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1"To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:
These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right
hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands:
2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know
that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those
who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.
3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and
have not grown weary.
4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.
5 Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do
the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to
you and remove your lampstand from its place.
6 But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the
Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree
of life, which is in the paradise of God.
Revelation 2:1-7
Explanation:
The one who walks among the seven golden lampstands is Jesus. He
holds the seven stars in his right hand, indicating his power and
authority over the churches and their leaders. Ephesus had become
a large, proud church, and Jesus' message would remind them that
he is the head of the body of believers. Does God care about your
church? If you are tempted to doubt it, look more closely at these
seven letters. The Lord of the universe knew each of these churches
and its precise situation. In each letter, Jesus told John to write
about specific people, places, and events. He praised believers
for their successes and told them how to correct their failures.
Just as Jesus cared for each of these churches, he cares for yours.
He wants it to reach its greatest potential. The group of believers
with whom you worship and serve is God's vehicle for changing the
world.
Take it seriously--God does. Your first love is God,
don't lose sight of that and keep your enthusiasm. For Jesus to
remove your lampstand from its place would mean the church would
cease to be an effective church. God wants people who will stand
against sin and point others toward right living. To overcome is
to be victorious by believing in Christ, persevering, remaining
faithful, and living as one who follows Christ. Such a life brings
great rewards.
8 "To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the
words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to
life again.
9 I know your afflictions and your poverty--yet you are rich! I
know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but
are a synagogue of Satan.
10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you,
the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will
suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point
of death, and I will give you the crown of life.
11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.
Revelation 2:8-11
Explanation:
Persecution comes from Satan, not from God. Satan, the devil, will
cause believers to be thrown into prison and even killed. But believers
need not fear death, because it will only result in their receiving
the crown of life. Satan may harm their earthly bodies, but he can
do no spiritual harm. The synagogue of Satan means that these Jews
were serving Satan's purposes, not God's, when they gathered to
worship. Ten days means that although persecution would be intense,
it would be relatively short. It would have a definite beginning
and end, and God would remain in complete control. Believers and
unbelievers alike experience physical death. All people will be
resurrected, but believers will be resurrected to eternal life with
God while unbelievers will be resurrected to be punished with a
second death, eternal separation from God.
12 "To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are
the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword.
13 I know where you live--where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain
true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in
the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in
your city--where Satan lives.
14 Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people
there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice
the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by
committing sexual immorality.
15 Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the
Nicolaitans.
16 Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will
fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will
also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known
only to him who receives it.
Revelation 2:12-17
Explanation:
There is room for differences of opinion among Christians in some
areas, but there is no room for heresy and moral impunity. Your
town might not participate in idol feasts, but it probably has pornography,
sexual sin, cheating, gossiping, and lying. Don't tolerate sin by
bowing to the pressure to be open-minded. Balak was a king who feared
the large number of Israelites traveling through his country, so
he hired Balaam to pronounce a curse on them. Balaam refused at
first, but an offer of money changed his mind. Later Balaam influenced
the Israelites to turn to idol worship. Here Christ rebuked the
church for tolerating those who, like Balaam, lead people away from
God. This sword is God's judgment against rebellious nations and
all forms of sin. Hidden manna suggests the spiritual nourishment
that the faithful believers will receive. As the Israelites traveled
toward the promised land, God provided manna from heaven for their
physical nourishment. Jesus, as the bread of life, provides spiritual
nourishment that satisfies our deepest hunger. It is unclear what
the white stones are of exactly what the names on each will be.
Because they relate to the hidden manna, they may be symbols of
the believers eternal nourishment, or eternal life. The stones are
significant because each will bear the new name of every person
who truly believes in Christ. They are the evidence that a person
has been accepted by God and declared worthy to receive eternal
life. A person's name represented his or her character. God will
give us new names and new hearts.
18 "To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are
the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and
whose feet are like burnished bronze.
19 I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance,
and that you are now doing more than you did at first.
20 Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman
Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads
my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed
to idols.
21 I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is
unwilling.
22 So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those
who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent
of her ways.
23 I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know
that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each
of you according to your deeds.
24 Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold
to her teaching and have not learned Satan's so-called deep secrets
(I will not impose any other burden on you):
25 Only hold on to what you have until I come.
26 To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give
authority over the nations--
27 `He will rule them with an iron scepter; he will dash them to
pieces like pottery' -- just as I have received authority from my
Father.
28 I will also give him the morning star.
29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Revelation 2:18-29
Explanation:
The believers in Thyatira were commended for growing in good deeds.
We should not feel satisfied when our church only rejoices in the
salvation of its members or in the comfort of gathering for worship.
We should grow in love, faith, and acts of service. Because the
times are critical, we must spend our days wisely and faithfully.
Why is sexual immorality serious? Sex outside marriage always hurts
someone. It hurts God because it shows that we prefer to satisfy
our desires our own way instead of according to God's Word, or to
satisfy them now instead of waiting for his timing. It hurts others
because it violates the commitment so necessary to a relationship.
It hurts us because it often brings disease to our bodies and adversely
affects our personalities. Sexual immorality has tremendous power
to destroy families, churches, and communities because it destroys
the integrity on which these relationships are built. God wants
to protect us from hurting ourselves and others; thus we are to
have no part in sexual immorality, even if our culture accepts it.
Jezebel was unwilling to repent. Repent means to change our mind
and direction from following our way to following God's way, from
sin and its disastrous consequences to God and eternal life. In
his mercy, God has given us time to decide to follow him. Only our
stubborn willfulness stands in the way. We cannot hide from Christ;
he knows what is in our hearts and minds, and he still loves us.
The sins we try to hide from God need to be confessed to him. The
deep secrets of Satan were either false teaching advocated by heretics,
or secret insights by so-called believers guaranteed to promote
deeper spiritual life. We should hold tightly to the basics of our
Christian faith and view with caution and counsel any new teaching
that turns us away from the Bible, the fellowship of our church,
or our basic confession of faith. Christ says tht those who overcome
(those who remain faithful until the end and continue to please
God) will rule over Christ's enemies and reign with him as he judges
evil. Christ is called the morning star. A morning star appears
just before dawn, when the night is coldest and darkest. When the
world is at its bleakest point, Christ will burst onto the scene,
exposing evil with his light of truth and bringing his promised
reward.
