The seven messages to the Churches
1 Write this to the angel of the Church in Ephesus, “Thus says the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and who walks among the seven golden lamp stands:
2 I know your works, your difficulties and your patient suffering. I know you cannot tolerate evildoers but have tested those who call themselves apos tles and have proved them to be liars.
3 You have persevered and have suffered for my name without losing heart.
4 Nevertheless, I have this complaint against you: you have lost your first love.
5 Remember from where you have fallen and repent, and do what you used to do be fore. If not, I will come to you and remove your lamp stand from its place; this I will do, unless you repent.
6 Yet it is in your favor that you hate the doings of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
7 Let anyone who has ears listen to what the Spirit says to the Churches: To the victor I will give to eat of the tree of life which is in God’s Paradise.”
8 Write this to the angel of the Church in Smyrna, “Thus says the First and the Last, he who was dead and returned to life:
9 I know your trials and your poverty: you are rich indeed. I know how you are slandered by those who pretend to be Jews but are not, for they are, in fact, the synagogue of Satan.
10 Do not be afraid of what will happen to you. The devil will throw some of you into prison to test you and there will be ten days of trials. Remain faithful even to death and I will give you the crown of life.
11 Let anyone who has ears listen to what the Spirit says to the Churches: The victor has nothing to fear from the second death.”
12 Write this to the angel of the Church in Pergamum, “Thus says the one who has the sharp, double-edged sword:
13 I know where you live, where Satan’s throne is, but you cling firmly to my name; you have not re nounced me, not even in the days when Antipas, my faithful witness, was killed in your place, where Satan lives.
14 Nev er theless, I have a few complaints against you: Some among you hold the teach ing of Bala am, who taught Balak how to make the Israel ites stumble by eating food sacrificed to idols and comitting adul tery.
15 Also, among you some follow the teach ing of the Nico laitans.
16 Therefore, re pent; if not, I will come to you soon to attack these people with the sword of my mouth.
17 Let anyone who has ears listen to what the Spirit says to the Churches: To the victor I will give the hidden man na. And I will also give a white stone with a new name written on it which no one knows except the one who re ceives it.”
18 Write this to the angel of the Church in Thyatira, “Thus says the Son of God whose eyes are like flames of fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze.
19 I know your works: your love, faith, service, patient endurance and your later works, greater than the first.
20 Nevertheless, I have a complaint against you: you tolerate your Jezebel, this woman who calls herself a prophetess and is deceiving my servants; she teaches them prostitution and the eating of food sacrificed to idols.
21 I have given her time to repent but she is un will ing to leave her prostitution.
22 So I am going to throw her onto a bed and inflict severe trials on her partners in adultery unless they repent of their evil.
23 I will strike her children dead and all the Churches will know that I am he who probes the heart and mind; I will give each of you what your conduct deserves.
24 Listen to me now, the rest of you in Thyatira. You do not hold with this teach ing and have not learned ‘the secrets,’ as they are called which are, in fact, those of Satan. So I have no cause to reproach you,
25 only hold on to what you have, until I come.
26 To the victor who keeps to my ways to the end, I will give power over the nations,
27 to rule them with an iron rod and shat ter them like earthen pots; he will be like me, who received this power from my Father.
28 More over, I will give him the Morning Star.
29 Let anyone who has ears listen to what the Spirit says to the Chur ch es.”
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Comments Revelation, Chapter 2
• 2.1 The seven following messages all begin with the words I know. Christ sees, knows and loves his Church. He begins by underscoring what is positive, then he reprimands. Christ remains invisible, but is the Lord of the universe and of history.
The messages reveal the difficulties these churches of Asia are facing:
– On one hand, there are hostilities coming from the Jews as well as from the pagans: they are a test of the believers’ perseverance.
– On the other hand, we have the “Nico laitans,” those Christians who, not wanting to be cut off from the pagans, accept participation with them in the banquets of the pa gan temples where meat sacrificed to idols was eaten: this is a threat to faith.
– The last temptation is the one that comes with time: the love that was awakened in the first moments of conversion was growing cold.
• 2. Ephesus comes first since it is the mother Church. Paul preach ed there for two years (Acts 19:8). Later John lived there, thus extending his authority over the churches in the Asian province.
I know your works, your difficulties and your patient suffering. While the apostle was absent, the Church rejected the false prophets and preserved the true faith.
You have lost your first love. How many small things – difficult to pinpoint – make us feel the fervor of a community, or, on the contrary, reveal that the essence of authentic, passionate and faithful love of God is missing! I will remove your lamp stand: that is, your prestige as a mother Church.
The tree of life is eternal life (see Gen 2:9).
• 8. The church of Smyrna gathers poor peo ple in an extremely rich city. In fact, it is rich in the eyes of God who is going to put it to the test so that it can be more productive.
There will be ten days of trials. The number ten is characteristic of the period during which evil ones rule. Thus it announces a trial lasting a short time.
The second death (see Revelation 20:14). It means eternal condemnation, which separates the soul, not from the body but from God.
John means those Jews who did not believe in Jesus and recognize their Messiah. They are Jews, of course, but their community can no longer boast of this name. The Christian community, both Jews and converted Greeks, is the true remnant of Israel and the authentic descendants of Abraham.
• 12. Pergamum has the privilege of being an important center of pagan worship: it is “Satan’s throne.”
You cling firmly to my name. The name of Christ is “Lord.” This is the period when the Roman emperors begin to have themselves called “Lord” and be adored like gods, thus forcing Christians to choose between emperor worship, imposed on everyone under the pain of severe punishment, and faithfulness to Christ.
The Church in Pergamum is privileged to have had among its members the first martyr of the province, Antipas, mentioned here. His courage in proclaiming his faith before pagan persecution does not prevent a pagan current from penetrating within the Church through the Nicolaitans mentioned earlier: by taking part in some pagan ceremonies and returning to the sexual freedom of the pagans, they are threatening to destroy the Church.
I will come soon to attack these people. In the early Church, the intervention of the Holy Spirit is felt. Prophets speak, point to a guilty party, and misfortunes soon occur.
The white stone is a sign of happiness. The new name (see Is 65:15) means the renewal of the Christian in the depth of his being: our living and growing in the faith is the beginning of a new personality that will appear clearly in heaven. The hidden manna (v. 17): Christ becomes power and source of life (Jn 6:48) for those who are faithful to him.
• 18. In the Bible, Jezebel is the name of an impious woman (see 1 K 19) and here it refers to some Nic olaitan prophetess. Her lovers and sons are her followers.
Idolatry is often called adultery or prostitution: the believing people belong to God as a wife to her husband, and to be unfaithful is to prostitute oneself. In fact, those who worship idols do not usually respect the sexual discipline proceeding from faith. Thus when Revelation speaks of prostitution, we must understand both idolatry and sexual immora lity.
He will rule them with an iron rod. By these words, the one who overcomes is promised a share in Christ’s victory (see Psalm 2); he will receive the Morning Star, that is to say, Christ himself (see Revelation 22:16).