kjv@Revelation:2:1@ Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;
kjv@Revelation:2:2@ I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
kjv@Revelation:2:3@ And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.
kjv@Revelation:2:4@ Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
kjv@Revelation:2:5@ Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
kjv@Revelation:2:6@ But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
kjv@Revelation:2:7@ He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
kjv@Revelation:2:8@ And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;
kjv@Revelation:2:9@ I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.
kjv@Revelation:2:10@ Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
kjv@Revelation:2:11@ He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
kjv@Revelation:2:12@ And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;
kjv@Revelation:2:13@ I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.
kjv@Revelation:2:14@ But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.
kjv@Revelation:2:15@ So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.
kjv@Revelation:2:16@ Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
kjv@Revelation:2:17@ He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.
kjv@Revelation:2:18@ And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;
kjv@Revelation:2:19@ I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.
kjv@Revelation:2:20@ Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.
kjv@Revelation:2:21@ And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.
kjv@Revelation:2:22@ Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.
kjv@Revelation:2:23@ And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.
kjv@Revelation:2:24@ But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden.
kjv@Revelation:2:26@ And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
kjv@Revelation:2:27@ And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.
The all important first love. The church of Ephesus is doing a whole lot right. They contend for the faith as Jude would exhort, resist evil and suffer for Christ's name sake as Peter. Their first love no doubt was for Him as a person and for each other as His friends. For as much as they are doing right, they still need to obey the great commandment kjv@Mark:12:30-31.
Nothing said about what the church in Smyrna is doing right or wrong, only what they have been and what some will be suffering for Christ's namesake. Be thou faithful unto death He exhorts.
In Pergamos we see a likeness to the two previous churches, faithfulness under severe persecution and having to deal with apostates amongst the brethren. This church however had not been as successful holding out the apostates and is in need of repentance in this same regard. We could say in effect that they need to return to their first love as their first love would not have mixed and commingled these blots and dead relics.
The church of Thyatira is battling a particular prophetess with much satanic influence. Effectually, they are consenting to her crafts by suffering her a place in their community/congregation. The Lord is dealing with her in His own way. He is asking them to beware and resist her and those that are bedding with her (consenting/allowing to her doctrine) by holding fast to the faith.
These churches are no doubt real churches dealing with real matters in real time. These churches are also symbolic of the things our churches today must face and overcome. To them that hear, to them that overcome, is our part now as much as it was theirs. Aware and alert, active and knowledgeable and courageous we must hold fast to our first love living our faith forward into the matters of a church body.
There are those that for for the sake of their own individual faith have deserted the corporate faith of the church body. Our Lord does not address the church of Randy in this revelation which should be an indication of what kind of church the church of Randy is; it is not. Notice that our Lord did not say 'oh members of the church of Thyatira, run away, split, your church is corrupt, it is getting too hard for you to grow and be productive'. Instead it says 'hold fast/overcome'. Why is the church so important? Ask the Lord.
What is this life here and now? It is a book being written. In it are the stories of our lives, the spiritual fruit that the Lord was able to produce in us by our abiding. If not abiding then no fruit. If not His works (the works He had predestined that we walk in) than no works at all. It is said that all paths lead to God. Here all paths are recorded in the book of life and lead to His judgment, wheat from tare, sheep from impostor. When Jesus declared that one must be born again of spirit and water, these then are the names written favorably in the book of life. Their rebirth in Him has produced works and fruit some one hundred fold.
There are those that say that the Bible does not teach of Hell. Or that God's love is unconditional, that He will not allow even the more deserving souls to be lost. There is the hope amongst some that having seen all of this, having better understanding of the sin nature, having seen God face to face, having understood His will and process, that even these would have the needed change of heart and gladly accept their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Perhaps for the intellectual atheist or agnostic. Perhaps for those deceived all this time by others. For some perhaps so, but, what about the remainder? What about those who blame God? Those who yet cling to their universalism or false god? Those who cannot forgive themselves or refuse release from their lusts and cravings?
Is Hell really that hard to understand? If your family was moving from it's remote frontier outpost to a new thriving city and you refused to go, what would you have left? If your ship was abandoned and left to sink and you refused to go, what would you have left. If your leprosy was cured by a shot and a new healthy location and you refused...you get the idea! We tend to think of God when we think of Hell in terms of "how could He" instead of "why did we not". If it is the course of creation to proceed from A (a temporal/carnal existence) to B (a transitional/spiritual existence being set apart and prepared) to C (a new and spiritual living eternal existence far removed from the corruption of sin/death) and we stick to our guns and stay at A, what happens to us when A and B are no more? Are no longer supported? Are removed from available options? What happens to the seed that refuses to sprout?
The glorious new heavens and new earth. Jesus said that He goes to prepare a new place for us. It took Him six days to prepare the place that we are at. He has been over 2000 years preparing the place upcoming. It is a place obviously much different than this place, for one thing it is a place where the internal beauty of man's cleansed and purified heart unites as one to commune with its Lord and maker. In another way, it is a place where there is no more death, no more fear of death, no more pain, no more sorrow. It is a place too good to be true from a God too good for it not to be true. Today then, it is a faith, a hope, a truth unseen that guides us through the darkness of this day, an evidence of the long time goodness and intents of our Savior.
It is interesting to compare kjv@Revelation:1 where we started this journey with kjv@Revelation:22 where we end. A lot will take place in a very short amount of time. But, when will it take place? We don't know. Here in this chapter Jesus repeated 'I come quickly' 'I come shortly' 'the time is at hand'. In human terms it can be argued that it has been a long time. Did Jesus lie? How long is long? How short is short? How soon is soon? Isn't it better to think that if it means that we have been given time then we would be use this time as wisely as possible? From an eternal viewpoint, is not any amount of time here but brief? In terms of relativity, can not this have happened, be happening, and be yet to happen all at the same time? So much to ponder!
Another peculiarity we should not let escape our attention is that while there is a division between light and dark strkjv@Genesis:1:3-5 called Night and Day, the actual objects visually determining those observances for earth were not until kjv@Genesis:1:14-19 after even vegetation. Light and darkness till then were from a different source and that source was sufficient for massive plant life. In kjv@Revelation:21:23 we see a similar occurrence in the new earth.
2012 - pBiblx2 Field Wise Bible System Version 2.0.9d - GPL3
