Read or listen The Book of Revelation, chapter 2 online (ESV, YouVersion)

Letter to the Ephesians 2:1-7

The letters to the seven churches are addressed to the angels of the churches, or to the shepherds of the churches (see the explanation of Revelation 1:20). However, the message of the letters is intended for the entire church and the entire Church. This is evident from the letters.

The most important city in Asia Minor was Ephesus. The city had an excellent location and a long history. It was one of the most important centers of the Roman Empire. The birth of the church in Ephesus is described in the 19th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. The founder of the church was Paul. Old church tradition says that the apostle John, Timothy and the mother of Jesus were active in Ephesus.

In the letters sent to the congregations, the actual sender of the letter is first introduced. What is said about Jesus is already said about him in the last verses of the previous chapter (see the explanation of these verses). Then the state of the congregation is described - first its good sides and then its problems. The congregation in Ephesus receives much acknowledgement and appreciation from Jesus. It is a living congregation that has not given up even under the pressure of persecution.

Jesus especially thanks the church for not giving false teachers a place in the church. They have been identified and driven out of the church. The false teachers named are the Nicolaitans, or supporters of Nicolaus. We do not know who they were and what they taught. However, we see that holding on to the correct doctrine and living according to God's will is very important in Jesus' opinion. This is also evident from the letters sent to other churches.

The church in Ephesus also receives rebukes from Jesus. It has abandoned the "first love" and therefore Jesus urges it to do "first works" again. The Acts of the Apostles tells what happened in Ephesus when the inhabitants of the city converted to Christianity. Those who had practiced magic and owned pagan literature gathered a pile of these books and set them on fire. The books were worth 50,000 pieces of silver (Acts 19:19). A piece of silver was almost a day's wage for a laborer. Faith in Jesus was taken seriously and conclusions were also drawn from it.

The church in Ephesus also receives rebukes from Jesus. It has abandoned "the love you had at first" and therefore Jesus urges it to do again "the works you did at first". The Acts of the Apostles tells what happened in Ephesus when the inhabitants of the city converted to Christianity. Those who had practiced magic and owned pagan literature gathered a pile of these books and set them on fire. The value of the books was 50,000 pieces of silver (Acts 19:19). A piece of silver was almost a day's wage for a laborer. Faith in Jesus was taken seriously and conclusions were also drawn from it.

The enthusiasm that had been there in the early days of faith had apparently waned. People were less serious about their faith. For this, Jesus rebukes the church and urges it to return to the passion that had prevailed in the church shortly after its birth. If the church does not repent, Jesus says that he will remove the church of Ephesus from among his own. That is the worst thing that can happen to a church. If Jesus rejects it, the church will surely die. Those who hear Jesus’ warning and act on it are promised much: they will go to heaven to eat from the tree of life. Whoever eats from it will never die (see Genesis 3:22).

Letter to Smyrna 2:8‑11

Smyrna was located about 80 kilometers north of Ephesus. It was a prominent port city that could compete with Ephesus in status. In 156 AD, the city was the scene of a bloody persecution of Christians, of which Bishop Polycarp also fell victim. In front of the persecutors, he said that he had served Jesus for 86 years. Apparently, he had been baptized as a child and had followed his Lord ever since - and saw no reason to deny Jesus even in the face of death. It is possible that Polycarp was already the bishop of Smyrna at the time of the writing of the Book of Revelation.

Jesus did not rebuke the church of Smyrna with a single word. It is a persecuted and poor church, yet rich. Perhaps poverty meant that the church had been robbed of its few possessions during the persecution.

The Jews were particularly fierce persecutors of the early church. To them Jesus speaks a harsh word of judgment: they are not God’s people, but Satan’s property. Of course, this does not give Christians permission to hate Jews – as the passage has sometimes been interpreted. Jesus commanded us to love our enemies and pray for our persecutors (Matthew 5:44). But Jesus’ words teach that it is of no use to a Jew to be part of God’s chosen people if he rejects Jesus. Jesus is the only way to heaven for both Jews and other nations.

Jesus tells us that difficult times are coming for the church. The tribulation is said to last 10 days. This hardly means literally 10 days. Rather, the intention is probably to say that the time of persecution is short after all and that it is exactly as long as God allows it to be. Even if threatened with death, faith in Jesus must not be abandoned. He who remains faithful to his Lord to the end will receive a crown of victory. Such a crown was given to the winner of athletic competitions. Now the crown means eternal life in heaven and salvation from the second death. The second death here, as elsewhere in the Book of Revelation, means perdition. The church is advised to take Jesus as an example: he too was killed, but he rose from the dead and entered into the glory of heaven (verse 8). This is what happens to everyone who does not deny his Lord.

Letter to the Pergamum 2:12-17

Pergamon was a rich city and favored by the Roman rulers. Its last king, Attalus, had bequeathed the city to the Romans, who had not forgotten this.

Pergamon was home to "Satan's throne." We don't know for sure what this means. There are mainly two possibilities:
Pergamon had altars to almost every possible idol. Particularly famous were the sanctuary of the healing god Asclepius and the altar of the supreme god Zeus. Worshiping idols is worshiping the Devil, and therefore Satan's throne is an appropriate expression for a temple of idols.
Another possibility is emperor worship, which is also idolatry. Pergamum was famous for this too. The first temple dedicated to emperor worship was built there. Many Christians died as martyrs for refusing to worship the emperor, and therefore Satan's throne is an apt name to describe the temple of the emperor cult.

One member of the Pergamum church, a man named Antipas, had already been killed. It was evidently not yet a systematic persecution - in such a case the number of victims would hardly have been one. However, the church had already felt the world's hatred for it, but it had not renounced its faith. For this Jesus commends it.

Instead, the church is reproached for having among it those who "follow the teaching of Balaam." Balaam is mentioned in the Old Testament (Numbers 22-24 and 31). Balaam’s sin was that he seduced the Israelites into idolatry and into immorality. Jesus likens this to eating meat sacrificed to idols. Paul discusses this matter at greater length in Romans (chapter 14) and 1 Corinthians (chapters 8-10). Apparently, the Christians in Pergamum were being lured into idol temples to eat meat sacrificed to idols. Paul had already strongly condemned this.

Participating in worship in idol temples is serving the Devil, and Christians must stay away from it. In addition to this, fornication was practiced in the temples. From this too, the members of the congregation had to stay away, and the best way to do this was to not go to the temples at all.

Balaam's followers were apparently so liberal that they saw nothing wrong with this. Perhaps they were saying that a Christian can do whatever he wants with his body—it doesn't affect his saved soul. Jesus does not understand this kind of thinking. He promises to strike with the sword of his mouth those who spread these doctrines in the churches. In addition to Balaam's followers, the Nicolaitans are mentioned again. Whether they represented the same ideas, we do not know. However, the most important message in Jesus' words is clear: false doctrines and their teachers must not be tolerated in the church.

Jesus promises to give hidden manna to the one who overcomes. Perhaps Jesus’ words are specifically directed to those who felt great temptation to go to the temples of idols to eat meat. In heaven, better feasts await than in the temples. You can get much better food there than at the sacrificial meals of the idols. To get to this feast, one must remain faithful to Jesus and avoid the places of worship of the Devil from afar.

Stones may have been used in ancient times as a kind of entrance ticket. Perhaps this is what the white stone mentioned in verse 17 means. Whoever receives the white stone has a ticket to the kingdom of heaven. Whose name is written on the stone is not revealed. The name could be the name of God or the name of the one who has entered heaven. Perhaps it is the latter. The one who has entered heaven cannot bestow salvation on another—the stone that is the entrance ticket to the gate of heaven has his name on it. That is how personal salvation is.

Letter to Thyatira 2:18‑29

Thyatira was a well-known artisan city. The Acts of the Apostles tells of a woman named Lydia, a seller of purple cloth. She was from Thyatira (Acts 16:14).

Everything seems to have been going well in the church at Thyatira, with one exception. The good news is that the church's enthusiasm for spreading the gospel has grown. That is probably what "your latter works exceed the first" means.

The church’s problem was a woman called Jezebel. This is hardly her real name, but it describes the woman well. The name refers to the wicked wife of King Ahab in the Old Testament, whose name was Jezebel (1 Kings 16:31). She is a false teacher who leads the church in Thyatira astray with her teachings. The immorality that Jezebel has led the Thyatira people into does not necessarily mean what we usually understand by it. The Old Testament speaks of the fornication that the people of Israel fell into, and it often means the worship of idols.

The people of Israel were God’s people and should have remained faithful to their God. Serving foreign gods was like committing adultery. It is possible that this is what the word “immorality” in verse 20 means. The mention of eating meat sacrificed to idols at the end of the verse also suggests this. Perhaps it is because Jezebel led Christians to idol temples, where meat sacrificed to idols was eaten. Participating in these sacrifices was serving idols. The sacrifices could also include things that God forbids in the sixth commandment. Immorality can therefore also mean fornication in the literal sense of the word.

Jesus has given the false teacher time to repent - a time of grace - but now time is up. If he does not repent, he will face judgment. Judgment will also apply to his lovers and children, who apparently mean the false teacher's students.

The fact that Jezebel was a prophetess was not, of course, a problem in itself. Paul had already taught that a woman could prophesy in church gatherings if God gave her the gift of prophecy (see 1 Cor. 11:4-5). The problem was that Jezebel taught wickedness in the name of God. She was therefore a false prophet, and the church in Thyatira should have realized this and thrown Jezebel out of the church.

Not all the Christians in Thyatira had become Jezebel’s disciples. Jesus advises them to remain in what they have, that is, in the faith and life that the apostles have taught. Evidently, Jezebel’s disciples had boasted that they had learned to know things that others did not know. Perhaps they were talking about the secrets of God that Jezebel had taught them. Jesus tells us who these secrets come from: not from God at all, but from his enemy, Satan.

To those who have not followed the false teacher, Jesus promises much. They will one day rule over the nations. Paul speaks of the same thing. Christians, together with the people of their Lord, will judge this world (1 Cor. 6:2-3). What that means, we are not told in detail. However, it is clear that at the final judgment it is good to get on the side where the Judge is.

The morning star in verse 28 refers to the planet Venus. It was a star dedicated to Caesar. The fact that Jesus promises his followers the morning star indicates that his followers will one day have world rulers, emperors. The same promise was already given in verse 26.