Revelation 2

To the bishop, and with him the church of Ephesus, deliver this message; Thus saith Christ, (described ch. i. 13. 16,) sustaining and honouring with his right hand the seven governors or bishops of the seven churches, and coming now to visit and examine, and (according to desert) to punish or reward the members of these churches, and to admonish them timely what may be mended in them,

[h] two horns] Κίρατα, horns, in the scripture most commonly signify power or strength, because the horns of beasts being their weapons, their power of defending themselves, or hurting others, doth most properly consist in them: see note [n] on Luke i. And though it be here the horns of a lamb, which is no strong or formidable beast, yet still the horns of the lamb, or sheep, are the only strength which that creature hath, and horns cannot properly signify any thing else but strength. As for the whole phrase here, κίρατα δύο ὅμοια ἀρνίῳ, two horns like unto (a or) the lamb, it must be interpreted by analogy with what we read ch. v. 6. There Christ having been slain, and risen again, and installed in his regal power, is represented by a lamb having seven horns, which are the denotation of his several branches of power, useful to him for the subduing his enemies. And so here of this second beast it is said, that it hath two horns like the lamb, that is, this lamb before described, ch. v. in like manner as the beast’s speaking ὡς δράκων, as the dragon, refers to the dragon, vv. 2, 4. And though the demonstrative article ὁ be not prefixed, yet that is so ordinarily left out in all writers, when it must be retained in the sense, that no objection can be drawn from thence. This then being thus far clear, it remains only to inquire what acts of power are here meant by the two horns. And, 1. it must be resolved that they are two such as are like two of Christ’s; for that is concluded from the ὅμοια ἀρνίῳ, like the lamb. Of which number as the power of miracles and of prophecy are certainly two, so there is great reason here from the context to resolve these to be the two that are here meant. For it being already cleared, that κίρατα, horns, signify powers, two powers are here named distinctly in the following verses; first, the power of working signs, ver. 14; secondly, of giving breath to the image of the beast, ver. 15. For that is the denotation of ἐδόθη αὐτῷ in those two (and very ordinary in other) places, it was given to him, that is, power was given to him, or he had power, (see note [p] on Luke i. Now the σημεία, signs, doth acknowledgedly denote miracles; and so it is specified, ver. 13, he doth great signs, so that he makes fire come down from heaven, &c., and so that is the first horn of this second beast, the magicians’ and sorcerers’ power of working some prodigies, like unto those that Christ the Lamb (himself, and in his apostles afterwards) had wrought, resembling them, but not truly such, false, deceitful miracles. And for the power of giving breath to the image of the beast, that is expressed in the next words to be the enabling the image of the beast to speak, which clearly denotes the receiving responses from the devil, or the devil giving of oracles, foretelling things to come; which is another imitation of what the

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Revelation 2:2

I observe and approve your labour and great industry in the gospel, and your most constant patience and perseverance in the faith, your no kind of compliance with the vicious men that creep in among you: ye have put the false teachers to the test, examined their doctrine and mission (see note [b] John xx.) and found them to be counterfeits.

[a] say they are apostles] Who these pseudo-apostles were that this church of Ephesus had tried and found liars, may perhaps be reasonably affirmed out of the stories of those times. Gaius in Eusebius, l. 3. c. κη’. sets down the story of Cerinthus the leader of an heresy, that he pretended revelations, written ὡς ὑπὸ ἀποστύλου μεγάλου, by some great apostle, and related τερατολογίας, prodigious narrations, ὡς δι’ ἀγγέλων αὐτῷ δεδειγμίνας, as shewed him by angels; and then delivered his doctrines of a temporal kingdom of Christ after the resurrection, and that men should in Jerusalem live again, and δουλεύειν ἐπιθυμίαις καὶ ἡδοναῖς, serve lusts and pleasures, and spend the space of a thousand years ἐν γάμῳ ἑορτῆς, as in a nuptial festivity. The same doth Dionysius Alexandrinus in his second book, τῶν ἐπαγγελιῶν, set down, speaking of Cerinthus and his followers, and their doctrine, ἐπίγειον ἔσεσθαι τὴν τοῦ Χριστοῦ βασιλείαν, that Christ’s kingdom should be an earthly one, and (agreeable to his fancy, who was φιλοσώματος καὶ πᾶν σαρκικὸς, a very carnal man and lover of the body,) that it should consist in the satisfying of the paunch and lust, σιτίοις, πότοις καὶ γάμοις, in meats, drinks, and marriages, and to that purpose, (that there might be the more plenty of these,) ἑορταῖς, καὶ θυσίαις, καὶ ἱερείων σφαγαῖς, in feasts, and sacrifices, and killing of beasts or victims. And Irenæus, lib. 1, goes further, mentioning some ἀπορρητότεραι ψευδοδοξίαι, doctrines of filthiness not fit to be named, which he taught his disciples. And this, it seems, in Asia, and it is very probable in Ephesus itself, of which we now speak. For that John, after his return from banishment, lived there, we find affirmed by Clemens, in his narration of him transcribed by Eusebius, Eccl. Hist. l. 3. c. κγ’. And that he going into a bath on a time, and finding Cerinthus to be there, leaped back, and went out, not enduring to be under the same roof with him, for fear, as he said, that it should fall, when such an enemy of Christianity as Cerinthus was in it, is the affirmation of Irenæus, l. 3, out of a tradition of Polycarp: see Euseb. l. 3. c. κη’. And two circumstances more to our present purpose will be observable in that author: first, that the Nicolaitans here mentioned to be hated by this church, ver. 6, did rise immediately after Cerinthus and his followers, (ἐπὶ τούτων δῆτα, saith Eusebius,) and are therefore set down immediately after them in the course of his History, c. κθ’. Secondly, that Dionysius Alexandrinus comes to take him in, in his discourse on occasion of this very book, the Revelation, περὶ τῆς Ἰωάννου Ἀποκαλύψεως εἰπὼν τινα ὡς ἐκ τῆς ἀνέκαθεν παραδόσεως, saith 2 Eusebius, “having expounded some parts of the Revelation out of an ancient tradition.” Whether this were the place of the Revelation which he so expounded, I cannot affirm; but of this I am sure, that he and his followers, pretending to have received their revelations from some prime apostle, and affirming the prodigies he spake of to be shewed him by angels, may well be said to say they are apostles (that is, to have commission from heaven for their doc-

Revelation 2:3

And you have formerly undergone many pressures and persecutions, and held out against all assaults of terror or difficulty, and for the profession of Christianity have endured very sore and sharp afflictions, and were not then disheartened in your course by persecutions in the way.

Revelation 2:4

But one charge or accusation (see Matt. v. 23.) I have against you of this church, that that vehement, pure, Christian love, (casting out all fear of danger,) which at first was in you, and evidenced itself by your confession of the faith with courage, and without fear, you since have somewhat remitted, and are not altogether so fervent and intense and valiant, as at the first you were.

[b] hast left thy first love] The phrase ἀφῆκαι τὴν πρώτην ἀγάπην, is to be rendered, thou hast remitted, or abated, thy first love; for so ἀφείναι signifies (being applied to things of this nature) remission of degrees of any thing, as that is contrary to intension of them. Master Brightman’s fancy on the word is very observable, (and from thence it will be easy to judge of the solidity of the grounds on which he proceeds in his interpretations,) a “Every one of the churches,” saith he, “hath such a name given it as will declare its whole condition, as it were by marks written in the forehead.” “Thus,” saith he, “ἀφῆκαι, thou hast remitted, doth sufficiently teach what the b Spirit considered in this city, viz., that it was Ephesus, as it were, ἄφεσις, omission,” &c., from whence he presently gathers, that by Ephesus is meant the whole primitive church till Constantine’s days. Thus pitifully slight are the marks and characters by which he passeth his judgment, and on which he founds his interpretations. For besides that Ephesus is the name of a city and church known in the scripture, and doth as punctually signify that, and nothing but that, as London signifies London, (and it may be as reasonable to say that the Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians had a particular aspect on the whole church till Constantine, as that this part of St. John’s epistle to the angel of the church of Ephesus belongs to it,) the allusion of aphocas, (for that is the word, ἀφῆκαι,) to Ephesus, is as remote in sound as one could well imagine; but then in signification much more, ἄφεσις signifying desire or appetite, but ἄφεσις remission or loosing. Now for the other part of this phrase, πρώτη ἀγάπη, it is here not the love or care of the bishop toward the flock, as master Brightman would have it, but the great love toward Christ, which first was in them, (not their first love, as that signifies the object of it, Christ; for the leaving or utter forsaking of him were not reconcilable with the other commendations which are here given of them, particularly the ὑπομονὴν ἔχεις, thou hast patience, at the present, thou perseverest still in the Christian faith; but it is) their first zeal and fervency of love toward Christ, (see Matt. xxiv. 12.) which it seems was in process of time much remitted in the Christians of that church. This love, when it is perfect, casteth out fear; he that hath it will make no scruple to die, or undergo any danger for Christ: and thus had this church formerly behaved themselves toward Christ, κεκοπίακε καὶ οἱ κέκμηκε, ver. 3, they had endured, and passed through difficulties, and not fainted. But now it seems they were fallen into a great and dangerous remissness in this particular; of which, therefore,

a Perspicuum est consulto delegisse spiritum has ecclesias, quæ vel ipsis nominibus tanquam inscripiis quibusdam in fronte notis totam suam conditionem indicarent, p. 20.

b Satis docet quid Spiritus in hac urbe spectavit, nimirum Ἐφεσον tanquam ἄφεσιν omissionem, &c. Ib.

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Revelation 2:5

Call to mind therefore that degree of Christian zeal and courage which was in you at the first, and being sensible of the decay, return to it again, and act as christianly and valiantly in all things as at first you did, or else I will suddenly punish you by removing the light of the gospel from you, by leaving no church among you.

Revelation 2:6

Yet one thing is to be said in your commendation, that the temptations of the Gnostics being of two sorts, the baits of lusts, as well as the terrors of worldly sufferings, though you have been wrought on by the latter of these, yet for the former you are free, you detest those abominable villainies of lust, which come from the Nicolaitanes, and are gotten into other churches: vv. 15. 20.

[c] deeds of the Nicolaitanes] This church of Ephesus, though L. 5. c. 15. Hær. 19. 53.

These words may be more probably read thus, καὶ ὁμολογήσας, and having confessed with his mouth he shall deny in time of distress.

Revelation 2:7

Let this warning of mine in this vision be laid to heart by the Christians of Ephesus, and all that are under that metropolis, for it is of near concernment to all: and as it brings terrors to all who shall be involved in the sin mentioned, so every one that shall hold out and overcome the temptations, he shall have deliverance here, and hereafter eternal life bestowed upon him; which is the meaning of eating of the tree of life, Gen. ii. 22, and may be encouragement and reward sufficient to those that shall lay down their lives for Christ, and so here is fitly mentioned to those who would not confess Christ in time of persecution.

Revelation 2:8

Another message deliver to the bishop of Smyrna, another metropolis of Asia, in these words; Thus saith Christ, the eternal God, that was so despised and contemned by men, who was put to death, but rose from the dead, (see ch. i. 11,) and so is fit to encourage you in your patience, and sure to reward you, whatsoever it cost you, though it be the loss of life and all;

[d] church in Smyrna] The strangeness of Mr. Brightman’s interpretations will here again appear, so far from being the speaking of God by him, (as he pretends,) that it is manifest that any thing that any man’s fancy could represent to him (or incline him to wish that it were the meaning of a part of this prophecy) might as commodiously be affixed to it as that to which it is here applied. For, first, saith he, “it must be observed that Smyrna is northward from Ephesus, and Pergamos from Smyrna,” and thence he concludes that “this order similem ecclesiae progressum proculdubio monstrat, doth without all doubt shew the like progress of the church still further from the sun, the fountain of light,” that is, from the first purity to greater darkness, till at last it comes to Pergamos, the utmost northern point, and then turns back again toward the south. What the progress of the church hath been, from greater to lesser purity, need not be disputed; but that any such degeneration was noted by the situation of Smyrna toward Ephesus is so far from being proculdubio, far from all doubt, that it is certainly a fancy of the writer’s own brain, without all ground

Revelation 2:9

Your works have been very pious and Christian, your diligence remarkable, and great persecution and poverty you have suffered, (but this very thing tends to the increasing of your wealth treasured up for you, and your contentedness is at the present all riches,) and you have been tempted by the contumelies, and reproaches, and railings cast upon you by the Gnostics, who are a sort of men that take upon them to be Jews, to avoid persecutions from them, but indeed are not, live not according to the law,

³ contumely, βλασφημίαν.

[e] say they are Jews] Those that here are said to say that they are Jews, when they are indeed the synagogue of Satan, might probably enough be thought the followers of Helxai in Epiphanius, Har. 19, of whom he saith that he was a Jew by birth, and of Jewish opinions, and joined himself to the heretics of that party, but did not live according to the law. But because this Helxai was of a later beginning than the matter and persons spoken of in this prophecy seem to be, and because such men as he, when they did arise, (I mean heretics of all sorts, in those times,) did join together in that great heresy of the Gnostics, we must not fasten this part of this vision upon any such inconsiderable person as Helxai, but resolve that the men here spoken of are directly the Gnostics, who, that they might not be persecuted by the Jews, made men circumcise themselves, which was directly the pretending that they were as good Jews as any, circumcision being a mark of the proselytes of justice, and supposing the observation of the whole law, (of these see Gal. vi. 12, and note [b] on this chapter,) but were not really observers of the Mosaical law, Gal. vi. 3, οὐδὲ γὰρ οἱ περιτεινόμενοι αὐτοὶ νόμον φυλάσσουσι, for they do not themselves keep the law, (perhaps were not themselves circumcised; for the οὐδὲ may belong to the whole complexum, περιτεινόμενοι νόμον φυλάσσουσι, and not to φυλάσσουσι only, thus, they that make others to be circumcised are not circumcised themselves, do not themselves keep the law,) but only do εὐπροσωπεῖν, as he there saith, make a fair appearance, make advantage to themselves, to avoid the fury of the Jewish zealots, by causing others

P Externa quidem specie deformior est, nullo legitime politiae ornatu splendida, qua ratione septentrionalis recessus illi convenit; piorum tamen ardens studium, qui pro veritate fortissime propugnabant in illo misero squallore, excitabat Deo suavissimum odorem, f. 28.

Revelation 2:10

Take courage against all possible dangers, remembering me as I have represented myself to you, ver. 8. And now I tell you beforehand, that your constancy to the faith must in reason be expected to raise you up enemies, both at this present the Jewish zealots for the synagogue, ver. 9, (incensed against you by the Gnostics,) and afterwards the Roman officers, assertors of the diabolical idol-worship against Christianity: and these latter shall apprehend and imprison some of you, being permitted by God to do so, on purpose for the further trial of your constancy. And this persecution, which shall come upon you when the Jews are destroyed, (in the time of Marcus Aurelius and Verus, under which Polycarp the bishop of this church shall suffer death,) shall then last for a little while: and all this shall prove a foundation of greater glory to you, and help them to the reward and crown of martyrdom which suffer in it; and that is all the hurt which your constancy shall bring you.

a They that hold out to the end, that persevere in despite of all these temptations, shall continue a prosperous flourishing church, shall not have their candlestick removed from them, as all they shall that by the sharpness of persecutions are scandalized and fall off from Christ: (see note [d] ch. xx.)

b This is the message of Christ to you, who looketh upon you as a judge, and seeth somewhat in you which shall be punished most severely if you repent and reform not speedily;

[f] cast some of you into prison] This persecution here foretold seems to have fallen out in the time of the joint reign of Marcus Aurelius Verus, commonly called Philosophus, and Lucius Verus his brother, assumed by him into the empire, anno 161, who reigned near

twenty years. In his time, (as it appears by Eusebius, l. 4. c. ιε’, and

the Epistle of the church of Smyrna there,) μέγισται τὴν Ἀσίαν ἀνεθορύ-

βησαν διωγμοί, very great persecutions disturbed Asia. Of this persecu-

tion it is remarkable that it fell very heavy on this church of Smyrna,

and that Polycarpus was martyred in it, being till that time (at the age

of 86) bishop of this church, which therefore wrote a full narration of

it to the other churches in that famous Epistle of theirs recorded by Eusebius, and set out lately at London by the archbishop of Armagh. Before him many others were martyred, διὰ παντὸς εἴδους κολάσεων καὶ

βασάνων, with all kind of punishments and tortures, set down to the life

in that Epistle. But of Polycarpus the story is most large, and may there be viewed, out of which three things only I shall mention, in

order to the explicating of this place. First, that he himself received

a vision a little before it, and saw in his sleep his pillow whereon he

lay on a sudden set on fire and consumed; and as soon as he waked, told those which were near him that he should, διὰ Χριστὸν πυρὶ ζωὴν

μεταλλάξαι, be burnt for Christ, which signifies this martyrdom of this

angel of the church of Smyrna, (this ὁ τῆς Ἀσίας διδάσκαλος, ὁ πατὴρ

Χριστιανῶν, as the persecutors called him, the doctor of Asia, the father

of the Christians, to have been so considerable a passage of the divine

economy, that it was thought fit to be matter of a vision to him, and so might also well be to St. John at this time: and not only this in a dream, but, as he was a going to the stake, a voice was heard by many bystanders, coming from heaven, Ἴσχυε, Πολύκαρπε, καὶ ἀνδρίζου, Polycarpus, be strong and valiant. The second thing is, that this death of his was the quenching of those flames, the ending of that emperor’s

persecution against the Christians, who ὥσπερ ἐπισφραγίσας διὰ τῆς μαρ-

τυρίας αὐτοῦ κατέπαυσε τὸν διωγμὸν, saith the Epistle, he did as it were

seal up by his martyrdom, and so give a conclusion to the persecution: which, I suppose, is the meaning of the time of ten days here set down

for the affliction, noting some determinate (not very long) time in that

prince’s reign, wherein it should last, and then be quieted again. The third thing is, that not only upon Polycarpus, but upon many others, (particularly on Germanicus,) great persuasions were used by the

Revelation 2:12

[g] Pergamos] That by Pergamos is here meant the Christian church from Gratian, an. Chr. 380 to the year 1300, is the fancy of Mr. Brightman, somewhat about the proportion of the rest of his interpretations. For, for this his only ground of affirming is, that Smyrna was distant from Ephesus but 320 furlongs, but Pergamos from Smyrna a greater space, about 540 furlongs. But to see how fancy rules this interpreter, and not any rule of proportion. For supposing that these distances of these cities had any mysterious signification in them, (whereas they are not so much as taken notice of in the visions,) yet when the 320 furlongs had been set to denote no longer space than from Constantine to Gratian, that is, not above 60 years, what appearance or pretence of reason can there be, that the addition of 220 furlongs to that number, which wants a third part to be double to the former, should improve that 60 into 920 years, which is almost sixteen times as much as that former? But more wonderful it is, that having proceeded by this rule of proportion, wherein 540 furlongs, that is, about 68 English miles, should signify the space of 900 years, yet afterwards the 80 English miles, whereby Thyatira was distant from Pergamos, should signify but 220 years: the unproportionableness of which being discerned by him, was sure the reason that he there chose to set down that space in 9 English miles, whereas the former had been set down by furlongs, the eighth part of a mile, that so the greater number of those in one place than of miles in the other might amuse the reader, and keep him from taking notice of the unproportionableness.

Revelation 2:13

I cannot but commend your Christian behaviour and constancy, and that the greater, being considered with the circumstances of the place of your abode, in the midst of such temptations to the

[h] Satan’s seat] This throne of Satan surely signifies the power of Satan, exercised in their idolatrous worships and sacrifices. Thus, saith Surius, there was a temple of Diana at Pergamos at this time. And in the Greek Μηνολόγιον, where Antipas’s martyrdom is commemorated, though there be not mention of this temple, yet there is of the idol-worshippers and their sacrifices, of the devils (διήμονες σεβόμενοι παρ’ αὐτοῖς) that were worshipped among them, and did then acknowledge themselves οἰκείν ἐν τῷ τόπῳ, to inhabit and reside in that place, and receive τὰς προσαγομένας θυσίας, the sacrifices that were brought them, and, in a word, of the ἡ τῶν Ἑλλήνων παλαιὰ θρησκεία, the old religion of the Grecians that was amongst them, with which Christianity began now to be competitor. To all this Metaphrastes adds the great barbarity and professed injustice of that place, whose citizens, saith he, took themselves to be just, and valiant, and good, (interpreted it a special piece of virtue,) if they did but accuse a Christian, or bring him to his martyrdom. By other authors it appears that Æsculapius had a temple there, and Andreas Cæsareensis saith of it, κατείδωλον οὖσαν ὑπὲρ τὴν Ἀσίαν πῶσαν, that it was fuller of idols than all Asia beside.

[i] Antipas] The story of Antipas’s sufferings in the reign of Domitian is set down completely by the Menology, April 11. That he was contemporary with the apostles, ordained bishop of the (Asiatic) church about Pergamos, τῆς κατὰ Πέργαμον τῆς Ἀσίας ἐπίσκοπος κεχειροτόνηται: that in his very old age, ἐποίμανεν, he fed and ruled the flock in all godliness, and was therefore apprehended by the idolaters, the devils that were worshipped among them appearing to them and telling them that they could not dwell there, nor receive the sacrifices which were brought them, ἀλλὰ ἐξελαύνεσθαι ὑπὸ τοῦ Ἀντίπα, but that they were driven away by Antipas. Hereupon he was carried before the prefect, who endeavoured to persuade him ὅτι τὰ πρεσβύτερα τιμιώτερα ἦν, that the old religion of the Gentiles was more venerable, that Christianity was but ὀψί ποτε ἀρξαμένη, newly sprang, received by few, and so not so venerable as the Grecian worship. To which he opposed the story of Cain, and in him the antiquity of impiety, which yet sure, said he, was not fit for godly men to set before them for an example. Whereby the prefect being enraged, put him into a brazen bull, τῷ κατὰ τύπον βοὺς τεχνουργηθέντι χαλκουργήματι, wherein praising the mercy and power of God, and giving him thanks ὑπὲρ ὡν ἠξιώθη δι’ αὐτὸν παθεῖν, for what he was thought worthy to suffer for him, &c., he was there scalded to death; and to him this inscription is set in a distich:

Ταύρῳ παλαίεις, καλλιμάρτυς Ἀντίπα, Ὅς σε φλογίζειν εἶχεν, οὐ κερατίζειν,

“Thou art, O Antipas, set to wrestle with a bull, which could scald, but was not able to gore thee.” As for Mr. Brightman’s wanton fancy of this name ⁴ Antipas, that “it doth denote that the martyrs of that age,” to which he refers that part of the vision, “should be Antipapæ, or Antipopes,” it is too vain to be seriously repeated or considered.

[i] maketh fire come down—] The first of these horns or powers, being shewed to be the power of miracles wrought by the magicians through the power of the devil, contains under it all the deceitful wonders wrought by sorcerers in those times; and the strangest of all these that were by any of them pretended to, was this of making fire descend from heaven, in imitation of Elias, as James and Jambres did by their magic some miracles after Moses. And this is particularly related by Philostratus of Apollonius Tyaneus, l. v. c. 5, that he called down fire from heaven. And this is a signal evidence that these sorcerers were this second beast.

Revelation 2:14

But yet for all this courage, great faults there are among you, though the whole church be not guilty of them; viz. the doctrines and practices of the Gnostics are gotten in among you, which are but a transcript, as it were, of that famous counsel of Balaam to Balac, which brought that curse and ruin upon the Israelites, when nothing else could do it, consisting in joining and complying with the idolaters, (see note [b],) and committing all abominable uncleanness: (see Jude [f].)

[k] make an image to the beast] The design of these sorcerers to advance heathenism by that means, and to oppose Christianity, and the successfulness of their attempt, so far as to incense the emperors against the Christians, and to engage them to favour and encourage heathenism or idolatry, is sufficiently known in story, and appears by that book of Hierocles, (to which we have Eusebius’s answer, though the book itself be not extant,) wherein he compares Christ and Apollonius, the evangelists, the writers of Christ’s story, and Philostratus, the writer of Apollonius’s life, and prefers Apollonius and Philostratus very much before the other. And this is the meaning of ver. 12, he did all the power of the first beast before him, that is, he confirmed men in the belief and practice of all the heathen worship which was then afoot; and, as it follows, makes all the inhabitants of the land, that is, the generality of the Roman empire, to worship the first beast, whose wound had been cured, that is, to continue those heathen worships of Jupiter Capitolinus, and the like, which seemed to have been shaken by the burning, but were settled again by the reedifying of the capitol. And not only so, but, as here it is added, he saith to the inhabitants of the land, that is, commands them, ποιήσαι εἰκόνα τῷ θηρίῳ ὁ ἔχει τὴν πληγὴν τῆς μαχαίρας, καὶ ἔζησε, to make an image to the beast which hath the stroke of the sword, and lived. That that beast which hath the stroke of the sword, and yet lived, is the beast, ver. 1, one of whose heads was wounded to death, and the πληγὴ θανάτου, mortal wound, (all one here with πληγὴ τῆς μαχαίρας, stroke of the sword,) was cured, is manifest; and that hath been cleared to denote the heathen worship, as it then stood at Rome, the prime part of which was the worship of Jupiter Capitolinus. The only difficulty then is, what is the εἰκὼν, image, of this beast. And, first, it may signify the inventing and introducing of some other heathen worships or temples besides those, yet agreeable and like unto those which they had already: and to that sense may be applied what we read of Domitian his adding of new deities, and erecting Flavia templa, Flavios sacerdotes, of which saith Martial, l. 8. Epigr. 80.

Sic nova dum condis, revocus, Auguste, priora: Debentur quæ sunt, quæque fuere, tibi.

“Whilst he built new temples, and reedified the former, both were to be acknowledged due to him, what now are, and what were before.”

Revelation 2:15

In like manner there is gotten in among you, and permitted, or not punished by your bishops, that unclean doctrine and practice of the Nicolaitanes, (see note [c],) which being most odious to me, ought most sharply to have been punished by them.

Revelation 2:16

And if this lenity be not speedily mended, I will visit and destroy you suddenly by judgments, parallel to the sword that fell on those Israelites that were corrupted by Balaam’s counsel, Numb. xxv. 5.

Revelation 2:17

And for all those that keep themselves pure and spotless from these temptations, this compliance and uncleanness, let them know that the joys and comforts that come in to them by the practice of the contrary Christian virtues of courage and purity, are, though invisible, yet far greater than those which these carnal gospellers enjoy, 1 Cor. ii. 9; and besides this portion of inward bliss (adherent to the practice of duty at the present) prepared for them by God, and showered down like manna upon their souls, they shall, over and above, (as victors have a ticket given them by the judges to receive the reward that belongs to them, the value or quality whereof, and their names, is written in that ticket,) have a token or ticket given them, with the name of Christ written on it, signifying the Christian reward of grace and glory, but that such as is not to be conceived what or how valuable it is but by the enjoying of it. Christ, that appeared to thee so gloriously, ch. i. 15, in token of the judicature which he means to exercise, the rewards and punishments which he hath in his dispensing.

[k] hidden manna] Manna, that bread that came down from heaven among the Israelites, was so called from כֹּה, præparavit, ἄρτος ἕτοιμος ἀπ’ οὐρανοῦ, bread ready to eat, sent down to them from heaven, in the phrase of the book of Wisdom. By this may fitly be denoted all the inward comfort and refreshment and sustenance of souls which God affords Christians in this life, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him, 1 Cor. ii. 9, and particularly the inward joy that ariseth from the practice of Christian virtues, which carry with them a blessedness in this life, especially of confessing and suffering for Christ; and that is here said to be bestowed upon the conqueror, that is, on him that holds out, falls not away to eating of the idol-feasts, which they that did, and by that means promised themselves advantage and safety, are said by Eusebius (speaking of those times) to have failed of those very advantages they looked for, being put to death by the persecutors under pretence of some other cause, as guilty of homicide, &c., and so to have perished without all comfort or hope, of which the faithful confessors were so full. A notable testimony we have of this in Eusebius, l. 5. c. 1, Ἐνταῦθα μεγάλη τις οἰκονομία Θεοῦ ἐγίνετο, &c.,

⁴ Perhaps it should be ἐκκλησίας, for so after it follows, ὑπάρχων δὲ τῆς κατὰ Πέργαμον ἐκκλησίας ἀρχιερεύς.

⁵ Vocatur Antipas non ficto sed vero nomine, quod tamen tot pene literis et syllabis martyres hujus temporis declaret fore Antipapas, f. 23.

Revelation 2:18

[m] Thyatira] That Thyatira is the name of a city then in being

Revelation 2:19

Do thou write the visions which thou hast formerly seen, a representation both of the things which are now a doing, and of others which shall soon follow after them.

I take notice of your Christian actions, and courage in confessing of Christ, (see note [b],) and your charity or liberality to the poor brethren, and your constancy against all terrors, and all these Christian actions daily improving, and growing greater and more abundant in you.

Revelation 2:20

And for that which thou now seest, which thou art to write also, (as I bade thee, ver. 11,) the meaning of it is, that it representeth to thee the seven churches, to which thou must communicate these visions in an epistle, and the seven governors of them. The seven stars which were shewed thee in the vision signify so many governors of those so many churches, ver. 11, and the candlesticks signify the churches themselves.

CHAP. II.

Yet one quarrel I have against you, that you permit that heresy of the Gnostics, that take upon them to understand mysteries beyond all others, to delude some members of your church, and infuse their false doctrines into them, and among others, those forementioned, ver. 14, of filthiness, and communicating in idol worships.

[n] Jezebel] The heresy of the Gnostics is here described by Jezebel, and the destruction thereof here set down, ver. 22. It began in Simon Magus: see Euseb. l. 2. c. α’. He, saith he, seeing Philip’s miracles, and pretending faith in Christ, so far as to obtain baptism from him, set up μιαρωτάτην αίρεσιν, a most polluted abominable heresy. Then, c. κγ’, he did many magical miracles by help of the devil’s working in him, and was counted a god in Rome in Claudius’s time, and was generally worshipped by the Samaritans, and by some few εν ἄλλοις ἔθνεσι, in other nations, (whether Judæa or Galilee, or in other places where the Jews were dispersed,) ὡς πρῶτος θεός, as a chief, or first, or prime god. This was the meaning of δύναμις Θεοῦ (as the ancient MSS. have it, see Acts viii. 10.) ἡ καλουμένη μεγάλη, the power of God, called the great power, that is, the supreme Divine power, (see 2 Thess. ii. 4.) To him was joined a famous whore of Tyre, and she was styled his πρώτη ἔννοια, his first conception. Now those that followed this sect of his, saith he, τὴν σώφρονα καὶ διὰ καθαρότητα βίον παρὰ πᾶσι βεβοημένην Χριστιανῶν φιλοσοφίαν ὑποκρινόμενοι, &c., “pretending the Christian religion so famous for temperance and purity of life,” thinking to keep free from idolatry, which by receiving Christianity they had forsaken, by the treachery of his heresy were brought to it again, καταπίπτοντες ἐπὶ γραφὰς καὶ εἰκόνας αὐτοῦ τε τοῦ Σίμωνος καὶ τῆς σὺν αὐτῷ Ἐλένης, θυμλίμασί τε καὶ θυσίαις καὶ σπονδαῖς τούτους θρησκεύειν ἐπιχειροῦντες, “falling down before images and pictures of Simon and Helena, and doing them worship with incense and sacrifices,” &c. As for the ἀπορρητότερα, the more secret and mysterious practices of these men, they are such, saith he, ὡν τὸν πρῶτον ἐπακούσαντα ἐκπλαγήσεσθαι, “that he that first hears them will be amazed,” or, as they themselves speak, (θαμβωθήσεσθαι) “strucken into astonishment,” the things which are practised among them being so full (θάμβους, ὡς ἀληθῶς, καὶ φρενῶν ἐκστάσεως καὶ μανίας) “of true horror, and ecstasy, and madness,” ὡς μὴ μόνον μὴ δυνατὰ εἶναι παραδοθῆναι γραφῇ, ἀλλ’ οὐδὲ χείλεσιν αὐτὸ μόνον δι’ ὑπερβολὴν αἰσχρουργίας καὶ ἀρρητοποιίας ἀνδράσι σώφροσι λαληθῆναι, “that not only they cannot be delivered in writing, but even that they cannot be spoken by any sober men for the excess of filthiness, and actions not to be uttered, (see Eph. v. 12.) for, as he concludes, ὃ, τι ποτὲ ἂν ἐπινοηθεῖη παντὸς αἰσχροῦ μοιράτερον, τοῦτο πᾶν ὑπερηκόντισεν ἡ τῶνδε μυσαροτάτη αἴρεσις, ταῖς ἀθλίαις καὶ παντοίων ὡς ἀληθῶς κακῶν σεσωρευμέναις γυναιξὶ καταποιζόντων, “Whatsoever can be thought on as more abominable than all uncleanness, that is much exceeded and overcome by this detestable heresy of men, which deceive and defile miserable women, laden with all kinds of sins.” Which is the very phrase by which they are expressed, 2 Tim. iii. 6. Of these again we have the same author speaking in Adrian’s time, l. 4. c. 5. ζ. that the devil instead of persecutions used other engines against Christianity or the

Revelation 2:21

And these filthy heretics have not made use of the warning by me given them to repent, but still go on in their impieties.

Revelation 2:22

And therefore you may expect that the judgments that shall suddenly fall upon them, and all that join with them, shall be very heavy, if not prevented by their speedy reformation.

Revelation 2:23

And all that are either leaders or followers in this impiety shall be destroyed, to be an example to all the Christian churches in the rest of Asia, that these doctrines and practices may be avoided by them, upon sight of my severe visitation upon these; which may assure you all, (you churches of Asia,) that according as you behave yourselves, so you may expect to be rewarded by me.

24, 25. But to the rest of you, those of Thyatira which are not thus guilty, which have not given ear to these secret depths of Gnostic villainy, to you this acknowledgment and commendation is due, that you are such that God requires nothing more of you but perseverance, that you hold out untouched and untainted, till this judgment comes upon those wicked that are now among you, and till I come to reward your fidelity and constancy.

¹⁰ administration, διακονίαν. ¹¹ Or, thy last works more than the first: for the King’s MS. reads τὰ ἤργα σου τὰ ἰσχατα— ¹² Or, which calling herself a prophetess doth teach and deceive: for the King’s MS. reads ἡ λέγουσα ἑαυτὴν προφήνει, καὶ διδάσκει καὶ πλαιῆ. ¹³ I cast her into prison: for the King’s MS. reads Βάλλω αὐτὴν εἰς φυλακὴν. ¹⁴ you, I say, the rest—for the King’s MS. reads ὑμῖν δὲ λέγω λοιποῖν.

HAMMOND, VOL. II.

Revelation 2:26

[o] unto the end] What is here meant by τὸ τίλος, the end, may appear not only by what hath been oft said of it, that it notes the end of the Jews’ commonwealth, (see notes [c] [d] on Matt. xxiv,) but by the parallel phrase that here goes before, ἄχραι οὗ ἂν ἤξω, until the time wherein I shall come. For that the coming of Christ notes that notable destruction of his enemies, the Jewish crucifiers of Christ, and persecutors of Christians, hath been often shewed, (see note [b] on Matt. xxiv.) By comparing of these two phrases together, the sense of this whole passage will be discoverable. To those in this church of Thyatira, and the other cities under this metropolis, which had not fallen off to the Gnostic heresy, he gives no other counsel for the present, till this time come of destroying the Jewish persecutors and Judaizing