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The Letters To The Seven Churches
A Study Of Revelation 1:9 – 3:22
Compiled and Written by Sandy Simpson

• It is important to know to whom the Revelation was written and for what purpose:

• Remember that "shortly" to the Lord is different than it is for us, and it is Jesus talking.  A thousand years is as one day to the Lord.  This verse is used by Preterists to try to prove that everything in Revelation happened shortly after it was delivered to the churches in the first century.  The problem with this view is that Jesus has not returned bodily to rule and reign in His millennial Kingdom, the saints have not been "caught up" to meet the Lord in the air, the dead saints have not come back to life, nor have a number of other prophesies been fulfilled.  The letters to the churches did prophesy things that happened in the first century, but the precept we find in them are also appropriate to the church throughout history, and especially the last days church as it will see the final fulfillment of all the prophesies of Revelation.

• (1) John saw it. In another sense it is already “seen“. Prophesy is often written as if it has already come to pass, it is a done deal, such as this prophesy in Isaiah about the Messiah.

• (2) What is “now" -- these letters were to the seven churches, actual first century churches.
• (3) “What will take place later”-- these letters are also to all other churches and Christians through the ages giving them precepts.
• (4) “What will take place later”-- these letters were alerting Christians what would take place, not only at the time of the seven actual churches, but at the time of the end before the day of the Lord.  Some of these prophesies were partially fulfilled in the time of the seven churches in Asia Minor.  Some of them have a dual fulfillment in the last days, and some are yet to be fulfilled in the last days.
• Everything written in Revelation after this statement was a prophesy of things to come that are already set in heaven, to actual churches in Asia Minor, and to every other church and Christian since that time. This includes the letters to the seven churches, not just the rest of Revelation. In fact, since this part comes first it is very important. The letters include praise, exhortation, rebuke, warnings and blessings for the churches. They also include blessings and warnings for individual Christians. Why?  “He who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” This is repeated seven times. Individual Christians are to hear what God is saying to the churches. "To him who overcomes” is also repeated seven times. Individual Christians must overcome. How do they overcome?

• I will go into that later.

• The mother of James and John, who wrote Revelation, was the one who asked Jesus if her sons could sit on His left and right in glory. Jesus then taught them about humility and servant authority. He also indicated that they had prophesied their own fate as James was killed with the sword by Herod and John was imprisoned, persecuted. John Gill says:
 
Ignatius says: {w}, John efugadeueto, "was banished to Patmos": by Domitian emperor of Rome, as Irenaeus says {x}, at the latter end of his reign, about the year 95 or 96; and, as Tertullian {y} after he had been cast into a vessel of flaming oil, where he got no hurt: and this banishment was not for any immorality, and capital sin he had committed, but “for the word of God“; for believing in Christ, the essential Word of God, and for professing and bearing record of him, both in preaching and writing.”

• So here is John imprisoned not for a real crime, but for spreading the gospel. John has plenty reason to be depressed and angry. What do we see John doing?

• He is worshipping God on the Lord’s Day! Not only that, but he is in close communion and relationship with the Lord through the Spirit. This is worship.
• Next an extraordinary thing happens. This does not happen often, even in the Old Testament, but John is given a Revelation directly, and from Jesus Christ Himself. Some Bibles have many of the next verses in red, as well as all the letters to the churches because they are direct words of Jesus.

• This scroll containing ALL of Revelation was sent to the seven churches. It was information they desperately needed to know and pass on to future generations.

• What would be your reaction if you saw this being? John may not have even recognized Jesus, and if he did he was probably amazed at what he saw. He was so afraid and overwhelmed that he fell down as if he were dead.

• This is one of the main verses used by those practicing “slain in the spirit”. But as we can see from the context, there is nothing like “slain in the spirit” here. First, John fell down of his own accord in obvious fear, worship, overwhelmed by His glory. No one touched him at all. Secondly, when Jesus does touch John He says:

• Do not be afraid. Get up. Write what I tell you to write. You are not dead because I, Jesus Christ, conquered death by rising from the dead and now I stand here with the keys to death. This is an exact opposite picture from “slain in the spirit” where people are put into trance states and encouraged to lay on the floor writhing, screaming, moaning, crying, laughing, oinking like pigs, crowing like roosters, mooing like cows. When Jesus Christ really appears it is for a purpose, not so we can lie on our backs.
• We as Christians have this promise that Jesus Christ has conquered death and His promises to us are true and faithful.

• Already discussed that what is contained in this scroll is a record of what has been known and planned by God from eternity, what was at the time of the seven churches, and what will take place later. Everything that applies to the seven candlesticks applies to the Church today.

• The seven stars which John saw in Christ's right hand, represent the angels, or pastors of the seven churches of Asia, and in them all the pastors and ministers of the churches in all the periods of time until Christ's second coming. The ministers of the Gospel mentioned here are not only compared to "stars", but likewise to "angels", which also means "messengers", as ministers are sent forth by Christ with the message of the Gospel and as the angels are Christ's ministering spirits, so are the preachers of the Gospel the ministers of Christ, that wait upon him and serve him in the ministry of the word to the Church.
• The candlesticks represent the seven churches, of Asia, and in them all the churches of Christ, possibly also in successive ages, to the end of time; the reasons why these are signified by "candlesticks", and that they are prophetic of the churches of Christ in the several periods of time, until he comes again, is because the whole book is a prophecy, a revelation of things that were shortly to come to pass, and it would be very strange, and very unsuitable to its title, should the three first chapters contain nothing prophetic in them.
• I believe that the letters to all the churches contain valuable blessings and warnings for the church today. It is highly likely that, someday when we see the full picture, we will know that these letters were written to (1) the real churches of that time (2) represent a prophetic picture of the church through history and (3) are meant to be studied as a whole to glean what Christ meant for Christians and the Church throughout the ages and especially the end of the age. The most important point is (3). This is key to understanding the seven letters.
• This is why we are doing this study. The letters to the seven churches contain a road map that is particularly important today as we approach the end of the age.  A few more points need to be made before we go on.

• These two phrases are repeated seven times in the seven letters. Whenever something is repeated even twice it is for added impact. But seven times?  This is another key to understanding the seven letters.
• (1) We need to listen, to hear, to comprehend what God is saying to the churches. What He is saying to the churches is not just for the churches but for the individual Christian.
• (2) “Let him hear” to the individual, “To him who overcomes” to the individual. The messages to the churches are not just for churches, but primarily for individual Christians. We will see that truth become more evident as we go on.  This is the third key to the seven letters.
• (3) “Overcomes” This is a concept not taught too much in Christianity today. That is a terrible mistake. The Bible is full of verses that not only shower all the blessings of salvation on those who continue in faith believing, endure to the end, persevere, overcome — but also of dire warnings to those who fall away because they will be cut off, removed from the tree. If you doubt this take a look ahead to the first letter:

• This is to a church.  Jesus says “if you do not repent I can take you out.” He not only says this to churches but to individuals. They can be cut off because of lack of continuing in faith.

• This was to Gentile Christians.  They can also fall away because of their own lack of faith.

• As long as God gives you life in this world you can repent and return to Jesus.  You can invite Him into your life so He can feed you with the Bread of Life.  He then must be allowed to be the Lord of your life. But there does come a time when the Spirit stops striving with man, and that is if they fall away from the faith and do not repent.

• This is not a popular doctrine but when you look at Scripture you find that professing Christians must remain in faith or they can fall away and lose what they had. This is another subject, but I need to touch on it because it comes up often in the letters to the seven churches.

• The Bible is full of promises to those who believe, trust and obey and dire warnings for those who do not believe, disobey without repentance, continue in habitual sin. Unbelief is actually only one of the sins that can send a person to hell.

• We must take the blessings as well as the warnings from the lips of Jesus and the Apostles. This is true grace teaching, not some “easy believism“. But always keep in mind that we cannot be saved by works, only by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Then balance that with the fact that we must “overcome”. It is repeated seven times!
• How are we to overcome? Go back again to what we said at the start.

This is the main key to understanding the seven letters!

There is an old song that goes “Faith is the victory that overcomes the world”. Faith is a part of the salvation process. We must believe. We cannot do what Jesus has done for us. Salvation is “by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.” The grace is from the through Jesus Christ alone. The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sins. We must have faith and believe.  Faith is an act of the will.

God does not "gift" Christians their faith like He "gifted" them salvation through grace, nor does He force them to believe. Then what about the following verse?

• What is the gift here?  It is grace.  Some claim this is saying that God gives us a gift of faith.  That is not what this verse is saying in my opinion.  This verse is addressing grace versus works, not faith versus works.  This is confirmed by another parallel passage in Romans.  Remember, faith is not a work, it is an act of the will - believing in Jesus Christ no matter what happens even if it is contrary to our understanding.  Faith is believing even in someone or something that is unseen.

We accept by faith the grace of Jesus Christ.  Works then are works of the spirit, not the sinful flesh.

We know that faith without works is dead.  But works can never replace grace. Works can never earn salvation. That is the point of the Eph. 2:8-9 verse, not pitting faith against works.  This is the only verse that those who claim that faith is a gift from God can really hang their hat on.  However, there are many verses that talk about grace being a gift.

• God is the author (prince, leader, example, object) of our faith and the perfector (finisher, example of perfection, awarder of the prize) of that faith.

• The NIV makes it sound like perhaps God has simply gifted us our faith and does everything to bring it to perfection, leaving us with no responsibility of our own.  I do not think this verse, in context, is saying that.  I believe the point of this passage is obviously steadfast faith: fixing our eyes on Jesus, who is the object of our faith and the one who will bring our faith to perfection and award us the eternal prize, if we continue to fix our eyes on Him.  This makes faith a two way process, a cyclical process.  As we trust God He increases our faith so we can trust Him more deeply and He can further increase and perfect our faith.  If we do not fix our eyes on Christ, our faith will not increase and may shrink back. Ultimately, wandering from the truth, our faith can be destroyed.

• Written to Christians!  God will strengthen and test the faith of anyone who believes in Him.

• He may even help us with our unbelief.

• Yet there are many verses about the responsibility of Christians to build themselves up and stand firm in faith.

• Those He predestined and foreknew to be the elect He will continue to help and they will overcome by grace through faith in Christ. Those who once believed but do not overcome, losing their faith in the grace of the person of Jesus Christ, will fall away and be eternally lost.

• The Luke 8:13 reference is a key thought.  Christians have the Word of God and the Spirit to guide them but they are not omniscient or omnipresent like God.  They do not know the final outcome.  Only God does.  Their salvation assurance in this life comes from His promise to save those who believe in His grace through Jesus Christ. A person who calls himself a Christian must believe.

• Not only that but the word “believe” is in the continuous tense in the Greek in many places, meaning we must keep, hold on, continue, persevere, overcome in our faith. We must overcome with a faith that continues to trust in the true biblical Jesus Christ alone for our ultimate salvation. I believe that an overcoming faith is the main point of the letters to the seven churches.
• I want to pull some 34 precepts out of these letters. I do not call them “laws” because we are no longer under the Law of Moses, but the Law of Christ which is grace. However, these are precepts that Christ Himself gave to the churches. If we follow them we will never lose our faith, never be deceived, never give up.

Rev. 2:1 "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

• Each letter starts with a mention of the One who is sending the message. Each time Jesus describes Himself in a different way that is appropriate to the church He is addressing.  Each time it has particular significance for that church and their situation. If Jesus walks among the lampstands He has power and authority over them and they have His help to overcome false teaching. They also have immediate access to Him in relationship. But they also are right at hand and can be removed immediately if they do not come back to their first love.
• History of Ephesus.  The city of Ephesus was the capital of the Roman province of Asia, and the greatest city. The temple of the demon god Artemis was located there and it was home to many magic arts and mystery cults.  As a great center it was sought by the Apostle Paul, who founded the church and labored there more than three years (Ac 18:19 19:1), and afterwards addressed to it the Epistle to the Ephesians.  Aquila and Priscilla and Apollos also labored there.  At a later period Paul placed Timothy there and addressed two epistles to him.  All early church tradition declares that John, from about A.D. 70, made this city his home until his death.  There is not now standing a single house upon the site of the ancient city, though the ruins are of the most imposing character.  The Turkish village of Agasalouk, upon the Smyrna and Aidan R. R., is about two miles distant.

• Precept 1: Deeds Prove Our Faith. We are saved by grace through faith, not by works (Eph. 2:8-9, Rom. 11:6)  But as Christians we must have the fruits that come from faith in the grace of Jesus Christ (Gal. 5:22-25) and deeds (James 2:26).  (1) God plants the tree.  (2) The branches either bear fruit or are pruned.

• Mt. 21-19 talks about the cursed tree and John 15:2 says that Christians must bear fruit or be cut off.

• (1) Faith produces fruit.  (2) Works cannot replace grace.  (3) The fruit of faith is works of thanksgiving and praise to God by His will, not our own

• Precept 2: Work Hard. Christians work hard spreading the gospel.

• They help those less fortunate such as widows and orphans.

• We are to pursue righteousness (Rom. 9:30, 1 Tim. 6:11, 1 Tim. 2:22) because our Father is righteous.

• There are dire consequences for those who do not take care of these but steal from them (Mal. 3:5).

• We see this happen a lot today with TV evangelists. When a famous televangelist was being sentenced to 10 years in prison for money laundering, mail fraud, conspiracy, and interstate transportation of stolen property the judge said to him "You've picked the last flake of flesh from the carcass of the widow you defrauded." May we never be judged in this life that way, but a greater judgment is coming.

• Precept 3: Persevere. God will help us persevere as we continue to trust and obey.

• But we must also put out an effort to persevere.

• "Watch your life" means what we are and do.  "Doctrine" means what we believe.  "Save yourself" and "hearers" means living and teaching sound doctrine, one of which is salvation by grave alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

• All the promises to the churches are ours, if we make the effort.

• Precept 4: Discern. We are commanded as Christians to test the spirits.  We test with the Word and its doctrines, by long term lasting fruit, and by whether or not there is Christ-centered teaching and lifestyle.

• We must discern false teachers and false prophets.  They are distinguised by laying error alongside truth.

• "Error is never taught in an obvious way because it might be exposed and found out.  But it is always dressed up in pretty clothes so that it looks good and attractive on the outside so that it can seem truer than truth itself. -Irenaeus (translated to simplified English)

• We are to rebuke them.

• Trinity Broadcast Network (TBN), in raising funds at the end of 1999, told viewers that if they sent in a donation of $2000. they would be debt free by the year 2000 and their whole household would be saved.  TBN through the TV is "ruining whole households ... for the sake of dishonest gain."  People like Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland and many others have been rebuked repeatedly for their false doctrines and false prophesies, but they will not repent,  They have no accountability.  In fact they turn around and curse those Christians who rebuke them.
• If they are unrepentant and do not follow the Word of God ...

• Then we are to mark and avoid them.

• The word "divisions" here is a different word from the word "hairetikos" which means "heretic" or  "a divisive follower of false doctrines".  If they do not repent, we are to reject them as heretics after they have been admonished a couple of times.

• Have no fellowship with their works but expose them.

• We need to name names so that we can warn others about heretics specifically, just as Paul warned the churches about certain men.  We must separate ourselves from them.

• "Neither when we have chiosen our way can we keep company with those who go the other way.  There must come with the decision for truth a corresponding protest against error." - Charles Haddon Spurgeon
• Keep away from them.

• Turn away from them.

• Don’t even let them in our house.

• There is not only one way into our homes through the front door.  The TV, books, videos, audio tapes and the Internet are other ways we can welcome heresy into our homes.
• But, though we do not allow these influences in our lives, we continue to pray for those who are deceived.  We must continue to try to reach out to them in mercy, praying for them, trying to pull them from the fire, but being careful not to stain our own clothes (Jude 1:23).

• Precept 5: Don’t Grow Weary. We must run and not grow weary and God will help us.

• We need to look up to the examples of those who have persevered through oppression and persecution so that we will not grow weary and lose heart.

• We must finish the race to receive the prize of the crown of righteousness, of our final salvation.

Rev. 2:4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.

• Precept 6: Don’t Forsake Your First Love. When you love a person you give yourself to them heart and soul. But like in marriage, sometimes we forget how much zeal we had in our love for each other when we were first married. The Ephesians had left that love, being together in one mind, sharing together, and their zeal for the bridegroom, Christ. We must not forsake meeting together in fellowship and love.

• We must also not forsake the Lord because He may ultimately forsake us.

• We are commanded by Jesus to love God and our neighbor as ourselves. But loving God is of first importance. We cannot love our neighbor without the new nature and the help of the Holy Spirit. But we must not lose our love for God.

• Never let someone tell you that you cannot experience God';s love unless you empty your mind.  We must use every facility the Lord has given us to love Him.
• Precept 7: Be Objective - See Yourself From God‘s Perspective.

• In diving sometimes you can dive down deep so quickly that you don't realize how much your ears hurt.  One Palaun man dove down to me when I was scuba diving and touched me at 50 feet.  But on his way up he gat a squeeze in his rotten tooth and was in terrible pain until they could get him to the dentist many hours away.  He did not realize how deep he had gone.  Public figures like politicians often start out honest but sooner or later they become corrupt and dishonest.  We need to take an abjective look at ourselves and see where we are.  Have we fallen as Christians?
• Sometimes it helps us to step back out of our situation and try to look at it from another angle, or at a distance.  The Bible, the Word of God is the most effective mirror we can hold up to reflect our true selves.  The Holy Spirit will use that mirror to reveal to us our sins and encourage us in our weakness.  Here Jesus is trying to get the churches to see things from His perspective. They have fallen down from the height of their zeal and love for God. Sometimes we need to wake up because we are asleep.

• Later we see Jesus telling the churches and Christians to wake up before they die.

Rev. 2:5b Repent and do the things you did at first.

• Precept 8: Repent! Repentance should be the continual lifestyle of the Christian. This is speaking to the Church, to Christians!  Repentance is not only confession but also a turning from sin.  It isn't just saying "I'm sorry" but "next time I won't do it again".

• "Repent and turn to God" is saying sorry and turning to God, and "proving repentance by deeds" is turning away from further sin in that area.

• Revival comes after repentance.

• Repentance is humbling ourselves before the Lord.  If we have fallen, the Lord can lift us up if we go down on our knees in humility before Him.

• Then we need to confess our sins.

• We need to pray to the Lord and repent, and He has promised forgiveness of sins.

Rev. 2:5c If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

• This is a dire warning. God can judge sinners and send them to hell, and he can also remove even a local church, even one of the founding local churches. Loss of love, then, is very serious. Later Jesus says that He may just spit lukewarm Christians out of His mouth. Jesus said that in the end times the love of most would grow cold.

Rev. 2:6 But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

• The New Bible Dictionary tells us that the Nicolaitans were a group who named themselves after a man by the name of Nicolaus of Antioch. They compromised their Christianity by leading Christians to take part in pagan rituals and to eat food sacrificed to idols without embarrassing them in the close knit society of the city of Ephesus. Ephesus was a town with large temples to the fertility goddess of Anatolia later known by the names of Artemis in Greek and Diana in Latin. This group also allowed its followers to practice immorality, and have more than one wife as well as sleep with temple prostitutes. The word Nicolaitan is a Greek form of the Hebrew word for Balaam who led the Israelites away from God in the same way. Later this group became what is known as the Christian Gnostics. This is one of the groups that is attacked by Peter in 2 Peter 2:15, Jude in Jude 11 and John in Rev. 2:6, 15 and possibly 2:20-23.

• Precept 9: Don’t Compromise With The World, The Flesh, and the Devil. What we learn from this is that God hates anything that takes people back to their old sin nature. We as Christians cannot compromise with the world in the worship of pagan gods or in sexual immorality. God said in the Ten Commandments that we are to worship no other God but Him and not commit adultery. There are many false teachers out there today who are teaching Gnostic doctrines that feed the flesh and take Christians away from their true worship of God. They are led to worship power, signs and wonders, and those who do them. They are given fleshly experiences that stir up their natural sinful desires. But I have never seen more sexual and relationship problems as I have seen in Pentecostal and charismatic churches. This is because they have stirred up the flesh. In the Toronto “Blessing” churches in England they are even having strip shows in the church, pastors having sex with women in the church calling it the “anointing”, and many other disgusting things. This is the end result of Gnostic teaching that says that we can only experience God fully through our emotions, not by knowing Him with our mind. God has been very clear when speaking to Christians about sexual sin.

• The following underlined traits have been noted as a result of the false counterfeit New Age revivals in the church today out of Brownsville, Toronto, Benny Hinn Ministries, Kenneth Copeland Ministries and many others on TBN.

• God hates compromise.

• God wants us to have an uncompromising faith in Him and live an uncompromising life of holiness. If we sin we must confess our sins and turn from our wicked ways.

• The promises for those that overcome are available to all Christians because he says we must hear what the Spirit says to the churches, not just Ephesus. If they overcome hardships, if they endure, if they do not give up their first love, He gives a promise appropriate to them. They will eat of the Tree of Life, no longer of food dedicated to false idols. The Tree of Life, no longer in Eden, is in the paradise of God. They will never die, never go through hardship again. In Ps. 3:18 the Messiah is also called the Tree of Life. He is the author of life, natural, spiritual, and eternal; and because of his fruit, the blessings of life and grace, that are in him, of which believers may eat by faith, they will never suffer or die again.

Rev. 2:8 "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.

• The church in Smyrna.  The history of its planting is unknown, but it was probably founded by some of the evangelists under Paul's supervision.  During the second century the church was prominent, and it has never ceased to exist. When I visited the city in 1889, I was told that there were more than 70,000 professing Christians in the place. The city, so old that its beginnings are unknown, is still the second in commercial importance of the Turkish empire.
• The church at Smyrna was likely headed by Polycarp, an apostle of John. He is what we call today a pre-Nicean father, one who was discipled by one of the original Apostles. Irenaeus who knew him, says he was appointed bishop of Smyrna by the apostles. Here he suffered martyrdom, and was buried. This church, and its pastor Polycarp may also represent the state of the church under the persecutions of the Roman emperors. The word Smyrna means "myrrh", which has a bitter taste, is expressive of afflictions, persecutions, and deaths, the people of God in this interval endured. And yet myrrh also has a sweet smell, so were those saints, in their sufferings for Christ, well pleasing to him. That is probably why this is the only church that there is no warning to, nothing bad said about it.
• It is appropriate then that Jesus addresses Himself to them the same way He addressed Himself to John when he fell down as dead at His feet. He give them the assurance right from the start of the letter that He has already won the victory over death, and through Him all Christians can be assured that no matter if the are persecuted and even die for Jesus, they will live again with Him forever.
• Here is a record from history on what happened to the twelve disciples.  Only two did not die a martyr's death:
• John died of extreme old age in Ephesus, after being persecuted, thrown in a vat of flaming oil from which he miraculously came out of without any burns, and banished to Patmos.
• Judas Iscariot, after betraying his Lord, hanged himself.
• The rest died as martyrs in spreading the gospel.  Notice how far they had taken the gospel message before they died:
• Peter was crucified, head downward, during the persecution of Nero.
• Andrew died on a cross at Patrae, in Achaia, a Grecian Colony.
• James, the younger brother of the Savior, was thrown from a pinnacle of the Temple, and then beaten to death with a club.
• Bartholomew was flayed alive in Albanapolis, Armenia.
• James, the elder son of Zebedee, was beheaded at Jerusalem, by order of Herod.  He was the first martyred disciple.
• Thomas, the doubter, was run through the body with a lance at Coromandel, in the east Indies.
• Philip was hanged against a pillar at Heropolis (Abyssinia).
• Thaddeus was shot to death with arrows.
• Simon died on a cross in Persia (now Iran).

• Precept 10: Though Poor And Afflicted For Jesus, Realize You Are Rich  Smyrna was the poor yet rich church. Later on we will study Laodecia, which is the rich yet poor church. We see Laodecia typified today in the Word-Faith prosperity gospel movement.  In Jesus, though we are poor, we are rich because of His new life in us and because of our hope of glory.

• We testify to that wealth by our witness to them of the gospel of Jesus Christ, as did Paul.

Rev. 2:9b I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.

• It is very likely that these so-called Jews were the ones who were persecuting the church at Smyrna. These Jews were not people of God. They may have been circumcised in the flesh but not in the heart.  True believers have first covenanted with Christ and allowed Him to be their Savior and Lord.

• Circumcision is no longer a requirement for Gentile Christians.  We are no longer subject to the Law of Moses but rather we have freedom in and by the law of Christ, which is grace.

• Yet they were persecuting the Christians at Smyrna. In fact it is reported by the early church fathers that these men stood by when Polycarp was martyred and shouted for him to be thrown to the lions. These false Jews were probably urging the Christians to be circumcised in the flesh, when Jesus the Apostles did not require that at all. This was called the “circumcision group” by Paul.

• Precept 11: Salvation Is Not By Works. It is not by works but by the grace of Jesus Christ. Trying to be saved by works was a very serious business and something that Paul warned against many times. Those promoting going back under the law of Moses by being circumcised or doing any other work, when Jesus had come and freed us from that law by grace, is another form of legalism, trying to get into heaven by works. The Roman Catholic church today teaches and promotes salvation by works with prayers to saints, the rosary, confession of sins to a priest, Hail Marries, penance, the Eucharist, the Sacraments, and so on.  We are saved only by grace through faith.

• The reference to the church as opposed to the synagogue of Satan may also reflect on the separation of the old system of the law and the new law of Christ in His church. The Christians had quit using the term synagogue and were using the term “Church”. But these Jews hung on to the law and the synagogue. As time went by they so opposed Christianity that they ended up doing the work of the enemy. This is true today of those that teach false doctrine. They end up becoming a synagogue of Satan.  Today there is no more Temple building.  The Temple today is the body of the believer, and His Church corporately.

• It is interesting how in the act of the death of Jesus Christ, He got rid of the divisions represented in the Temple and Tabernacle.  In the typology of the Temple there was a division between (1) God and man (2) priest and laity (3) Jew and Genitle (4) man and woman.  When Jesus died (1) the veil in front of the Holy of Holies was rent in two thus giving man access to God Himself (2) He made us all a "holy priesthood" (1 Pet. 2:5&9) (3) since the Temple today is the body of the believer there is no more inner and outer court separating Jew from Gentile -- we can all become children of God because of Jesus Christ (4) instead of only male priests, today men and women are now free to approach and serve God.

• God even uses Satan sometimes to test believers.  Look to the story of Job for proof of that.

• Precept 12: Do Not Be Afraid, God Will Take Care Of You. God not only tells them not to be afraid but lets them know ahead of time that suffering is coming. We need not worry about tomorrow. It is all in God’s hands if we have placed our faith in Him.

• We don’t even need to worry about what we will do when persecution comes, when we are falsely accused, when we must stand up for our faith.  God will not allow us to perish eternally.  He may allow us to die, but not perish..  Those who stand firm to the end will be saved.

• The "Ten Days" was an amazing prophesy.  There are two ways in which it was fulfilled. Remember that to the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.  Sometimes a day can signify a span of time.
• (1) It could be talking about the end of Domitian's persecution, which was stopped by the edict of the emperor Nerva. This was exactly ten years. In this book and in Daniel, years are signified by days.
• (2) It could also be talking about the ten persecutions under the Roman emperors; the "first" was under Nero, in the year 64 or 66; the "second" was under Domitian, about the year 93; the "third" was under Trojan, in the year 104; the "fourth" was under Hadrian, in the year 125; the "fifth" was under Marcus Antoninus, in the year 151; the "sixth" was under Septimius Severus, in the year 197; the "seventh" was under Maximinus, in the years 235, 236, 237; the "eighth" was under Decius, in the year 250; the "ninth" was under Valerianus, in the year 257; and the "tenth" was under Dioclesian, in the year 303.
• Persecution is coming soon to those who stand firm in the faith, not wavering, not running after signs and wonders, not going to hear false teachers, not believing false doctrine, not receiving a false spirit. We will be persecuted, not by the world, but by people who call themselves Christians but are not circumcised in their hearts just as the first century Christians were. The move toward persecution is beginning now with the call for "Joel’s Army" to arise and for those in the Third Wave to claim the earth and rid it of all those who are not “anointed”. But they have traded the anointing that comes from the Anointed One that as born again Christians we already share for a different “anointing”, one of the flesh and the devil. We will see that played out probably in our lifetime as the world church decides to rid itself of all those who oppose them. The world church is a synagogue of Satan.

• Precept 13: Be Faithful To The Point Of Death We know that we must have faith to be born again but do we realize that we need to be faithful even to the point of death? We need to continue in the faith once for all delivered to the saints.  We have great examples of martyrs who stood up for the Faith in the past.

• The Bohemian reformer John Hus was a man who believed the Scriptures to be the infallible and supreme authority in all matters.  He died at the stake for that belief in Constance, Germany, on his forty-second birthday.  As he refused a final plea to renounce his faith, Hus's last words were "What I taught with my lips, I seal with my blood."  (Source Unknown)
• One winter night when the Roman emperor Licinius was persecuting Christians, his Thundering Legion was stationed at Sebaste.  Because 40 men in that company had declared themselves believers, they were sentenced to spend the night naked on a frozen pool.  A large fire was kindled in a house nearby, and food and a warm bath were prepared for any who would renounce their faith.  As daylight faded, 40 warriors continued to resist in spite of the bitter cold -- some walking quickly to and fro, some already sleeping that sleep which ends in death, and some standing lost in prayer.  These words arose to Heaven, "O Lord, 40 wrestlers have come forth to fight for Thee.  Grant that 40 wrestlers may gain the victory!"  Finally, one of them could endure the suffering no longer.  He left the others and went into the house where Sempronius and his men were on guard.  But still the petition went up from those able to speak, "O Lord, 40 wrestlers have come forth to fight for Thee.  Grant that 40 wrestlers may gain the victory!"  Their prayer was answered.  Sempronius, the centurion was touched by his comrades' bravery, and the Holy Spirit move upon his heart.  Declaring himself a Christian, he went to the frozen pond and took the place of the one defector.  When the long night ws over, 40 glorious spirits, Sempronius among them, have entered into the presence of Christ.  If severe testing of persecution arises, will you, will I , be faithful to Christ?  By HIs grace may we be able to say, "Let God be glorified, 'whether it be by life or by death'" - Phil. 1:20 (H.G.B., Our Daily Bread, November 14)
• Polycarp (A.D. 70-155) was bishop of Smyrna and a godly man.  He had known the apostle John personally.  When he was urged by the Roman proconsul to renounce CHrist, Polycarp said "Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He never did me any injury.  How then can I blaspheme my King and Savior?"  "I have respect for your age," said the official.  "Simply say 'Away with the atheists!' and be set free."  The aged Polycarp pointed to the pagan crowd and said, "Away with the atheists!"  He was burned at the stake and gave joyful testimony of his faith in Jesus Christ.  Here is the prayer he prayed as he was martyred, as recorded by the historian Eusebius:  "Father of your beloved and blessed Son Jesus Christ, through whom we have received the knowledge of You, I bless you that You have counted me worthy of this day and hour, that I might be in the number of the martyrs.  Among these may I be received before You today in a rich and acceptable sacrifice, as You have beforehand prepared and revealed.  Wherefore I also praise You also for everything; I bless You; I glorify You, through the eternal High Priest Jesus Christ, Your beloved Son, through whom, with Him, in the Holy Spirit, be glory unto You both now and for the ages to come.  Amen."  Eusebius adds: "When he had offered up his amen and finished his prayer, the firemen lighted the fire." (Wycliffe Handbook of Preaching & Preachers, W. Wiersbe, p. 214; Quoted in Closer Walk, July 1998, p. 22)

• Our continued faith in the true gospel, the true Savior, is evidenced through our faith, even in persecution and death. Some would call this works. James calls it evidence of faith. Faith is the victory that overcomes the world, as the song says.

Rev. 2:11 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.

• Again the Lord gives the promise that as a faithful Christian you can only die once. After that the second death cannot touch you. This was a great promise to this church, many of whose Christians did suffer physical death because of their faith in Christ.  The second death will not hurt them.

Rev. 2:12 To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword.

• Antipas, who is mentioned in Re 2:13; is thought, by some, to have been the first pastor/angel of that church. It is probable that during the writing of this letter that there was another pastor, possibly, according to the Apostolical Constitutions, Caius who is mentioned as the first bishop of it
• It was a rival of Ephesus in the temples to Zeus, Athena, Dionysos, in the great grove Nicephorium (the glory of the city). Next to this was the grove and temple of Asklepios, the god of healing, called the god of Pergamum, with a university for medical study. Pergamum was the first city in Asia (A.D. 29) with a temple for the worship of Augustus (Octavius Caesar). Hence in the Apocalypse Pergamum is a very center of emperor-worship "where Satan dwells".
• This church can also possibly represents the church from the time of Constantine, and onward, rising up to, and enjoying great power, riches, and honor. Pergamos signifies high and lofty; a royal city, things that were sublime and lofty, all high and lofty towers. Pergamos was built under a very high and steep mountain, upon the top of which a tower was erected, by the lords of the lesser Asia, which still continues. The church it represents had its principal seat at Rome, where Satan dwells Re 2:13; which signifies exalted likewise; and it introduces the man of sin, antichrist, the popes of Rome, who exalted themselves above all that is called God, princes, kings, and emperors; whom they excommunicated, dethroned, trod upon their necks, kicked off their crowns, and obliged them to hold their stirrups while they mounted their horses, with other haughty action, too many to name.
• Jesus states that he is the one with the sharp double edged sword. What is that?

• So the sword from the mouth of Jesus is the Word of God. Jesus is the Word.  The Bible is not a dead book. When it comes forth as truth it judges men’s thoughts and attitudes. This happens when we read the Word and learn from Jesus, the Word made flesh. It convicts us of our sinful thoughts and motives. Ultimately Jesus will also judge the nations for He is coming to rule and judge.

Rev. 2:13a I know where you live--where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name.

• The temples, the worship of the emperor as a God, Pergamum was an evil place. Yet the Christians there remained true to Jesus’ name.

• Precept 14: Remain True To The Name Of Jesus. What does that mean? They still called themselves "Christians" (or "belonging to Christ, of Christ), followers and worshipers of Christ only, when their culture told them they had to worship Caesar as a god. This became very obvious when they did not attend certain festivals, or did not bow down to him if he came to visit. We are called to stand up for the name of Jesus. If we call ourselves “Christians” that is something we must be prepared to defend and die for if necessary.  Do we stand against the sin in our cultures? Do we offer God the sacrifice of praise, not just in church, but in life?

Rev. 2:13b 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.

• Precept 15: Don’t Renounce The Faith: They had the truths of the Gospel in their possession, which were dear and valuable to them. Even though there was danger of losing them, they held them fast, with great courage and strength even though there were a greater number against them and they were persecuted and ridiculed for their faith.

• And this warning to those who do renounce their faith in Christ.

• Antipas, the first pastor of the church was a shining example to the church because he was martyred for his faith. He is called the "faithful martyr" of Pergamos.
• He was bishop of Pergamos during the reign of Emporer Domitian in 83 A.D.  His name means "against all" which could represent that he was standing alone for the faith against the forces of evil, but more precisely and in keeping with apocalyptic prophesy, his name has come to represent "those against the pop" during the Reformation period, viewing the Seven Letters as a chronological prophesy of the church through the ages.  The residents of Pergamos were worshipping demons who had appeared to them and the demons told them that they could not live there or accept their sacrifices because the power of Antipas was casting them out.  Antipas was captured by idolaters of Pergamos and delivered to their conservative governor who tried to convince Antipas that the older things are more honorable than the new.  For this reason, the religion of the Greeks was more honorable that Christianity since it was older and grew better with the passing of time.  One the other hand, the faith of Christians is not to be honored since it started later and was accepted by fewer people.  Antipas countered this argument by using the example of Cain and Abel.  Even thought Cain was older than his brother Abel, Abel was accepted by God and Cain was not.  Cain, by killing his brother is hated and despised by all men who have lived thereafter, even though he was older, therefore the Greeks' impiety is hateful to the Christians who came later, even though it is older.  When the governor and the Greeks heard this they burnt with anger and the aged Antipas, after refusing to pinch some incense in the red hot copper bull-shaped altar of Caesar, was thrown into the same brazen altar alive and roasted.  While he was there, the sang fervently prayed to God, glorifying His great power and thanked Him for being worthy to suffer for His love. (Jay Atkinson, Revelations, pg. 309)
• After him many thousands of Christians died for their faith. I believe that his first century persecution mirrors what will happen in the last days. There is coming a world church that will persecute true Christians who hold to their faith and do not compromise with the whore of Babylon, the apostate world church.

• The Romish church is, even now, attempting to form a World Church, a United Religion.  The RCC had killed countless Christians who opposed her.

Rev. 2:14 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.

• Even though this church was commended for not renouncing their faith in the very lap of Satanic worship, they had allowed false doctrines into their church.  What was outside the church had invaded the inside.
• Balaam was the prophet that Balak tried to get to curse Israel. Balaam wanted to summon up God to get Him to curse Israel, hoping to be paid for doing so, but God told Balaam to bless Israel each time he tried. Balaam later led many in Israel astray by urging them to immorality with the peoples around them, against God’s decrees. He told them that eating meat sacrificed to idols was just fine. Be aware that in Pergamum practically all the meat available in the marketplace was left over from sacrifices to idols. Balaam practiced sorcery for profit. Later God killed him. But his teachings lingered on.
• Some teach that immorality is fine for Christians.  You can just go ahead and get divorced and then later ask God to forgive you.  Some Third Wave teachers even order their followers to get a divorce.  They prophesy to them personally that God told them to get divorced.  I have seen this happen.  This kind of prophesy is a false prophesy, except in the case of adultery, which the Bible already gives us guidelines on.  But even in cases of adultery a couple should strive to repent, forgive and work things out if possible. Today many Christians are basically telling other Christians to "go ahead and sin".  God will forgive.  But repentance is not only asking forgiveness, being sorry, but a turing away from the sins of the "old self" and turing to obedience to God.
• Some of his methods of Baalam are still around today. Jude warned against false prophets.

• Precept 16: Don‘t Have Fellowship With Or Follow False Teachers. Today we have many false teachers that have gone the way of Cain, Balaam and Korah.
• This is an entire study unto itself, but in Jude’s time till today there are still those who try to bring sacrifices that God does not want, thus denying the blood of Jesus as Cain denied that the only forgiveness of sins was by a blood sacrifice and he disobeyed God‘s law. There are those who have rushed for profit like Balaam, trying to summon God and the Holy Spirit which is sorcery, thereby to make a lot of money. A case in point was were the fund raising tactics of R.W. Shambach for the Trinity Broadcasting Network under the approving eye of Paul Crouch.  He told the viewers that the Lord told him that if they sent in $2000. before the end of 1999 that God would pay off all their debts and their whole family would be saved by January 2000.  700 Club is also guilty of these kinds of tactics, using a "word of knowledge" scam to raise money by reading unsubstantiated testimonials on their program.  And there are those today who accuse true believers of not being Spirit-filled just like Korah accused Moses by stating that he and his friends were just as holy as Moses. This kind of spiritual elitism from hardline Pentecostals continues to intensify in the Third Wave.  The earth opened up and swallowed Korah and others who followed him.
• Don’t fellowship with or follow these people. Word-Faith teaches that we can get God to make us rich and healthy just by declaring it with our mouths. That is sorcery for profit, exactly what Balaam was doing. Churches that have allowed the Toronto “Blessing” or Brownsville “Revival” say they are worshipping God in wild meetings with ugly manifestations, occult techniques, drunkenness, slain in the spirit. This is the sin of Cain, bringing a sacrifice that God does not want, and is not consistent with His Word. God wants obedience more than sacrifice.
• I think of this verse with regards to Cain:

• Worship of God is always to be orderly and done with a clear mind.

• You can only think of Baalam when you think about the disorder that ensued with his donkey while he was hurrying to get some money for making a false prophesy.
• We also have many Third Wavers, Pentecostals and charismatics who have been accusing and continue to accuse born again Christians of not having the Holy Spirit, bragging about the “anointing” they have that is greater. That is the sin of Korah and it won’t be long before the judgment of God is going to fall on those who make these accusations. It is blasphemy against God, the Holy Spirit and His saints. Christians receive the Holy Spirit baptism and seal the moment they believe.

• Don’t allow these false teachers and false prophets to “entice” you away from your pure devotion to Christ by promises of health, wealth, some kind of unbiblical anointing, or some testimony that you cannot prove or prophesy you cannot test.
• "Neither when we have chosen our way can we keep company with those who got he other way.  There must come with the decision for truth a corresponding protest against error." (Charles Haddon Spurgeon)
• "I am not permitted to let my love be so merciful as to tolerate and endure false doctrine.  When faith and doctrine are concerned and endangered, neither love not patience are in order .. when these are concerned, neither toleration nor mercy are in order, but only anger, dispute, and destruction - to be sure, only with the Word of God as our weapon." (Martin Luther)

Rev. 2:15 Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.

• Again we see the Nicolaitans. Boy, do they get around. Christian Gnosticism is everywhere today and is also at the root of the counterfeit revivals. There is a direct link from the gnostic doctrines in Christian Science and New Thought through Kenneth Hagin and Kenneth Copeland to the current Third Wave. Mormonism is also from New Thought roots.  Christian Gnosticism holds that the material world is completely evil but the spirit is completely good. Therefore, you cannot understand truth with your mind but only with your "spirit". They then mistake the spirit for the emotions and say that you can only feel truth. “You sort of absorb it. Stop using your mind. It gets in the way.” But this is opposite to what the Bible says.

Rev. 2:16 Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

• Again we see the warning to repent. Remember that this is spoken to the churches and to Christians. We cannot forget that. We must repent of our sins and our allowing sin in our churches without rebuke. If we do not do this then the Lord will come and rebuke us with the Word. God helps us if we do repent when we are rebuked. The Lord will fight against our enemies with the Word of His mouth, and we can also use the Word to defend the faith and teach sound doctrine. But when it is we who are living in sin, the Word turns around and rebukes us. The Holy Spirit convicts us through the Scriptures of our sin. We must then repent and turn from our wicked ways. Then the Lord can bring times of refreshing.

• Though this verse has been misused and it was written to Israel, the same precepts are true for God’s people, the Body of Christ today. Humble yourself, pray, seek His face, turn from your wicked ways, then God will forgive our sins. He is not promising to heal the entire U.S., unless the whole country repents as did Ninevah, for it is pagan and wayward beyond cure and unrepentant as a people. But He will heal our churches full of Christians who repent. Healing is also a picture of salvation.

• “With His stripes you are healed” does not mean that every Christian is entitled to physical healing in this life. What this verse is talking about, which has been misused for many years by Pentecostals, is salvation. The healing of our souls, the renewing of our minds, the creation of a new nature.

• All Christians who overcome the things we have been talking about will be given some of the hidden manna. This may be referring to Jesus who is the “Bread of life”, the “Bread of heaven”, the unseen source of nourishment for believers. Israel was fed with manna from above in the wilderness. Christians will feed on the hidden manna of the Word, Jesus Christ and will have eternal life.

Rev. 2:17b I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.

• There are a number of interpretations for this promise. The important part is the “new name”. Believers will be given a new name that no one else will know except God. It is interesting that Jesus, speaking to these Christians who are being persecuted and living in the middle of Satanic worship, may be painting them a picture from the use of white stones in their time. White stones were used in various ways. The Grecians used them to mark good or lucky days, as they called them. Christ could be using this as an illustration to his people that overcome that happy days would come after that days of darkness and persecution. White stones were also given to the winners in the Olympic games, with their names upon them, and the value of the prize they won. This could be a symbol of the crown of life and glory given to them who are more than conquerors through Christ, with their right and title to it, and the excellency of it.

• We have the victory in Jesus as we trust and obey because of His love, even through His death.

Rev. 2:18 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.

• Thyatira was about 40 miles from Pergamum and in a rural farm community. A church was formed here very likely by the Apostle Paul; Lydia was a native of Thyatira.
• Thyatira has been mentioned in Acts 16:14 as the home of Lydia, who was converted at Philippi'.  It is, likely that the church began when she and her household returned.  The three churches Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum were on the coast; the others were in the interior.  Thyatira was southeast of Pergamos, and northeast of Smyrna.  It is still a place of about 17,000 population', of whom nearly 3,000 professed to be Christians.  In the second century the city of Thyatira was overrun with the Cataphrygian heresy.  The Turks have now eight mosques in it, but there is not one Christian church or place of worship to be found in it.  Who was the angel, or pastor of this church at the writing of this epistle, is not certain.  Thyatira is the same as Thygatira, which signifies a "daughter".  Seleucus, the son of Nicanor, being at war with Lysimachus, and hearing that he had a daughter born, called this city Thygatira.  It was called Pelopia, and Semiramis previous to that; which is a very fit name for this church, and expresses the effeminacy of it, when the virgin Mary, whom the Romanists call the daughter of God, was more worshipped than her son; and was not only made a partner with him in the business of salvation.  That is why the corrupt Jezebel is mentioned with regard to this city.  There was once a she pope also but the RCC is also called the great whore, the mother of harlots, the woman who rides the beast.  Mr. Daubuz observes, that the first Christian of Thyatira was a woman, and that the false prophets which first enticed the Christians to apostasy in this church were women, as Maximilia, Quintilia, and Priscilla; to which I would add, that according to Epiphanius, that among those heretics, and which swallowed up this church, their bishops were women, and so were their presbyters, or elders; and Dr. Smith is of opinion, that the inhabitants of this place, when Heathen, were worshippers of the goddess Diana; so that, upon all accounts, the church here was a fit symbol of the church of Rome and it's worship of the female god posing as Mary.
• Since this church was singled out for much rebuke and condemnation, Jesus presents Himself as the one whose eyes are like fire and feet like bronze. Fire is often a picture of judgment in the Bible. But first Jesus commends those who are faithful.

• Precept 17: Practice Charity. We have already covered works or deeds that are the evidence of our faith. The Bible also talks much about love and charity.  Love is the only thing that truly lasts.  Faith and hope will no longer be necessary in the new heaven and earth, but love remains for eternity.

• We also show our faith through love and compassion towards one another in the unity of the Spirit.

• We are even to go beyond love for our neighbor and our fellow believers. We must even love our enemies, those who curse us, those who persecute us.

• Those who have gone astray into false doctrine and practice we must still pray for and attempt to pull them from the fire, being careful not to get our clothes stained by contact with them.  They must also be rebuked.  We should pray from them.

• Precept 18: Be A Servant. We discussed faith and remaining faithful which is also mentioned here. Jesus told us to be servants, and that the person who wanted to come out ahead would have to be a servant.

• Jesus demonstrated that to us by being the servant to all mankind by dying on the cross.

• Being a servant also means that we have a Master. Our Master is Jesus Christ just as Christ was obedient to His Father. Even at the point of death it is crucial today to understand what Jesus prayed:

• He also taught us to pray:

• This is worth repeating because today we have many false teachers who are teaching that you should never pray to God “Thy will be done” but instead speak positively and declare what you want God to do and it will be done. But this is false doctrine as Jesus Himself submitted to the will of the Father and taught us to do likewise. Benny Hinn said “Never, ever, ever go to the Lord and say, 'If it be thy will”. This is the mantra of Word-Faith preachers who teach their followers they can summon God as Balaam tried to do. Be a servant. Do the will of the Father, not your will. That is one of the main points of Christianity.

• Precept 19: Do More Than You Did At First. Our Christian life, the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, must bear fruit, will bear fruit. We will grow and mature if we are submitting to the work of the Holy Spirit in our Christian life. If we have seen no growth we had better (1) check to see if we are really saved or (2) check to see if we are living in rebellion in our old sin nature. Either way we will lose if we do not repent. Growth should be evident as it was in the Thyatira church.

• If you aren’t growing then you have lost your connection to Christ.

• We will also bear fruit. Others will come to know Christ through our witness and ministry in the body of Christ.

• If we don’t bear fruit then we are worthless and are in danger of utter destruction.

• Some would say that this all sounds like works salvation, trying by deeds to be saved. It is just the opposite. Salvation is by grace through faith in Christ. Only Christ can save. One past moment of faith is the right start but not the whole picture. If we have faith that continues it will evidence itself in works and fruit, as James said.

Rev. 2:20 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.

• The original Jezebel was the wife of Ahab, king of Israel, in the time of Elijah. She not only corrupted the entire house of Ahab but also Israel, causing them to worship Baal and Ashteroth. It was so bad that Elijah thought he was the only faithful person left in Israel, but God kept 3000 faithful to Himself and encouraged Elijah with the knowledge. The descendants of Jezebel also corrupted Judah.
• Jezebel can also be seen to represent the Roman Catholic Church as it has been led astray by a demon that is posing as “Mary” the mother of Jesus in apparitions. Whether or not this was a prophesy of the Roman church, this is also a very specific teaching to the Christians at Thyatira. This Jezebel was apparently a woman in the Thyatira church. In the Syriac and other versions of the Bible it is translated “you tolerate your wife Jezebel”. She could have been a prominent woman in the church or even the pastor’s wife. This woman was allowed to falsely prophesy and get people to follow her into sexual immorality and detestable practices. She used false prophesy, pretending to speak directly for God, to persuade people to follow her in her sinful ways.
• We see this technique today everywhere. Many people are saying they are speaking directly for God who has spoken to them or appeared to them in dreams. Many are not afraid to claim that almost every word out of their mouths is the direct Word of God. These people are in need of rebuke but most people are afraid to stand up to them for fear of lawsuits or seeming intolerant or unloving. That is not what the Bible tells us to do as the body of Christ.  We must judge prophecy and test the spirits.

• Precept 20: Test The Spirits. These people and their words must be tested.

• If they are found to be false prophesies that either do not come true or are against the precepts of Scripture, then we are to watch out for them.

• We are to keep away from them.

• We are to expose their lies and have nothing to do with them.

• Don’t even let them in your house. Since the churches at the time this was written were house churches, then it also means to not let them in your church building or into your fellowship group.

• We are to reject them after they have been rebuked a first and second time for false prophesy or false teaching.

• We are to depart from their fellowship and God will receive us.

• Ultimately we turn them over to God and He will judge them.

Rev. 2:21 I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling.

• Notice the love of God. Even though this woman is leading many astray and pretending to speak for God when she is not, He still gives her time to repent. We should also allow false prophets to repent. If they are rebuked, they need to repent. If they do not repent and, very importantly, turn from their wicked ways, then God will judge them and we must avoid them. Benny Hinn and many other Third Wave leaders have repeatedly made false prophesies. Benny Hinn prophesied in 1994 that all the homosexuals would be dead by 1994 or 1995 at the latest. Of course this did not happen.  Yet Hinn has never repented of these false prophesies. They have taught a mountain of false doctrine. Hinn repented of some of his Word-Faith prosperity teachings. But he did not turn from his wicked ways and went right back to teaching these same false doctrines. Recently he had Kenneth Copeland and Rod Parsley on his TV show. They were teaching the most blatant Word-Faith lies and Hinn was agreeing with them all the way, adding his own heresy to the discussion. This is not repentance or turning away. It is false repentance in order to fool people into following him. Benny Hinn is a man to be avoided because God is going to judge him for his false prophesy and teachings.  We need to avoid him and warn others to stay away from him and all other who live in rebellion and unrepentance for their false teachings, false prophesies and false anointing.  God is gracious, the God of second chances - but there does come a time when He stops giving chances.

• To follow a false prophesy is to commit spiritual adultery.  It is also possible that the people of the church of Thiatyra were actually committing physical adultery with this woman.
• The judgment of God in this case was to cause her to be ill and all those who followed her to suffer with her. Even in this God was still giving them a chance to repent of “her” ways. Notice that apparently Jezebel is no longer being given a chance to repent, and her children will die for her sin. There is a time and place when the grace of God runs out. Many have died who once believed and refused to repent. Among many examples are Ananias and Saphira, Saul, Judas. There are ways to fall from grace. One is to depend on the law to save you, or salvation by works.

• Another is to reject Christ, or lose your faith in Christ, placing it in something or someone else, even a false Christ, a false gospel, a false Spirit.

• Another way, and one that concerns this passage, is to follow false teaching.

• This was spoken to Christians!

• We must answer for our acts of both falsely prophesying or following those that do. This is serious business. It is something almost every letter in the NT talks about over and over again.

• God does not look at the outward man but searches the heart.

• God knows in whom we are placing our faith. God knows the hearts of those who truly believe and obey Him. He also knows the hearts of those who profess to be Christians or perhaps even believed for awhile, but inwardly they were enticed away by seeking after power, prestige, a desire to look holy in the eyes of others, a longing to be entertained rather than follow Jesus and obey the Word of God.

• One of the evidences and hallmarks of witchcraft is “secret knowledge”. In witchcraft words have power, symbols have meaning, demons have names which if invoked supposedly gives the witch power over them.  Always beware of people who claim to have secret revelation knowledge that does not agree with Scripture, or claims to add to it.
• "It is a most ungodly and dangerous business to abandon the certain and revealed will of God in order to search into the hidden mysteries of God." (Martin Luther)
• Today we have a whole group of so-called “prophets” who claim that Christianity is entering a new phase. They claim that we are seeing "new things", a "new breed" and "new revelation" that goes beyond what is in Scripture. Beware of these false prophets like Paul Cain, Bob Jones, Mike Bickle, Rick Joyner. The Bible is clear about the authority of Scripture.

• The Bible is the last word against which everything else must be measured.

• Paul also instructed the church not to go beyond what was written in Scripture.

• We need to be taking the Word in daily so that we will not sin against God.

• Fortunately there will still some Christians in Thyatira who did not follow Jezebel or her secret revelation teachings; her false prophesies that had no support in Scripture.

• Don’t renounce the Faith. Remain true to the name of Jesus. Be faithful to the point of death Don’t grow weary. Persevere. And now ...

• Precept 21: Hold On Till He Comes. It is significant that Jesus is telling this first century church to hold on till He comes. Remember, this is Jesus talking not John, and John was in exile, imprisoned on Patmos. We now know that Jesus did not come then but that He is still coming. Therefore this challenge is true for us also. This is a teaching that is not taught often in church today but I believe, as we see harder times in the near future, persecution, tribulation, this teaching will come back to the light of day again. There are many verses about holding on in the Word, addressed to Christians.

Rev. 2:26 To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations--

• To the repeated admonishment to overcome there is something added this time.

• Precept 22: Do God’s Will To The End. Our example is Jesus Christ. He always did the will of His Father in Heaven.

• Following Christ we must also do His will to the end.

• How can we know the will of God for our lives? It’s in the Word! All the precepts are there. There may not be exact instructions such as “turn right off of at State Street and then go to 222 Capitol Ave.” but the Holy Spirit will illuminate the important things you need to know from God’s Word. That’s how the Holy Spirit teaches Christians. Is it the will of God for you to witness to your neighbor? Already answered. What should you pray for? Already there. How do I explain to someone else the gospel message? Already there. The answers are there and if we are in the Word daily we will begin to hide the Word in our heart and will know the answers to these questions without even having to hunt for them in our Bibles.
• To the Christian who overcomes and does the will of God to the end, the Lord has promised that we will rule with Him. This is not a promise in this present age, but in the millennial Kingdom of God. Some teach that we are to take "Dominion" of this earth now. But we cannot do that until Christ physically returns. What will happen, however, is that many Christians will be deceived into joining an apostate world church that the antichrist will eventually use to bring himself to power and dominate the world for three and a half years. There is a list about all the New World Order global governance events in the year 2000 alone.  We will hear more and more of this in the coming years.
• This promise was given to Thyatira because they could look forward to a time when instead of suffering under Satan controlled prophets like Jezebel, they would have real authority and freedom under Christ someday in His millennial Kingdom. I think it is a real possibility that we will yearn for this promise to come true as we begin to feel the harsh dictates of self-proclaimed "apostles" and "prophets" in the apostate world church. It is already beginning to happen now. Oh, to have Christ as the faithful and just ruler of this world and to rule with Him!

• This verse is taken from a prophesy in Psalms 2:9. It proves that Jesus has not fulfilled all of Scriptural prophesy yet. He must still return to rule and judge the earth in the millennium. He will clean the earth of those who rebelled against Him, and defeat the Satanic forces and throw Satan into the Abyss for a thousand years. It will be a time of peace and rest such as the earth has never seen nor will ever see again. The first time Jesus came He came as the suffering Messiah and fulfilled all the Scriptural prophesies concerning that aspect of His plan. The second time He comes as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords to rule and reign from the throne of David, fulfilling all those prophesies. The Jews made the mistake of thinking that He should fulfill the prophesies about His Kingship so they missed the prophesies about the Messiah who would come and die for the sins of the world. Because He suffered and died in submission to the Father, He was given all power and authority forever. He is forever King Of Kings, his name that is written on His body.

• Those who overcome will have Christ Himself forever because He is the morning star. They will share in His glory and dominion forever.

• There is also another verse that mentions the “morning star” rising in our hearts. This is the hope of glory, the hope of an eternity with Christ. The day will dawn and the morning star will rise and we will never again endure the darkness.

Rev. 3:1a "To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.

• The city of Sardis, once the capital of the great kingdom of Lydia and the home of Croesus, the rich king, lay in the interior nearly a hundred miles east of Smyrna and Ephesus. Though it had lost its former greatness it was still a considerable city in the first century. The church there was planted, no doubt, by some of the companions of Paul. The former city has now ceased to exist, and only extensive ruins remain to testify of its greatness. Like the church at Ephesus, which had lost its first love, the Sardian church had "a name to live and was dead".
• The perfect number seven denotes fullness. Christ has the fullness of the Spirit whom he sends into the earth to do his work. The seven spirits of God surround the throne in Heaven. The seven stars are His messengers/angels on earth to the Church.  God is in control.  He rules.

• Precept 23: Get Your Heart Right With God. The church at Sardis looked good from the outside but was really dead on the inside. They had empty works. Salvation is not through works.

• Grace is a gift from God. No man can earn grace through works. True works come because of grace through faith. You cannot work your way into heaven. If your heart is not right, your works will not be right, and your heart is only made right by the grace of Jesus Christ through His death on the cross that we accept by faith. Simon the Sorcerer who was saved began to envy the Apostles for the miracles they were doing. His heart turned from faith to greed. When he asked the Apostles for the power to do miracles they rebuked Simon.

• God knows the heart. There are many who profess to be saved and obey Christ but inside their heart is not right with God. Outside they may be doing good things, saying some good things, even doing signs and wonders, joining in with the Church but God knows who His children are. We can depend on the Holy Spirit to convict through God’s Word, but we must respond to that convicting.

• How can you get your heart right with God? Repent and believe.

• Then draw close to God and keep your heart on the right path. God will help you do this if you respond in faith.

• Sardis was alive but dead.  Again, remember, this is talking to the Church, to Christians.

• Precept 24: Wake Up! This admonition is given many places in Scripture. We need to wake up, be alert, and do not drift off to sleep as the Day of the Lord approaches.