At the beginning of each of the seven epistles recorded in chs. 2 and 3, it is the Lord who speaks (vv. 1, 8, 12, 18; 3:1, 7, 14). But at the end of each epistle, it is the Spirit who speaks to the churches (vv. 7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22). This not only indicates that the Spirit is the Lord and the Lord is the Spirit, but it also emphasizes that in the darkness of the church's degradation the Spirit is vitally important, as indicated by the sevenfold intensified Spirit in Rev. 1:4. The same emphasis is seen also in Rev. 14:13 and Rev. 22:17.

On one hand, each of the seven epistles is the Lord's word to a particular church, but on the other hand, it is the Spirit's word to all the churches. Every church needed to give heed not only to the epistle written to her particularly but also to all the epistles written to the other churches. This implies that all the churches, as the Lord's testimony in the Spirit, should be the same.

Since the Spirit today is speaking to the churches, we must be in the churches to be rightly positioned to hear the Spirit's speaking. Otherwise, how could we hear?

In these seven epistles, to overcome is to overcome the degraded situation of the churches. In this epistle, to overcome is to recover our first love toward the Lord and to hate the works of the Nicolaitans, the hierarchy that the Lord hates.

As the Body of Christ (Eph. 1:23), the church is a matter of life; as the new man (Eph. 2:15), it is a matter of the person of Christ; and as the bride of Christ (John 3:29), it is a matter of love. The first Epistle to the Ephesians tells us that for the church life we need to be strengthened into our inner man that Christ may make His home in our hearts, that we, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to know the knowledge-surpassing love of Christ, that we may be filled unto all the fullness of God (Eph. 3:16-19); and it is for the church life that grace is with all those who love the Lord Jesus (Eph. 6:24). Now this second epistle to the Ephesians reveals that the degradation of the church begins with our leaving the first love toward the Lord. Nothing but love can keep us in a proper relationship with the Lord. The church in Ephesus had good works, labored for the Lord, endured suffering, and tried the false apostles (vv. 2-3), but she left her first love toward the Lord. The leaving of the first love is the source of all the degradation in the succeeding stages of the church.

The Greek word for first is the same as that translated best in Luke 15:22. Our first love toward the Lord must be the best love for Him.

The messengers of the churches, the spiritual ones, signified by the shining stars, who bear the testimony of Jesus, are held in the right hand of the Lord, and the Lord is walking in the midst of the churches, signified by the seven golden lampstands. What a wonderful scene! On one hand, the Lord is sitting at the right hand of God, as our High Priest interceding for us, the churches (Heb. 7:25); on the other hand, He is holding the messengers of the churches and is walking in the midst of the churches to care for them.

The messengers of the churches, the spiritual ones, signified by the shining stars, who bear the testimony of Jesus, are held in the right hand of the Lord, and the Lord is walking in the midst of the churches, signified by the seven golden lampstands. What a wonderful scene! On one hand, the Lord is sitting at the right hand of God, as our High Priest interceding for us, the churches (Heb. 7:25); on the other hand, He is holding the messengers of the churches and is walking in the midst of the churches to care for them.

At the beginning of each of these seven epistles the Lord told us what kind of person He is, according to the condition of the church revealed in that particular epistle.

In Greek the names of the seven cities are full of significance, each name exactly matching the spiritual condition of the church in that particular city. Ephesus in Greek means desirable. This signifies that the initial church at its end was still desirable to the Lord; the Lord still had much expectation in her.

The seven epistles in chs. 2 and 3 are the record of the actual situation existing in the seven churches at the time these epistles were written. However, since this book is a book of signs with a prophetic nature, the situations of the seven churches also are signs, signifying prophetically the progress of the church in seven stages. The first epistle, to the church in Ephesus, provides a picture of the end of the initial church, the church in the first stage, during the latter part of the first century. The second epistle, to the church in Smyrna, prefigures the suffering church under the persecution of the Roman Empire, from the latter part of the first century to the early part of the fourth century, when Constantine the Great, the Caesar of the Roman Empire, brought the church into imperial favor. The third epistle, to the church in Pergamos, pre-symbolizes the worldly church, the church married to the world, from the day Constantine accepted Christianity to the time the papal system was established in the latter part of the sixth century. The fourth epistle, to the church in Thyatira, depicts prophetically the apostate church, from the ordaining of the papal system in the latter part of the sixth century to the end of this age, when Christ comes back. The fifth epistle, to the church in Sardis, prefigures the Protestant Church, from the Reformation in the early part of the sixteenth century to Christ's coming back. The sixth epistle, to the church in Philadelphia, predicts the church of brotherly love, the recovery of the proper church life, from the early part of the nineteenth century, when the brothers were raised up in England to practice the church outside all denominational and divisive systems, to the second appearing of the Lord. The seventh epistle, to the church in Laodicea, foreshadows the degraded church life of the brothers in the nineteenth century, from the latter part of the nineteenth century until the Lord's return.

Religion always teaches, but the Lord feeds (John 6:35). The apostle Paul did the same thing; that is, he fed the believers (1 Cor. 3:2). For the proper church life and the recovery of the church life, that is, for the proper growth in the Christian life, what we need is not merely the mental apprehension of teachings but the eating of the Lord as our bread of life in our spirit (John 6:57). Even the words of the Scripture should not be considered merely as doctrines to teach our mind but as food to nourish our spirit (Matt. 4:4; Heb. 5:12-14). Here in this epistle the Lord promised to give the overcomer to eat of the tree of life. This points back to Gen. 2:8-9, 16, which concerns the matter of eating ordained by God. In the epistle to the church in Pergamos, the Lord promised the overcomer that he would eat of the hidden manna (v. 17), which refers to the eating of manna by the children of Israel in the wilderness (Exo. 16:14-16, 31). And in the epistle to the church in Laodicea, the Lord promised to dine with the one who opens the door to Him. To dine is to eat not merely one kind of food but the riches of a feast. This may refer to the eating of the rich produce of the good land of Canaan by the children of Israel (Josh. 5:10-12). This indicates that the Lord desires to recover the eating of the proper food by God's people, the food ordained by God and typified by the tree of life, the manna, and the produce of the good land, all of which are types of the various aspects of Christ as food to us. The degradation of the church distracts God's people from the eating of Christ as their food and turns them to the teaching of doctrines for knowledge. In the church's degradation there are the teaching of Balaam (v. 14), the teaching of the Nicolaitans (v. 15), the teaching by Jezebel (v. 20), and the teaching of the deep things of Satan (v. 24). Now in these epistles the Lord came to recover the proper eating of Himself as our food supply. We must eat Him not only as the tree of life and the hidden manna but also as a feast full of His riches.

Although our angle and position may be right, we still may not have the proper ear to hear. Chapter 1 emphasizes seeing and chs. 2 and 3 emphasize hearing. In spiritual things, seeing depends on hearing. The writer of this book first heard the voice (Rev. 1:10) and then saw the vision (Rev. 1:12). If our ears are heavy and cannot hear, then we cannot see (Isa. 6:9-10). The Jews would not hear the word of the Lord, so they could not see what the Lord was doing according to the new testament (Matt. 13:15; Acts 28:27). The Lord always wants to open our ears to hear His voice (Job 33:14-16; Isa. 50:4-5; Exo. 21:6) that we may see things according to His economy. The heavy ears need to be circumcised (Jer. 6:10; Acts 7:51). The sinners' ears need to be cleansed with the redeeming blood and anointed with the Spirit (Lev. 14:14, 17, 28). To serve the Lord as priests, we must have our ears cleansed with the redeeming blood (Exo. 29:20; Lev. 8:23-24). According to this book, as the Spirit is speaking to the churches, we all need an opened, circumcised, cleansed, and anointed ear to hear the Spirit's speaking.

The number ten signifies fullness; e.g., the ten commandments, which express God's demand in full. Ten days signifies a period of time that is full, yet brief (Gen. 24:55; Jer. 42:7; Dan. 1:12-14). Here it signifies that the affliction of the suffering church was full, yet short-lived. As a sign, the ten days here indicate prophetically the ten periods of persecution that the church suffered under the Roman emperors, beginning with Caesar Nero in the second half of the first century and ending with Constantine the Great in the first part of the fourth century. However severe were the persecutions instigated by the devil, Satan, through the Roman Caesars, who did their utmost to destroy and eliminate the church, they could not subdue and terminate the church. History demonstrates that the church of the living Christ, who became dead and lived again, withstood the persecutions victoriously and multiplied flourishingly by the indestructible resurrection life.

A crown in New Testament usage always denotes a prize that is in addition to salvation (see reference 10j). The crown of life, as a prize to those who are faithful unto death in overcoming persecution, denotes the overcoming strength that is the power of the resurrection life (Phil. 3:10); it also denotes that these overcomers have attained to the out-resurrection from the dead (Phil. 3:11), i.e., the outstanding resurrection.

The Greek word is composed of two words, one meaning conquer or be victorious over and another meaning common people, secular people, or laity. Thus, it means conquering the common people, being victorious over the laity. Nicolaitans, then, must refer to a group of people who esteem themselves higher than common believers. This was undoubtedly the hierarchy adopted and established by Catholicism and Protestantism. The Lord hates the works, the behavior, of these Nicolaitans, and we must hate what the Lord hates.

God in His economy intended that all His people be priests serving Him directly. In Exo. 19:6, God ordained the children of Israel to be a kingdom of priests. This means that God wanted them all to be priests. However, because they worshipped the golden calf (Exo. 32:1-6), they lost the priesthood, and only the tribe of Levi, because of its faithfulness to God, was chosen to replace the whole nation of Israel as priests to God (Exo. 32:25-29; Deut. 33:8-10). Hence, there was a mediatorial class between God and the children of Israel. This became a strong system in Judaism. In the New Testament, God has returned to His original intention according to His economy, in that He has made all believers in Christ priests (Rev. 1:6; 5:10; 1 Pet. 2:5, 9). But at the end of the initial church, even in the first century, the Nicolaitans intervened as the mediatorial class to spoil God's economy. According to church history, this became a system that was adopted by the Roman Catholic Church and has been retained by the Protestant churches. Today in the Roman Catholic Church there is the priestly system, in the state churches there is the clerical system, and in the independent churches there is the pastoral system. All these are a mediatorial class, spoiling the universal priesthood of all believers. Thus, there are two distinct classes — the clergy and the laity. But in the proper church life there should be neither clergy nor laity; all believers should be priests of God. Because the mediatorial class destroys the universal priesthood in God's economy, the Lord hates it.

Among the seven serving ones in Acts 6:5, one was named Nikolaos (Gk.). There is nothing in church history to indicate that this Nikolaos was the first of the Nicolaitans.

If we have left our first love toward the Lord and do not repent, we will lose the testimony of the Lord, and the lampstand will be removed from us.

In Greek the word for tree here, as in 1 Pet. 2:24, means wood; it is not the word usually used for tree. In the Bible the tree of life always signifies Christ as the embodiment of all the riches of God (Col. 2:9) for our food (Gen. 2:9; 3:22, 24; Rev. 22:2, 14, 19). Here it signifies the crucified (implied in the tree as a piece of wood — 1 Pet. 2:24) and resurrected (implied in the life of God — John 11:25) Christ, who today is in the church, the consummation of which will be the New Jerusalem, in which the crucified and resurrected Christ will be the tree of life for the nourishment of all God's redeemed people for eternity (Rev. 22:2, 14).

God's original intention was that man should eat of the tree of life (Gen. 2:9, 16). Because of the fall, the way to the tree of life was closed to man (Gen. 3:22-24). Through the redemption of Christ, the way by which man could touch the tree of life, which is God Himself in Christ as life to man, was opened again (Heb. 10:19-20). But in the church's degradation, religion crept in with its knowledge to distract the believers in Christ from eating Him as the tree of life. Hence, the Lord promised to grant the overcomers to eat of Himself as the tree of life in the Paradise of God, as a reward. This is an incentive for them to leave religion with its knowledge and return to the enjoyment of Himself. This promise of the Lord restores the church to God's original intention according to His economy. What the Lord wants the overcomers to do is what the whole church should do in God's economy. Because of the church's degradation, the Lord came to call the overcomers to replace the church in the accomplishing of God's economy.

The eating of the tree of life not only was God's original intention concerning man but also will be the eternal issue of God's redemption. All God's redeemed people will enjoy the tree of life, which is Christ with all the divine riches as the redeemed's eternal portion for eternity (Rev. 22:2, 14, 19). Because of religion's distraction and the church's degradation, the Lord in His wisdom made the enjoyment of Himself in the coming kingdom a reward in order to encourage His believers to overcome religion's distracting knowledge in teachings and return to the enjoyment of Himself as the life supply in the church life today for the accomplishing of God's economy.

Eating the tree of life, that is, enjoying Christ as our life supply, should be the primary matter in the church life. The content of the church life depends on the enjoyment of Christ. The more we enjoy Him, the richer the content will be. But to enjoy Christ requires us to love Him with the first love. If we leave our first love toward the Lord, we will miss the enjoyment of Christ and lose the testimony of Jesus; consequently, the lampstand will be removed from us. These three things — loving the Lord, enjoying the Lord, and being the testimony of the Lord — go together.

The Lord's name denotes the Lord's person; the person is the reality of the name. The Lord's faith denotes all that we must believe in concerning the Lord's person and work. It does not denote the subjective faith within us, i.e., our believing, but the objective faith, i.e., the things in which we believe. Because the church entered into union with the world, she began to disregard the Lord's name and deny the proper Christian faith.

The Paradise in Luke 23:43 is the pleasant and restful place where Abraham and all the dead saints are (Luke 16:23-26). But the Paradise of God in this verse is the New Jerusalem (Rev. 3:12; 21:2, 10; 22:1-2, 14, 19), of which the church is a foretaste today. We are enjoying the crucified and resurrected Christ as the tree of life, the food supply in our spirit, as a foretaste today in the church. This enjoyment of the foretaste will usher us into the full taste of the crucified and resurrected Christ as the tree of life, our nourishment of life in the New Jerusalem for eternity.

Strictly, to eat of the tree of life...in the Paradise of God in this verse refers to the particular enjoyment of Christ as our life supply in the New Jerusalem in the coming millennial kingdom, because this is a promise of reward made by the Lord to His overcomers. The enjoyment of Christ as the tree of life in the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and new earth will be the common portion of all God's redeemed people, whereas the particular enjoyment of Him as the tree of life in the New Jerusalem in the coming millennial kingdom is a reward given only to the overcoming believers. If we overcome all the distractions in the church's degradation to enjoy Christ as the tree of life in the church today, we will be thus rewarded. Otherwise, we will miss this particular enjoyment in the coming kingdom, though we will still enjoy Christ as the tree of life in the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and new earth for eternity. The Lord's promises concerning the reward and the Lord's predictions concerning the loss, at the end of each of the seven epistles, refer to His dealing with His believers in the coming millennial kingdom. They have nothing to do with the believers' eternal destiny — eternal salvation or eternal perdition.

The Greek word means myrrh, and myrrh in figure signifies suffering. Thus, the church in Smyrna was a suffering church. It signifies the church under the persecution of the Roman Empire from the latter part of the first century to the early part of the fourth century.

In suffering, the church must know that the Lord is the First and the Last, the ever-existing, unchanging One. Whatever the persecuting environment may be, the Lord remains the same; nothing can precede Him, nor can anything exist after Him. All things are within the limits of His control.

Lived again refers to resurrection. The Lord suffered death and lived again. He entered into death, but death could not hold Him (Acts 2:24) because He is the resurrection (John 11:25). The suffering church needs to know Him as such a One also, so that she can endure any kind of suffering. However severe the suffering, the church will still be alive. The resurrection life of Christ can endure death.

In this epistle to overcome is to overcome persecution by being faithful unto death.

Because of the fall and the entering in of sin, every man must die once (Heb. 9:27). This first death, however, is not the final settlement. All the dead, except those who through faith in the Lord Jesus have been recorded in the book of life, will be resurrected and will pass through the judgment of the great white throne at the close of the millennium, i.e., at the conclusion of the old heaven and old earth. As a result of this judgment, the condemned ones will all be cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death as the final settlement (Rev. 20:11-15). Hence, the second death is God's dealing with man after man's death and resurrection. Since the overcomers will have overcome death through their faithfulness unto death under persecution and will require no further dealing by God after their resurrection, they will be rewarded with the crown of life and will no longer be touched by death after their resurrection; i.e., they will not be hurt by the second death.

The Greek word means marriage (implying union) and fortified tower. As a sign, the church in Pergamos prefigures the church that entered into a marriage union with the world and became a high fortified tower, equivalent to the great tree prophesied by the Lord in the parable of the mustard seed (Matt. 13:31-32). When Satan failed to destroy the church through the persecution of the Roman Empire in the first three centuries, he changed his strategy. He sought instead to corrupt her through Constantine's welcoming of Christianity as the state religion in the first part of the fourth century. Through Constantine's encouragement and political influence, multitudes of unbelievers were baptized into the "church," and the "church" became monstrously great. Since the church as a chaste bride is espoused to Christ, her union with the world is considered spiritual fornication in the eyes of God.

Satan's throne is in the world, the place where he dwells and the sphere of his reign. Since the worldly church entered into union with the world, she dwells where Satan dwells.

The Lord's name denotes the Lord's person; the person is the reality of the name. The Lord's faith denotes all that we must believe in concerning the Lord's person and work. It does not denote the subjective faith within us, i.e., our believing, but the objective faith, i.e., the things in which we believe. Because the church entered into union with the world, she began to disregard the Lord's name and deny the proper Christian faith.

Tribulation is precious to the church because it tests the life of the church. The Lord's purpose in allowing the church to suffer tribulation is not only to testify that His resurrection life overcomes death but also to enable the church to enjoy the riches of His life.

The suffering church was poor in material things but rich in the Lord with the riches of His life.

The suffering church was poor in material things but rich in the Lord with the riches of His life.

The Judaizers slandered the suffering church by evilly criticizing her. They stubbornly insisted on keeping their Judaistic system, consisting of the Levitical priesthood, the sacrificial rituals, and the material temple, which were all types that had been fulfilled and replaced by Christ. Since the church under the new covenant in God's economy had no part in their religious practice, the Judaizers slanderously criticized her. In principle, it is the same today, in that religious people slander the churches in the Lord's recovery, which seek the Lord and follow Him in spirit and in life and do not care for any religious system or practice.

The Judaizers were Jews in the flesh but not Jews in spirit (Rom. 2:28-29). Merely being the seed of Abraham did not constitute them true Jews. Those who are the children of the flesh are not the children of God (Rom. 9:7-8).

The goal of God's economy is to have a unique temple on earth to testify of God and of the oneness of God's people. In the Old Testament, the place that God chose for the establishing of His unique temple was Jerusalem. Because God's people became fallen, divided, and scattered, numerous fallen, divided centers of worship were raised up; these became the synagogues. These synagogues were the places in which the Jews worshipped God mainly by studying their Scriptures, the Old Testament. However, because of their stubbornness in clinging to their traditional religious concepts, the Jews became one with Satan in opposing God's way of life, by which He fulfills His purpose. Under the manipulating, maneuvering hand of Satan, their synagogues opposed the Lord Jesus (Matt. 12:9-14; Luke 4:28-29; John 9:22), then the apostles (Acts 13:43, 45-46, 50; 14:1-2, 19; 17:1, 5-6), and then the churches. Therefore, the Lord called them "a synagogue of Satan." Even when He was on earth, He considered the synagogues to be of Satan, as implied in Matt. 12:25-29 and John 8:44. Apparently, those in the synagogues were worshipping God actually, they were opposing God. They persecuted and killed God's true worshippers, yet they considered that they were offering service to God (John 16:2). Through all the centuries since then, religious people have followed in their steps, persecuting those who genuinely seek and follow the Lord in spirit and life, while still considering that they are defending the interests of God. Roman Catholicism and Protestantism, as well as Judaism, all fall into this category, having become an organization of Satan as his tool to damage God's economy.

Satan, from Hebrew, means adversary. Satan is not only the enemy of God from without but also His adversary from within.

The Greek word means accuser, slanderer (Rev. 12:9-10). The devil, who is Satan, the adversary of God, accuses us before God and slanders us before men.

In these epistles the Lord desired, according to God's economy, that we eat Him as the tree of life (v. 7), the hidden manna (v. 17), and the rich produce of the good land (Rev. 3:20 see note Rev. 2:7^5d in this chapter); but the worldly church turned from life to mere teachings, thus distracting the believers from enjoying Christ as their life supply for the fulfillment of God's purpose. The enjoyment of Christ builds up the church, whereas teachings issue in a religion.

Balaam was a Gentile prophet who for wages enticed God's people into fornication and idolatry (Num. 25:1-3; 31:16). In the worldly church some began to teach such things.

Idolatry always brings in fornication (Num. 25:1-3; Acts 15:29). When the worldly church disregarded the name, the person, of the Lord, she turned to idolatry, which issued in fornication.

In Greek Antipas means against all. Antipas, a faithful witness of the Lord, stood against all that the worldly church brought in and practiced. Hence, he became a martyr of the Lord. In Greek the word for martyr is the same as that for witness. Antipas, as an anti-witness, bore an anti-testimony, a testimony against anything that deviated from the testimony of Jesus. It must have been through his anti-testimony that in his days the church in Pergamos still held fast the Lord's name and did not deny the proper Christian faith.

Idolatry always brings in fornication (Num. 25:1-3; Acts 15:29). When the worldly church disregarded the name, the person, of the Lord, she turned to idolatry, which issued in fornication.

The worldly and degraded church holds not only the teaching of Balaam but also the teaching of the Nicolaitans. The teaching of Balaam distracts believers from the person of Christ to idolatry and from the enjoyment of Christ to spiritual fornication, whereas the teaching of the Nicolaitans destroys the function of believers as members of the Body of Christ, thus annulling the Lord's Body as His expression. The former teaching disregards the Head, and the latter destroys the Body. This is the subtle intention of the enemy in all religious teachings.

In the church in Ephesus only the works of the Nicolaitans were found (v. 6), whereas in the church in Pergamos their works had progressed to become a teaching. First, the Nicolaitans practiced the hierarchy in the initial church; then they taught it in the degraded church. Today, in both Catholicism and Protestantism, this Nicolaitan hierarchy prevails in both practice and teaching.

See note Rev. 2:6^1a.

This should refer not to the Lord's coming back but to His coming to war with the Nicolaitan teachers in the degraded church, when He will judge the degraded church with the slaying word out of His mouth. However, the worldly church, signified by the church in Pergamos, issued in the Roman Catholic Church, signified by the church in Thyatira, and the worldliness and evil brought in by that degraded church will continue in the Roman Catholic Church until the Lord comes back to exercise His full judgment.

Here to overcome is specifically to overcome the church's union with the world, the teaching of idolatry and fornication, and the teaching of hierarchy.

Lit., His eyes. In dealing with the worldly church, the church in Pergamos, the Lord referred to Himself as the One who has the sharp two-edged sword. In dealing with the apostate church, the church in Thyatira, He referred to Himself as the One who has eyes like a flame of fire and feet like shining bronze. The worldly church requires the dealing of His smiting and killing word, whereas the apostate church needs the judging of His searching eyes and treading feet.

The church in Pergamos had the teachings of Balaam and the Nicolaitans, and these are continued in this apostate church. Furthermore, the Catholic Church herself teaches, causing her people to listen to her rather than to the holy Word of God. Her adherents are all drugged by her heretical, religious teaching and thus do not care for Christ as their life and life supply, indicated by the tree of life and the hidden manna, which the Lord promised to the churches in Ephesus and Pergamos (vv. 7, 17).

The apostate Catholic Church has many works and services. Her works in the last days are more than those in the past.

The woman here is the same as the one prophesied by the Lord in Matt. 13:33. There the woman added leaven (signifying evil, heretical, and pagan things) into the fine flour (signifying Christ as the meal offering for the satisfaction of God and man). This woman is the great harlot of Rev. 17, who mixes abominations with the divine things. Jezebel, the pagan wife of Ahab, is a type of this apostate church (see reference note Rev. 2:20^b).

A prophet is one who speaks for God with God's authority. Here the Lord used Jezebel as a type, indicating that the apostate Roman Catholic Church is a self-appointed prophetess, one who presumes to be authorized by God to speak for God.

Manna is a type of Christ as the heavenly food that enables God's people to go His way. A portion of manna was preserved in a golden pot concealed in the ark (Exo. 16:32-34; Heb. 9:4). The open manna was for the Lord's people to enjoy in a public way; the hidden manna, signifying the hidden Christ, is a special portion reserved for His overcoming seekers, who overcome the degradation of the worldly church. While the church goes the way of the world, these overcomers come forward to abide in the presence of God in the Holy of Holies, where they enjoy the hidden Christ as a special portion for their daily supply. This promise is being fulfilled today in the proper church life and will be fulfilled in full in the coming kingdom. If we seek the Lord, overcome the degradation of the worldly church, and enjoy a special portion of the Lord today, He as the hidden manna will be a reward to us in the coming kingdom. If we miss Him as our special portion today in the church life, we will surely lose the enjoyment of Him as a reward in the coming kingdom.

In the Bible a stone signifies material for God's building (Matt. 16:18; 1 Pet. 2:5; 1 Cor. 3:12). In our natural being we are not stones but clay. Because we received the divine life with its divine nature through regeneration, we can be transformed into stones, even precious stones, by enjoying Christ as our life supply (2 Cor. 3:18). If we do not follow the worldly church but enjoy the Lord in the proper church life, we will be transformed into stones for the building of God. These stones will be justified and approved by the Lord, as indicated by the color white, while the worldly church will be condemned and rejected by Him. God's work of building the church depends on our transformation, and our transformation issues from the enjoyment of Christ as our life supply.

A name designates a person; a new name designates a transformed person. Every transformed believer, as a white stone, bears "a new name...which no one knows except him who receives it." Such a new name is the interpretation of the experience of the one who has been transformed. Hence, only he himself knows the meaning of that name. "

The Greek word means sacrifice of perfume, or unceasing sacrifice. As a sign, the church in Thyatira prefigures the Roman Catholic Church, which was fully formed as the apostate church by the establishing of the universal papal system in the latter part of the sixth century. This apostate church is full of sacrifices, as demonstrated in her continual Masses.

The apostate Roman Catholic Church strongly emphasizes Christ as the son of Mary. Thus, here the Lord, protesting against the apostate heresy, said that He is the Son of God.

Lit., kidneys.

The apostate church is filled with all manner of fornication and idolatry, both spiritual and physical. In Rev. 17 she is even called "the great harlot."

The apostate church is filled with all manner of fornication and idolatry, both spiritual and physical. In Rev. 17 she is even called "the great harlot."

In Greek the word for deep things means depths, as in Eph. 3:18. It is used figuratively here and denotes mysterious things. The Roman Catholic Church has many mysteries or deep doctrines. The synagogue of Satan (v. 9) was against the suffering church; the throne of Satan (v. 13) was with the worldly church; and the deep things of Satan are within the apostate church. The religion of the synagogue, the world under Satan's throne, and the philosophy of the satanic mysteries are all used by Satan to damage and corrupt the church.

A bed is normally used for sleep and rest, and abnormally, for sickness. The Lord indicated here that the apostate church is incurably sick and will remain so until her final judgment.

Not the tribulation that the church has suffered throughout the centuries of persecution (Rev. 7:14) nor the great tribulation in the last three and a half years of this age, which will fall upon all those who dwell on the earth (Matt. 24:21), but the particular portion of affliction that the Lord will cause the apostate Roman Catholic Church to suffer when He judges her. See note 23¹.

This may refer to God's destroying of the Roman Catholic Church through Antichrist and his followers (Rev. 17:16-17).

At Christ's first appearing the magi, not the Jewish religionists, saw Christ's star (Matt. 2:2, 9-10). At His second appearing Christ will be the morning star to His overcomers who watch for His coming. To all the others He will appear only as the sun (Mal. 4:2).

The number seven in the Bible is composed either of six plus one, e.g., six days plus one day equals one week; or of three plus four, as in these two chapters, in which the seven churches are divided into one group of three and another group of four. At the end of each of the first three epistles, the ear for hearing is mentioned first, and then the call for overcoming. At the end of each of the last four epistles, the order is reversed. This proves that the first three epistles form one group, and the last four another. Six plus one is seen in God's creation, whereas three plus four is seen in God's new creation, the church. Since all things were created in six days, the number six signifies the creation, especially man, who was created on the sixth day; and since the seventh day, as the conclusion of the six days, was the one day of God's rest, the number one signifies the unique Creator. Hence, six plus one signifies that all things were created unto God for the accomplishing of His purpose. The unique Creator, God, is triune, signified by the number three. Since the creation is represented before God by four living creatures (Rev. 4:6-9), the number four signifies the creatures, especially man. Hence, three plus four means that God is added to the created man, and thus His purpose is being accomplished. The church is not only the creature but the creature with the Creator as the Triune God dispensed into her. She is the real number seven: the real three, the Triune God, added to the real four, created man. Therefore, the number seven denotes completion in God's move, first in the old creation and then in the new creation, the church.

This indicates that the apostate Roman Catholic Church will remain until the Lord comes back.

To overcome here is to overcome Roman Catholicism.

My works refers to the things the Lord has accomplished and is doing. These works are in contrast to the works of the apostate church, which are carried out under the influence of Satan.

To reign with Christ over the nations in the millennial kingdom is a prize to the overcomers (Rev. 20:4, 6). This promise of the Lord strongly implies that those who do not answer His call to overcome degraded Christianity will not participate in the reign of the millennial kingdom.

In the millennial kingdom, the ruler is a shepherd.

In Psa. 2:9 God gave Christ authority to rule over the nations; here Christ gives the same authority to His overcomers.