Revelation 18

Revelation 18:1

THE CHURCH AT SMYRNA The church in Smyrna. The history of its planting is unknown, but it was probably founded by some of the evangelists under Paul’s supervision. During the second century the church was prominent, and it has never ceased to exist. When I visited the city in 1889, I was told that there were more than 70,000 professing Christians in the place. The city, so old that its beginnings are unknown, is still the second in commercial importance of the Turkish empire. The first and the last. See Revelation 1:17.

Revelation 18:2

Tribulation. Affliction. Poverty. Most of those first enlisted for Christ were poor. See 1 Corinthians 1:26-29. But thou art rich. Rich in faith, hope and fruits. And [I know] the blasphemy. Reviling of the Jews against the Lord. Them who say they are Jews. Those who say that they are Jews were of the Jewish race, but were not of the true Israel. “He is not a (true) Jes who is one outwardly”, etc. (Romans 2:28). John denies the right of these Jewish opposers to use the term “Jews” in the sense of God’s chosen people. Their synagogue was the synagogue of Satan. Such strong language implies a complete separation of the church and synagogue, an event that occurred at the period of the destruction of Jerusalem. See Acts 21:20-26

Revelation 18:3

Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer. The church shall suffer, but it need not fear for the reasons about to be given. The devil shall cast [some] of you into prison. He may use the Jews as instruments, but he is the real agent. And ye shall have tribulation ten days. Whether the “ten days” of persecution means a short time, or a definite period symbolized by “ten days” is uncertain. A day is often a symbol of a year. Ten persecutions are named by church historians and two persecutions of ten years each. It might refer to one of the latter which should bear very heavily on that church. The Diocletian persecution continued ten years and three months. Be thou faithful to death. Unto martyrdom. I will give thee a crown of life. Not a royal crown, but the garland crown of victory over death. See 2 Timothy 4:8.

Revelation 18:4

He that hath an ear, let him hear. See PNT Revelation 2:7. He that overcometh shall not be hurt by the second death. Those who win the victory shall live forever. To die the second death is to be sent from the judgment throne into hell. See Revelation 20:14.

Revelation 18:5

THE CHURCH AT PERGAMOS The church in Pergamos. The farthest north of the Seven Churches, a city once the capital of the kingdom of Pergamos, which was great and flourishing when John Wrote. It still exists with about 14,000 population, of whom over 3,000 profess to be Christians. He which hath the sharp sword with two edges. See Revelation 1:16.

Revelation 18:6

Where Satan’s seat [is]. In a center of heathen idolatry. Pergamos was a notorious center of idolatry. Thou holdest fast my name. Honor and trust in the name of Christ. Hast not denied my faith. Still continue firm in the profession of Christ though persecuted. Antipas [was] my faithful martyr. Some fanciful saint who had suffered martyrdom among them because he was a faithful witness of Christ.

Revelation 18:7

But I have a few things against thee. Much as been to the credit of the church, but there is another side. Them that hold the doctrine of Balaam. Teachers like Balaam who seduce the true Israel into sin. Balaam showed Balak how to lead the children of Israel astray. See Numbers 25:2 31:16. In the same way there were false teachers at Pergamos who taught that Christians might join the idol feasts and in heathen fornication.

Revelation 18:8

Nicolaitans. See PNT Revelation 2:6.

Revelation 18:9

Repent. This may save the sinner, whether an alien, or a church member. To repent one must leave off his sins. Will fight against them. Those who teach and practice these pernicious doctrines. With the sword of my mouth. See Revelation 1:16. With all the power of the word of God.

Revelation 18:10

He that hath an ear, let him hear. See PNT Revelation 2:7. I will give to eat of the hidden manna. The bread of life, the bread from heaven. The living bread is Jesus Christ, unseen in the earth and hence called hidden. I will give him a white stone. Among the Greeks a white stone was a symbol of acquittal, as a black stone was of guilt. The white stone implies justification, innocence and victory. And in the stone a new name written. All conjectures concerning this new name are idle. It is only given to those who have finally overcome and cannot be known to us here, but implies their new relation to God and the Lamb in their triumphant state.

Revelation 18:11

THE CHURCH IN THYATIRA The church in Thyatira. This is the first of the second group of four epistles. Thyatira has been mentioned in Acts 16:14 as the home of Lydia, who was converted at Philippi. It is likely that the church began when she and her household returned. The three churches before named were on or near the court; the others were in the interior. Thyatira was southeast of Pergamos, and northeast of Smyrna. It is still a place of about 17,000 population, of whom nearly 3,000 profess to be Christians. Like unto a flame of fire. See Revelation 1:14,15.

Revelation 18:12

The last [to be] greater than the first. “That thy last works are more than the first” (Revised Version). Instead of retrograding, their works grew more excellent.

Revelation 18:13

However I have a few things against thee. Of the seven churches only two are blameless, on which see topic 9654. That woman Jezebel. Either a person or a party of which the wicked wife of Ahab was a type. As a woman in Revelation is a symbol of the church, true or false, I believe this symbol is used to designate a faction in the church at Thyatira of an idolatrous spirit. This faction had teachers who claimed the gift of prophecy. Which calleth herself a prophetess. Some have strongly urged that by “Jezebel” is meant a Sybil, half heathen, half Christian, claiming prophetic powers, who is known to have lived in Thyatira. To teach and to seduce my servants. They taught the doctrine of Balaam named in Revelation 2:14. See note there. See also Revelation 2:24.

Revelation 18:14

I gave her space to repent. “Time to repent”, as in the Revised Version. The long suffering and mercy shown in the delay of judgment are here pointed out.

Revelation 18:15

Behold, I will cast her into a bed. Sickness and a bed are symbols of affliction and punishment. And them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation. This is the term applied to idolatrous Israel (Jeremiah 3:9 Ezekiel 16:32). To practice the idolatrous rites of this faction would be spiritual adultery.

Revelation 18:16

I will kill her children with death. Her children are the adherents; those who perpetuate the immoral practices. The threat implies that they shall come to certain destruction. And all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts. By reason of the judgments inflicted.

Revelation 18:17

But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira. “But to you I say, to the rest that are in Thyatira” (Revised Version). To all who have naught to do with Jezebel. As many as have not this doctrine. Jezebel then represents a false doctrine and a faction. Which have not known the depths of Satan. Have not learned the mysteries and wisdom of Satan taught by these false teachers. I will put upon you none other burden. None other than to avoid the sins of the false faction and teachers. Compare Acts 15:28,29.

Revelation 18:18

Hold fast till I come. To the gospel as it has been taught to you.

Revelation 18:19

To the end. Until death. To him will I give power over the nations. In the coming period, when Christ shall rule all kingdoms, the saints who have endured shall share his authority.

Revelation 18:20

He shall rule them. Shall rule as a shepherd is the meaning of the Greek word “poimaino”. The rule will not be a cruel, but a guardian rule. With a rod of iron. A scepter of iron means a firm and enduring power. As the vessels of a potter shall be broken to shivers. So the nations shall be broken in pieces and all become one under the rule of Christ.

Revelation 18:21

I will give him the morning star. The Morning Star is one of the titles of Christ. See Revelation 22:16. This, then, means that Christ will give them a fellowship with himself; they shall share his dominion.

Revelation 18:22

He that hath an ear, let him hear. See PNT Revelation 2:7.

Revelation 18:24

The Epistles to the Seven Churches Continued SUMMARY OF REVELATION 3: Letter to the Church at Sardis, the Spiritually Dead Church. Letter to the Tried and Faithful Church of Philadelphia. Letter to the Lukewarm Church of Laodicea. THE CHURCH AT SARDIS The church in Sardis. The city of Sardis, once the capital of the great kingdom of Lydia and the home of Croesus, the rich king, lay in the interior nearly a hundred miles east of Smyrna and Ephesus. Though it had lost its former greatness it was still a considerable city in the first century. The church there was planted, no doubt, by some of the companions of Paul. The former city has now ceased to exist, and only extensive ruins remain to testify of its greatness. Like the church at Ephesus, which had lost its first love, the Sardian church which had “a name to live and was dead”, has had its lampstand removed for many centuries. He that hath the seven Spirits of God. See notes on Revelation 1:4,16. The perfect number seven denotes fulness. He hath the fulness of the Spirit whom he sends into the earth to do his work. Thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. Though nominally Christian and living the Christian life, they were really spiritually dead.