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The seven churches mentioned in these two chapters were actual churches at the time of the early apostles. Furthermore, the description of the conditions of these churches portrays their actual situations. Yet, at the same time, these seven churches represent the seven stages of the church, and their conditions also portray the general condition of the church in different stages. However, this should not be taken in an absolute way. We are merely saying that the church following the apostles' time was more like Ephesus and the church of the second stage was more like Smyrna. Nevertheless, the condition of the church following the apostles' time bears a resemblance to that of the other six churches as well.
Every epistle is written to a messenger. We have already studied who these messengers were. I hope that the Lord will raise us up so that we may become messengers. Although every epistle is written to a messenger, it also speaks to the church. Therefore, these epistles concern every believer.
In every epistle, our Lord says something concerning Himself. Moreover, what He speaks concerning Himself corresponds to the condition of each church. For example, Ephesus is a church which has fallen from love, so the Lord manifests Himself as the One who walks in the midst of the golden lampstands. Smyrna is a suffering church, so the Lord presents Himself as the One who resurrected from the dead so that they would be willing to be martyred. Pergamos is a worldly church; thus, the Lord appears to them as the One who has the two-edged sword which is able to cut off the world. Thyatira is a corrupt and adulterous church; therefore, the Lord manifests Himself as the One with eyes like a flame of fire and feet like shining bronze, with which He is able to search and judge. Sardis is a dead church; therefore, the Lord presents Himself as the One who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars. Philadelphia is a church that faithfully holds to the truth; thus, the Lord is seen as the One who is holy and true and who opens the door wide to them for the work. Laodicea is a church filled with human opinions; thus, the Lord presents Himself as the Head over all things.
The word "Ephesus" means "loose." This was the condition of their love. The word "Smyrna" means "myrrh," or "suffering." This was the age when the Roman Empire persecuted the church. "Pergamos" means "high tower," "marriage," or "union." During this period, the Roman emperor, Constantine, joined himself to Christianity, and the church secured a position in the world. "Thyatira" means "she sacrificed tirelessly." This was the rising up of the priesthood during the age of Roman Catholicism, in which idol worship began to take place. This may be considered as the darkest and most corrupted age of the church. The meaning of the word "Sardis" is "restoration." This is the age of the Protestant church; her spiritual condition was so weak that it was as if she were dead. "Philadelphia" means "brotherly love." A hundred years ago the church was revived. A small number of Christians left the denominations, joined together in love, and wholeheartedly kept the truths in the Bible. The word "Laodicea" means "the opinions of the people." This is the condition of the opinionated church today.
Every epistle has the words "I know." Both our conduct, whether good or bad, and our condition, whether sad or joyous, are known by the Lord. The Lord does His best to praise the good, but He also severely rebukes the bad. This is a preview of the Lord's righteous judgment.
Since each church is in a different situation, the Lord warns each of them accordingly. The words of warning to each church are found in chapters two and three: to Ephesus (2:4-5), to Smyrna (2:10), to Pergamos (2:14-16), to Thyatira (2:20-25), to Sardis (3:2-3), to Philadelphia (3:9-11), and to Laodicea (3:17-20).
In order to maintain His testimony, the Lord desires to raise up overcomers in each church. Therefore, He gives special promises to them. These promises are found in the following verses: Revelation 2:7, 10-11, 17, 26-28; 3:5, 12, 21.
Every epistle contains the words, "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches" (Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22). These seven epistles are spoken by the Lord Himself. Why then do they say that the Spirit speaks to the churches? Because the Lord spoke directly to John, the churches could only read the epistles which John had written. Therefore, in reading, there was the need of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in order to understand. Moreover, when the Lord was on the earth, He did not speak by Himself but through the Spirit. Even today, the Lord is still speaking through the Spirit. Therefore, Revelation says that the Spirit is speaking to the churches.
Now we will consider the content of these seven epistles in detail.
"To the messenger of the church in Ephesus write: These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, He who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands."
"Write." John is the Lord's secretary, recording the words of the Lord.
"The church in Ephesus." The church has two aspects: one is the mystical church; the other is the local church. One is the Body of Christ; the other is the house of God. The churches which are mentioned in these two chapters are churches which belong to localities. "The church in Ephesus" is different from "the church of Ephesus" because the church in Ephesus merely resides in Ephesus; it does not belong to Ephesus. Therefore, the so-called Roman Church, Greek Church, and Chinese Christian Church are all unscriptural.
"To the messenger." This epistle is given to the messenger. This indicates that it is much inferior to the book to the Ephesians written by Paul, because Paul wrote to all the believers. From this we can see that many of the believers at that time had passed away or backslidden. Hence, only the messenger could receive this epistle. When we further compare the content of these two epistles, we can realize that the earlier and latter conditions of this church were very different. Ephesus had definitely become loose and desolate and had backslidden.
To this church the Lord presents Himself as "He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, He who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands." This is to make the church in Ephesus and the messenger know that He has full authority; He searches the whole church.
"I know your works and your labor and your endurance and that you cannot bear evil men; and you have tried those who call themselves apostles and are not, and have found them to be false; and you have endurance and have borne all things because of My name and have not grown weary."
This section is the Lord's word of praise. This section of praise is divided into three aspects:
"Your works." Their works must have been very good.
"Your labor." They must have labored diligently.
"Your endurance." This church had the heart of a father or mother in bearing others' weaknesses.
"You cannot bear evil men." See 1 Corinthians 5.
"You have tried those who call themselves apostles and are not." They did not loosely receive people into the work. Even if one was an apostle, he still needed to be tried. From this we see that they had much spiritual insight.
They endured for the Lord's name and did not grow weary.
Judging from only the items mentioned above, the church in Ephesus was indeed quite perfect.
"But I have one thing against you, that you have left your first love."
Although the church in Ephesus was so good, the Lord still had something for which to rebuke her — she had left her first love. We may wonder why a church which labored so diligently would not at the same time love the Lord inwardly. However, much experience tells us that one may be laboring diligently outwardly, yet may have already left the first love inwardly. The "first love" is the best and most perfect love; it is the virgin love which saints offer to the Lord through His love.
We may ask how they could have left their first love. It may be that they emphasized work more than love for the Lord, or it may be due to their disobedience to the Lord (John 15:10). Nevertheless, what we see here is that the Lord demands our love to Him. If we have diligent labor and spiritual wisdom yet are without love, our labor and wisdom are useless (1 Thes. 1:2-3; 1 Cor. 13:2).
"Remember therefore where you have fallen from and repent and do the first works; but if not, I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place, unless you repent."
Here the Lord tells them of the way of recovery:
(1) "Remember therefore where you have fallen from." This means that they should find out the cause. Every time one backslides, there must be a cause, and unless the cause is discovered, there is no way of recovery. From the Lord's point of view, the church in Ephesus was outwardly perfect, yet inwardly fallen. First she fell inwardly; then she failed outwardly.
(2) "And repent." To repent is not just something that sinners have to do; believers should also repent. Whenever there is a fall, there is the need to repent.
(3) "And do the first works." Repentance is negative, while to "do the first works" is positive. From this we know that the church in Ephesus had not been doing the first works. What were the first works? Although they are not explicitly mentioned here, we know definitely that they are not matters like labor, endurance, diligence, rejecting evil persons, and so forth. By reading the book of Ephesians carefully, we can find two points of their "first works": One, they were faithful (1:1), and two, they allowed Christ to be the Lord (3:17).
In Revelation 2:5, the Lord mentions the way of recovery on the one hand and speaks of His judgment on the other. First He exercises love; then He exercises His righteousness. "But if not, I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place." The lampstand represents the church, whose responsibility is to shine, to be a witness. Where was this place from which the lampstand might be removed? This place was before the Lord (1:12-13; 2:1). Therefore, to be removed out of its place means that it loses its position before the Lord and is rejected by Him. For the lampstand to lose its position means that it cannot receive oil (the filling of the Holy Spirit) from the Lord, and as a result, it cannot shine for the Lord. Therefore, the problem here is not a matter of salvation, but of work and testimony. From the Lord's point of view, there are many churches today that are merely lampstands which have been removed.
"But this you have, that you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate."
The word "Nicolaitans" in the original language means "those who subdue others." Therefore, this sect is one which, being greedy for power, assumes the position of leadership. The Lord hates this. The church in Ephesus hated what the Lord hates, sharing His feeling; thus, she was praised by Him.
"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God."
This shows that this epistle was given not only to the church in Ephesus, but also to all the churches which have the same condition as that of the church in Ephesus. Although the Lord's words are spoken to all the churches, how many are actually able to hear them? "He who has an ear" reveals that there were many in the church who did not have an ear to hear. Why did they not have an ear to hear the Lord's word? This does not refer to the physical ear but the spiritual ear. By considering Matthew 13:13-15, we can understand why some did not have a spiritual ear. It is because (1) they did not have a heart to be spiritual, and (2) they were afraid of the Lord's word.
Finally, He mentions the promise. "Him who overcomes" is singular. Although the church as a whole has failed, individuals can endeavor to overcome. The Lord's emphasis in these seven epistles is that some would overcome.
The reward to the overcomers is to eat the fruits of life in the Paradise of God. The Paradise here probably refers to the kingdom of the heavens, because the kingdom of the heavens recovers us back to the situation in Genesis 2. Just as there was a garden of Eden on earth, so also will there be a Paradise in the kingdom of the heavens. The overcomers will be with the Lord in Paradise; how joyful this will be! Not only will they be in Paradise, but they will also be able to eat the fruits of life. Since the creation of the world, no person has tasted the fruits of life, but at that time, the overcomers will enjoy them first.
The church in Smyrna typifies the condition of the church during the time from about one hundred years after Christ to A.D. 313. The church in Ephesus was cold in her love; the church in Smyrna suffered. This has a great significance because many times the Lord causes a cold and loose believer to suffer in order to revive him.
"And to the messenger of the church in Smyrna write: These things says the First and the Last, who became dead and lived again."
"Smyrna" means "suffering," but it can also be taken to mean "myrrh." Myrrh is precious; thus, this suffering is a precious suffering. All sufferings for the Lord are precious. "The First and the Last" indicates that the Lord is the forever unchanging God. What a comfort this was to the church in Smyrna!
"These things says..., who became dead and lived again." Becoming dead yet living again was, of course, the Lord's experience and work when He was on the earth. However, this word could also give the believers in Smyrna the greatest comfort, encouragement, and help:
(1) First, this leaves us a pattern to follow. If the Lord received death while on the earth, even more, should not we also?
(2) Since He suffered unto death, He can sympathize with us (Heb. 4:15).
(3) To accomplish God's will and overcome the enemy, the Lord had to die. We want to accomplish the same; hence, we also must die.
(4) Although the Lord died, He resurrected. Hence, if we suffer or forsake our life for the Lord, we will have the hope of resurrection; our suffering will not be in vain.
"I know your tribulation and poverty (but you are rich) and the slander from those who call themselves Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan."
(a) The Lord knows all of our sufferings! Therefore, our hearts should be content.
(b) Since the Lord knows our sufferings yet still does not remove them, such sufferings must be profitable to us.
(c) Since the Lord knows our sufferings, He must also know how to reward us in the future.
The sufferings of the church in Smyrna at that time were of three kinds: (1) tribulation, (2) poverty, and (3) slanderings.
What is tribulation? Tribulation is an outward persecution from the environment, such as opposition, attack, exile, oppression, beating, robbing, and so forth.
If the monetary supply during tribulation is sufficient, you do not feel the suffering that much because, relatively speaking, being rich makes it easier for you to get by. But if you are in poverty in the midst of tribulation, the situation becomes even more hopeless. Although this was the situation, the Lord added a most precious word: "But you are rich." At that time the faith of the church in Smyrna was rich (James 2:5) and her love was full (1 Thes. 1:3). Otherwise, who would not fall when placed under such circumstances?
The church in Smyrna and the church in Laodicea stand in stark contrast to each other (Rev. 3:17); it is impossible for a person to be in Smyrna, before the Lord, yet at the same time be in Laodicea, before the world.
Slander damages our reputation. Some can endure physical sufferings under tribulation and poverty, yet few can tolerate damage to their reputation.
"The slander from those who call themselves Jews." Slandering began with the Jews. When our Lord was on the earth, He was slandered by them; much more, should not we also be slandered?
What was their actual word of slander? It was slander against the truth of salvation (Acts 13:45; 18:6; 19:9; 28:22; Rom. 3:8), yet the Lord said that we are blessed if we are reviled (Matt. 5:11).
There is one more point to be noted — that is, concerning "those who call themselves Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan." Who actually were these people? Before we talk about this group of people, we should first find out who the real Jews are. From Romans 2:28-29, John 8:39-47, and Romans 4:11-12, we understand that whoever sincerely believes in the Lord Jesus is a real Jew. Since these ones were not Jews but called themselves such, they must surely refer to a group of Jews in the flesh and a group of Judaistic followers.
These people had an organization, and one might say that they were the Judaistic church. Their teachings were also Judaistic, being half of the law and half of grace, half of faith and half of works. Their system followed the law; they had a priestly order. There were a great number of these people, even at Paul's time. However, by the time of this writing, they had become more developed and more organized. They "are a synagogue of Satan." These people were used by Satan to preach a seemingly true, but actually false, gospel.
"Do not fear the things that you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison that you may be tried, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life."
"The things that you are about to suffer" were the things which they had not yet suffered. These were in addition to the three things just mentioned. This is really suffering upon suffering! But here the Lord tells us beforehand, "Do not fear," because (1) fear is the source of failure — if you do not fear, you will not fail; and (2) the Lord has already won the victory — although we may suffer, eventually we will triumph.
"The devil is about to cast some of you into prison that you may be tried." At the beginning it was merely opposition and slandering, but now it has intensified to the point of imprisonment. The purpose of this imprisonment is: (1) to stop the believers from testifying publicly, so as to bind the Lord's truth; (2) to cause them to be separated from one another, thus, reducing their strength; and 3) to cause those who are imprisoned to suffer. On the one hand, this would make the devil happy, and on the other hand, this would cause the believers to lose heart. Oh, how evil are the tactics of the devil!
"The devil is about to cast some of you." No person is mentioned here, but the devil is particularly mentioned. This is so that (1) we will not blame people but will hate the devil, and so that (2) we may accurately recognize the enemy in order to resist him.
"You will have tribulation for ten days." "Ten days" does not mean ten days and ten nights. It means that our suffering is for a specified period of time. Some say that these ten days are the ten periods of great persecution by the Romans.
"Be faithful unto death." "Unto death" implies killing. When the devil sees that imprisonment is not effective, he will take a further step, to kill them. "Be," here, is in the imperative mood. "Faithful unto death" means that even though they face death, they still do not love their soul-lives (Rev. 12:11). Oh, but Satan's attacks can reach only up to this point. If we are faithful, he cannot do anything more.
"I will give you the crown of life." Oh, how wonderful this promise is. What a blessed hope! (James 1:12). Revelation 1:10 does not say that He will give life, but that He will give a crown of life. Life is obtained by believing, but the crown of life can only be obtained by being faithful. "Crown" indicates glory; it refers to being one of the co-kings with Christ and reigning in the millennium.
"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall by no means be hurt of the second death."
"He who overcomes shall by no means be hurt of the second death." Here the promise to the overcomers is spoken of very clearly. On the positive side, it is to obtain the crown of life; on the negative side, it is to be spared from being hurt of the second death. "He who overcomes shall by no means be hurt of the second death." In other words, he who fails will suffer being hurt of the second death. This is what we believe. Before we speak about being "hurt of the second death," let us first talk about the overcoming and the failing mentioned here. Since the overcoming mentioned here is to be faithful to the truth, even unto death, the failing must be the failure of being unwilling to be martyred. Therefore, one who fears death and is not willing to be martyred will have to suffer being hurt of the second death.
Now, let us ask what the second death is. By referring to Revelation 20:14-15, we see that the second death refers to the time after the death and resurrection of the body, when the spirit, soul, and body will be cast into the lake of fire. In other words, it is eternal perdition. Believers will never suffer this (John 10:28).
To be hurt of the second death is different from the second death. Just as eternal life is in contrast to the second death, in the same way, the crown of life is in contrast to being hurt of the second death. As life is different from the crown of life, so the second death is different from being hurt of the second death. Furthermore, since the crown of life is related to the kingdom, to be hurt of the second death is also related to the kingdom of the heavens. Therefore, to be hurt of the second death could never refer to eternal perdition.
Now we can speak directly about what it is to be hurt of the second death. What is the second death? The second death refers to what an unbeliever, whose soul has already suffered in Hades after his physical death, will suffer in his spirit, soul, and body eternally, after his resurrection and his judgment at the great white throne in the future. What is it to be hurt of the second death? To be hurt of the second death means that after the backslidden and unfaithful believers are resurrected, they will still have to suffer during the kingdom, though this is not eternal perdition. When speaking concerning this point, I must praise God for His righteousness because, though the overcomers may suffer martyrdom in the world, they will be spared from being hurt of the second death during the kingdom and, instead, will obtain the crown of life. The defeated ones, who are not willing to be martyred, are spared from suffering in this world, but they will be hurt in the kingdom of heaven and will not obtain the crown of life. Who will choose to suffer in this age and obtain glory in the future?
A type in the Old Testament shows this difference. The people of Sodom were burned to death within the city (Gen. 19:24-25); this can be likened to the second death. Lot's wife was turned into a pillar of salt outside the city (v. 26; Luke 17:32); this can be likened to being hurt of the second death.
The church in Pergamos signifies the condition of the church from the fourth century to the seventh century. The greatest persecution from the world could not annihilate the church; therefore, Satan changed his scheme of attack on the church. Here the world no longer opposed the church, instead, the greatest empire of the world, the Roman Empire, accepted Christianity as its state religion.
"And to the messenger of the church in Pergamos write: These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword."
According to the original language, the word "Pergamos" has two meanings: (1) united in marriage, which refers to the relationship between the church and the world; and (2) high tower, which refers to the position of the church in the world.
"These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword." The sharp sword has two functions: one is to sever the union between the church and the world, and the other is to judge the church which is united to the world.
"I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is; and you hold fast My name and have not denied My faith, even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells."
"I know where you dwell." The church sojourns in this world; she has the nature of a sojourner, just as our Lord was a sojourner on earth. How pitiful it is that the church has now lost her sojourning nature. Instead, she has taken up a dwelling place on this earth and has gained a position here. This is the decline of the church into worldliness. Moreover, her dwelling place in Pergamos is a high tower; it has the greatest position, authority, and glory. Outwardly speaking, the church has greatly expanded, possessing position, power, and glory, but in reality, the church is now corrupted and defeated. The responsibility of the church in the world should be to fight against the enemy, but she now has a dwelling place which has been occupied by the throne of Satan. How pitiful it is that Satan has a position in the church!
"Even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells." In these seven epistles, no other believer's name is mentioned except that of Antipas. From this we can see that Antipas is very important. Why was Antipas killed? Because he held fast the Lord's name and refused to forsake the Lord's word. He was killed because he was faithful to the testimony. "And you hold fast My name and have not denied My faith." While Antipas was alive he faithfully stood alone, yet this caused the entire Body to stand up also. But after he was killed, the entire Body was shaken.
"But I have a few things against you, that you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat idol sacrifices and to commit fornication."
Balaam was a prophet who was greedy for wealth. Today there are many people who come out to preach for the sake of money. Balaam's teaching was intended to cause the Israelites to unite with the Gentiles. Today there are also many people who advocate a union with the world. Balaam was hired by Balak, and in the same way, ever since Constantine joined Christianity, many have been "hired" by rulers. The consequences of Balaam's teaching were: (1) "to eat idol sacrifices," that is, to mingle with other religions; and (2) "to commit fornication," that is, to make friends with the world.
"In the same way you also have some who hold in like manner the teaching of the Nicolaitans."
This period signifies the age when the entire Roman Empire adopted Christianity. Since most of the people did not understand the truths in Christianity, a few had to take over the spiritual affairs. Hierarchy became accepted, and as a consequence, this system also became a kind of teaching.
"Repent therefore; but if not, I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war with them with the sword of My mouth."
The sword here, as in verse 12, is the Lord's word, which is for cutting off our relationship with the world. If we hear the Lord's word but do not repent and break off from the world, this word will be the sword that judges us.
"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give of the hidden manna, and to him I will give a white stone, and upon the stone a new name written, which no one knows except he who receives it."
Here are two promises given to the overcomers:
(1)"To him I will give of the hidden manna." Manna typifies Christ (John 6:49-51). The open manna was possessed by all the Israelites, but the hidden manna was kept for Canaan (Exo. 16:33). All believers receive the salvation of Christ, but only the overcomers enjoy the hidden portion of Christ, a portion which the common people cannot enjoy.
(2)"To him I will give a white stone." At the apostles' time, elections were carried out by placing pieces of white stone into a jar with names written on them. Although the overcomers lose the opportunity to be elected in the world, the Lord will give them a white stone on which a new name is written, a name not known by others. This shows the Lord's approval of us.
"Thyatira" means "she sacrificed tirelessly." This means she was filled with many sacrifices. The Lord's word becomes stronger and stronger. All Bible readers recognize that this refers to the Roman Catholic Church.
"And to the messenger of the church in Thyatira write: These things says the Son of God, He who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like shining bronze."
Here the Lord identifies Himself as:
(1) "He who has eyes like a flame of fire," which can penetrate and discern all things.
(2) "The Son of God," thus causing the Roman Catholic Church to realize her error of exalting Mary.
(3) He whose "feet are like shining bronze," which are able to carry out judgment. Whatever the eyes condemn, the feet trample.
"I know your works and love and faith and service and your endurance and that your last works are more than the first."
We marvel and wonder at this. How is it that the corrupted Roman Catholic Church can have so many good works? We have to realize that this was spoken to a small number of messengers. Although the majority was defeated, there were still a few who were quite good. This can be proved from church history.
[Editor's note: The portion from here through the end of chapter three is missing in the original manuscript.]
