Revelation 2

Ver. 15. His feet like unto fine brass, &c.— Woodhouse, “like smelting brass;’’ i. e. glowing with the heat of the furnace.— As the sound of many waters—That is, of conflicting seas meeting each other. See (Acts 27:41). Ver. 16. A sharp two-edged sword.—This is in perfect harmony with the prophetic language of the writers of both Testaments. See (Isaiah 11:4), xlix. 2. Ver. 18. Have the keys of hell—(Greek, **Hades,’) or the invisible world. See (Psalms 16:10). (Matthew 16:18). Both Doddridge and Woodhouse take the term in its most extensive import. Chap. II. Ver. 1—11. Epistles to the churches of Ephesus Ver. 20. The mystery—i. e. the mystical or spiritual sense of the emblems. Chap. II, Ver. 1. Unto the angel, &c.—Jennings says, Next to the chief ruler of the synagogue, was an officer who offered public prayers, and was called their angel.—Jewish Antig.

book ii. Chap. ii— Candlesticks.— See (Revelation 1:12), Ver. 2. Which say they are apostles.—It appears by this verse, that some of the false teachers which troubled the church in the first ages, pretended to be apostles. These the church of Ephesus could not endure persecution; but after that subsided it seems that the Ephesians lost “their first love;” that is, abated in the fervour of their joy and zeal; and therefore are they exhorted to “repent, and do their first works.” Ephesus was the chief city of proconsular Asia, and was at that time immensely rich, and devoted to luxury and idolatry. “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!” was their cry; and the chief cause of their alarm was, lest their favourite “goddess should be despised, and her magnificence destroyed.”

But, alas! how frail and uncertain are all terrestrial things! This mighty city is now reduced to about fifteen poor cottages, inhabited by Turks, (who call it Aisalick;) and this flourishing church was, in 1816, reduced to three individual Christians, one only of whom could read; and who knew nothing of Paul, but by his name in the Calendar.—(See Orient. Lit. No. Each of these addresses finishes with a promise on perseverance; and the promise here is—“To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.” Of this tree we shall have a fuller account, (Revelation 22:2). Life and immortality are the sure reward of victory in the Christian contest.

The next address is to the church at Smyrna, of which no other mention is made in the New Testament; our Scripture knowledge of it is, therefore, solely confined to this account. The church at Smyrna was, at this time, in the midst of tribulation and poverty, arising, most probably, from the persecution they had endured. They were, however, rich in grace; and though they are taught to expect farther persecution, they are assured also of support and final victory. There were, notwithstanding, among these pious Christians, some who belonged to the synagogue of Satan; some, indeed, who boasted of being Abraham’s seed, but were not the children of his faith. It is predicted, “The devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried: and ye shall have tribulation ten,”

that is, many “days.” Nearly seventy years after the visions of the Apocalypse, a heavy persecution broke out in this city; and their Bishop, Polycarp, signalized himself, by the courage and fortitude with which he suffered, in an extreme old age. When threatened with the most terrible deaths, and urged to pity his own gray hairs, he nobly replied, “Eighty and six years have I served Christ, and he has never done me any wrong: how, then, can I blaspheme my King and my Saviour?” And when, in particular, he was threatened with the flames, by which, indeed, he suffered, he retorted—“Thou threatenest me with fire which burns but for an hour, and is then extinguished; but knowest not the fire of future judgment, and of that eternal punishment, which is reserved for the ungodly;”—in which he plainly alludes to “the second death”

here mentioned, and from which exemption is here promised; and not only exemption from this death, but also “a crown of immortal life.” Smyrna is still a very considerable place, and supposed to contain 140,000 inhabitants,—Greeks, Armenians, Catholics, Jews, and Protestants; of the latter only 140 individuals. What a field is here for missions! Ver. 12-29. Epistles to the churches of Pergamos and Thyatira.— Pergamos is described by Pliny the elder, as the most famous city of Asia, having been adorned and enriched by a long succession of Attalian kings, and now become the residence of a Roman consul. Wealth and luxury of course fitted it for a “throne of Satan,” as might be expected of a Pagan metropolis.

The city is now called Bergamo, and is said to contain about 15,000 inhabitants; Greeks, Armenians, Jews, &c. about 2000; but all the rest Turks. Most of the churches are turned into mosques, but there remains one for the Greeks, and another for the Armenians. Here, formerly, Esculapius was worshipped under the form of a serpent, which gives the greater propriety to its being called the seat of Satan, herein afterwards distinguished as the old serpent. See (Revelation 12:9). The only charge against this church appears to be their tolerating among them the followers of Balaam and the Nicolaitanes, who appear to us to have been distinct persons, though perhaps their errors might be similar. And here we shall take the liberty to offer a remark or two.

1. Though we are friends to universal toleration or religious liberty, even to the most unenlightened consciences, yet would we by no means tolerate in any church such errors as affect the vitals of Christian doctrine, or the practice of moral duties. Such men should be assailed with Scripture and with argument; and, if neither prevail, we consider them by no means proper subjects for church communion: but this is quite a distinct thing from loading them with fines or shutting them up in prisons. 2. We observe in all the heresies reprobated in the New Testament, a strong tendency, if not to crime, at least to laxity of morals. We believe, for instance, that persons who deny the Deity and atonement of our Saviour, may be sober, honest, and humane; but few of them, we apprehend, pretend to a devotional character, or are anxious for that decided separation from the world, which the Scriptures uniformly inculcate: and though, in the present day, there are no temptations to partake of the luxury of feasting in an idolatrous ern yet many indulge in the same libations, and unite in the same songs, that were formerly offered to Venus, Bacchus, and other. Decision in religious matters is of infinite importance, and no man whose delight is in any species of intemperance can

Notes on the verses

Ver. 4. Left thy first love.— Woodhouse, “former love;” i. e. declined from their former zeal and affection. See (Acts 19:10-12, 17-20). Ver. 6. Remove thy candlestick—i. e. take away their privileges. Ver. 6. Nicolaitanes.—See Dictionary of all Religions, in Nicolaitans. The ancient Fathers describe these as equally erroneous in doctrine, and impure in Ver. 9. Which say they are Jews.—See (Galatians 6:12-16). These Jews were found to take a very active part in persecuting Polycarp and his fellow Chris- Ver. 10. Ten days—i. e., perhaps, many days. See (Genesis 31:7, 41). (Leviticus 26:27). (1 Samuel 1:8). (Ecclesiastes 7:7). But some think the persecution here referred to lasted ten years—a day for a year. See on (Revelation 6:11). Ver. 11. He that hath an ear.—See note on (Matthew 11:15).—The second death —i e. final and everlasting death. See (Revelation 20:14); xxi. 8. Not being hurt by this death, implies also that, on the contrary, they should enjoy everlasting Ver. 12. Pergamos.—(Pergamos, now Bergamo, the ancient metropolis of Mysia, and the residence of the Attalian kings, is situated on the river Caicus, about 60 miles north of Smyrna, in long. 27 E. lat. 39°11’ N. It still retains some measure of its ancient importance; containing a population of about 15,000 souls; and having nine or ten mosques, two churches and one synagogue.)—Bagster.— The sharp sword with two edges.—See (Revelation 1:16). Ver. 13. Where Satan’s seat.—Doddridge and Woodhouse, “throne.”

——Antipas.—No account of this martyr is extant, but an old ecclesiastical writer mentions having read such. See Woodhouse. Jude, ver. 11; and compare (Numbers 25)throughout, and xxxi. 16. Ver. 14. Doctrine of Balaam.—See (2 Peter 2:15). Ver. 16. And will fight.— Woodhouse, “And will war,” &c.