Ephesus. This first great period of Church history (approx. 67 A.D. – 167 A.D.) was characterized by great faithfulness to the Lord, notwithstanding certain efforts to bring in the clergy, and yet a loss of first love. Overall, the Church was going on well, but there was a deeper heart-issue that the Lord was seeking to correct.

v.1 Greeting and Presentation of Christ. The first assembly addressed is Ephesus. The word Ephesus means ‘desireable’. It represents the period when the Church was in its most desirable state; after the apostles had finished their labors, and the Church had been established in the freshness of divine revelation. This short letter can be thought of as the “second epistle to the Ephesians”, because the Paul had already written one to them. In Paul’s epistle to the believers in this capital of Asia, he unfolded the highest truth that God has in his heart; that of the mystery of Christ and His Church. The Lord presents Himself to each church in a different way, in keeping with their state. To Ephesus, the Lord is presented as the One who holds “the seven stars in his right hand” or holds the angels (oversight) responsible, but also “walks in the midst of the seven golden lamps” or is interested in testimony of the assemblies. All authority belongs to Him, which is especially important because some at that time falsely claimed to be apostles. These two characteristics are more general than those describing the Lord in the other six letters, perhaps because Ephesus is the church in its most comprehensive form, at the very start of the decline.

vv.2-3 Commendation. The Lord firstly commends what He can before He reproves the assembly in Ephesus. There was much to commend: mainly they were going on faithfully. They were active in service, patient in trials, ruthless against evil. We will find in v.4, that while they were continuing in all the “right” Christian activities, the proper spring was gone (compare with 1 Thess. 1:3). We understand this in a practical sense. We do not always walk in communion with the Lord, due to the weakness of the flesh, the temptations of the world, and the devices of Satan. Somehow, there is a separation between our hearts and the Lord. But after we lose our “first love”, we do not instantly fall into practical ruin. We still strive to maintain a clear conscience, so we persist for a time in faithfulness to the Lord’s name, doing what is right. That is what we have in vv.2-3. But it cannot last if first love is not recovered. In such a state we may become legal, or prone to legality. Note also that, as soon as the apostles began to pass off the scene, Satan was quick to raise up false apostolic successors. The Ephesian saints (the leaders particularly) were faithful in dealing with these false apostles. The force of the text is that these false apostles were “tried” or tested, branded “liars”, and overthrown. The Lord can say, with regard to this, “Good job!” The Ephesians had “endured”. They showed no sign of giving up in the conflict with evil. They were faithful! From the very start of the work of God in Ephesus, there was great opposition to the truth from both Jews and Gentiles, so much that Paul was forced to leave the city (Acts 19). This opposition came, Jesus tells them, “for my name’s sake”. Yet the brethren there had not wearied.

v.4 Rebuke. In the entirety of this short letter to Ephesus, this verse gives us the only symptom of a problem there, and it is a problem with the heart. What does is mean that “thou hast left thy first love”? To leave our first love is to let Christ slip in our heart from having the first or best place in our affections. The Lord considers them a “fallen” church (v.5). This departure in affection is the root of all failure. Declension did not begin with a lessening in activity or service, but with the lessening of affection for Christ (see Luke 10:42). Sometimes our “first love” is what we have when we are first saved, and it is chronologically first. But not always. The word “first” here is similar to ‘best’ as in the ‘best robe’ (Luke 15:22). Historically speaking, the “first love” is a place from which the Church has fallen, and to which she has never corporately recovered.

v.5 Exhortation. What was the assembly in Ephesus to do? How could they be recovered? Firstly, they must “remember from whence” they had fallen; i.e. recall the enjoyment of first love. Secondly, they were to “repent”; or have a change of both heart and mind about their course. Thirdly, they were to “do the first works”; works that characterize those to whom Christ means everything. Clearly, there was a possibility that the assembly would not remember, repent, and do. “But if not”, what would happen? The Lord would come and remove their candlestick. The removal of a candlestick occurs when the assembly forfeits its place as a public light bearer. At such a time the Lord Jesus would no longer be in the midst (v.1). There is a word that was inserted in the Authorized version that should not be there; the word “quickly”. Why is this important? The Lord does not come quickly to remove a candlestick – He suffers long, as with the Corinthians. He does come quickly for other things; such as to fight against corruption in the assembly (v.16) or to take the saints home to heaven (Rev. 22:7, 12, 20).

v.6 Second Commendation. The Lord gives a second commendation, and it is an important one. They hated the works of the Nicolaitanes. What were the Nicolaitanes? There is almost no reference to this early heresy in history. In Hippolytus on Heresies, the bishop says the leader of this sect was Nicolas, one of the seven deacons appointed in Acts 6, and that he taught indifference to conduct. However, W. Kelly points out that Hippolytus may have no more evidence than we have in Rev. 2, and therefore anything beyond that is speculation.¹ Another theory sometimes put forward is taken from the meaning of the name, suggesting that the name means ‘to destroy/conquer’ (nico) ‘the people’ (laitanes), and that it could refer to the error of clericalism. However, one feels more comfortable drawing only a general conclusion from the context in which the Nicolaitanes are mentioned; namely that they practiced things God hates (Ephesus), and taught some kind of doctrine that excused or encouraged sin (Pergamos). W. Kelly speaks of this as antinomianism; practicing lawlessness under the banner of grace. Notice the progression with regard to the Nicolaitanes. Here in Ephesus they hated even the tiniest deed, but in v.15 there were some in the church of Pergamos that held the doctrines of the Nicolaitanes (see 1 Cor. 15:33).

v.7 A Message to the Overcomer. Those in Ephesus were called to listen to what the Spirit of God was saying to them. Who do we to listen to? Notice the following contradiction: in the papal system, people are taught to listen to what the church says to the people (they abuse Matt. 18:17), but in the Word of God, people are taught to listen to what the Spirit saith to the churches. If we compare with the gospels (Matt. 11:15) we find that there were “ears to hear” in the Lord’s day, but now there is only “an ear” in Rev. 2-3; only one ear is open! The promise to the overcomer in Ephesus is to eat of “the tree of life which is in the paradise of God”. This speaks of the enjoyment of a risen Christ (a source of resurrection life), as the Head of a new creation… a sphere where death can never come.

v.8 Greeting and Presentation of Christ. The second assembly was Smyrna, which means ‘suffering’. It comes from the word “myrrh”, which was a fragrant herb whose odors are released with crushing force. As such, myrrh is often a type of suffering in scripture. The assembly is Smyrna suffered greatly under Roman persecution, and therefore to these suffering saints Christ is presented as: (1) “the first and the last”, the One who is unchangeably the same, and (2) the One who suffered ultimate apparent defeat and rose triumphant over the grave! If the saints in Smyrna were going to face martyrdom, they would have as a Leader One who suffered death Himself, and was victorious!

v.9 Commendation. The Lord has much to commend them for, because they were faithfully enduring extreme persecution. But there was more than persecution. Satan unleashed a double attack: from without (persecution) and from within (Judaizers). The external attack ultimately failed, and the internal attack succeeded. The “tribulation” spoken of here was sent by the Lord to bring the Church back to first love. Who is the “them” in this verse? It refers to the bane of Christianity, those who bring the Church and the believer down to earth. They were not really of Jewish descent, but those who mixed Christianity and Judaism together (Luke 5:36-39). Using their influence, many of the early Church fathers systematically Judaized the Church. These Judaizers “say they are Jews”; i.e. they claim to be exclusively the people of God, but the Lord says “and are not”! Rather, they are identified with Satan, because they are really doing his work. “Synagogues” in scripture are connected with teaching or doctrine (Matt. 4:23, Acts 6:9). We could summarize this attack as a concerted effort to Judaize the Church through false doctrine.

v.10 Exhortation. The saints in Smyrna could expect great suffering, but the Lord tells them to “fear nothing of what thou art about to suffer”. The devil would “cast into prison” some of them; Satan would not do this personally, but rather he would stir up the Roman government to persecute Christians (compare Rev. 12:3). The persecution would last “ten days”, which implies a brief and limited time; see Gen. 24:55, Neh. 5:18, Jer. 42:7, Dan 1:12, and Acts 25:6. The Lord assures them the tribulation has a limited duration. Also, each day may represent one of the ten pagan persecutions, under: Nero (54), Domitian (81), Trajan (98), Adrian (117), Septimus Sevarus (193), Maximin (235), Decius (249), Valerian (254), Aurelian (270), and Diocletian (284). The “crown of life” is for the martyr who makes the ultimate sacrifice, but it is also for any believer who faithfully endures the trials of this life (James 1:12). 

v.11 Message to the Overcomer. To the suffering saints in Smyrna, the reward held out to the overcomer is the enjoyment of eternal security. Persecutors may kill your body, but they can never kill your soul. The second death is eternal separation from God (Rev. 20:14). You might ask, doesn’t every believer have eternal security? How can this be a special reward? It is a special reward in the same way the overcomer in Sardis is promised that his name would not be blotted out of the book of life. It is the enjoyment of the fact in addition to the fact itself.

v.13 Commendation. In spite of everything, there was much that Pergamos could be commended for. Firstly, the Lord could say, “thou holdest fast my name”. Although they were in a compromised position, the Spirit saw to it that the doctrine of the Person of Christ and the Trinity were preserved and that the word of God was venerated (see “Canonization” below). “Satan’s throne” is the world’s system, and that is where Pergamos dwelt. It is a precarious place for a Christian to be, let alone dwell. We cannot forget that Satan is the god of this world religiously (2 Cor. 4:4), and the prince of this world politically (John 12:31). By getting entangled with this world, Christians fall into the domain of Satan. In the Pergamos period, for the first time, history witnessed a union between Church and State. Yet, in spite of all this mixture, there was “a faithful witness” (see Rev. 1:5). A faithful witness is what Christ was to God (Rev. 1:5; 3:14), and also what the Church should have been but failed to be. In those days, there was tremendous pressure to give up the fundamental tenets of Christian doctrine and plummet into heterodoxy. Antipas was totally alone; so faithful that he was murdered “among you”; in the presence of the angel of the church in Pergamos.

Arius and Athanasius. Throughout the Pergamos period, the Church of God was assaulted by repeated attacks against the Person of Christ. In the late third century, a storm was again brewing in the Church. Two schools had emerged, one centering in Antioch with a strong Judaizing focus, and the other in Alexandria with a strong Hellenistic focus. A young man named Arius arose as an instrument of Satan from the Jewish corridor, and God raised up Athanasius of Alexandria, another young man, to counter this attack.

Arius said, "If the Father begat the Son, he that was begotten had a beginning of existence: and from this it is evident, that there was a time when the Son was not. It therefore necessarily follows, that he had his substance from nothing"... thus denying the eternal existence of the Son of God, and the Trinity. It was based on a human, experiential view of the Father-Son relationship, rather than a scriptural view. Arius taught that the Father "begat" or gave being to another god, called God's Son, who in turn created everything else, including the Holy Spirit. Arianism spread quickly, and soon Christendom was divided.

The Emperor Constantine called the first ecumenical council in Nicaea in A.D. 325 to sort the matter out. The Emperor personally subscribed to Arianism, but really wanted to see the empire united. Athanasius was seen running from room to room over the month-long council, defending the eternal deity of Christ. After much bickering and long deliberations, the council produced the Nicene Creed which, for all its flaws, affirmed that Jesus Christ was homoousios (same substance) as the Father, and affirmed the Trinity as one God, with three co-eternal, co-equal Persons. It also anathematized Arius and his followers. Athanasius spent the rest of his life combating Arianism, and was exiled five times for his faithfulness. He is not the same person as Antipas who was martyred, but it is significant that Athanasius became known to history as Athanasius Contra Mundum, which is Latin for ‘Athanasius Against the World’. Perhaps Antipas was one of a similar character to Athanasius, but who was literally killed.

Canonization of the New Testament. While the Old Testament was canonized (accepted broadly as scripture) in the first century before Christ, the New Testament was left to languish for many years after the apostles had passed on. It was through the faithfulness of some in the Pergamos period, chiefly Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, that the canon was formally received. In his Easter letter of A.D. 367, Athanasius gave a list of exactly the same books that would formally become the New Testament canon. He even used the word “canonized” with regard to these books. However, it wasn’t until Pope Damasus commissioned the Latin Vulgate edition of the Bible in A.D. 383 that the canon was really “fixed” in the West. The first ecumenical council that accepted the canon was the Synod of Hippo Regius in North Africa in A.D. 393, twenty years after Athanasius’ death.

vv.14-15 Rebuke. There are two doctrines that Pergamos is rebuked for: the doctrine of Balaam and the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes. Evil doctrines are like bananas… they come in bunches. When we give up one part of the truth of God, soon we will give up more. This is because the truth of God is interconnected. Read more… The doctrine of Balaam had two parts, which are listed in reverse order from the historical account in Num. 25. Here the more serious part (idolatry) is mentioned first. The second part of Balaam’s plan was to get the people identified with idols through rituals. This was made possible by the first part of Balaam’s plan, which was to get the people going after the lusts of the flesh (see v.20). A second brand of evil doctrine is “the doctrine of Nicolaitanes” (c.p. v.6). In Ephesus, the assembly hated the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, but in Pergamos it has been systematized into a doctrine held by some. Note that the angel didn’t hold this doctrine, but is rebuked for tolerating those who did. It may be impossible to know for certain what the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes is. However, it seems to be a doctrine that is parallel to that of Balaam, indicating it is a doctrine that makes sin acceptable (Jude 4). See note on Rev. 2:6.

v.16 Exhortation. The exhortation is to repent, to change their thoughts, to turn away from the world to Christ. If they did not repent, the Lord warns that He would come to the angel (“thee” is singular), and “make war” with those who held and taught the evil doctrines (“them” is plural). This “coming” is not at the rapture or the appearing, but an immediate governmental dealing with these ones by the Lord.

v.17 Message to the Overcomer. The overcomer is promised a portion of “the hidden manna”, which is a contrast with eating things offered to idols. Manna generally is a type of Christ, who said “I am the living bread which came down from heaven” (John 6:51). Jesus showed that, as a man on the earth, He was the antitype of the manna that fed Israel in the wilderness. We can and must feed on Christ in this way, occupying ourselves with Him in His humility and perfect grace. The manna ceased when Israel entered the land of Canaan. The hidden manna (Ex. 16:33) was a special sample of manna that was put into the ark of the covenant “before the Lord”, where it remained until the ark was taken away. It was reserved for heaven’s delight. How much of the life of Christ is recorded in the gospels? Very little (John 21:25). There was that in the pathway of Christ that was for the eye of His Father. The hidden manna therefore speaks of a future enjoyment of Christ in His pathway down here, which we will have in heaven after the struggles are over, when we will have the vantagepoint of heaven. We will have a greater appreciation of our Lord’s pathway in that day than we do now! The “white stone” is a figure taken from Roman culture. Stones were used in voting, etc., and a white stone symbolized approval or agreement. For the overcomer, a white stone with a secret name is the expression of Christ’s personal approval of our walk as overcomers; secretly between us and the Lord.

Thyatira. In this fourth great period in Church history (580 A.D. and forward) we see the lowest point in Church history. This is the longest letter of the seven, and it is primarily occupied with rebuke. The worldliness in Pergamos threw open the door for Satan to invade the professing Church. A false ecclesiastical system called Popery arose in the Thyatira period, which continues to this day. The clergy, whose beginnings were seen in the Ephesus period, now seized full control of the Church. In this system, the Church arrogated to herself political power and ruled the world from a position of power, in corruption and deceit. Subjects of this wicked system were forced to agree with the decrees of the papal authorities or face punishment, torture, and death. A vast system of commerce and taxation arose for the enrichment of those at the top of the hierarchy. Many of the elite had little care for the common man, and deep darkness covered the moral landscape. The doctrine of justification by grace through faith alone was almost completely lost. The authority of the Word of God was cast aside, and replaced by the teaching of the church, or Catechism. Islam was founded in 612 A.D. and rapidly began pushing into “Christian” territories through the use of violent force. Rather than turn to Christ in repentance, the Church undertook military campaigns against the Muslims which lasted for centuries. The Great Schism occurred in 1054 A.D. dividing the church in its outward testimony; the Western (Roman) Catholic Church was separated from the Eastern (Orthodox) Church. The eastern branch of the Church became very much frozen in time, though beaten down in many areas by Islamic forces, while great changes lay in store for the western church. In the West, the grip of the wicked Papal system stunted the entire development of the Western world; morally, academically, and technologically, resulting in what is called “the Dark Ages”. The western church launched a number of disastrous crusades to the Holy Land at the request of the Byzantine emperor for assistance in defending the east against Muslim invasions. In the later middle ages, Europe was wracked with political and social upheaval, and epidemic disease (the Black Death). The church remained in a very low condition until God, in His great mercy, gave a recovery beginning in the late 15th century and more fully in the 16th century called the Protestant Reformation.

v.18 Greeting and Presentation of Christ. The name Thyatira means “continual sacrifice”, which may very well hint at the Catholic mass: a continual re-sacrificing of the Lord’s body and blood (read more…). The Lord presents Himself to Thyatira as “the Son of God”; which is His eternal, ontological, intra-Trinitarian identity. As Son of God, Christ is the true Rock on which the Church is built (Matt. 16:16-17). Notice that the Lord generally presents Himself to the churches in a character seen in the vision in ch.1, but “Son of God” is a distinct title not mentioned in the vision (contrast “Son of man”, Rev. 1:13). Why bring out His title in Divinity rather than manhood? The evil in the Church had risen to such a height in Thyatira that Christ was now retreating from His humanity into His deity. Such is the result of the evil man has brought into association with His Name. The description of His eyes and feet are taken directly from the vision in ch.1. His eyes are piercing, His feet are treading out judgment. What His eyes discover, His feet tread upon.

v.19 Commendation. There is much to be commended in Thyatira, especially as it concerns their “works”. While some in this assembly were guilty of very serious evil, there were a great number that were going on well, in their works, love, faith (personal), service, and endurance (concerning trials). This commendation has especially to do with benevolent service; helping those in need. It is remarkable that the Catholic church, for all its wrongs, has often been a world-leader in charitable activity. The sense of “thy last works to be more than the first” is that as the day gets darker, the last or more recent works shine brighter.

vv.20-21 Rebuke. The rebuke to Thyatira concerns their allowing a corrupt ecclesiastical order to arise and seize control of the assembly. This corrupt ecclesiastical system, which aligns the Church with the world and promotes idolatrous practices, is called “Jezebel”. It is a prophetic hint of the Catholic system. William Kelly says there is sufficient manuscript support to render v.20 “thy wife Jezebel”. The angel was married to this woman. Just as Ahab allowed himself to be controlled by his wife, yet was held responsible (1 Kings 21:25), so the angel of the assembly in Thyatira was responsible for “permitting” this false system to go on. She called herself “prophetess”; claiming that she was the mouthpiece of God. One cannot help but think of the dark ages where Catholicism tended to squash any ministry not sanctioned by the clergy. It says “she teaches”… teaching is a role she assumed for herself. Scripturally, the Church doesn’t teach, it is taught. What did Jezebel teach? She taught the assembly to “commit fornication” and “eat of idol sacrifices”. These are the same two elements of the doctrine of Balaam (v.14), held by some in Pergamos, now taught by the woman Jezebel in Thyatira. The order is reversed again (same as in Num. 25) because it is in practice; the people go after worldly pleasures, then get involved in idolatry. In v.21 we see that the Lord has been very patient with Thyatira; she has had 1400 years of “time that she should repent”. But Christ declares beforehand that there is no repentance or reformation of this awful system; “she will not repent”. Jezebel clings particularly to power, and the pleasures power affords; she will not repent of “her fornication”. Therefore, a remnant is distinguished in v.24. But before the remnant comes into view, the judgment of Jezebel must first be declared vv.22-23.

vv-22-23 Warning. The full details of the judgment of Jezebel are given in Rev. 17-18. Notice that she is pictured as a mother. The true church is called the bride and the wife of Christ, but never a mother. Later we find that the false church is called “the mother of harlots”. Let us remember that the ecumenical movement is nothing less that the mother of harlots calling her daughters home. Three classes are judged:

Note that Jezebel and her partners are said to be brought into “great tribulation”; i.e. they appear to be judged around the middle of the week. Meanwhile, some of her children may be judged at the appearing. The Lord says He would kill her children “with death”; i.e. total apostasy, leaving them to worship the beast. The last part of v.23 is interesting. When judgment befalls Jezebel and her associates during the great tribulation, all the churches will come to understand through experience what they should currently grasp through faith, that Christ searches (1) “the reins” – the controlling motives, and (2) “the hearts” – the affections and objects. “I will give to you each” shows that there is a coming day of examination and reward, be it good or evil.

vv.24-25 Exhortation. The Lord’s eye now turns to a remnant company. There were a few in Thyatira who stood aloof from the mother of harlots, and they suffered for it. A few examples we know of are the Albigenses and Waldenses. They would not receive “this doctrine”; i.e. Jezebel’s two-part doctrine (see v.20). Nor had they known “the depths of Satan”; perhaps a way of referring to the deepest, darkest evil that has ever existed in Christendom. The expression “as they speak” is one of Divine irony. Jezebel had falsely accused the overcomers in the Thyatira period of heresy, of being allies of Satan. The Lord turns the expression around to commend the remnant. He would lay on them “none other burden”. There was to be no fresh development of truth laid upon them (like Ephesus), but in v.25, a holding fast of the fundamentals. There are some too in the Catholic system who are real believers, but they are afraid to leave the system. He wasn’t going to put a burden on them that they couldn’t bear. They should hold fast what they have until the Lord comes to take them out of the system. In Ezekiel 9, a man with an ink horn was to go through Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who “sigh and that cry for all the abominations that are done in the midst thereof”. They hadn’t left the city, but they were marked by hopeless resignation. By God’s mercy, when the moment of judgment came, they were not judged with the city. However, this verse cannot be used to allow evil to go on in the assembly. The assembly is responsible to deal with evil. The Lord’s coming is presented to the last four churches because a representation of each will be on earth at the rapture. Total recovery is out of the question, but the Lord’s coming is not!

vv.26-29 Message to the Overcomer. An overcomer in Thyatira is defined as one who keeps “my works” (compare with “your works” in v.23) to the end. The reward is “power”, not separate from Christ, but in partnership with Him. Thyatira is marked by her desire for power. To the despised overcomer in the time when the false church rules the world is promised the future portion of reigning with Christ over the nations! This reward is given to the Son as He has received from His Father (a direct allusion to, if not a quote from, Psa. 2:9), but it is then shared with us! Note: the fact that Christ speaking in Revelation 2:27 quotes Psalm 2 about Jehovah addressing His Son, and then states that it is a promise He has received from His Father, is a beautiful testimony to the Eternal Sonship and Deity of Christ! Psalm 2, likely written a thousand years before the incarnation, testifies of the Sonship of Christ, and the Father’s desire (though not yet revealed as Father until Christ came), to glorify His Son. “And I will give to him the morning star” is an enjoyment of Christ in connection with the hope of His coming. The “morning star” (probably Venus) precedes the coming of day and represents the expectation of Christ Himself as the believer’s hope; for it was Jesus who said “I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star” (Rev. 22:16). The promise of reigning with Christ when the Sun of Righteousness is risen (Mal. 4:2) is surpassed by another reward. It is not exactly an event that is the believer’s hope, but a Person. The believer anticipates the return of Christ, and therefore enters into the dawning of day and the morning star in his heart (2 Pet. 2:19). This anticipation will be rewarded at the rapture; “Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus“ (Rev. 22:20). Those in the remnant of Thyatira, who lived before the recovery of the truth, did not have “the morning star” in its detail; but they knew that they would be vindicated in a future day. A great example of this is John Huss.

v.29 The Call to Hear. With the last four churches, the call to hear comes after the message to the overcomer, indicating that the mass will no longer hear. The only listening ears are among the remnant; the overcomers.

The Reformation. In the dark ages, two critical truths were lost that were subsequently recovered in the Protestant Reformation: (1) the authority of the scriptures, and (2) salvation by grace alone through faith alone. (Note that the full extent of “justification by faith” was not known until much later, because the reformers really didn’t understand justification in its full sense; i.e. our position ‘in Christ’.) Sardis is not properly the Reformation, but rather what the Reformation deteriorated into. The downfall of the Reformation occurred when the Protestant churches appealed to the national governments of Europe for protection from Rome. The move gradually descended into dead formalism. Many had come out of Catholicism, but Catholicism did not entirely come out of them. In a certain sense, this could be expected, because generally the reformation of a corrupt system is futile. Sardis is the form a branch of Christendom took when the life that genuine Reformation-faith had pumped into it was later drained out. It is like a dead body with a new face. God starts fresh with Philadelphia, where a specific characteristic was that of making no claims to spiritual greatness.

The Reformers. There is an Old Testament type of the Reformers in the person of Jehu. God used Jehu to break the power of Jezebel and her daughter Athaliah. Jehu was raised up by God to deal with the whole house of Ahab, including his wife and daughter. In a similar way, the Reformation began as a work of God. But Jehu used fleshly means to break that power, just as the Reformers later set up national churches to gain the protection of the secular powers from the persecution of Rome. This was the downfall of the Reformation, and it resulted in spiritual deadness.

v.1a Greeting and Presentation of Christ. The Lord presents Himself as the one who has the “seven spirits” of God. Someone might ask, does this contradict the Lord’s teaching in John that there was “another” (singular) Comforter, and Paul’s teaching that there is “one Spirit” (Eph. 4:4)? No. The “seven Spirits of God” is a reference, not to seven unique Spirits, but to God the Holy Spirit in diversity of character (Isa. 11:2), because there is only one Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:4). The Spirit of God is the power by which God accomplishes His purposes. It represents inward power in contrast to outward forms. The “seven stars” represent outward authority. Compare with the presentation of Christ to Ephesus. Here the emphasis is that Christ is the only one who holds the source of light and power for the soul (in contrast to the national governments). They are at His disposal to bless.

v.1b Rebuke. The reformed churches had a name. They stood for reality, for separation from corrupt Rome, and for the Word of God. But inwardly they were dead.

vv.2-3 Exhortation and Warning. The things that are “ready to die” refers to the godly exercises of the reformers. They read the scriptures, accepted them as the inspired Word of God, and applied it to themselves. It is an attitude of living reality in contrast to dead formalism. Sardis needed to “be watchful” concerning the disease of spiritual deadness. Their works were “not complete”, because the reformation failed to go all the way back to the apostles’ doctrine. The road to restoration was to “remember”, to “keep”, and to “repent”. It was a question of walking in the truth they had already received. If we walk in the light we have and God will show us more; e.g. Josiah’s life shows this (2 Kings 22-23). As with Thyatira, we have a warning for Sardis. Those who are not watching for the Lord’s coming (for His saints), they will be surprised as by “a thief” at the appearing (with His saints). All those of genuine faith will be raptured out, but these will be merely false professors. The Lord will come upon what remains of Sardis the same way He will come on the world; i.e. as a thief (1 Thess. 5:2-4).

v.4 Commendation of a Remnant. The defilement of garments here is not so much the defilement of the flesh (Jude 23), although it perhaps is included, but rather it is the defilement of death; i.e. an outward form with no inward reality. A present walk with the Lord Jesus in separation from evil makes us able to enjoy fellowship with the Lord even now. It seems that this verse speaks of our present privilege of walking with the Lord, then v.5 takes us into the future.

vv.5-6 Message to the Overcomer. The promised reward is threefold (all to be received in the future):

No call to repent. There are two churches that the Lord finds no fault with, although certainly they were not perfect. Smyrna and Philadelphia are not told to repent. Perhaps in Smyrna it was because the persecution was so intense, but in Philadelphia it was because they had already repented of preceding evils. Concerning Sardis, they had repented from dead formalism, from making the king the head of the Church, and from appealing to governments for protection. Concerning Thyatira, they had separated from the wickedness of the Catholic system. Concerning Pergamos, they had separated from Pagan practices that had gotten mixed in. Concerning Smyrna, they had separated from the Judaistic practices that had gotten mixed in. Concerning Ephesus, they emphasized the importance of personal communion with the Lord.

v.7 Greeting and Presentation of Christ. Philadelphia is characterized by a practical expression of love and unity as the name suggests (see Eph. 4:2-3). A moral progression is seen with this company, reflected in the way Christ presents Himself to Philadelphia:

v.8 Commendation. God’s sovereignty set before them an open door for worship and service; an open door to practice the recovered truth. But they were (and we are) responsible to use that door. Several important commendations are given to the Philadelphians:

There is a path without evil (Job 28:7), and the Philadelphians had found it. 

v.9 The Opposition. The same evil that was introduced in Smyrna (Rev. 2:9) rears its head to try to ruin the Philadelphian church. The synagogue of Satan are those who systematically try to Judaize the church. It was a “synagogue” in that is was a form of Judaism pressed on the church, but it was “of Satan”  in that the Devil is behind it. They “say they are Jews” inasmuch as these claimed to be exclusively the people of God. The synagogue of Satan treated the Philadelphians as Nabal treated David (1 Sam. 25:10). The synagogue of Satan has always despised that which God recognizes on earth. The religious elite rejected the Lord to keep their place and nation (see John 11:48), and likewise they rejected the Philadelphians for similar reasons. As an encouragement, God will cause those who opposed the work in Philadelphia to recognize that they actually had God’s approval! It is not that the saints of God will be worshiped, but that the Lord will eventually compel recognition of His faithful witnesses who are presently rejected. He loves all His people, but will show it in a special way for these saints for the recognition of those who opposed them.

v.10 Encouragement. Those who live in expectation of Christ’s coming have fellowship with Him in His “patience” (2 Thess. 3:5). They are encouraged that Christ would keep them from the “hour of trial”, which refers to the entire portfolio of judgment from the beginning of Daniel’s 70th week through the indignation. It is a judgment that will come on the “whole habitable world”. None will escape. The only way to be exempt from the judgment is to be “kept out of” it, like Enoch was kept out of the flood, by way of translation (the Lord’s coming for His saints). This is the first mention we have of “earth dwellers”; i.e. those who have rejected heaven and chosen earth. This moral class of people is mentioned ten times in the book of Revelation (Rev. 3:10, 6:10, 8:13, 11:10, 13:8, 13:12, 13:14, 14:6, 17:2, 17:8). They have “received not the love of the truth” (2 Thess. 2:8).

v.11 Exhortation. The beautiful words “I come quickly” point to the immanency of the Lord’s return. He will come for His own with joy, not as a thief. The danger is to let slip on parts of the recovered truth; to not hold fast what we have. The crown is for those who do not give up that which God has committed to them, like those who carried the treasure safely across the wilderness (Ezra 8:24-34). Why would someone take our crown? Perhaps it is taking our crown in the sense they we won’t get it; i.e. those who oppose will try to prevent us from holding fast. Or perhaps, it could be the thoughts that if I am unfaithful, the Lord will raise up another to stand in my place, and in that sense another will take my crown. In either case, it is an exhortation for individual faithfulness.

vv.12-13 Message to the Overcomer. Of all the rewards for overcomers, this is the highest! The first reward is to be made a “pillar”.  A pillar is a symbol of great strength in a future day, in contrast with “a little power” at the present time (see 1 Kings 7:21, “Jachin and Boaz”). Also, a pillar is the thought of testimony (1 Tim. 3:15). The pillar is in the temple of God. A “temple” is a place for the worship of God, perhaps in contrast with a synagogue of Satan. The second reward is that the overcomer will “go no more out”. It represents a fixed state of blessedness, of uninterrupted communion. Perhaps it is in contrast with the “going out” required when we separate from evil. The third part of the reward is described by three inscriptions on the pillar:

Laodicea. The seventh church of Asia represents the church in a lukewarm state; in pride, self-sufficiency, and indifference to Christ. Some of the evil doctrines that came in historically that were suited to this deplorable state include: substituting super-humanity for Christ, denying the total depravity and ruin of man, denying eternal punishment and the necessity of atonement, denying the apostasy of the successive dispensations, etc. The Colossian epistle is a good remedy for what we find in Laodicea. In contrast with self-sufficiency in Laodicea, Colossians gives us the all-sufficiency of Christ!

v.19 Exhortation to Repent. The exhortation continues, but the tone grows still more tender. The angel of the church in Laodicea, and the bulk of the assembly, were merely false professors, but in this verse the Lord speaks to those who are real believers but have a Laodicean spirit; “as many as I love”. The Lord’s love is always presented to His people in a day of ruin (Rev. 3:19, Jer. 31:3, Mal. 2:1, John 13:1). Why? Because the goodness of God leads man to repentance (Rom. 2:4). The motive for both “rebuke and chastening” is love. In this case, the Lord was rebuking and chastening verbally through this letter.