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Revelation 2:12-17: Danger.

 ‘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, not 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: there are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed 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 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.NIV

‘Being willing to die for the faith is no substitute for living for the faith’ Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘With the Word’, p.848.

Pergamum was a dangerous place for a Christian to find him/herself in the 1^st century AD. Whereas Ephesus was the most important city in the province of Asia, Pergamum was its capital. So it was the residence of the Roman governor. He had the authority to put people to death – he had the power of the sword in other words. ‘’Antipas’’ was one Christian who paid the ultimate price for his faith. Jesus accords him a great honour by giving him a name applied to Himself in (1:5): ‘‘ Faithful witness.’’ Even at such an ominous time this church had remained loyal to Jesus. It’s not surprising, though, that Christians saw Rome as the instrument of ‘’Satan’’ (13). So much persecution came from that direction. However, Jesus here reminds the church that He has a more powerful sword than the governor’s (12; see 1:16, 2:16). He has the final authority over life and death.

But although this was a faithful church it was by no means perfect. It had some members who tolerated false teaching. Tom Hale says:

‘Their sin was the opposite of the Ephesian church’s sin. On the one hand, the Ephesian Christians did not tolerate false teaching; they were very strict and pure. But they had lost their love. On the other hand, the Pergamum Christians had not lost their love, they had lost their purity.’ ‘The Applied New Testament Commentary’, p.966.

Somebody observed that this was a compromised church, in danger of losing its cutting edge. The ‘’teaching of the Nicolaitans’’ (15) was probably similar to the ‘’teaching of Balaam’’ (14; see Numbers 25:1-3; 31:15, 16). Balaam persuaded Israel to compromise with their unbelieving neighbours, disobey God, and indulge in promiscuous sex.Bad believing leads to bad behaving, and this erroneous teaching resulted in sexual immorality. We have to take heed that we do not tolerate error. Heresy is a noxious root leading to an ugly flower. Jesus’ response tells us all we need to know (16). ‘His word will cut through the half-hearted spirituality that is happy to face both ways at once.’ Tom Wright.

But the letter ends on a high note. There seems to be some evidence that in this city a ‘’white stone’’ was given to those invited to a feast or ceremony. It bore the name of the one invited, and he/she presented it as proof that they were meant to be there. Those who remain faithful to Jesus have a free invitation to feast on ‘’the hidden manna’’ in heaven (17), which is surely the crucified Christ Himself (John 6:48-51).

PRAYER: Lord, help me to deeply know that truth matters, and not to play fast and loose with it.

Revelation 2:8-11: Death and resurrection.

 ‘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 about 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 life as your victor’s crown.¹¹ Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.” NIV

Out of all the 7 cities mentioned in these 7 letters, Smyrna is the only one still in existence today. All the others lie in ruins. It is now the modern Turkish City of Izmir, about 40 miles north of ancient Ephesus (which, in the time John wrote, was the most important city in Asia). Smyrna itself had undergone a kind of death and resurrection, being rebuilt after destruction. In the face of persecution, when we know we may lose our lives for Jesus, it is important to remember that He ‘’died and came to life again’’ (8). So will we, if we die in Him. Polycarp, a famous martyr and citizen of Smyrna, had learned about Jesus from the apostle John. He in turn influenced Irenaeus, one of the great early church leaders. These words surely must have encouraged this dear old man, Polycarp, as he prepared for his own martyrdom. He was given the opportunity to renounce Christ and live, but he would not.

Another fascinating feature of Smyrna is that it ‘was thought of as a city with a crown, due to the way its splendid architecture used the natural advantages of a steep hill to good effect’ (Tom Wright: ‘Revelation for everyone’, p.18).

Most of the populace of Smyrna worshipped the emperor as a god, and a big temple had been built in his honour in the city. But the Christians would not bow down to him, and as a result they suffered economic privation. Their shops and houses were looted. But in the ‘upside-down Kingdom’ there are apparent contradictions that hold true (9): ‘Now let the poor say, ‘’I am rich.’’ ‘

The Jews of Smyrna also hated the Christians and slandered them (9b). They were servants of Satan whose very name means ‘slanderer.’

The letter envisages a short period of intense persecution which lay just ahead for the Smyrnan Christians (10). The ‘’ten days’’ is probably not literal, but represents a short period of time. Reading this verse, I am reminded of what C.S Lewis said about there being two equal and opposite traps we can fall into regarding the devils: one is to believe in them too much, and attribute too much to them; but the other is to believe in them too little, and not recognise the reality of the battle we are in. However, the devil is always ‘God’s devil’. He is on a long leash, but he is on a leash. He can do nothing without God permitting it. The Lord is always in control.

There is something more to fear than dying; it is undergoing ‘’the second death’’ and being spiritually lost for all eternity.

Revelation 2:1-7: X-Ray vision.

‘To the angelof 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 people, 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 the love you had at first. ⁵ Consider how far 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 favour: you hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.⁷ Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” NIV

In the first chapter, John says of Jesus that ‘’his eyes were like a blazing fire’’ (14b). One preacher explained these words by declaring that Jesus has ‘x-ray vision’. He is all-knowing. Twice in this letter to Ephesus He says, ‘’I know’’ (2). He knows everything there is to know about a local church, and He can strategically direct the call to repentance to just where it needs to land (4,5). Whenever we hear this call it is essential that we should respond rightly (5b). A church’s light can go out. Someone said that the local church is never more than one generation away from extinction

It’s sobering to think that a church can have many good qualities; as a congregation we may be busy, busy, busy. Yet at the same time we can lose our heart (4). Does this probing verse refer to love for God or for people? From what I can see commentators differ. But why shouldn’t it mean both? After all, the two are indissolubly linked. If something goes awry with our love for God it will have a detrimental effect on our love for people.

We should always remember that without love we are ‘’nothing’’ (1 Corinthians 13).

PRAYER: Lord, I ask that love for you and for others will be our church’s heartbeat.

 Revelation 2:1-7: Ears to hear.

‘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 people, 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 the love you had at first. ⁵ Consider how far 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 favour: you hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.⁷ Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” NIV

Each of the seven letters follows a similar pattern. For example, each one draws from some aspect of the vision of Christ found in chapter one. Also, each short epistle contains the words:

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’’

As we read the letters, it will become obvious that the Spirit is not saying identical things to all the churches. Rather, although there may be some overlapping points, there is a message tailored to fit each individual congregation.

As local churches, we need to be prayerfully attentive to what the Lord is saying to us. So much is at stake.

May God help us to listen and obey.

Revelation 1:17-20: Rounding the Cape.

^“17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: ‘Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. ¹⁸ I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.¹⁹ ‘Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. ²⁰ The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: the seven stars are the angels^[a] of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.” NIV

In Michael Green’s excellent book, ‘Man Alive’, he tells the story how many years ago people in European capitals believed there was a trade route to be found, to India, around the southern tip of South Africa. But so many sailors were shipwrecked in the attempt to discover it that it became known as ‘the Cape of storms’. Eventually, though, one more intrepid mariner, Vasco Da Gama, successfully rounded the Cape, found the trade route, and came back to show others it could be done.

Green says, before Jesus came, death was like the ‘Cape of storms’, littered with many a wreck. But Jesus has successfully ‘rounded the Cape’. He has come back to say, ‘There is a way through, and I can take you.’

That’s the picture of Jesus we have here: He died, but He didn’t stay dead. He is in the place of authority over death. This doesn’t mean we won’t die. But death won’t have the final word with the believer anymore than it did with the Christ. He holds the keys. We will triumph in Him and through Him.

Another writer put the same point in a slightly different way. He said, ‘It’s like you’re in a dungeon, and someone comes up and whispers in your ear that he knows the way out and he can show you.’

Oh yes, Jesus holds the keys.

PRAYER: Thank you, risen Lord Jesus, that you take the fear out of death for all who trust in you. You say, ‘Fear not’ and you can help us to fear nothing.

Revelation 1:12-17: Son-kissed.

^“12 I turned round to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, ¹³ and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man,dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash round his chest. ¹⁴ The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. ¹⁵ His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. ¹⁶ In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.¹⁷ When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: ‘Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.” NIV

I once heard a recording of the well-known Bible teacher, Dr. J. Sidlow Baxter. In his Yorkshire accent, he described a boy he’d met of another nationality. ‘He had a smile like a Mediterranean sunset’, commented Dr. Baxter. Doesn’t that paint a picture?  We haven’t looked at every detail of this glorious vision of our Lord Jesus Christ, but I invite you to read it through again today, and feel the overall impression. Allow it to impact your imagination. It is overwhelming, and I believe it is intended to bring us to the place where we join John at the feet of Jesus (17a). Where else do we belong in the presence of such a majestic Person?

John’s final description of Jesus here says, ‘’His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance’’ (16). Just recently my wife and I had a wedding anniversary. We returned to the hotel where we spent the first 24 hours or so of our married life, eight years ago. On the morning of our anniversary, we again walked in the woods on the hotel’s estate, as we had done previously. A greyish morning gave way to bluer skies and bright sunshine. At one point the sun was so strong, and the lake shimmered with its reflection. I wanted to look at it but I couldn’t. We didn’t dare. It was too powerful. If you look directly into the sunlight you can be blinded. Much as you enjoy it, you also fear it, and you are wise to do so. As C.S. Lewis wrote about ‘Aslan’, the Lion who represents Christ in the Narnia books, ‘He’s good, but He isn’t safe.’

No wonder, then, John writes, ‘’When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead.’’ As already said, this is where we too belong.

‘How beautiful, how beautiful, the sight of thee must be…’ What will it mean to see the One who made the sun?

One final thought: if the church is in close proximity to Jesus, or rather, He is in close contact with her, surely she will reflect His light, and be a ‘lampstand’ in the world? That is the intention.

Revelation 1: 9-15: Clarion Call.

^“9 I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. ¹⁰ On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, ¹¹ which said: ‘Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.’¹² I turned round to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, ¹³ and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash round his chest. ¹⁴ The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. ¹⁵ His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.” NIV

Lord, you know I need to hear your voice – that voice like a trumpet. You know where I need guidance. In your mercy, let me hear the voice that is as unmistakable as a great, powerful cataract of water pouring over some majestic falls. Lord, when your Word pierces me, help me not to resist, but to be happy for my whole being to be open to you.

Lord Jesus, living Word of God, please speak to me. Help me to listen. Enable me to obey. I want to be your disciple.

Revelation 1:9-12: Christ among the churches.

^“9 I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. ¹⁰ On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, ¹¹ which said: ‘Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.’¹² I turned round to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lamp stands,”NIV

John was on ‘’Patmos’’, a small island, about four miles square, located in the Aegean Sea south of present day Turkey. The Romans used to banish criminals and other prisoners there. The island served as a jail from which no-one could escape. But someone rightly said that although John’s body was confined, his spirit roamed eternity. Best of all, he saw Jesus. When we see Him everything changes, even if our circumstances don’t!

As previously noted, 7 is the number of perfection. So these 7 churches represent all churches, everywhere, in all ages. It is clear, then, that God wants the church to have a vision of Jesus. We need to see Him at all times. But especially when days are hard for the church, we need to understand that He is with us; He is among us. He is not remote or aloof, but He is in the churches. He doesn’t abandon us in our distress and suffering, but is right here with us.

The Someone ‘’Like a son of man’’ (13) John saw is none other than Jesus Himself (Daniel 7:13). The prophet Daniel saw a similar vision of the glorified Christ (Daniel 7:9; 10:5,6).

The church is a ‘lampstand’. The light we are called to shine into the world is but a reflection of Christ’s own glory (16b).

PRAYER: Day by day, Lord, three things I pray: to see you more clearly, to love you more dearly and to follow you more nearly.

Revelation 1:10-12: The Voice!

^“10 On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, ¹¹ which said: ‘Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.’¹² I turned round to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lamp stands,” NIV

As we come to look at the details of this vision, these comments about John, the writer of ‘Revelation’, are helpful, I believe: ‘Like someone reporting a strange dream, the things he says are hard to imagine all together. It’s more like looking at a surrealist painting, or a set of shifting computer-generated images.’ Tom Wright.

One Sunday, while on Patmos, John ‘’was in the Spirit’’. This doesn’t mean that he was in an especially happy spiritual mood; but he did have an anointing of the Spirit to see things the natural eye cannot usually see. It’s worthy of note that the ‘’loud voice’’ John heard (11), he then turns round ‘’to see’’ (12). What a Voice! We should not miss the connection that John speaks of Jesus as ‘’the Word’’ in the first chapter of the fourth gospel, and here he sees Him as ‘’the Voice’’.

 Prayer: Lord, whether softly or loudly, let me hear you speaking to me today, and help me to believe and obey.