Revelation Studies #21: Chapter 2 Verse-by-Verse Part 2

Revelation 2:8-11

8 And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;

9 I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.

10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

Having already revealed His concern about the assembly at Ephesus having left its ‘first love,’ it appears that what we have before us in this second epistle is the Glorified Lord’s commendation of an assembly that has NOT left its ‘first love,’ even under very severe persecution.

His words to the assembly at Smyrna are very brief and pointed.[1] He begins by introducing Himself as ‘the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive.’ This is quite relevant to the words He has for them as He continues. Twice in His next two sentences He uses the word ‘tribulation.’ He also speaks to them of ‘prison’ and ‘death.’ Clearly, the Glorified Lord is identifying what the churches may expect when they refuse to leave their ‘first love,’ regardless of the persecution it brings upon them.

This certainly brings to mind His words to His disciples during the days of His humiliation.

If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.[2]

And these words forever inscripturated in 2 Timothy 3:12:

Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

And, this is really no surprise in view of His statement regarding those that ‘say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.’ This is a very strong indictment. It calls to mind the malevolent hatefulness of the Jews as they clamored for Christ’s death and for Paul’s arrest, imprisonment and martyrdom. This is surely the true perspective the Lord had regarding the reprobate Jews during the days of His ministry and the early days of the great ‘missionary’ movement that began through Paul and others: They had become the synagogue of Satan.

He tells them that He knows their ‘poverty,’ but adds these amazing words: ‘but thou art rich.’ Very quickly after saying those words, the Glorified Lord promises to ‘give [them] a crown of life’ and that, if they continued on in their full dedication to Him, they would ‘not be hurt of the second death.’ His blessings upon His loved ones far exceed anything they may be called upon to face in a world under the curse of sin, even when they come under the direct attention and hatefulness of ‘the devil.’[3]

In terms of our present discussion, the contrast between the Glorified Lord’s words to Smyrna and to Ephesus could hardly be more absolute. It is easy to leave one’s ‘first love’[4] when severe persecution falls upon those that continue to hold to it. Whatever circumstances may have contributed to those at Ephesus leaving their ‘first love,’ those at Smyrna did not follow in their footsteps, even when persecuted unto death.

Revelation 2:12-17

12 And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;

13 I know thy works and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.

14 But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.

15 So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate.

16 Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

The one aspect of the revelation of the Glorified Lord from chapter one that is brought forward in addressing the assembly at Pergamos is that He is the One ‘which hath the sharp sword with two edges.’ [Verse 12] This plainly suggests that the overall way that the Glorified Lord wants those at Pergamos to relate to what He is saying to them is that He is speaking as One Whose judgment is entirely just and unflinching. Very shortly after identifying Himself in this specific manner to them, the Glorified Lord warns them to repent or face severe judgment at His hand.

Looking back to verse thirteen, we see that the Glorified Lord knows the special challenges faced by those at Pergamos. He says that He knows where they dwell, ‘where Satan’s seat is.’ The Greek word translated ‘seat’ is θρόνος[thronos], from which we clearly derive our English words ‘throne.’ This Greek word is actually translated ‘throne’ fifty-four of the sixty-one times it is used in the NT.[5] In our passage here in Revelation 2, it is translated ‘seat,’ but certainly seems to suggest something more than a mere chair.

At the end of verse thirteen the Glorified Lord, when commending an early martyr in the assembly at Pergamos (Antipas), states that his martyrdom took place [Pergamos] ‘where Satan dwelleth.’ From these two definitive statements by the Glorified Lord, we learn that Satan had a formidable stronghold there in Pergamos. It is actually in the context of having established the fact of Satan’s powerful presence in Pergamos that the Glorified Lord offers His commendation of the assembly there.

13…thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith…

In the midst of the trying times that resulted in the martyrdom of Antipas, the overall truth about the assembly at Pergamos was that they held fast Christ’s name and did not deny His faith [the Truth about Him]. This makes the Glorified Lord’s condemnation of the assembly all the more distressing.

Consider verses fourteen through sixteen once more.

Even though the Glorified Lord has commended the assembly for holding fast to the Truth during trying days in the past, He now swings the sword the other way,[6] identifying that they were too willing to permit false teaching among them in the present day. The specific application of the doctrine of Balaam the Glorified Lord identifies is ‘to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.’ The idolatry in Pergamos has been noted by historians to have included numerous different ‘deities’ and immorality of the vilest kind. Sadly, the assembly at Pergamos was relaxing its standards enough to allow such things in its ‘church life.’

Additionally, they accepted the ‘doctrine of the Nicolaitanes.’ As we have seen, this doctrine had to do with church polity [government]. The leaders evidently ruled with an iron fist, so to speak. Once again, the Glorified Lord makes it clear that He hates this serious error, which opened the way for church leaders to ‘lord it over the faith’ of the saints. If the leaders wanted to permit lewdness and aspects of idol-worship in the assembly, who would stop them?

17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

The Glorified Lord closes out His epistle to the assembly at Pergamos with an exhortation to the saints there to listen to His words and align with them by active faith. As we have repeatedly suggested, speculating about the exact meaning of much here in The Revelation is ill-advised. We will, instead seek to hold to what appears to be clear.

In the context of all that the Glorified Lord has said to those at Pergamos, the sense of the ‘hidden manna’ would seem to be in contrast with those things that had crept into the assembly there through the ‘doctrine of Balaam,’ with its immorality and flesh-pleasing ‘worship activities.’ Instead of embracing such things, the saints are being encouraged to be partakers of the ‘hidden manna’ given to them freely through the Truth by the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Similarly, the ‘white stone’ with a ‘new name written’ in it seems to suggest a strength [stone] of purity [white] that will enable them to withstand the onslaught of Satan and all his devices. The fact that the name written in the stone is unknowable by anyone but the one receiving it simply suggests the exceptionally personal nature of true purity or doctrine and life that becomes the reality only of those that truly embrace the Glorified Lord. Modern Christianity has little to offer of such intimate purity between 'Christians' and the Glorified Lord.

[1] As will our words be as well.

[2] John 15:18.

[3] In verse 10 we encounter one of very few specific instances in the New Testament in which believers are told that their persecution comes directly at the hands of the devil. This certainly calls to mind the Conflict of the Seeds identified in Genesis 3:15, and serves to put everything here in perspective.

[4] Recall my previously expressed personal sense of the meaning of the phrase ‘left thy first love:’ This first personal encounter with the God of all the earth laid the foundation for Moses’ entire life and work in serving the LORD. His consciousness of the transcendence of God drew him as a light draws a moth. He never ‘got over it.’ This is what comes to my mind when I hear the phrase, ‘first love’ in relation to God.

[5] The remaining 7 times it is translated ‘seat(s).’ Six of these are in Revelation. It also occurs once in the song of Mary when she was told she would bear the Messiah in Luke 1:52. Interestingly, in Revelation 4:4, the same word is translated ‘throne’ once and ‘seats’ twice. Presumably, the translators felt that to translate the word the same way when referring to the ‘throne of God’ and the ‘thrones of the elders’ was unwise.

[6] “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” and “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword.” [Ephesians 6:17 and Hebrews 4:12].