←Revelation 2→BSB

• Write . . . to the angel: This repeated command that introduces each of the seven letters suggests the importance of the message.
• Ephesus had become the main city of the Roman province of Asia. It contained the temple of Artemis (see Acts 19:23–35) and became the richest banking center in that part of the world. The people of Ephesus were very independent; they declined help from Alexander in rebuilding their temple after it was destroyed (300s BC), arguing adroitly that one god should not stoop to build a temple to another god (see Strabo, Geography 14.1.22). The Ephesians’ protective pride also led to the uproar against Paul (Acts 19:23–41).

You don’t love me or each other as you did at first: When the church was first established, their love for Christ and for each other had been strong. Struggles with false teachers and persecution had caused that original love to grow cold. Correct theology, action, and even suffering (2:2–3) are just an empty shell of Christian life if dynamic love is absent (1 Cor 13).

Christ calls even those who keep the faith to turn back to him and repent of cold-heartedness. The warning, I will come and remove your lampstand, means that they would lose their status as a church; God would treat them as he did the apostates within Israel (see Rom 11).

Not much is known of the Nicolaitans, but their teaching (2:15) seems to link them with those who ate food sacrificed to idols and who were involved in sexual immorality, behavior prohibited by the council in Jerusalem (see Acts 15:20, 29). Irenaeus argued (about AD 180) that the Nicolaitans were dependent on Nicolas (Acts 6:3–5) and that John’s writings were directed against the heresies of the Nicolaitans who followed Cerinthus (see 1 John Book Introduction, “Setting”).

The reward for obedience is fruit from the tree of life—that is, eternal life (22:2; Gen 3:22).

The seaport village of Smyrna had been destroyed and rebuilt several times. Like Christ, the city had been dead but was now alive. It is the only city of the seven that has survived to this day (Izmir, Turkey).

• Jesus connected material poverty with the blessing of being rich in God’s Kingdom (Matt 5:3, 10–12; Luke 6:20).
• Jews who had no faith are condemned for aligning themselves with Satan in hostile opposition to the Christian faith (Rev 3:9; see John 8:44; Acts 14:2–5; 17:13; 18:6; 20:3; Gal 5:11; 1 Thes 2:14–16). At the Jewish council of Jamnia, the Jews excluded Christians as unholy heretics. John was not anti-Semitic; he was a Jew describing the actions of fellow Jews against Jewish and Gentile Christians.

• John saw the devil as the source of human hostility against Christians.
• The period of their suffering would be ten days, symbolizing a limited time of persecution (see 1 Pet 1:6). If they would remain faithful, their reward would be the crown of eternal life.
• when facing death: John’s pupil Polycarp was a martyr in Smyrna in the mid-100s AD.

Faithfulness until death is described as being victorious; overcoming the second death means receiving eternal life (see 20:5–6, 14; 21:8).

Christ’s sharp two-edged sword indicates that these Christians would receive the Lord’s most severe judgment (see 2:16; see study note on 1:16). The two-edged sword was the Roman symbol of authority, which typified Pergamum as capital of the province. If the church failed, the true governor of the city (Christ) would turn his authority against them.

• The throne of Satan might refer to the altar of Zeus on the mountain above the city or to emperor worship at the temple of Augustus. For many years, the Roman proconsul had his throne there, and the great temple of Athena and other shrines were also located in Pergamum. Its description as Satan’s city might also refer to the temple of Asclepius, whose symbol was coiled snakes. The city was dedicated to the Roman pantheon and emperor worship.
• Antipas is otherwise unknown.

• Those who remain faithful to Christ will receive manna, nourishment from heaven (see Exod 16:11–36).
• hidden away in heaven: During the Exodus, a jar of manna was placed in the Ark of the Covenant (Exod 16:33–36). Jewish tradition said that at the coming of the Messiah, the Ark would reappear and manna would be eaten at the messianic banquet. Jesus is the bread from heaven and the bread of life (John 6:32–35; cp. Exod 16:4–21).
• A white stone was often given to victors in athletic competitions, and it was common for special banquets or festivities to use a white stone for admission. It therefore suggests acceptance and victory.
• The new name probably refers to the recipient’s transformed nature in Christ (see Gen 17:5; 32:28; John 1:42).

• Thyatira was an outpost city known for its many trade guilds, including weavers and dyers (Acts 16:14).
• The flaming eyes of the Son of God indicate penetrating perception; the solid feet portray Christ’s stability, in vivid contrast to the famous Colossus of Rhodes, an enormous statue which had once been thought to be firmly planted until an earthquake destroyed it in 226 BC.

Christ emphasizes knowing and seeing all things as he praises the Thyatirans.

Through messengers such as John, Christ had given this false prophet opportunity to repent of her sinful teachings and actions, but like many, she had refused (cp. 9:20–21).

The depths of Satan might be a striking reference to the Gnostic god named “Depth” (Bythos), who with his partner “Silence” (Sigē) formed a philosophic godhead. Gnosticism placed great emphasis on secret knowledge.