Revelation 2

Ver. 1.—the church of Ephesus] The first Epistle is addressed to the church of Ephesus, as it was the metropolis of Proconsular Asia, besides being St. John’s principal residence. It was, according to Strabo, one of the best and most glorious of cities, and the emporium of this part of Asia. It was called by Pliny one of the eyes of Asia, Smyrna being the other; but now, as travellers who have visited it relate, it is venerable for nothing but the ruins of palaces, temples, and amphitheatres. It is called by the Turks, by a name which signifies 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 a complete 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 of herdsmen and farmers, living in low and humble mud cottages, sheltered from the inclemency of the 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. All the inhabitants of this ouce famous city amount not now to more than forty or fifty families of Turks, without one Christian family amongst them. So strikingly has the

they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:

—he that holdeth the seven stars &c.] He who is the heavenly Ruler, Protector and Guide of all them that bear rule in the church; the Saviour, whose Divine presence is ever with His faithful servants, to support and reward them. Pyle.

—walketh in the midst &c.] This expression seems taken from the office of the priests in dressing the lamps in the temple: according to which, it here denotes a care to observe and know the true state of the churches, and to assist their improvement in religion, that they might shine as lights in the world. Lowman.

—to eat things sacrificed unto idols,] By this phrase, any idolatrous worship is often described in Scripture; a part being put for the whole. So “eating upon the mountains,” Ezek. xviii. 6, 15. Pyle.

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2. I know thy works, &c.] I observe and approve thy labour and great industry in the Gospel, and thy constant perseverance in the faith, and thy resistance to the vicious men that creep in amongst you; and ye have put false teachers to the test, examining their doctrine and commission, and have found them to be “liars.” Dr. Hammond.

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3. And hast borne,] Hast undergone pressures and afflictions. Dr. Hammond.

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4.—because thou hast left thy first love.] Because thou hast somewhat remitted the pure Christian love which at first was in thee, and displayed itself by courageous confession of faith. Dr. Hammond. In moderating their zeal against false apostles, and suffering them to increase, they had forsaken the love which they at first bore to Jesus. It appears that these corruptions had crept into the Ephesian church since St. Paul’s time; for, in his Epistle to them, he commends them throughout, as Ignatius has observed. Deubur.

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5.—will remove thy candlestick &c.] This threat upon this and other Eastern churches was fulfilled partly by the persecutions under Decius, Gallus, and Valerian, and more eminently afterwards by the Saracens and Turks, these once famous cities having long become desolate villages. Pyle. See note on ver. 1.

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6.—this thou hast,] This one thing is to be said in thy commendation. Dr. Hammond.

—hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes,] It is observed by Mosheim, that our knowledge of the sects and heresies of the first century is very incomplete: and doubts have arisen whether many of the Fathers do not confound the Nicolaitanes, here mentioned, with another sect, afterwards founded by one Nicolaus. From the general testimony of the ancients, however, it appears that these Nicolaitanes were impious in their doctrines, and impure in their lives. They are thought to have held the opinion, afterwards adopted by the Gnosticks, which denied the humanity of our Lord and

Anno DOMINI 94. What John was commanded to write in commendation Anno DOMINI 96.

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7. He that hath an ear, &c.] A form of bespeaking attention, frequently used by our Lord, especially when He addressed His hearers in figurative language. Dean Woodhouse.

At the conclusion of every one of these seven Epistles, which are full of very earnest and pressing exhortations to repentance and amendment of life, and most lively and affectionate descriptions of the true nature of Christ’s religion, these words are distinctly repeated no less than seven several times. Dr. S. Clarke.

— what the Spirit saith] The Spirit of wisdom and prophecy. Lowman. Which Jesus now sent to foretell the future dangers of the church, and to encourage it by the prospect of reward. Daubus.

— To him that overcometh &c.] To him that shall so fight as to overcome the enemies of truth and righteousness, shall be given to enjoy a state of full perfection and happiness in eternal life, such as the first parents would have enjoyed in paradise, if they had continued in obedience. Lowman.

The life of a Christian is frequently in Scripture compared to a warfare, 1 Tim. vi. 12; 2 Tim. iv. 7. If, notwithstanding the force of all temptations, he perseveres in his faith and obedience, he is said to overcome: if he is prevailed upon by them to forsake his duty and to commit sin, he is overcome by them. Dr. S. Clarke.

— will I give to eat of the tree &c.] That is, I will give him immortality and eternal life. There is an allusion to Gen. ii. 8. Since it is there related that our first parents, by reason of being overcome and conquered by sin, were driven out of paradise, and thenceforth excluded from the way of the tree of life, lest they should eat thereof and live for ever; so here our Saviour promises, on the contrary, that he, that overcomes and conquers sin, shall be restored to the hopes from which our first parents fell, and be again admitted to eat of the tree of life. As by sin against the first of the commandments of God, the hopes of immortality and eternal life were forfeited, so, by obedience to the Gospel of Christ, which is the last revelation of His will, immortality and eternal life shall be regained. Dr. S. Clarke.

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8. — the church in Smyrna] Smyrna was the nearest of the seven cities to Ephesus, being about forty-five miles northward of it; and on that account probably it is addressed in the second place. It is now celebrated, not for the splendour and pomp of the buildings, but for the number, wealth, and commerce of the inha-

bitants. 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; and Christians abound in it of all nations, sects, and languages. They are far more numerous here, and in a better condition, than in any other of the seven churches; as if the promise were still made good to Smyrna, “Fear none of those things,” &c. ver. 10. Bp. Newton.

“The angel” of the church of Smyrna, here addressed, was probably Polycarp, the disciple of St. John, by him made bishop of Smyrna. Some years after this time, he himself died a glorious martyr at Smyrna, being then eighty-six years old. His character here is the shortest and most irreprehensible of all the seven bishops or “angels.” Dr. Wall, Daubus.

— the first and the last, which was dead, &c.] The title, under which the Supreme Head addresses this church, is the same which He had assumed in His first appearance to St. John. Its character agrees with the purport of this address, which is to encourage the Smyrneans confidently to meet the fiery trials of martyrdom, in the sure expectation of triumphing over death, as their Lord had done before them. Dean Woodhouse.

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9. — and poverty, (but thou art rich)] Meaning, the poverty which thou thinkest of thyself, because thou hast but few Christians in thy church; but “thou art rich,” because God will favour thee with more glory than many others. Daubus.

— them which say they are Jews, &c.] Professed Jews, men of violent character, who blasphemed the name of Israelite, by calling themselves such, while they were in fact the emissaries of Satan, employed to corrupt, or to excite that persecution which is foretold in the ensuing verse. Dean Woodhouse.

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10. — ye shall have tribulation ten days:] This period may either be literally ten days, or, typically ten years; “a day” often representing a year, according to the known language of prophecy, Ezek. iv. 6; Dan. viii. 13, &c. We have so little knowledge of the history of the church in the times here spoken of, that there is great difficulty in ascertaining the persecution here alluded to, and the time of its duration. We have an account of a persecution suffered by the church of Smyrna in the year 169, when, among others, Polycarp, its venerable Bishop, suffered martyrdom: but there is no proof that this continued ten years, or ten days; and, as it took place more than seventy years from the time of this prophecy, it seems too distant to be that here foretold by our Lord, who addressed the Smyrneans then living. Besides, this persecution extended to the other churches of Asia, who would therefore have had a similar warning. It seems most probable, on the whole, that the persecution foretold in these words was fulfilled in that generation; and that the Jews, who are described as acting against that church, under the influence of Satan, were the authors of the persecution. This prophecy, thus fulfilled, would serve a temporary

or reproof to the angels of the churches. Anno DOMINI 96.

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11.—the second death.] A state of misery, which is as bad or worse than death, may properly enough be called by that name; and for this reason the punishment of wicked men after the day of judgment is frequently and filly, in this book of Revelation, called “the second death.” Abp. Tillotson.

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12.—the church in Pergamos] This place, formerly the metropolis of Mysia, and the seat of the Attalian kings, lies about sixty-four miles north of Smyrna. The city is now almost entirely occupied by Turks; there are not in it more than twelve or fifteen Christian families, who live in the most abject and sordid servitude. Its principal churches are turned into mosques, and profaned with the blasphemies of the false prophet. There is the less reason to wonder at its present wretched condition, when we consider that it was the very “seat of Satan,” ver. 13. It was denounced unto the inhabitants to “repent, or else Christ would come unto them quickly, and fight against them,” ver. 16, as the event has shown that He has done. Bp. Newton. —the sharp sword] See note at chap. i. 16. 13.—and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is:] That is, I consider the temptations of the place where thou livest, where the powers of darkness and corruption have a numerous and powerful party. Lowman. —in those days wherein Antipas &c.] Respecting this martyr, no account whatever has been preserved to these times. Dean Woodhouse.

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14.—I have a few things against thee, because &c.] I have some crimes against you which call for a severe reproof; that numbers of you are guilty of prevarication and sinful compliances with the corruptions of the times; acknowledging the falsities and depravities of heathen doctrine and worship, they still fall in with them in practice, for fear of certain temporal inconveniences, to the great scandal of more conscientious

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17.—will I give to eat of the hidden manna,] “The hidden manna” may refer to the words of Christ, John vi. 51, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any man eat of this bread he shall live for ever:” a much greater instance of God’s favour and grace, than feeding the Israelites with manna from heaven. Lowman. “The hidden manna” was this bread of life in its spiritual signification, of which the manna free from corruption, laid up in the tabernacle, was only a type; namely, the benefits derived to the faithful followers of Christ by the offering of His body, forgiveness of sins, and everlasting salvation. Dean Woodhouse. —will give him a white stone,—a new name] Among the ancients, in criminal processes, a white stone was a mark of acquittal; and the white stone here presented to the conquering Christian, may be supposed to signify the approving sentence of God. On the stone there was to be “a new name written.” By the custom of nations from the earliest ages, a person raised to dignity was commonly invested with a new name or title, expressive of his merits. Various instances of this occur in Scripture, Gen. xli. 45; 2 Sam. xii. 25; Dan. i. 7: of this nature is the new name or title here mentioned as given by the Lord of heaven to His glorified servants. Dean Woodhouse. A new name imports a new quality or state. Thus Abram, Sarai, Simon, &c. were called by new names when they were placed in new circumstances. The new situation here referred to is that of immortality in heaven. Danbus.

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18.—the church in Thyatira] Thyatira is situated about fifty miles to the southeast of Pergamos. To it belonged “Lydia, a seller of purple,” Acts xvi. 14, who was baptized with all her house. At present, there is Anno DOMINI 96. What John was commanded to write in commendation Anno DOMINI 96. b 1 Kings 16. 31. tience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.

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19. — the last to be more than the first.] That is, thy faith, constancy, and affection to be improving, and at last to appear more eminent than at first. Lowman.

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20. — because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, &c.] This might be literally a woman of great rank and influence at Thyatira, who seduced the Christians to intermix idolatry and heathen impurities with their religion. Such seducers were in the church in St. Paul’s time, 2 Cor. vi. 14; and the history of Queen Jezebel, that patroness of idolatry, as delivered in the book of Kings, shews that such a woman would be fitly represented under that name. But it may also be applied in a symbolical sense; for thus by a woman is often signified a city, a nation, a church. This passage is so understood by the venerable Bede, who explains the term Jezebel to mean a synagogue of false apostles pretending to be Christian: and it may signify a sect of seducers, like that described at ver. 14, 15. of this chapter. Dean Woodhouse.

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22. — I will cast her into a bed, &c.] I will bring down her pride, and severely chastise her and all her idolatrous adherents. Pyle. I will bring her into sickness, will change her adulterous bed into a bed of sickness. Schleusner.

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23. — I will kill her children] I will cut off her followers, the children of her fornication, with violent death. Bp. Hall. — will kill — with death;] A Hebrew mode of expression, denoting the certainty of the thing denounced. Dean Woodhouse. — and all the churches shall know &c.] The punishment of these false teachers and their followers shall be so great and remarkable, that the churches shall discern a Divine power in it, and learn to respect and honour have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden. Anno DOMINI 96.

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24. — as many as have not this doctrine.] As have kept themselves from these evil doctrines. Lowman. — which have not known the depths of Satan,] Which have not acknowledged, or given way to, or assisted, these secret designs of the devil. Daubus. — I will put upon you none other burden.] This is a commendation passed upon the sound part of the church, that no new exhortation or charge was to be given them, but only the advice to persevere as they had hitherto done. Daubus.

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25. — hold fast till I come.] This command to keep in the same faith till Christ’s coming, plainly proves that these churches are symbolical; that is, that the exhortations made to them are to serve for the whole catholick church, throughout its unsettled and persecuted state. Daubus.

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26. — to him will I give power &c.] To those who overcome these temptations, and keep the faith and holy commandment of My Gospel, so as to persevere unto the end in truth and righteousness, I will make good the promise made to the church in prophecy, that it shall prevail against the superstitions of the heathen world, whether maintained by the heathen nations themselves, or introduced by others into the Christian church. Lowman.

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27. And he shall rule them &c.] The church shall have a power, by My protection, like that which I received from My Father, Ps. ii. 8, 9; however obstinate any may be, in opposition to truth and purity, My power shall break their obstinacy, and give success to a faithful defence of My Gospel, against all the idolatrous and immoral principles of heathen nations. Lowman.

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28. And I will give him the morning star.] That is, I will give unto him dignity and pre-eminence, as the morning star excels the other stars in brightness. Schleusner.