Revelation 2 Study Notes

2:1-3:22 It is likely that these seven churches were chosen to receive letters because of the lessons they provided for “all the churches” (2:23), not because they represent seven stages in church history as is held by some interpreters. Yet in any one historical period, it could be that the majority of churches reflect realities found in one of the seven churches. In general, each letter includes: (1) a characteristic of the risen Christ drawn from the vision in 1:12-18, (2) commendation of the church (though not the churches at Sardis and Laodicea), (3) criticism of the church’s shortcomings (though not of the churches at Smyrna and Philadelphia) and how to correct them, (4) a command to “listen to what the Spirit says to the churches,” and (5) a commitment to the persevering spiritual “one who conquers.”

2:1 On the angel of the church, see note at 1:20. Ephesus was one of the largest and most powerful cities in the Roman Empire. It was devoted to the worship of the goddess Artemis (Lat Diana, Ac 19:28), the fertility goddess, and the emperor of Rome, who was considered a god. The church at Ephesus was apparently planted by Priscilla and Aquila around AD 52. Paul ministered there for two or three years (Ac 20:31), and used the city as a home base for the evangelization of the region (Ac 19:8-10). This is almost certainly how the other six churches in Rv 2-3 were planted. On the seven stars and the seven golden lampstands, see 1:20.

2:2-4 The church at Ephesus did not tolerate evil people and was faithful to put false apostles to the test. But they had abandoned the love they had at first, meaning their love for God. The greatest commandment is to love the Lord with all one’s being (Dt 6:5; Mt 22:36-38).

2:5 Having fallen does not mean losing one’s salvation, though ceasing to love God is a serious spiritual matter requiring soul-searching repentance (i.e., a change of mind and heart, implying a related change of behavior). If they did not repent, Christ would cause the church to close (remove your lampstand).

2:6 The practices of the Nicolaitans are explained in the letter to the church at Pergamum (vv. 14-15). Their “practices” bore resemblance to the problem in the church at Thyatira (vv. 20-21,24).

2:7 Let anyone who has ears to hear listen echoes Jesus’s warning to his hearers at the end of the parable of the sower (Mt 13:9). Most likely the one who conquers refers to faithful and obedient believers. In this context, failure to be a victor means losing spiritual rewards, not losing salvation. Adam and Eve were driven out of the garden of Eden so they could not eat from the tree of life (Gn 3:22-24) and thereby live there forever in sin. The paradise of God is the new heavens and earth (Rv 22:2). The tree of life will be there.

2:8 On the angel of the church, see note at 1:20. Like Ephesus, Smyrna, thirty-five miles to the north, was a harbor city. Its large Jewish population bitterly opposed Christianity. When Domitian issued an edict declaring emperor worship mandatory for all inhabitants of the Roman Empire, he exempted the Jews from this requirement. The Jews did not want this religious freedom extended to Christians. The church in Smyrna was likely founded during Paul’s third missionary journey (Ac 19). On the First and the Last and the one who was dead and came to life, see notes at 1:5-6,8.

2:9-10 The church at Smyrna, against whom Christ voiced no criticism, was suffering through spiritual warfare. A local synagogue of Jews was engaged in slander that resulted in church members being jailed for a short time (ten days). All of this represented a test of their faith. The phrase those who say they are Jews and are not does not deny the Jewish bloodlines of the persecutors. Rather, it mirrors Paul’s assertion that, ultimately, Jewishness is not just outward but inward, related to the “circumcision is of the heart” by faith (Rm 2:28-29). The crown of life is also referred to in Jms 1:12, where it is received by those who love the Lord and endure trials, probably at “the judgment seat of Christ” (2Co 5:10).

2:11 On let anyone who has ears to hear listen, see note at v. 7. The second death is the lake of fire (20:14), the place of eternal torment for the devil, the beast, the false prophet (20:10), and all the non-elect (20:15). On the meaning of the one who conquers, see note at v. 7.

2:12-13 On the angel of the church, see note at 1:20. In the first century AD, the city of Pergamum, fifty miles north of Smyrna, was the leading religious center of Asia Minor. Like Smyrna, Pergamum was a center of emperor worship, and Christians were persecuted harshly for their refusal to engage in such worship. This refusal was deemed disloyal and unpatriotic by non-Christians. This is why Jesus called Pergamum the place where Satan’s throne is. The situation for Christians in Pergamum was even worse than at Smyrna. A faithful man named Antipas had already been put to death. On the sharp, double-edged sword, see note at 1:16.

2:14-15 A viewpoint resembling the teaching of Balaam in the OT (Nm 22-25), which is probably linked to the teaching of the Nicolaitans (cp. vv. 6,20-23), had a strong foothold in the church.

2:16 The sword of my mouth is the sword of v. 12. The clear-cut duty of the church at Pergamum was to combat the false viewpoints in their midst (vv. 14-15) or else they would be judged by the Lord Jesus.

2:17 On let anyone who has ears to hear listen see note at v. 7. The reference to the one who conquers (see note at v. 7) receiving hidden manna is intended to remind readers that Israel’s sin in eating food sacrificed to idols (Nm 25) was that much worse because God was still giving them manna, even as he was still caring for his church in Pergamum. The white stone and new name may be related to: (1) victory in the ancient Greek athletic games, which allowed an athlete to retire permanently; or (2) entrance to a community feast.

2:18 On the angel of the church, see note at 1:20. Thyatira was thirty miles southeast of Pergamum on the Lycus River. Each of its trade guilds was devoted to a patron god or goddess, and social events centered on their worship. The pressure for Christians to participate in this idolatrous lifestyle, both for economic and social reasons, was great. The letter to Thyatira is the longest of the seven messages and the centerpiece of all seven. This is odd, considering that Thyatira was the smallest and least consequential city of the group. Also, closer study shows that the spiritual battle being waged at Thyatira is parallel to the battle to be waged in the end times (Rv 14-18). Christ, for the only time in Revelation, is called the Son of God. On eyes . . . like a fiery flame and feet . . . like fine bronze, see notes at 1:14,15.

2:19 Unlike the church at Ephesus, the church at Thyatira was not guilty of a lack of love. Significant spiritual growth was taking place.

2:20 Jezebel involved her followers in the same sins as those that infected the church at Pergamum—sexual immorality and eating meat sacrificed to idols. These sins are mentioned in reverse order from the letter to the church at Pergamum (v. 14). This reversal is a literary device that calls even more attention to the connection between the two. “Jezebel” was likely a nickname recalling the idolatrous queen of the northern king of Israel (1Kg 16; 18; 19; 21; 2Kg 9).

2:21-23 Great affliction is used here not for the time of unparalleled suffering just before Christ’s second coming, as in 7:14 (Dn 12:1), but for a time of intense affliction of an unknown nature. Its use foreshadows the time of great affliction to come upon the entire earth (Rv 3:10; 7:14). The children of Jezebel are not her literal children, but spiritual “children” who have committed themselves to her false teaching. Jezebel’s children will be stricken dead, a foreshadowing of widespread death by plague later in the book (e.g., 6:8). The strong parallels between Jezebel and Babylon, the great harlot of the latter part of the book (16:17-19:5), suggests Jezebel was a first-century preview of Babylon the Great.

2:24 The viewpoint and lifestyle associated with Jezebel (v. 20) are now unmasked as the so-called secrets of Satan, meaning that this false belief and behavior originated with the devil.

2:25 The other members of the church at Thyatira not in league with Jezebel were asked to hold on to the faithful acts Christ had commended in v. 19.

2:26-27 By use of a messianic prophecy from Ps 2:9, Christ promises that the victor will have authority over the nations, which means ruling with him after his second coming (20:4,6).

2:28 The morning star is a symbol of the Messiah in Nm 24:17. Christ calls himself the “bright morning star” in Rv 22:16.