The epistle to the church in Ephesus is Christ's message to a declining church, a church which had left its first love:—“Remember ... and repent”. In this epistle Christ is “he that walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks”, and “he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand”, i. e. he who is continually present among the churches, and who upholds them by his power. The candlesticks are objective representations of the seven churches bearing light upon the earth, as in the prophecy of Zechariah (ch. 4:1-10) a seven-branched candlestick stands for the Jewish nation as the representative of the kingdom of God; while the seven stars, the counterpart of the candlesticks, represent the churches held in the hand of Christ shining in heaven. In this symbolism it will be seen that the stars represent the churches in their relation to Christ, while the candlesticks are intended to exhibit their relation to the world. To move the “candlestick out of its place” is a threatening of extinction to the particular church unless it repent. Those “who call themselves apostles and they are not”, were probably well known pretenders of the closing part of the first century. The Nicolaitans here condemned, were an early obscure sect concerning which little is known, but who are reputed to have been libertines and seem to have denied the obligation of the moral law. The epistle is declared to contain, as we find the other epistles are also, “what the Spirit saith to the churches”, a clear indication of a wider message than to the individual community of the separate church.[333] “To eat of the tree of life” as the reward of overcoming, is a reference to the story of Eden (Gen. 3:22), and then by anticipation to the joys of the New Jerusalem which are the inheritance of the redeemed soul (cf. ch. 22:2; and Bk. of Enoch, 25:4-5). Paradise, a word rarely used in the New Testament and probably of Persian origin, is here employed to describe the future abiding place of the redeemed.[334] The church of Ephesus, to which [pg 103] this epistle is addressed, is the chief of the seven churches to whom John was instructed to write, though it has long since ceased to exist. The city of Ephesus, which was some sixty miles northeast of Patmos and was then a large and wealthy metropolis, has experienced more vicissitudes in its history than any other city of the Roman province of Asia. At that time it ranked first among all the cities of the province, and shortly after it became the capital; but it subsequently fell into decay, and it is now only a squalid heap of ruins.
(2) The Epistle to the Church in Smyrna, Ch. 2:8-11
The epistle to the church in Smyrna is Christ's message to a suffering church, a church which had endured tribulation, poverty, and the blasphemy of the Jews:—“Fear not.... Be thou faithful”. Christ is here described as “the first and the last, who was dead and lived again”, a thought of special consolation for those who were about to be cast into prison in the coming persecution, and many of whom would suffer death—like Christ they would live again. There is, also, a possible allusion in this to the popular myth concerning the death and resurrection of Dionysius, the favorite deity of Smyrna,[335] with which the death and resurrection of Christ, the notable facts of the gospel, are placed in marked contrast. The recognized poverty of the church in such a rich city is remarkable, and it has been suggested that it may have been partly at least the result of pillage by a mob;[336] though more likely the feeling against the gospel in the midst of wealth like that of Smyrna was so strong as to make its message unacceptable to any but the very poor. It will be seen that the church receives no blame in this epistle, but only counsel and encouragement. The ten days of tribulation represent a period that is short but complete in itself, i. e. it has a fixed limit, for ten is the number of completeness. The crown of life promised to the victors is not the royal diadem but the victor's crown, which is the symbol of life eternal, and is the antithesis of the second death, i. e. of the soul in hell (cf. ch. 20:14; and 21:8). John may have here had in mind the crown often laid upon the head of the dead body of an earthly victor in his funeral procession—a crown of death with which the crown of life is placed in apposition. The second death by which “he [pg 104] that overcometh shall not be hurt”, is the death of the soul—not ceasing to be, but dying to the best in life—the final condemnation which sinners undergo at the judgment. Smyrna is located some forty miles north, and somewhat west, of Ephesus, and was one of the most wealthy, important, and beautiful cities of Asia Minor. It has an unbroken record from the dawn of history to the present day, and now has a population of some two hundred and fifty thousand, and is both rich and prosperous.
(3) The Epistle to the Church in Pergamus[337], Ch. 2:12-17
The epistle to the church in Pergamus is Christ's message to an impure church, a church which had some that held the teaching of Balaam, and others the teaching of the Nicolaitans:—“Repent ... or else I come with the sword”. To this church Christ is “he that hath the sharp two-edged sword”, i. e. who wields the instrument of rebuke and punishment. The location of Satan's throne in Pergamus denotes that the city was under his dominion, and may refer to the newly introduced worship of the Emperor in which that city was recognized as an important center;[338] while the death of Antipas, an otherwise unknown martyr, called “my witness, my faithful one”, and also the presence of those holding the teaching of Balaam,[339] the symbolic name for a doctrine akin to the Nicolaitans, serve to show that it was truly a place “where Satan dwelleth”. The aptness of the name lies in the similarity of Balaam's method of seducing the Israelites by licentiousness, and that of the false teachers who were introducing Antinomianism (cf. Num. 25:1-2; and 31:16). The hidden manna represents the true bread of life, and is doubtless an allusion to the pot of manna laid up before the Lord in the hidden recesses of the holy place in the tabernacle (Ex. 16:33f.). There may also be a reference to the Jewish tradition that Jeremiah [pg 105] had hidden the ark with its contents in a cave of Sinai until the advent of the Messiah (II Macc. 2.1), when it was be restored. The white stone is probably the jade, which has been held in high esteem in the East from the earliest times,[340] although some think it refers to the diamond. White stands as the emblem of purity, but the exact symbolism of the stone in this connection is obscure, though clear enough to the first readers of the epistle. The figure may possibly have been drawn from the Jewish sacred use of precious stones, especially of the mysterious Urim and Thummim kept in the pouch of the breastplate of the high priest, which according to Jewish tradition were inscribed with a name known only to the priest himself.[341] The gift would then imply the conferring of high-priestly privileges on those who overcome. Some, however, find in it a reference to the white pebble of acquittal used in courts of justice, or in casting the lot; others a reference to the tessera, or ticket, which admitted the victor in the Olympic games to the public tables, and entitled him to the awards of his city; still others a reference to the common use of amulets and charms with a secret name or pass-word on them, in that case the white stone conferring the real power which the charm was assumed to have.[342] But more probably the reference is to a stone engraved as a seal, with the name of Christ upon it, the gift of which like the signet of a king (Gen. 41:42 and Est. 8:2f.) is regarded as bestowing something of the royal authority of Christ upon the recipient. Precious stones of different shapes were commonly used for seals, and were often unmounted and hung by a cord about the neck; and the name of the owner and of the deity whom he specially worshipped were engraved upon them.[343] Every man of rank and wealth in the East from time immemorial [pg 106] had his own seal; and among the Babylonians so constant and imperative were its uses that it was generally placed with his body in his coffin.[344] In all these interpretations the gift carries with it special privilege or advantage, though the chief virtue of the stone apparently lies in the name written upon it. The “new name” is not probably a new designation for the believer, but the new name of Christ (ch. 3:12) which is expressive of the new and more perfect revelation of him in heaven that only the redeemed can know (ch. 14:1). Many, however, regard the new name as the heavenly name of the individual Christian,[345] and this would be quite as appropriate for a seal as the name of Christ. Pergamus was about a hundred miles north of Ephesus, and less than fifteen from the sea. It was at that time the official capital of the Province of Asia, and the seat of official authority. It ranked with Ephesus and Smyrna as one of the great cities of proconsular Asia, and though it is now chiefly “a city of magnificent ruins”, it still continues to exist under the name of Bergama at the present day.
(4) The Epistle to the Church in Thyatira, Ch. 2:18-29
The epistle to the church in Thyatira is Christ's message to a struggling church, a church which had shown love and faith, ministry and patience:—“Hold fast till I come”. Christ is called “the Son of God, who hath his eyes like a flame of fire, and his feet are like unto burnished [or molten] brass”, i. e. he who is divine, and whose all-searching sight and destroying footstep will surely recompense the evil (cf. Dan. 10:6). It is interesting to note that the title “Son of God” which is here used is not found elsewhere in the book, though the divine personality of Christ is so evident throughout. Jezebel, the self-styled prophetess that the church had tolerated, but who with her children is about to be punished with death, is probably the symbolic name of a class or leader in the church, [pg 107] seducing it to sin.[346] The angel of the church is regarded as the weak Ahab who allows himself to be the tool of this new Jezebel.[347] “The deep things of Satan” designate the mysteries of the false doctrine here condemned.[348] “The morning star” to be given to those who overcome,[349] is such a revelation of Christ himself (ch. 22:16b) made to the redeemed when the night of earth is over as will usher in the morning of eternal day—the beginning of the future and ever progressive revelation of God. The titles applied to Christ in this epistle, “Son of God”, and “morning star”, have suggested a possible contrast in thought with Apollo, the sun-god worshipped at Thyatira, though such an allusion is quite uncertain. The epistle to this church is the central one of the seven, and is the longest as well as in some respects the most solemn of all the epistles. Thyatira lay about forty miles southeast from Pergamus, and was an important and wealthy city in the northern part of Lydia, though it never became a leading city of Asia. The modern name of the town is Ak-Hissar, “the white castle”.