising of the sun, it probably here intends an empire which should usher in the universal sway of the kingdom of Christ.

Ever since the time of Constantine the light of true religion has been increasingly diffused, and is shining more and more unto the perfect day.

Verses 26-29. And he that overcometh — That holds fast faith and a good conscience, notwithstanding the efforts of the enemies of my gospel to wrest them from him; and keepeth my works — Those which I have commanded to be done; unto the end — Of his time and trials; to him will I give power over the nations — That is, I will give him to share with me in that glorious victory which the Father hath promised me over all the nations which as yet resist me, Psalms 2:8Psalm 2:8, 9. This, says Doddridge, appears to be intended of that “final triumph of Christ over his enemies in the last day, when he shall crush them all to utter and irrecoverable ruin, and when all his saints, raised from the dead, and clothed with robes of glory, shall sit down with them on his throne, and constitute that illustrious body which in and with their exalted Head, shall subdue every opposing power.” And he shall rule them — That is, shall share with me when I do this; with a rod of iron — With irresistible power, employed on those only who will not otherwise submit; who will hereby be dashed in pieces, totally conquered. And I will give him the morning-star — Thou, O Jesus, art the Morning-Star! O give thyself to me! Then will I desire no sun, only thee, who art the sun also. He whom this Star enlightens, has always morning and no evening. The duties and promises here answer each other: the valiant conqueror has power over the stubborn nations. And he that, after having conquered his enemies, keeps the words of Christ to the end, shall have the morning-star — an unspeakable brightness and peaceable dominion in him.

Ver. 26-29. He that overcometh — to him will I give power over the nations. He shall reign, because Christ reigns. Psalms 2:9Psalm 2:9-12. I will give him the morning star. Christ is himself the light of the world, and the day- star that shall arise in the believer’s heart. He shall ever behold, as in a glass, the glory of the Lord; and finally see his throne in open vision, with transforming ecstasy and infinite delight.

28. Give him the morning star—The beautiful announcer that the night is past and the day is come. This blessed token shall be given to the overcomer as he passes through every crisis of the long contest. Its promise cheers the living warrior here on the field; and when he comes unto the end it will beam with its assurance that “eternity dawns, and the kingdom is his.” And when he comes to the new heavens and new earth, (Revelation 22:1,) he will find that the morning star, so given him, was no other than Jesus himself. See Revelation 22:16.

Verse 29. He that hath an ear] Let every Christian pay the strictest regard to these predictions of Christ; and let them have a suitable influence on his heart and life.

REVELATION

Verses 26-29. And he that overcometh — That holds fast faith and a good conscience, notwithstanding the efforts of the enemies of my gospel to wrest them from him; and keepeth my works — Those which I have commanded to be done; unto the end — Of his time and trials; to him will I give power over the nations — That is, I will give him to share with me in that glorious victory which the Father hath promised me over all the nations which as yet resist me, Psalms 2:8Psalm 2:8, 9. This, says Doddridge, appears to be intended of that “final triumph of Christ over his enemies in the last day, when he shall crush them all to utter and irrecoverable ruin, and when all his saints, raised from the dead, and clothed with robes of glory, shall sit down with them on his throne, and constitute that illustrious body which in and with their exalted Head, shall subdue every opposing power.” And he shall rule them — That is, shall share with me when I do this; with a rod of iron — With irresistible power, employed on those only who will not otherwise submit; who will hereby be dashed in pieces, totally conquered. And I will give him the morning-star — Thou, O Jesus, art the Morning-Star! O give thyself to me! Then will I desire no sun, only thee, who art the sun also. He whom this Star enlightens, has always morning and no evening. The duties and promises here answer each other: the valiant conqueror has power over the stubborn nations. And he that, after having conquered his enemies, keeps the words of Christ to the end, shall have the morning-star — an unspeakable brightness and peaceable dominion in him.

Ver. 26-29. He that overcometh — to him will I give power over the nations. He shall reign, because Christ reigns. Psalms 2:9Psalm 2:9-12. I will give him the morning star. Christ is himself the light of the world, and the day- star that shall arise in the believer’s heart. He shall ever behold, as in a glass, the glory of the Lord; and finally see his throne in open vision, with transforming ecstasy and infinite delight.